Chapter Nine
Euclid's bedchamber was sumptuous. In pride of place was an enormous bed, covered in fine sheets, soft blankets and furs, and still more of the ridiculous pillows that Euclid clearly was fond of.
Low lights had been lit at some point, and there was another stove here to keep the space warm.
"I always assumed you slept as a dragon. "
"Sometimes, especially in the warmer months when I can sleep outside. But much like their food, humans enjoy rest and respite in a wholly unique and pleasant way."
"You do seem fond of pillows."
Euclid grinned, then stepped forward, grabbed the lapels of his jacket, and leaned down to finally kiss him.
Dipak had never been kissed so ardently. Passionately, angrily, impatiently, affectionately. But even Lochan had not kissed him with this ardency. It left him dizzy and aching, terrified he might never experience it again and suffer the loss the rest of his life.
He sank the fingers of his left hand into Euclid's soft hair, gripping it firmly, throwing back his right hand to brace himself on something, a dresser maybe.
From there it was no effort at all to back up and rest his full weight against it, shift his arms to Euclid's waist, gather him close and sink into the claiming kisses that bled into each other endlessly.
When they did finally draw back, his lips ached slightly and he had to pant for breath.
Euclid loosened his arms where they'd moved to wrap around his neck, slowly dragging his fingers across the back of his neck and then trailing his hands down Dipak's chest, resting there against his wildly beating heart.
"A good start," Euclid said in a low tone barely above a whisper.
He teased a final kiss across Dipak's mouth, then stepped back and pulled Dipak with him enough that he could shove Euclid's jacket from his shoulders.
It had barely hit the floor when Euclid went to work on the buttons of his shirt, and that too was shoved out of the way, leaving Euclid only in trousers, boots, and undershirt.
And what a lovely sight to see, all that warm, flawless skin begging to be touched.
Refraining for the moment, Dipak set to work on his own clothes.
He had to sit on a low bench at the foot of the bed to undo the laces of his sturdy hunting boots, and his breath lodged in his throat as Euclid knelt to help him.
His cock jerked at all the things Euclid could do from that position, but he only stood again to get rid of his pants and underclothes, finally standing naked in the middle of Euclid's room.
Euclid's eyes were blue fire as he looked Dipak over like a man examining his hard-won prize. "All those lovely muscles, hunter. Watching you work has been a pleasure and a torment."
"You never showed any sign of that," Dipak said with a startled laugh. "I don't look much different to anyone else in this kingdom."
"If that was true, you would not have caught the eye and heart of a king.
" Euclid smoothed his hands across his chest, eyes burning hotter than ever.
His thumbs rubbed over his nipples, making Dipak shiver.
Most men he'd been with had not been affected one way or another by such a touch, but it had always been a weakness for him.
"Dragon…"
Euclid put his mouth to one nipple and pressed his nail, suddenly sharper than seemed reasonable, into the other. Dipak jerked, groaned, would have likely toppled right over if Euclid was not holding fast.
"Have you ever considered jewelry here, pretty hunter? Gold or silver hoops for ordinary days, decorated with jewels when you are where only my eyes can see?"
"That—" Dipak pinched his eyes shut, a hard shudder rolling through his entire body. "I would never get any work done, having to feel that all day." He might do it anyway, simply for the look on Euclid's face. For all the things that Euclid would do to them with his mouth.
"Get on the bed," Euclid murmured.
Dipak obeyed, though only barely, as his legs did not want to function.
The bed was the right combination of firm and soft, smelled faintly of wildflowers, and the sheets were even softer than they had looked.
The fur he'd settled on was softer still, wickedly so, and the pillows all seemed to be filled with costly down.
He only noticed these things absently, though, his eyes entirely for the lean, muscular body being revealed to him, that beautiful brown skin as flawless as a painting.
The heavy cock hard and wet-tipped. Dipak wanted to hold it, learn its feel and weight, then taste it, take it as deeply as he could and then deeper still, until his jaw hurt and he couldn't breathe.
"I like when you look at me like you're hungry for something only I can give you," Euclid said, and crawled onto the bed and over him, spreading Dipak's thighs and settling between them like he owned the space.
He skated his hands along Dipak's skin, lingering on his thighs, those blue fire eyes consuming. "I like you in my bed, hunter."
"Well, so far I like being here," Dipak said breathlessly. "Kiss me, dragon. I really like the way you kiss me."
Euclid answered the request without hesitation, curling a hand into his hair, those too-sharp nails scratching his scalp delightfully, the other hand still heavy on his thigh.
Eventually, Euclid tore away to put his mouth elsewhere, trailing hot, wet kisses down his throat to his chest, where he once more lavished unbearable amounts of attention on his nipples, until they were red and sore and throbbing, and Dipak was shuddering with a need for more more more.
"Dragon—" He broke off, moaning as a hand wrapped teasingly around his cock, too loose to be satisfying, to firm to be ignored.
"Stay right there," Euclid said, and let him go and moved away.
Dipak nearly wept with frustration, but took the opportunity to shift up higher on the pillows.
He watched as Euclid rifled through a basket on a set of shelves near the bed, finally grabbing a small, purple glass bottle and tossing it onto the bed close to Dipak. "There we go."
Didn't take much effort to guess the contents of that.
Euclid settled between his thighs again, opened the bottle, and slicked his hand.
Then he was finally stroking Dipak's cock.
He gasped, expecting cool or room temperature, but the oil was far warmer than that, just short of being too much, filling the room with the scent of roses.
He reached out to do some touching of his own, but it was too much, too good, and all he could do in the end was hold fast to Euclid's shoulders, crying his name as he shuddered through the first climax he'd had in longer than he cared to think about, because the memory of that time still hurt, probably always would.
"I was hoping you'd be fucking me when I came," he said when he could speak again.
Smirking, cleaning his hand on a cloth he'd grabbed at some point Dipak had missed entirely, he replied, "That will be happening."
"I'm thirty-four, not twenty-four, dragon," Dipak replied with a breathy laugh. "I'm gonna need time."
"We shall see." Euclid stroked his own cock, pre-come dripping onto Dipak's skin, making him shiver, his cock twitch despite itself.
Unable to bear it a second longer, Dipak shoved, sending a laughing Euclid onto his back and crawling over him, bracing himself on his arms as he finally got that cock in his mouth.
It was a hot, heavy weight, stuffing him full, putting his jaw fully to work.
But Dipak had always deeply, deeply loved putting his mouth to work, and he had years of practice behind him now.
So he worked slowly, steadily, laving and teasing with his tongue, taking Euclid deeper and deeper, hollowing his cheeks.
Euclid's hand tangled in his hair, guiding and urging without forcing.
That would be nice, some night when he was more familiar.
Euclid holding him in place and fucking his face with abandon.
Right now, though, he was enjoying the chance to learn and explore, until he finally had taken Euclid all the way in, barely able to breathe through his nose.
He pulled off, then went again, until Euclid said his name on a real, genuine growl and pulled him off.
"You are good at that," Euclid said hoarsely, "but I still want to fuck you."
"Pretty sure you're cocky enough to manage fucking me twice, dragon, but have it your way."
"No patience tonight, but do not worry, as winter settles in, I'll be more than happy to leave you too wrung out to leave my bed."
Dipak shivered at the thought, at simply being spoken to that way. Even Lochan at his greediest had always been a king first, and the only thing he'd ever wanted to stay in bed overlong to do was sleep. "Sounds like a challenge, dragon."
"More like a promise," Euclid replied, then pushed him back to where he'd been before, splayed against the pillows, legs spread wide in invitation. Euclid bent to kiss the side of his knee, worked down his thigh, then withdrew to slick his fingers.
He'd not felt another's fingers there for a long time.
Lochan had preferred his mouth, and when fucking him had been too impatient to do much in the way of preparing him, trusting to his expensive lubrications or letting Dipak do the work.
The occasional tumble in the hay with a soldier or fellow courier or the odd handsome stranger on the road had not been the kind of thing for care and lingering.