Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
TORGRIND
“That’s cheating!” Jamal screeched.
“It is not,” I replied, helping him to his feet. “You weren’t paying attention to him. Don’t let your surroundings distract you.”
In an attempt to keep him entertained at least until we moved on from this place, Brenek and I decided to teach Jamal some lessons in self-defense.
We tried to make it fun with flirting and teasing, and it worked for a time, but Jamal was getting tired of never coming out the victor.
He was getting distracted by others sparring nearby, watching them with a hungry expression that irritated me, and when Brenek pulled one of his tricks, he’d been too distracted to see it coming, landing on his ass in the sand.
“Perhaps it's time for a break?” I suggested when Jamal looked close to pouting. Maybe sparring wasn’t the best plan to entertain him. I thought it’d be a good idea, though. After what happened in the tavern, I felt like he needed to learn to defend himself better.
Brenek grunted, turning for the village center, and I could see Jamal gearing up to use the distraction to his advantage.
I caught his elbow before he could, shushing him before he could squawk out a protest and leaned to whisper in his ear.
“He always goes low to knock down his opponent. Use his own move against him. He’s trained, he’ll hear you coming.
Go low, not high to get the better of him. ”
My response surprised him, and he blinked for a second before a wicked grin flashed across his face.
He nodded sharply, taking off after Brenek with devious intent.
As I knew he would, Brenek heard him coming quickly enough to brace himself and spin around, but he didn’t expect Jamal to go for his legs.
For once, it was me who used a trick against him through Jamal, and I laughed out loud when Jamal knocked his knees from under him, and he dropped with a grunt.
Jamal didn’t get to his feet fast enough to escape Brenek’s reach. The little male was snatched off the ground and into Brenek’s hold, his gorgeous laugh spilling into the sparring area as Brenek got his payback by tickling his sides.
“No, no, you big brute!” Jamal laughed. “Torgrind! Help!”
Obligingly, I plucked Jamal up and set him on his feet, giving Brenek a smug grin when he shot a suspicious look up at me.
“You told him to do that.”
“You used a trick on him. It was only fair he got to do the same.”
Brenek rolled his eyes, but for once didn’t pick a fight with me. He pushed to his feet, snagging a still beaming Jamal’s hand and smacking a kiss to his lips. “Okay, varakai. You win that round. Want to learn a move that would allow you to take down someone as big as him?”
He jerked his thumb at me, and Jamal’s wide-eyed glee told me the suggested break was no longer an option. He looked eager for round two.
Once the practice switched from Brenek and I trying to teach Jamal into Jamal and one of us against the other clan brother, he began to truly enjoy himself.
He was not large or muscular, but he was fast, and with those tricky little moves Brenek taught him, he managed to get the best of the both of us at least once.
“Yes! Got you!” Jamal let out a triumphant laugh as I tripped over my own feet, but it turned into a shriek as I snatched him against me and took him down with me.
I was careful to turn so he landed on top of me to avoid injury, but he still looked shocked to find himself on the ground.
When I grinned at him, his mouth fell open. “Cheater!”
Throwing my head back on a laugh, I shot back, “You cannot call every loss a cheat, tavi.”
When he stuck his tongue out at me, I chased him, pulling him into a heated kiss and grinning as he wriggled to free himself while tangling his legs with mine at the same time. For someone who was supposed to be trying to get away, he wasn’t trying that hard.
“You need to move faster.” Brenek’s voice broke through our amorous affections, and Jamal twisted to look up at him as he continued, “Torgrind has a long reach. If you are not quick, he will catch you.”
Jamal’s eyes lit up, and he finally scrambled free of my hold, taking Brenek’s hand to get to his feet. “We should see who is fastest! I was raised out here! I can outrun you!”
Pushing to my feet, I shot Brenek an amused look. “He has a competitive side. We should use this to our advantage.”
Stroking at his beard thoughtfully, Brenek nodded. “I agree. I–Ah!”
He squirmed and danced away when Jamal poked him in the side with a pout. “Stop that! You speaking another language makes me think the two of you are up to something,” Jamal complained.
A snort behind us made us all turn to find Dras watching us with an amused raise of his eyebrow. “As in together? That would be a shock. Brenek and Torgrind are rivals. It would take a miracle to get them to work together.”
Or a very gorgeous and very mischievous man.
I lifted my chin at my clan brother, ignoring the barb. “Is it time to pack up?”
Dras shook his head, waving behind him to where Yngvar was headed our way. “I’ve come to train. Idrull says we will stay one more night. One of the women is unwell. He wants to give her another night before traveling again.”
Which meant one more night before we had to take down the tent and move on from this place.
Jamal looked pleased, Dras having spoken in the common tongue for everyone’s benefit.
His Erabi was nearly as good as mine, he spent as much time studying the language as I did, but he wasn’t one to show off unless he truly needed to use the skill.
And he didn’t even bat an eye at Jamal’s flirtatious offer to join us for training.
“I appreciate the offer, little one, but I will be training with this—” he pulled out his sword, showing the long blade to Jamal— “and I don’t believe my clan brothers have taught you to use such a thing yet.”
Jamal, who eyed the blade with apprehension, made a face. “I wouldn’t be able to hold it up. Why is it so large?” His expression turned sultry again. “Is it in reference to something?”
Brenek and I moved at the same time, pressing ourselves against Jamal, reminding him of where his attentions needed to be. Dras only rolled his eyes, taking a few steps back and holding the blade out to show the length. “It is large to reach enemies atop our stallions.”
“And heavy to ensure the job is done well,” Yngvar agreed, pulling out his own sword.
He set aside the staff he used to find his way around, letting it rest against the tent nearest to the training area before heading for Dras with unerring accuracy.
It still surprised me that he could not see.
He moved as if he could and still trained like his disability meant very little to him.
The clash of weapons as Yngvar and Dras began to spar made Jamal jump and he twisted to face us both, his nose wrinkled in displeasure. “I’m not interested in carrying around a weapon like that.”
“No, tavi,” I agreed, bending to remove the blade I always carried on my ankle tucked into my boot and handing it to him. “You would start with this. After you are more comfortable with sparring hand to hand first.”
He hefted the dagger a few times, tipping his head, then shrugged and handed it back to me.
“I’ve never needed a weapon before. I see no need to train with one now.
” He changed topics before I could argue, waving his hand toward the encampment and beyond it.
“If we aren’t leaving tonight, can you take me riding?
I want to see how fast those stallions can go. ”
Chuckling, Brenek nuzzled Jamal’s ear, nipping at the ring and making him shiver. “Is it the stallions you really wish to ride, little one, or can I convince you to take a rest? Since we aren’t moving tonight, the tent is still up.”
The promise of sex easily diverted Jamal from stealing the stallions for what I knew would be reckless riding. And his immediate reach for me to join eased any irritation I had toward my clan brother for asking without speaking with me first.
“Ungh, gods!” Jamal moaned, writhing as he rode my cock.
He’d taken Brenek’s suggestion to heart, insisting on riding us both, and wasted no time climbing into my lap the moment I laid upon the bedrolls still out from the night prior.
He’d been impatient through prep, batting my hands away just after I pushed in a third finger, and barely waited for himself to adjust before he began bouncing on my cock.
Gritting my teeth, I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to think of anything but the tight squeeze of his body on my cock. His limited prep meant he was squeezing me like a vice, and I could barely think straight as he writhed on top of me.
“You look like you’re struggling, brother,” Brenek teased from where he was stretched out beside us, idly stroking his cock while watching Jamal’s every move. I’d nearly forgotten he was still there, too lost in Jamal’s demanding attention, and had to take a moment before I could respond to him.
“You’re just… jealous…” My growl tapered into a groan when Jamal planted his hands on my chest, grinding his hips instead of bouncing and making us both gasp.
Brenek hummed, unconcerned. “I’ll get my turn. And when I do, I’ll not make him work so hard to feel good.”
That made me scowl, my eyes flying open to glare at him. I’d tried to put Jamal beneath me, to give him the care and attention he deserved. He wouldn’t allow it, insisting on riding me instead. I would not ignore his wishes–
“Ngh, fuck!”
Jamal’s body squeezed hard, whipping my attention back to him with a sharp groan as he glared down at me, cheeks pink from exertion and his gorgeous body covered in a sheen of sweat. “You’re not paying attention,” he accused.
Running my hands up Jamal’s thighs, I sat up, tangling his tongue in a hot kiss as an apology for my blunder. “My focus is only on you, tavi,” I murmured against his lips, reaching between us to stroke his cock.
Jamal whined, thrusting into my hand, and shook his head slightly. “I want to ride you…”
I released him, helping him readjust to get his feet beneath him so he could return to his riding. He used my shoulders as leverage, moaning wildly as I gripped his ass to help him along.
“Yes, yes, like that!” he cried, his cock rubbing against my abs as he arched his back.
I could feel him tighten around me, I knew he was close, and I used my grip on his hips to shift him, searching for that perfect angle that I knew would bring him over the edge.
I knew I found it when he jolted and the first spurt of his release hit my skin, his gorgeous green eyes flying wide with surprise when I hit the key to pleasure directly.
“Gods!”
The tight grip of his body nearly ripped my release from me.
I barely had time to twist and put him beneath me, pulling out and coming across his belly.
When agreeing to share, Brenek and I agreed to avoid coming inside him.
It was the only way to avoid the idea of sharing sex with each other.
Something neither of us were interested in.