Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

L io didn't know there were levels below the residential area, but Farren put a key into a slot on the elevator panel, and the elevator descended with Lio, Morrisey, Farren, and Bel. Lio clung tightly to Bel's hand. Elevators. Bah!

He still battled with his past, his heart racing as he thought about having been a pawn, used as a means to an end for someone else. Now, he wanted to stand up to the schemers and save their victims.

A pretty female Nutrix met them when the elevator doors slid open, dressed in scrubs. "I have everything ready, Mr. James, if you'll come this way."

They all followed the Nutrix to a curtained-off area with two beds lying close to each other. The mere sight made Lio want to run. Once he lay on the table, he couldn't simply get up and walk away. What if Bel saw things in Lio's mind to disgust him? He blew out a breath. If he didn't want the priest to win, he must do this, and Bel would be with him.

The Nutrix waved her hand at the beds. "Will the two participants please take a bed? Since this is the first time for both of you, I need to take your vitals and connect you to monitors."

"Is this dangerous?" Lio asked. Farren made it seem so simple. Monitors? Wouldn't that be like being tied down?

"No, but what kind of Nutrix would I be if I didn't take every precaution?" She busied herself with machines and monitors while Bel and Lio each took a bed. She then stuck what Lio assumed were sensors to various parts of his body and inflated a cuff around his biceps.

He didn't want anyone poking about in his head, but there was no one he trusted more than Bel. The Princeps who'd held him captive were nothing like the gentle giant lying in the next bed.

He looked across to where Bel lay and tried to smile. Bel smiled back, reaching out to take Lio's hand.

"We can touch, right?" Bel wriggled his fingers toward Lio but addressed his question to Farren.

Farren nodded. "It's actually necessary for the process to work."

"Okay with you?" Bel asked Lio.

Lio grabbed Bel's hand and laced their fingers together. He let out a sigh of relief, feeling the same comfort and security he'd felt the first time they'd touched.

"Are you two ready?" Farren scrutinized one of the machines the Nutrix hooked up.

Bel nodded as he stared up at the ceiling. He breathed slowly in and out.

Lio nodded. Part of him wanted to get up and run, take back the words he'd said over the last hour. But no. So many people depended on him even if they didn't know. If this group was successful, those people wouldn't need to.

"Okay, Lio." Farren glanced up from the machine. "Push a memory that you don't mind sharing to the front of your mind. Bel? Take only what he's offering. Don't go any deeper. This is just to get a feel for your connection."

What did Lio not mind sharing? He focused on a memory of the first time he'd met Bel, of Bel being a savior, lifting Lio from the sand. No, too sad. Instead, he offered the time when he sat outside Bel's temporary home, and the sight of Bel's smile had soothed Lio's fears. Bel had brought coffee, shown Lio around, and taken him to the Big Top to watch the Galliers practicing.

A gentle, comforting presence permeated Lio's mind, and his memories shifted into fantasies of kissing Bel, gazing at him from across a pillow in bed….

Snippets of memories flowed into Lio's mind: of Bel finding Kevin, witnessing Kevin leaving, and then the fear when Bel found Lio in the desert, thinking he'd arrived too late. Then, his fretting in Madame Persephone's tent and the relief at seeing Lio healed.

Bel had studied Lio in his sleep the first night they'd shared an RV, taking in the newly healed skin and watching the rise and fall of his chest. He'd felt a little less alone in this strange world.…

The presence retreated. Had Lio actually shared a fantasy with Bel, or did the fantasy come from Bel?

Farren clapped his hands together. "Very good. How are the two of you feeling?"

"Okay," Bel said, though his voice wavered, and he didn't sound sure.

Why didn't he sound sure? He always sounded sure. Something beeped in rapid succession on the monitor.

"Lio, your heart rate just spiked." Farren poked at the monitor. "It's okay. It's over now."

The Nutrix unhooked the sensors.

"Okay," Lio said to reassure his audience, though the words were a lie. He felt lonely now that the presence had withdrawn from his mind.

Morrisey righted himself from the wall. "What did you see, Bellamy?"

The flush of pink on Bel's cheek hinted that he might have seen more than Lio intended. "It was a bit about how we met and the first day we spent together."

Farren turned to Lio. "Is that accurate?"

"Yes." Lio couldn't be thankful enough that Bel didn't reveal the sudden veering off the plan.

The Nutrix tapped away on her iPad while Morrisey leaned against the wall again and brooded, which Lio was starting to think was part of his job description.

"Do you feel any closer?" Morrisey asked.

Bel glanced at Lio, who shrugged. "We don't know yet."

Farren peered over the Nutrix's shoulder for a moment. "We'll leave you alone. The process can be disorienting, so stay here until you feel up to moving. We'll have lunch waiting for you in the office when you're ready.'"

He, Morrisey, and the Nutrix left the room.

Lio stared at the ceiling, still clutching Bel's hand. They needed to talk about what he'd seen, but he didn't know how to start.

"Are you okay?" Bel murmured, nearly too low to hear.

"Yeah. Did you see that stuff at the end? I'm sorry, I don't know how it got there." Heat swept over Lio's cheeks, and his eyes burned.

Bel sat up on the bed and released Lio's hand.

Lio sat up, too, keeping his gaze downcast. What if Bel didn't think of him that way? They needed to bond to keep Lio from self-destruction, but did Bel truly want him for more? Memories returned of their nearly obscene dancing in a nightclub, the feel of Bel's erection pressed to Lio's through their jeans.

"Lio. Look at me."

Lio slowly shifted his gaze upward to land on Bel's gorgeous smile.

Bel framed Lio's face in his hands, leaned forward, and kissed away all Lio's doubts.

Lio sat across the table from Bel in Farren's office, recounting everything he recalled—and was willing to share—about their mental connection. His mind kept wandering to those few moments of ecstasy when Bel kissed him, the feel of those soft lips against his.

He'd love to do that again, but not under the watchful eyes of Farren Austen, who currently spoke on the phone and wasn't paying Bel and Lio any attention. Oh, to be back in the little RV at the Carnival before Lio knew who and what he was and didn't yet know about his past.

He glanced up and caught Bel watching, and a little spike of pleasure filled him. Was Bel thinking about the kiss, too? "Do you think that once you balance me or whatever, we can go back to the Carnival?"

Bel looked away for a moment but turned his focus back on Lio. "Would you like to?"

"Yeah, if Errante lets us. I haven't seen much of Terra, but it seems there are a lot of rules, and my host had bad experiences here."

His death had been gruesome, after all. Sometimes, those memories still came back to Lio, and he had to remind himself they weren't really his. Well, the last few were when Bennie left him in the desert. Lio wouldn't mind those memories fading, but some of the ones fading felt like having a very close friend you could share everything with leave.

"Errante said we could return."

How Lio would love to be curled up in the RV with Bel before a roaring fire… Wait! No, that was Emilio's memories of Dave and a cabin on Lake Tahoe. Just a flash, then gone. But Lio wouldn't mind snuggling with Bel. Why couldn't they bond like Morrisey and Farren?

Yet… whenever Lio looked up, he met Bel's heated gaze. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss in the medical bay and absentmindedly hummed one of the songs they'd danced to. If he thought hard enough about grinding against Bel, could Bel somehow know?

Bel gave a slow, secretive smile. Maybe he felt something or simply read the desire on Lio's face.

At long last, Farren said, "That's enough for today. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Lio didn't recall leaving the office, passing Arianna's desk—likely empty at this late hour—or charging down a flight of stairs. They stopped at the landing, Bel crashing his mouth over Lio's.

He pulled away enough to say, "Today has been torture, sitting there, watching you, being unable to reach out and touch." He stepped back, green gaze boring into Lio's. "Do you have any idea how much I want you?"

"If it's anywhere close to what I've been feeling, then yes, I do." Lio followed breathlessly out the stairwell door and down the hall.

He came back to himself when he flung open the door to his room, and then Bel returned the favor by flinging Lio against the wall.

Bel attacked Lio's neck, sucking on the skin. "I thought we'd never get out of that office." His words came out on panted breaths.

Lio moaned. Damn, that felt so very nice. Bel's hot mouth on Lio's throat nearly caused a brain melt. He'd never had sex in Domus, for no Princeps would touch a lowly Nutrix, and unless his memories hadn't been fully restored yet, he was pretty sure he didn't get to interact with many other Domusians. His only known sexual experience was in Emilio's memories, which were vague. How to walk and tie shoes came through clearly, but more personal memories were clouded. Bring on anything Bel wanted to give. Like… where Bel currently had his hand—on Lio's lower back, inching downward. Oh yeah!

"Is this okay?" Bel asked, the words garbled by his mouth being pressed to Lio's.

"More than." Lio delved back into the kiss. Given his past in Domus of no physical contact, kissing should be odd, but Lio threw himself into the kiss with mouths connected, tongues sweeping together. It felt like the most natural thing in either world. He hooked his ankle around Bel's calf and pulled him closer, clinging to Bel's powerful shoulders to keep himself upright.

He couldn't get enough of the feelings—Bel's mouth, his hands, his hot breath, every sensation added up to sensory overload. Lio had the overwhelming urge to blend the two of them into one, but how? And then Bel ground his hard cock against Lio.

"Bed!" Lio recovered enough coherent thought to speak. That much he understood: things might be more manageable in bed when he didn't have to concern himself with staying upright or negotiating their height difference while drowning in sensation and exploring Bel's magnificent body.

Mouths pressed together, hands roving under each other's shirts, they shuffled to the bed and collapsed onto the mattress. They were about to have sex! Anxiety fought with anticipation. Would he please Bel? Only one way to find out.

Lio rolled Bel under him. Oh, what ecstasy, the forceful pressure, Bel's desperate moan. The feeling of having the power to bring out those erotic sounds.

"Clothes off," Lio wrenched his mouth away enough to say, and then he descended back into the divine madness of his tongue against Bel's. Too much and not enough all at the same time.

Oh, right. Getting naked. He shot to his feet and peeled his T-shirt over his head before flinging it to parts unknown. Then he toed off his shoes while peeling down the skinny jeans that had seemed a good idea at the time but took too long to take off. He removed his boxer briefs and socks so he could stand naked before Bel, fighting the urge to hide his body. His heart raced.

Bel paused, his expression ranging from sadness to anger as he gazed at the many scars on Lio's body. He reached toward a rather vicious scar on Lio's chest but let his hand drop and said nothing. If he had, Lio might've lost his nerve. He didn't want pity, reminders of terrible things, or to be treated differently for his past experiences.

Not when the closest thing to perfection he'd ever known loomed in his future.

Bel wriggled out of his clothes while lying on the bed, revealing a broad, defined chest covered with auburn curls, a pleasure trail running from his navel to where Lio really, really wanted to be. His cock rose from neatly trimmed copper hair—a cock in perfect proportion to the rest of Bel's body, with a slight curve to the left, not quite as long, but much wider around than Lio's.

How damned gorgeous could one man be?

Emilio's residual memories approved.

Lio self-consciously ran one hand over his nearly bare, less developed chest, but the want in Bel's eyes said he liked what he saw despite the many scars.

Bel's thighs were as well-muscled as his arms, and they were the perfect place to hold on while Lio followed his instincts and took Bel's erection into his mouth. Ah, damn. The scent, the taste, the texture as he ran his tongue along Bel's length, Bel's scent filling his senses.

Bel moaned and bucked his hips. Lio needed no further encouragement, and he put his whole heart into seeing how much pleasure he could give. He rolled Bel's heavy balls in his hand, feeling the weight of them, the wiry hair.

"Oh, that feels so good," Bel murmured, husky voice giving Lio chills. Lio wanted—no, needed —everything Bel could give him.

He moaned around his mouthful and traced the ridges with his tongue, pulling back to tongue Bel's slit while stroking the spit-slick shaft up and down, the taste of Bel's precum on his tongue.

Bel reached down, grasped Lio's upper arms, and hauled him up the bed. "You shouldn't be having all the fun." He slammed their mouths together in a bruising kiss that left Lio dizzy and rolled them over, gazing down. "You are so beautiful. Every last inch of you."

Lio felt beautiful under Bel's appreciative gaze.

Bel peppered kisses over Lio's chest, down his abs, settling near Lio's cock. He blew a stream of warm air, then took Lio's balls into his mouth, first one, then the other, while running a tentative hand up Lio's cock.

Lio didn't want tentative. He wanted friction, a tighter grip, Bel's mouth— something . He thrust his hips, pushing his cock closer to Bel's mouth.

Bel smiled from his place between Lio's legs. "What's your hurry? We have all night."

All night? But Lio needed completion now . His Domusian body hadn't experienced sex before, but while his human body had, he'd never orgasmed as Lio. Was it the same for Bel, or had he experienced other men since arriving in Terra?

Lio's lack of experience fled his mind at the first touch of Bel's tongue against his slit. Bel moaned, wrapped his lips around the crown of Lio's cock, and worked his way down.

Oh, damn! Who knew anything could feel so good? Lio thrust upward, wanting more. He fisted his hands into the bedcovers, barely able to restrain himself from twisting his fingers into Bel's riotously curly hair and thrusting.

Bel pulled off with a pop, flopped onto his back, and settled Lio on top of him, fusing their mouths together. He wrapped one big hand around their lengths and shoved upward, letting their cocks slide together.

Lio hissed at the friction. So damn delicious. How did humans ever get anything done? He'd be chasing this feeling every minute of every day.

He clutched Bel's shoulders, feeling hard muscles rippling under his hands, and joined Bel in thrusting, establishing a rhythm between them. Faster, harder. The kiss deepened, losing all finesse. So, so good. The slick slide of their flesh together, the bunch and release of muscles, and the rough sound of their breathing all came together.

Tingling began low in Lio's groin, followed by fluttering feelings in his abdomen. "Oh!" His eyes flew open in surprise. He couldn't recall closing them. Every muscle in his body seized, and he plunged over the edge of a precipice, raw power jolting through him as his and Bel's energies combined.

He shuddered as he let go. His body released the tension in spurts, and flashes appeared in his mind of Bel observing him while they worked or while they sat watching the aerialists at the Carnival.

Suddenly, all thoughts merged into a kaleidoscope of memories and colors: Lio, lonely at the monastery, Bel at home with his family before they disappeared. Lio, alone in the desert, Bel's first few moments in the Terran realm. They swirled together in Lio's mind until he could no longer say which memories belonged to each of them. Were they two, or were they one?

How was this happening?

Bel shuddered against him and cried out, "Lio!"

His name on Bel's tongue had Lio convulsing again like he experienced both his own and Bel's completion. He clung tightly to sweat-slicked skin, riding the storm, trusting Bel to keep him safe.

He panted, heart racing, only to feel Bel's pulse beneath his fingertips, beating in time with his own. Why had he not known how perfect two people could be together?

Bel relaxed onto the bed, pulling Lio into his side. Together, they panted, trying to get their breathing under control.

Gentler thoughts flooded Lio's mind now, imparting a sense of peace he'd never known before. What he knew beyond a doubt was that no matter what happened or where they were, Bel would be at his side. Lio drifted into sleep in powerful arms, feeling peaceful and secure.

Darkness and light had found each other.