Chapter Seventeen

Landyn arched his back, raising his butt in the air as he groaned out loud, stretching his arms down to grab his mate's ankles. His body tingled all over. Hephaestus wouldn't let Landyn rub his aching leg until he had kissed Landyn from the top of his head all the way to his toes. Landyn squealed when Hephaestus actually sucked his toes – yes, he was ticklish – and Hephaestus's chuckles made the ticking sensation more intense.

Those squeals turned into moans when Hephaestus started rubbing his butt cheeks. Landyn's love of ass play had been born and grew under Hephaestus's care. He'd learned not to worry about how his skinny body might look naked, Hephaestus's cock was rubbing against his hip, dripping onto his skin. No man could fake that reaction.

But oh, when Hephaestus teased his hole, Landyn had to fight himself to stay still. His mate's hands were big and calloused from a lifetime of wielding a hammer. Their roughness dragged across Landyn's skin, tantalizing his nerve endings, sending delicious shivers over the rest of his body. Then the roughness was gone, and lube was massaged into Landyn's muscles - Hephaestus's finger, pressing then rubbing, pressing then rubbing again, pressing a bit harder…Landyn widened his legs as if that would help that moment of penetration come sooner.

Hephaestus never rushed. The worry that he might hurt his mate came through their bond often in those first few days they were together. As they got more used to each other, those worries were less, but still Hephaestus took his time. Another groan was wrenched from Landyn's chest as his mate's hand reached underneath him, cupping his balls before spreading fingers ran up the length of this cock.

"Not yet," Landyn panted and wiggled, as the need to climax hit him. "In me. In me."

The hand slid away, giving Landyn a moment of regret as his orgasm backed off a bit. But then a finger pressed against his hole. Landyn took long breaths, knowing it would relax those tight muscles that guarded his insides. As his mate's finger went in, Landyn was prepared for the automatic clench he knew his body would make. He breathed out, long and slow, loving how Hephaestus wouldn't move his finger until his body had relaxed its grip on it.

One finger became two, two became three. Landyn breathed into the stretch his body was getting used to. He leaned his side against Hephaestus's solid cock, inhaling deeply as the smell of his mate's arousal fell all around him. Eyes closed, Landyn felt the slide of Hephaestus's fingers out of his body before the blunt head of the toy was resting at his opening.

"Breathe out, sweetling." Hephaestus's voice had gotten to the raspy stage.

Resting his head on his mate's broad thigh, Landyn breathed out slowly as the toy was eased into his body.

Stretched muscles. Tingles inside and out. A sense of fullness that Landyn breathed into, knowing it would make it easier for his body to accept the toy. Hephaestus had explained early in their mating that he could've magicked Landyn's body into accepting his cock, but they both agreed they didn't want that. If his mate had used his power, then Landyn wouldn't be prone over Hephaestus's body now, feeling the heat of his mate's skin, hearing the god's harsh breathing, sensing the intense concentration and pleasure Landyn felt through their bond.

"Oh, gods yes." The pressure went on and on. The toy had small ridges, and Hephaestus had clearly taken the chill off whatever material it was made from. All of this, Landyn was aware of from a peripheral edge, but his focus was directly on his stretched out hole.

"It's in, sweetling." Hephaestus's hands rubbed his lower back and Landyn had a sudden mental image of the toy protruding like an extra lump on his spine. It felt that big. "Can you move?"

Landyn's brain was foggy with lust, and he didn't want to, but he knew the best bit was still to come. Reminding his arms and legs that they could still work, he moved around, gasping as he went to straddle Hephaestus's legs. "It's in so deep," he murmured, draping his arms over his mate's broad shoulders, resting on his knees. "So deep."

"It'll be me inside of you soon," Hephaestus promised as he bent his head for a kiss – one hand splayed across Landyn's shoulders, pressing their top halves together, the other one cupped around his butt. They moved in tandem, leaning, pressing against each other, their cocks nestled beside each other, slipping and sliding, searching for that friction.

Every tap of Hephaestus's finger against the toy sent a zap of electricity through Landyn's body – his need building so high his body ached with it.

"Come with me," Hephaestus murmured against his lips. Just a whisper really, but it was like a grip around Landyn's cock, demanding he come. Moaning against his mate's beard, Landyn's whole body pulsed as his balls unloaded, his spunk mixing with his mate's, mashing together, threatening to stick them together if Landyn didn't move.

But he couldn't. His arms and legs were noodles, and all Landyn could do was rest his head on Hephaestus's shoulder, the weight of the toy still tugging at his ass. "Love you," he said softly, kissing the skin closest to his lips. His mate would clean him up.

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Hephaestus was exhausted, but his mind wouldn't let him sleep. On one side, his brain was beating him up for being so stupid as to fall for the cyclops' tricks. Bronte had been right – he had been the one who would just get into his work and forget the rest of the world existed. That was on him.

Even while that was going on, another part of his brain was marveling over how lucky they were in life now Landyn was a part of it. Hephaestus glanced to the side where Landyn was curled into his body, a soft smile on his sweet lips, probably dreaming of tables full of food.

So trusting, and the way he cares about me...I've got to do better.

That last thought was because there was always a part of Hephaestus's mind that struggled to shake off the resentments he'd carried back when people cared about gods. Yes, his worshippers loved him. He was strong, skilled, and kind, and that couldn't be said for many of his kin. But he was never noted for heroic acts, men and women didn't swoon at his feet longing to carry his children…or whatever. Logic said the men couldn't carry the children back then, but one of the reasons Hephaestus disappeared under Mt. Olympus all those eons ago was because he was often shunned or mocked because of his lameness.

Something my sweet mate doesn't care about, and what's better, he doesn't ignore it either. He doesn't think less of me because of it, he just wishes I'd look after myself better… In his hugely long life there had never been a person who treated Hephaestus with such kindness.

Hephaestus thought of all the gifts he'd bought Landyn, pretty much from when they met. At the time he thought he was doing the right thing. Gift giving was expected if someone wanted to curry favor with someone important, and Landyn had been appreciative. But his mate's words - Can't you see how much I love you? Isn't that worth something to you? – Hephaestus closed his eyes, seeing the truth behind the words.

When Landyn spoke of how his ferret would pine for him, how they would spend an eternity of torment without him. How he was so blunt about how he'd hide in the Hephaestus's closet, not to spy on him, but to make sure he was all right. From the moment they'd met, Landyn had put him first.

I need to do the same for him. As Hephaestus thought it, he realized his relationship with Landyn was that simple – he needed to put Landyn first the way Landyn did for him because they were equals in their relationship. Bronte didn't see that, and originally Hephaestus hadn't either. Hephaestus hadn't plucked Landyn from the streets because Landyn's plight tugged at his heart strings like Bronte suggested. But he had been determined, as the god, to be responsible for his mate, and he had been up to a point.

Being equals, and in love with each other – that added a dimension to their relationship Hephaestus could barely believe was true, and yet he knew it was. No one had loved him before. He hadn't loved anyone else – typical god behavior in other words. Then Landyn came along and changed everything with a smile. Hephaestus fell asleep, thinking of all the places in the world he could take his mate, just so he could see the wonders he'd taken for granted through Landyn's eyes.