Chapter Twenty-One
Tor
Tor pulled the door open, and there Pel was, still dressed in the clothes he’d been wearing at dinner. Tor hadn’t really thought about the message he might be sending by answering the door in his nightclothes.
Pel’s eyes traveled the entire length of him, and then he grinned. “It looks as though you’re ready for bed.”
Tor was helpless to do anything but grin back. “Yeah, I might have been hoping you’d join me. What do you think?”
“I’d be happy to,” Pel agreed, eyes bright.
Tor ushered him in, closing the door firmly behind him.
“There are biscuits,” Tor pointed out, gesturing at them. “If you’re hungry.”
“So hungry,” Pel said roughly.
Tor’s eyes snapped to Pel’s face to confirm that yes, those were the best bedroom eyes Tor had seen in quite a while, and no biscuits were going to be consumed tonight.
Grinning, he guided Pel into the bedroom and closed that door, too.
“It looks like I’m wearing too much clothing,” Pel observed.
Tor hummed a noise of agreement and then offered, “I could help with that.”
“Oh, could you?” Pel said, raising an eyebrow.
So Tor got to undress Pel, which involved a fair bit of kissing and a lot of groping, though Tor was careful where he touched. But Pel was inexperienced, not shy, and he was very eager. He groped Tor right back, which Tor loved.
There was a bit of tugging on hair—not all of it deliberate, because Pel seemed to really enjoy weaving his hands into Tor’s hair, and that worked until Tor decided to kneel to get the other man’s boots off.
Tor made a surprised noise of pain at the tug, Pel apologized, looking horrified, and then they both giggled like children.
It was exactly what Tor hadn’t known was missing from his life.
They were both thoroughly aroused by the time Pel was naked. His eyes were bright with lust and a little bit of uncertainty, but he smiled at Tor nevertheless and said, “Now I think it’s you who are overdressed.”
“Maybe you’d better come and get me naked,” Tor invited.
Pel’s smile deepened, and he did quite a good job of divesting Tor of his nightshirt, running his hands up Tor’s body as he moved.
There was a moment where Tor was blinded by fabric, and then Pel’s lips were on his, and Tor kissed him back eagerly.
And then, finally, they were both naked, Tor gazing avidly at Pel.
“You’re very beautiful.”
Pel looked a little bit… confused, like he didn’t think those words could possibly be directed at him.
Tor didn’t like that. He stepped closer.
“You have beautiful muscles.” He pressed a kiss to Pel’s upper arm, and Pel huffed out a laugh.
“Truly,” Tor assured him. “It’s no wonder with the work you do with the guards and your bow and arrow, but it’s extra noticeable when you’re naked.
If you wanted to stop wearing tunics, I would have no objection. ”
Pel rolled his eyes. “Have you looked at yourself in a mirror?”
Tor made a face. “Sure. But I’m not attracted to me. That would be weird.”
Pel snorted a laugh.
“All I can do is promise that I see you now,” Tor said intently. “Though I do wish I could undo the pain I caused in the past.”
Pel shook his head. “No, that’s all right. It wouldn’t have worked before, would it? At most, you would have taken me to bed, and while I assume I would have had a good time, that would’ve been the end of it.”
Tor couldn’t deny the allegation, and he cleared his throat. “Have I mentioned that I think I’ve recently grown a lot smarter?”
Laughing, Pel said, “I’ll keep that in mind. And it’s not like you were the only one making assumptions. I thought you were a total ass.”
Tor stepped closer still. “But a hot ass.”
Pel rolled his eyes, but his hands came up to splay across Tor’s abdomen, which was firm and well-muscled, if Tor did say so himself. All the horse riding, training with guards, and decrease in drinking had helped with that.
Tor had always been proud of his appearance, he supposed.
He liked that he could always find a partner if he wanted one, although that was tangled up with being High Prince.
But he didn’t think he’d ever been so delighted by someone else’s appreciation.
Because Pel’s eyes were hot and bright on him, and that made Tor feel like he was ten feet tall.
Tor wanted to make sure Pel understood that he thought the same in reverse, that he wanted and that he wasn’t disappointed in anything he saw.
He smiled. “I like everything about you. You look strong and rather as though you’d fit perfectly wrapped around me or with me wrapped around you—or under me or on top of me or any other sort of configuration that we could possibly come up with.”
Pel’s ears went slightly red, but his lips tipped up.
“I’d like that,” he said bashfully, his eyes still intent on Tor.
“Also.” Tor stepped still closer, reaching out—slowly enough that Pel could see what was coming and move if he wanted—and wrapping his hand around the other man’s cock. “There’s definitely no chance that I could be upset about this. This is an absolutely lovely cock.”
Pel’s eyes flickered closed as Tor carefully pumped. He opened them again after a moment.
“It’s not as big as yours.”
Trust the man to have made the comparison.
“You’re not as tall as I am,” Tor answered easily. “It fits perfectly in my hand, and I’m sure it’s going to feel lovely in my mouth—and anywhere else you might like to put it. But if you’re worried I don’t like it, I’d be happy to show you how much it appeals to me.”
Pel’s eyes grew darker, and he smiled at Tor. “Yes, please.”
So Tor slipped to his knees and leaned over to press a kiss to the tip of Pel’s cock, causing a sharp inhale of breath that made him smile.
And then Tor sucked that pretty cock into his mouth, burying it down his throat, and Pel’s gasp was louder this time, his hands coming up to clench in Tor’s hair.
He never pulled hard enough to hurt, but it was clear he was enjoying himself.
Yes, Tor was showing off a little, but he loved the sounds Pel made, and he wanted this to be a wonderful experience for him. He sucked harder.
“Oh, goddess,” Pel gasped out. “Tor!”
Tor redoubled his effort, bobbing on that perfect cock until, with a cry of pleasure, Pel was spurting down Tor’s throat.
Tor drew back reluctantly, releasing the softening cock, and Pel’s legs wobbled. Tor helped guide him to the floor. Pel licked into Tor’s mouth, and he explored for a moment before he pulled back to say, “Salty.”
Tor laughed. “Yes, it’s a bit of an acquired taste.”
“I guess I’ll get used to it,” Pel said, sounding relaxed and happy. “I imagine you’re really good at that, and I’m going to feel like a complete novice by comparison?”
Tor remembered belatedly that Pel had asked to go first yesterday.
“Sorry,” Tor said. “I got a bit carried away by how much I wanted to do that.”
Pel still looked a bit disbelieving… but maybe like he wanted to believe. Tor would keep working on him until he was totally convinced of his own attractiveness.
Tor suggested, “We could do something else instead. Or get started on your education. And I can tell you about all my graceless first times and learning experiences if that will make you feel better—but not if it actually just makes you self-conscious and worry that you’re going to do all those things. ”
Pel laughed, considered for a moment, and then said slowly, “I think I’d like to get started, or I’m likely to convince myself that it’s not something you’d actually like me to do.”
“First lesson,” Tor told him with a smile. “As long as they like sex, there’s almost no man out there who would say no to someone using their mouth. And I definitely like sex.”
Laughing, Pel began to relax once more into Tor’s embrace.
Pel sighed. “I know that learning new skills takes time. I just… don’t want to be disappointing.”
“You’re you. I will never be disappointed,” Tor assured him.
Pel huffed a breath. “You say that, but what if you are?”
Because feelings weren’t rational. Tor knew that, and he still wanted to find the perfect thing to say that would put Pel at ease.
He tried again. “I’m so looking forward to us doing all this together.
Even if I were inclined to be judgmental—and I’m not, because that’s rude—I know this is new to you.
I’m happy to spend time with you, so there’s no hardship there.
And once we go over the teeth rule, there’s honestly not much that doesn’t feel good.
Then it’s just figuring out what the other person likes best, and we both need to do that. ”
Pel raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying it actually gets better when you ‘figure out what I like’?”
He sounded incredulous, and Tor couldn’t help but preen.
“Well, I’ll certainly be trying to improve, but if you want to go ahead and declare that I’m already perfect, I won’t object.”
Pel rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, and he sounded fond as he said, “I would definitely not go that far.”
Maybe something that seemed perfect actually wasn’t, and something that seemed imperfect was actually the best thing that had ever happened to Tor.
He just had to convince everyone else of that fact.
He was sure that he could show how compatible he and Pel were—and not just in the bedroom, although he was already sure that was going to work out just fine.
“If you’re still sure that you want to do this now,” Tor said with a grin, “we’ll start with the teeth rule.”
“What’s the teeth rule?” Pel asked, predictably.
“Don’t use them.”
Pel looked confused.
“Don’t use your teeth on my dick. It’ll hurt.”
Pel now looked kind of horrified.