Chapter 12 Boy
twelve
Boy
Boy’s first kiss—his very first kiss—was when he was naked, on his knees, and under the full weight of the Queen’s Shadow’s menacing presence.
Hot breaths filled Boy’s mouth, and he inhaled them deeply.
He’d imagined his first kiss many times. Wondered who it might be with, and if it would be before the occasion of his hand-fasting ceremony, or upon it, but never in his wildest dreams had he thought it would be like this. Boy wouldn’t change it—not for all the strawberries in Falchovari.
For some unfathomable reason, the most powerful shadow geist in the kingdom was as infatuated with Boy as Boy was with him.
He’d admitted to spinning the straw into gold for Boy, but given no explanation, and the only reason Boy could think of was to keep him alive for a little while longer.
He’d returned today, when Boy hadn’t been sure he would, and had praised him for keeping his secret from the Queen.
Had called him his “good boy” —again—and Boy knew right through to his marrow that he wanted to be nothing more than that.
It was only then that Boy realised the geist was right.
Boy could have corrected the Queen’s assumption about his ability to spin the golden thread when she’d asked, but he hadn’t.
He had made a choice, and he wanted to do so again.
Granted another day of life, Boy wanted to fill it with choices.
He wanted more. More of this. And so, Boy chose him—the Queen’s Shadow—even if just for one more night.
He chose the geist who held the power of Boy’s life and death in his hands.
Those gloved and experienced hands that had rubbed over every inch of his body so thoroughly.
Those hands that had fed him the most delicious food he had ever eaten.
Those hands that held him now so firmly.
No one had ever touched him like that, especially not in the doting way the geist and his shadows did.
Boy pushed all thoughts of the unknown aside.
Did it really matter that he didn’t know why the shadows had chosen him?
The question was one of those that, if left unchecked, would gnaw at Boy’s skin until it made a wound large enough to crawl under and fester, and he refused to allow anything to spoil this moment.
Not even the fact that he had nothing more to offer the geist in return than the clothes he had arrived at the palace in. Clothes that lay stained and tattered on the wooden floor somewhere behind him. No. Boy didn’t want to think about that either, and so he didn’t.
Boy’s fingers didn’t tremble when he brought them to cover the ones that already cradled his face so possessively.
For the first time, he felt empowered to take something for himself, and he latched on greedily.
He rose a little from where he had been resting on his heels, intently watched the way those dark eyes flickered in the firelight, and slanted their lips together.
Boy’s second kiss, then, was also when he was naked and on his knees, but he no longer felt the weight of everyone else’s choices bearing down on him. Boy had made this choice for himself.
Safe in the capable hands of the Queen’s Shadow, Boy became unfettered.
The heat that radiated from the fireplace fused with the possessive growl that Boy’s kiss tore from the shadow geist’s throat, and a jolt of wild arousal flared through him.
To know that he could elicit this effect was thrilling.
So when their kiss ended, and the man before him stood to his full height, Boy immediately felt bereft.
The Queen’s Shadow stroked the back of his gloved hand appraisingly down the exposed column of Boy’s neck, where it swirled patterns upon the junction with his shoulder, before continuing on its exploration of Boy’s body.
It slid lower still, over the contours of his bare chest where he brushed Boy’s sensitive nipples, and Boy bit back a moan of lust. The geist didn’t hide the wicked grin that overtook his face.
In the time it took Boy to blink, a beautifully ripe, Royal Garden strawberry appeared between the gloved thumb and forefinger in front of him. He could barely breathe with the anticipation of what might happen next. Last night, the Queen’s Shadow had made him hold it between his teeth while he…
The strawberry paused only briefly against his lips before it trailed teasingly downward. Over his chin, then his throat—where he swallowed reflexively—before it came to rest atop his pounding heart.
The fruit was as cold as ice, and Boy startled at the sensation when it circled his stiff nipple.
He couldn’t keep still. With each pass of the strawberry over the hardened nub, it was as if a thick rope of pleasure tightened further around the base of his dick.
He tried to sit back on his heels, to shrink away from the new and overwhelming sensation, but the gloved hand that still held his jaw prevented him.
Boy struggled to process everything he was experiencing.
Precum leaked from his glans. He could smell it, and couldn’t hold back his moan this time.
He needed something to hold on to for fear that the strength of the lust that flooded his body might wash him away, so he dug his fingers into the strong thighs of the Queen’s Shadow.
He’d never had his nipples played with before, and he couldn’t tell if it was the maddeningly slow and lazy circles, or the harsh pinching and tugging that drove his balls high up in their sac.
His hips bucked of their own accord, and he screwed his eyes shut tight when his orgasm threatened to slip his tenuous control.
As if he knew, the geist ceased his ministrations, and Boy was immediately torn between the relief of being able to draw full and deep breaths and mourning the loss of his impending release.
He decided it didn’t really matter which of those thoughts was the most important when that same strawberry was pushed through his parted lips and into his mouth.
Boy chomped down on it before the malevolent spirit could retrieve it and use it against him in another form of pleasurable torture.
The laugh that filled the small recess they occupied was deep and hearty, and Boy stopped chewing.
The half-masticated lump slid down his throat.
That sound filled his heart and made the hairs on his arms rise.
Boy opened his eyes to see what the shadow geist’s face looked like when it expressed such warm emotions.
Thick shadows swirled around them, but it was their reflection in the man’s black eyes that called to him.
Boy fancied that he could see the promise of eternal devotion burning within them, and it stole his breath.
The Queen’s Shadow leaned in for another kiss and his lips smiled against Boy’s as he took what he wanted.
Boy gave no resistance and pressed into the gloved hand that cradled him.
He was only mildly aware of the thick, leather-clad fingers that stalked languidly down the notches of his spine.
The man’s tongue in his mouth was hot and demanding, insistent in its invasion, and it distracted Boy—until the finger that slid around the curved profusion of his hip dipped into his navel.
Yet another one of those invisible ropes tightened around his cock.
How did the spirit know where to find them?
But he couldn’t think of an answer. The delicate tip of something cold and sticky at his belly button kept tugging on that rope, and their never-ending kiss emptied his mind of thoughts.
Boy was reduced to a puddle of brazen need, and he clutched tighter at the muscular thighs. His knuckles had surely turned white.
No sooner had another surge of lust washed over him than the kiss ended and the sensations in his stomach eased. Boy wanted more. It wasn’t enough.
Ragged breaths tore from his lungs, and he edged his stiff fingers up the thighs in front of him. The buckle of the shadow geist’s belt was warm to the touch, and he unfastened it slowly. Obsidian black eyes watched him keenly as Boy freed the black leather strap from its golden skull cage.
The fingers on his jaw tightened when Boy untied the thread of the geist’s silken breeches, but when he tried to go further, leather fingers caught him in their grip.
He brought Boy’s hand to rest on the flat planes of his abdomen, but Boy’s gaze didn’t move from that tantalising patch of thick black hair at the base of the large cock in front of his face.
The Queen’s Shadow pushed his clothing down and out of the way, and his hardened length sprang free. It was flushed and slick with precum, the head already protruding halfway out from his foreskin. Boy salivated.
He inhaled that deep musky fragrance, and it elicited a low moan from him. Those leather gloves, that had by now thoroughly explored every inch of Boy’s body, wrapped around the veiny shaft and tugged a few times. Boy could feel the heat in his cheeks, but still he couldn’t look away.
“Have you ever pleasured yourself before?” The geist’s voice was low and raw.
Boy’s eyes tracked the way that gloved hand twisted around the head and slowly dragged back down his length. What was the question?
Oh, yes. He nodded.
The hand paused and squeezed at the base as if waiting for something.
Boy realised his forgetfulness. “Y-yes.”
The fingers on Boy’s jaw slid around to his lips, where they pushed their way crudely inside and brushed over his tongue. “Good boy.”
Boy moaned again as another surge of desire swept over him. He liked hearing those words from his lips.
“Touch yourself the same way I do. I want to watch you.”
The Queen’s Shadow’s smirk was decadent, and Boy couldn’t decide if it was to be his ruin or his salvation.
But he had already made his decision, so he swallowed down his trepidation and any embarrassment, removed his right hand from where it clutched the man’s shirt, and pushed his fingers deep into his own pubic hair.
When he found his strained cock, he mirrored the hold and squeezed his base tightly.
His hips jerked and his knees buckled, but the leather-clad finger that depressed his tongue gave him no alternative but to remain upright.
The sensations were strong, almost overwhelming, and Boy didn’t know how to manage them.
He couldn’t—wouldn’t—close his eyes, because he needed to see what the man did next.
He also couldn’t clench his jaw because he didn’t want to bite the finger that had invaded his mouth.
On an exhale, Boy surrendered. He didn’t want to fight against it.
The Queen’s Shadow stroked up his length to the tip, where he rotated his wrist expertly before he slowly and firmly dragged his hand back down. Boy copied. He almost drowned in the new sensation; he’d never worked himself this slow before.
On the next stroke, he noticed the way the other man positioned his thumb to press along the vein on the underside, and he was eager to follow. He couldn’t hold in the moan and his eyes flashed closed by themselves.
He repeated this corkscrew motion a few more times, and Boy’s muscles tensed like a bowstring. When the spit-soaked finger in his mouth withdrew and joined the Shadow’s other hand to tug on his balls with a claw-like grip, Boy thought he might come on the spot.
How did he not know so many of these things felt so good? Having his nipples and navel played with had awakened a deep-seated desire in his core. Dragging his thumb over his head and twisting his palm to slick himself up had made him dizzy, but tugging on his balls like this made him cross-eyed.
Boy’s hips bucked some more, and he came on a cry. His eyes were scrunched tight, but his vision still turned white. His breaths were full and long but burned his throat. His body felt heavy and low, yet it tingled and vibrated with need. He’d never orgasmed so hard in his life.
He barely felt the hand that pressed between his shoulder blades and lowered him to the floor.
Had hardly opened his eyes before the shadows carefully rolled him over onto his back, and had just enough time to open his mouth before his Shadow—not the Queen’s—dropped to one knee over the top of him and ejaculated over his chest, neck, jaw, and lips.
Some strung over his eyelashes too, but through his one clear eye he saw the ecstasy written over the geist’s face, and the image burned itself into his mind.