Chapter Twenty-Eight

Could I get any happier? I didn't think so. I lay sprawled on velvet pillows atop a silk rug beside Aranren. We were in the middle of a perfect meadow sprinkled with wildflowers. That speckled green seemed to go on forever, stretching out to meet the pale blue sky. Aranren's hair shone against the blue backdrop, sunshine creating a halo around his head that was entirely unnecessary. The man was glorious. So beautiful it was hard to breathe when I looked at him. Which meant I was constantly breathless because I couldn't look away.

That long, shimmering hair spread out around Aranren, trailing over silk robes of silver and cerulean. He sat with elegant poise, his body arranged artfully for my pleasure, his robes open just enough to entice, giving me glimpses of his slim chest, the curve of his calves, and his lean forearms sprinkled with golden hair. He looked like a gift from the Goddess, set there as my reward for serving her.

The thought sent a strange zing through me. The Goddess. I had prayed to her before I accepted Death. And I thought she had answered. She made me feel as if I were doing the right thing. The tremor of unease vanished, and I smiled up at Aranren. That had to mean the Goddess blessed this. She must know that this was how we ended the war—through love, not violence.

"You beautiful boy," Aranren murmured as he stroked my hair. Then he brought a slice of melon to my lips.

I opened my mouth, and Ara slipped the fruit inside. The sugary taste burst across my tongue, and I bit down. As I chewed, he rubbed the remaining piece over my lips. Then he bent down, oh so gracefully, and licked the juice away. I moaned as his hand slid into my robe, pushing the lapels open. Sun warmed my skin. His hand went lower. The melon returned, pushing at my lips. I sucked it in and consumed it.

"Good boy," he whispered, then kissed my throat. "Just relax and let me take care of you."

Good boy. Who had said that to me? Someone else wanted to take care of me too. No, that couldn't be right. There was only Ara. I sighed as Aranren pushed me flat onto my back. My robe slithered to either side, baring me completely. I wore no underthings, nothing to come between us. When I opened my eyes, I found Ara leaning over me, trailing his hand idly up and down my stomach as he inspected my body. I didn't worry about displeasing him. I knew how much he loved me. Death connected us, drawing us tightly together within its bony embrace. He'd been so right when he said Aranren was just like me. I just couldn't see it before. But now, I saw everything.

"You loved him, didn't you?" I asked softly.

Aranren shifted his stare to meet mine. He didn't try to dissemble or pretend he didn't know who I meant. "Yes. I loved Sarthares. As you have loved others. But they don't understand this power inside us. We must protect it and ourselves. There is only you and me now, Ember."

A shiver ran down my spine. Protect Death? How? Was Ara saying I had to fight . . . no, I couldn't fight them. But if they fought me, if they tried to take me away from Aranren, I would have to. Very well. My heart didn't beat for them anymore.

Aranren's hand wrapped around my shaft. He started to pump me gently. "Say it."

"There is only you and me," I said, my hand lifting to slide through his hair.

Ara's robes vanished, and I sighed to see his sleekly muscled body. The strong shoulders topping that sculpted but lean chest tapered down to a trim waist. His hips curved out slightly, sliding back into the plumpness of his ass. He stretched one long leg over me, and when he straddled my waist, I stared up his lean thighs to the pale, rigid flesh between them, its length blushing for me.

I reached for his cock, and he held my gaze as I stroked it. Aranren's head lolled back, all that hair sliding over me, and his hips thrust forward, pushing his dick into the channel of my hand. The pink tip emerged, dripping onto me. I rubbed the liquid over him as he pumped. My tongue darted out to lick my lips.

"Do you want to taste me, Ember?" Aranren asked.

I nodded.

"Say it."

"I want to suck your cock," I said.

He groaned, his hands sliding up his chest and over his pebbled nipples. "I've waited so long for this." Then he bent forward and, pressing my hand and his cock between us, kissed me languidly. When he pulled back, there were tears in his eyes. "You can feel me, can't you? I can feel you. Death has brought us together at last."

"Yes, I feel you. And I see you, Aranren. I know you. You want more from me than my old lovers."

His smile turned lascivious. "And you want to give it to me, don't you?"

"I do. I've never taken a man before, but I want to be inside you. I want you to writhe for me."

"I will, but let's not rush this." Aranren pushed himself up, then shifted forward until his cock was pressed against my lips. "Open for me."

I opened my mouth, and he slid past my lips. With a deep groan, I sucked down the flavor of sugared man. There was no spice to him. Aranren was all sweetness and warmth. He was sunshine and honeysuckle. I sucked harder, relishing the feeling of his swollen flesh riding my tongue and his hands cupping my face. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me adoringly. His thumbs trailed in to trace my upper lip as it tightened around him.

"So beautiful," he said. Then he eased out of me and moved even further up my body to straddle my shoulders. "Prepare me to receive you, my love."

Aranren reached back and spread his ass cheeks for me, then lowered himself to my lips. I nuzzled his sweet-smelling sacs out of the way and kissed that sensitive skin right beneath them before licking my way to his puckered pink entrance. With the first flick of my tongue over his ring, Aranren gasped and spread his cheeks wider.

"Oh, sweet Death!" Aranren cried. "Yes, please, Ember."

I grabbed his hips and pulled him down, smothering myself with his flesh as I tongued his hole. Even there, he tasted good, as if he had spread honey over himself for me. I thrust my tongue into him, then around the rim, getting him as wet as possible, and he ground over me, undulating his hips. Then Ara rose to his knees and turned to face the opposite direction. I grinned, knowing exactly what he was about to do.

Bending forward, Aranren presented me with his pink hole while he positioned himself perfectly above my cock. Just as I began to tongue him again, his hot mouth closed around me. I groaned and licked him furiously. Sloppily. Aranren was just as industrious in his endeavors, tonguing my length before sucking all of it inside his mouth. He bobbed over my shaft, his full lips constricting to form a ring as the tip of me slipped down his throat. I felt a ring of muscles constrict around me.

"Oh, fuck," I groaned. "Enough. Stop or I'll come before I'm inside your channel."

He stopped immediately. Because he wanted me inside him very badly. I could feel his desire pushing at me. As Aranren rose again, a strange, possessive feeling filled my chest. I had never had the urge to slide into my lover. Not their channel, at least. I enjoyed oral sex very much, but I also enjoyed the feeling of being taken, my body forming a sheath for my lover's shaft. And I wanted that from Aranren as well. But first, I wanted something I hadn't experienced with anyone else. I wanted to fuck his ass.

I shoved him down my body as I slid back. Aranren eagerly helped, going forward onto his hands and knees, then pulling his hair to one side, out of the way. I got to my knees between his legs and took my time caressing his pert ass, jiggling the cheeks, then squeezing them. At last, I spread those blushed globes apart. That glistening pink hole waited for me, clenching in anticipation.

Aranren looked back at me over his shoulder and his stare was suddenly vulnerable. "I love you, Ember."

"I love you too, Aranren." With those words, I made us one.

Aranren cried out, his head arching back, and I shouted with him, the most amazing feeling consuming me. My hips moved on their own, taking me deeper and deeper into his body, our wet flesh easing the way. Oddly enough, it felt as if it got even slicker as I moved. His channel rippled around me, clenching like a fist. The pleasure was great enough to tighten my balls, and my hands dug into his thick ass to pull him closer. To drive my cock even deeper. I felt as if I couldn't get deep enough. I wanted to thrust until there was no separation. Until we truly became one.

"Oh, yes!" Aranren cried. "My Ember. Fill me. Take my innocence."

I blinked. The knowledge rushed through me, sent by Aranren. This was new for him as well. He had taken many men and women, but he had wanted only one other man in this way. The Emperor. But the Emperor hadn't wanted him. Aranren knew now that he was meant to be with me. He had known it since our first encounter in Fress. I was to become what he wanted Sarthares to be. We were perfect for each other, turning with the whims of our desire. We could fulfill all of our needs together.

"You're mine!" I snarled. "This channel is mine!"

"Yes!" Aranren declared. "It's always been for you, Ember."

Pride burst through my chest. This was mine alone. No other man had taken him like this. And I had taken no other man like this. We were both experiencing this for the first time. It felt like destiny. As if every moment of our lives had been leading to this one. Hearts, minds, and magic connected, we made blissful love beneath an impossible sky, all made for us by Death, deep within Aranren's fortress. And no one could touch us there.

"I love you!" I shouted and locked up against him.

Aranren moaned as I held him pressed tightly to me, my cock pulsing inside him, releasing my pleasure into his welcoming body. His channel rippled, drawing every drop from me and magnifying my orgasm. It was like nothing I'd ever felt before. As soon as it was over, I wanted to do it again and again and again. But I couldn't. I slipped out and sighed, staring at my flaccid dick in disappointment.

Aranren spun about, and faster than I could track, he had me on my back beneath him. His cock was still hard, his face was flushed with pleasure, and his eyes were full of need. With a broad grin, I pulled up my legs, bent my knees, and spread them wide. Ara looked down and as he stared at my entrance, moisture gathered there. It slid into me. So, I hadn't been imagining that slick feeling earlier. It had been Aranren's magic. I wasn't surprised, but I was excited.

"I need to learn how to do that," I said.

"I will teach you, my love," Aranren said as he slipped into me. "I will teach you everything."