31. Sage #2
“I will admit that I have given in to the temptation before. Even with Wyndham, on a couple of occasions, though it was never reciprocated.”
“So you have felt it before.”
Sage searched Conrad’s dark eyes. “Not until very recently.”
“And was it the way they all described?”
“I’ve never felt anything like it,” he whispered, repeating his own words.
A muscle in Conrad’s forehead worked as he seemed to recognize the line as familiar, before a wash of understanding coated his face.
Sage’s stomach roiled at the thought of what would happen next.
Would he pull away? Had he been too bold in making such a confession?
Conrad’s eyes shifted back and forth rapidly as he seemed to search his thoughts, compiling this new information with what he’d already been told.
“Your magic makes my spells more powerful,” Conrad finally mused. He locked eyes with Sage again. “And mine?—”
“Inspires my magic to ruin my own clothes, apparently.”
Conrad laughed as he stood up, reaching to hold both sides of Sage’s face. Sage gripped Conrad’s forearms in an effort to steady himself, brows still pinched as he waited to see what other conclusions the man would arrive at.
“My magic has grown fond of your magic, just as I have grown fond of you!” And suddenly Conrad was kissing him. Sage was so surprised that he did not even have a chance to close his eyes before it was over.
“ What ?” he managed on a shaky exhale after they broke apart.
“I hope you do not mind my saying so.” Conrad kissed the corner of his lips. “It felt like an appropriate time to tell you.”
“I…” Sage’s jaw worked as he struggled to reply.
“Yes. I mean no, I do not mind it.” He was fairly certain his hands would’ve been shaking if they were not still wrapped around Conrad’s forearms. He leaned in to rest their foreheads together.
“I do not mind it,” he repeated, softer this time, relief flooding him just as the warmth of his magic had as they worked together in Roger’s study.
If this was to be a night for revelations, then Sage already knew what he needed to say next.
Perhaps it was all too much at once, but if all the years he spent silently yearning for Wyndham had taught him one thing, it was that keeping his feelings a secret would only lead to more heartbreak in the end.
“You might have noticed that Emrys and the others were not so subtle in their hints at another sort of intimacy that often comes with magical compatibility,” he ventured.
Conrad snorted. “I suppose that better explains why this entire house reeks of copulation.” Sage couldn’t help but laugh at that. Conrad pulled away to look up at him. “Are you trying to tell me you are equally as afflicted?”
He was not prepared to admit that he had been in a nearly constant state of arousal for three days. The look on his face must’ve been admission enough.
“Whatever are we just standing around for, then? You should’ve told me sooner. Come along.”
Sage found himself being guided toward the bed.
Conrad began removing his trousers as he did every other night, no fuss about it.
Sage made quick work of pulling his stockings off and tossed them aside.
By the time he had slipped his shirt off, Conrad was already under the blankets.
Sage reached for the small jar of oil on his bedside table and crawled onto the bed on his knees.
Conrad gave a short gasp when he noticed the jar in his hand.
“Is this what that is for?”
Sage shut his eyes. “Please do not mention it.”
Conrad’s answering laughter was excessively cheerful. “I had no idea,” he said. “That first night, I thought you were offering me some of what you’d used on your face and hands.”
“I know ,” Sage said dryly, though he couldn’t hide his embarrassed grin. “It was rather humiliating.”
Conrad tutted and reached out for him. “It was nothing personal, you understand?” Sage shuffled closer, sitting back on his heels.
“Yes, I understand now.” They shared a soft kiss. “Though I confess I am nervous about doing something that will make you uncomfortable.”
“As I said before, I will let you know if that happens.” Conrad’s expression turned serious. “I am more concerned about you. I’ve no reservations about voicing what I like or dislike. Promise me that you will do the same?”
There was a weight to Conrad’s question that Sage was not ready to work through. He had not earned his reputation by being a demanding sort of shag. He did what other men liked. It was the only reason they wanted him, along with the care he took in maintaining his appearance.
“I do not know the answer,” he said, face warm.
Conrad kissed him again. “Then we shall find out together.”
After a somewhat shy acknowledgement that he wanted Conrad to have him—and not the other way around—the other man accepted Sage’s proffered oil in his waiting palm and pushed the covers away with his free hand.
“Will it bother you if I watch?” Sage asked.
“I won’t mind it,” Conrad told him. They shared a kiss before Sage collected some oil and tucked his upper body against Conrad, cheek on his shoulder so he could easily go between kissing his neck and watching him work the oil onto himself.
The moment was so easy between them that Sage almost wished they could stay that way.
Several slick fingers later, he was ready in no time at all.
Rather than worrying too much about what would come next, Sage decided to do what felt right in the moment.
He pressed his lips against Conrad’s neck as he shifted one leg over to straddle his hips.
Conrad’s hands moved to the tops of his thighs and remained there as Sage returned to kissing his mouth, unhurried and indulgent.
“Is this how you want me?” Conrad asked when he got the opportunity.
Sage hummed his agreement against Conrad’s lips and felt him smile.
When he could not take the anticipation any longer, Sage sat up and let his hands slide over Conrad’s shoulders and chest to his stomach, just as he had been wanting to do.
It was everything he’d imagined it to be.
He lifted himself up slightly on his knees and reached behind to take Conrad in his hand, giving him a few strokes.
“Are you ready?”
Conrad nodded, his head moving against the pillow in a way that reminded Sage so much of their sweet mornings together that he nearly lost his breath.
With his free hand on Conrad’s shoulder, he set them into alignment and pushed back against his length, going as slowly as he had not always been allowed to do.
His companion remained perfectly still while he became comfortable, giving Sage the lead.
It meant more than he could possibly say.
Tentative movements melted into a rhythm as Sage began to rock his hips, one hand still behind him to help keep them together and also to explore delicately into what else Conrad might enjoy.
Sage found that it was surprisingly easy to clear his mind of all the techniques he’d saved up for wanting to please the man beneath him.
“Where do you like to be touched?” he asked, silently cursing himself when he realized how far away on the bed he’d left the oil. Fortunately, his fingers were still able to glide smoothly over the base of Conrad’s erection and bollocks.
“Sage,” Conrad cautioned. He pulled his hand away immediately. “I want you to focus on yourself, not on me.”
“But—”
“I am happy simply to be close to you,” he went on. “Please trust me.”
“I trust you.”
Sage pushed his thoughts aside. This was what he wanted—what he’d been craving since their night at the lake when his magic found Conrad’s and set his entire world out of balance.
Although, it had likely started long before then.
The memory of seeing Conrad for the first time, hair damp and skin flushed from his bath, bloomed in his chest. Had he known from that very moment that something was different about him?
That this strange creature would warm his bed, his magic, his heart, with little more than his bright smile and endless encouragement?
That he would no longer be able to imagine returning to the life he had before without him?
“I trust you,” he promised again, leaning forward to kiss Conrad deeply, a moan escaping the back of his throat as he moved his hips with more purpose, taking what he needed from the man who was so willing to give it.
He felt when Conrad pulled his legs up, bending his knees to provide them both more support against the give of the mattress. His hands had not moved from Sage’s thighs.
“Touch me,” Sage breathed. “I want you to touch me.”
“Where?” Conrad asked.
“Anywhere,” Sage answered between kisses.
Conrad obliged, one hand cradling his neck as the other found the curve of his lower back. There was no pulling of his hair, no nails scratching across his skin, no roughness of any kind, other than the callouses on Conrad’s hands from his years of working with them.
A small voice in the back of Sage’s mind cried out at the thought of him ever being forced to return to such a life.
He imagined them together in London instead, sharing a bedroom that really did belong to both of them, sitting up in bed and talking for hours about everything and nothing as Sage rubbed oil into Conrad’s hands every night until the rough patches were nothing but a memory.
On the next thrust of his hips, Sage caught himself at exactly the right angle and huffed out a mixture of surprise and pleasure. The sensation set off the beginning of something familiar within him. Rather than trying to forestall it, he went after it with abandon, setting his magic free.
Sage pressed his face against Conrad’s neck as he slipped his hand between them, gripping himself tightly as he chased after what he now knew only Conrad could give him. One of the candles snuffed out as Sage’s heart raced.
“Oh, Con,” he whimpered, “I-I’m?—”
His next words went nonsensical and shaky when he came, coating his hand and Conrad’s stomach and chest as pleasure cleaved through him, filling him just the same as Conrad’s compatible magic had.
Familiar fingers tucked sweat-dampened strands behind the tip of his ear. There was a kiss on his shoulder. Sage swallowed and opened his eyes.
“Give me just a moment,” he said, still breathless. “I will help you.”
“I do not require it,” Conrad replied, his voice just above a whisper to match. “Let us get cleaned up so I can hold you. You’re shivering.”