Hen nodded. “I felt guilty for a little while. About thinking about it. About feeling so good, wanting to feel so good. The world’s falling apart.”
“All the more reason to allow yourself something good.” Dagan kissed the tip of Hen’s nose. He had never been prouder of himself, happier to have someone dream of him, than he was right here and now. “But I understand. Don’t rush yourself, darling. I’ve got you.”
“Do you want me, Dagan?” The question quavered in the few inches between them, delicate as a hummingbird.
“You must know I do. Almost from the moment we met.” Dagan leaned his forehead against Hen’s, his forearms on Hen’s thighs. “But I thought it might be something for the distant future. Not for today.”
“And if I want it today?”
“It’s yours,” Dagan whispered, throat raw. “But again, I beg you, don’t rush yourself. For both our sakes. I couldn’t bear being a mistake. Not for you.”
He hadn’t realized that feeling was there until it popped out of his mouth. There it was, sharp and jagged but still heart-shaped. He’d made many mistakes. He’d been many mistakes. But for Hendrik, still broken-hearted and lost, to think of him as such would be too much even for his slutty little heart.
“You couldn’t be.” Hen tilted again, mouth finding Dagan’s once more. It went deeper this time, and he reached down for Dagan’s hips, pulling him upward.
Dagan came gladly, crawling into Hen’s lap so he straddled it, legs wrapped loosely around Hendrik’s middle, ass firmly planted on Hen’s thick thighs. He didn’t scoot all the way forward, didn’t try to angle against Hen’s prick or get any pressure on his own. He just kissed him, ruffling his hair and exploring his mouth for long, lingering moments. Hen kept hold of his hips at first, fingers warm and searching as they slipped beneath his shirt to press into his waist.
“You feel so good,” Hendrik muttered against his lips. “Better than the dream, even.”
Overwhelmed by this pronouncement, Dagan kissed him again, sucking gently when Hen’s tongue was offered. The kiss lasted even longer, this time, the slick sensation sending a jolt of heat through Dagan’s body and directly into his prick. Hendrik’s hands roamed upward beneath his shirt, appreciative, but quick. As if Dagan might disappear soon.
Hendrik closed off that kiss and brushed his lips against Dagan’s jaw. Then his neck, that sweet spot just beneath his ear. He sucked, then licked at the spot, and Dagan shivered in his arms.
“You taste good, too.” Hendrik smiled against his throat, kissed it once more, then looked up. “Is this okay?”
“It’s divine,” Dagan assured him with a low, breathy chuckle. “I’m happy to follow your lead, darling.”
Hendrik smiled, all the sweeter for his lips being extra pink and puffy. “I just want to kiss you. Hold you. For a while.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
“Well, I can think of a few things.” Hendrik’s grin turned positively wicked. “But it’s a good place to start, anyhow.”
As Dagan laughed, Hendrik wrapped both arms around him and pulled him forward, so the inside of Dagan’s thighs pressed tight into his middle. Dagan bit down to keep from groaning at the sudden pressure against his swollen cock, held fast against his leg and Hendrik’s hip.
“Okay?” Hendrik whispered.
“Perfect,” Dagan assured him, rubbing his nose against Hen’s and giving a little hum of approval.
Hendrik tilted his face once more, and this time they kissed hard and fast enough that the edges of their teeth bit into lips briefly. Dagan huffed as the lick of pain registered in his prick as pleasure, and Hendrik smiled into his mouth as if he knew.
And then, someone knocked on the door.
Hendrik groaned and pressed his forehead into Dagan’s.
Dagan turned his face toward the door and yelled, “Go away!” with his voice an octave lower than usual.
“Sorry, Dags, but there’s some refugees on the way from Oak Grove,” came Innan’s voice from outside. “They’re coming to see the Council now.”
“We’ll see them later!” he all-but-whined.
Hendrik gave a deep sigh of resignation, though.
They replied, “Your call, but they want you now!”
Dagan buried his face in Hen’s neck, palms flat against his chest. He was so looking forward to feeling these tits up, too. “Ugh.”
“You’re sure Innan isn’t interested in you? Because their timing really needs work.” Hendrik laughed breathlessly.
“Fuck,” Dagan said decisively, pushing himself off Hendrik’s chest enough to look him in the eye. “We should go. Just…fuck.”
Hendrik cupped the back of Dagan’s head and pulled him forward, kissing him one more time with an intensity that had not suffered in the least from the interruption. Dagan shivered again as Hen stroked his hair, all the way down his braid. He allowed himself to be kissed completely senseless, though it wasn’t doing his prick any favors, and took just one long, beautiful, perfect moment to appreciate the way this felt. The urgency and curiosity in Hendrik that precisely mirrored his own.
But as they pulled themselves apart, laughing a little shyly, smiling secretly, it was the words Dagan kept going back to, in his mind. Hendrik’s seductive words, calling him beautiful for all the things he struggled to love about himself.
Chapter 2: Wildcrafter Settlement, Heart Wood
“Not to be rude,” Dagan snapped, of course fully intending to be rude, “but I was about to spend a lovely evening making out with that beautiful man, and I’m not happy about the interruption.”
They sat in the busy winery hall, on the far side of the screen. The Council had called Hendrik in first, alone, and he’d gone with a wary look in Dagan’s direction.
Innan’s gingery eyebrows were high. “You haven’t already? I assumed you’d fucked his brains out at least once or twice.”
“No!” Dagan accepted a cup of cider from a server, hoping it was strong, and shot Innan what he hoped was a withering look. “I was escorting him!”
“Oh, right. I forgot about that. Thanks,” they told the serving girl. “Sorry, just, the way he was looking at you, it seemed like he’d already had you and was thirsty for more.”
Suddenly Dagan was slightly less irritated, if no less horny. “Really?”
