Page 125 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

Nodding, Perian admitted, “It was definitely harder once Father died. It had always been the two of us against the world, and then it was just… me. I could still do everything we’d done, but it would never be quite the same because it was just a ‘me’ instead of a ‘we.’”

Carefully, Brannal proposed, “Maybe the two of us could be a ‘we’ there?”

Perian swallowed the unexpected lump in his throat. “I’d like that very much.”

They continued to eat and chat, the conversation meandering and completely non-urgent, lapsing into silence sometimes and then picking up again. It was almost like an afternoon where everything else had been set aside, and it was just the two of them on this blanket where nothing else existed.

Perian was very grateful for it. He also loved the shift when his—honestly, completely accidental!—licking of his fingers to get some jam off resulted in Brannal stripping him out of his clothing so he was stark naked under the bright sun in the beautiful meadow. Brannal undressed too, removing his clothing and his weapons, placing them carefully to the side so he could still reach them but so he was completely unencumbered to settle over Perian and kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.

Stretched out beneath Brannal on that blanket, feeling the warm skin and the soft kisses and the hungry touches, it was everything Perian wanted in the world. Then Brannal rolled again, and he was on the bottom now, urging Perian to ride him.

There was something so decadent about sliding down on Brannal’s cock, feeling it fill him as the sun shone brightly down on them and the wind whispered. It was so open and peaceful and happy. Perian looked down at Brannal, laid out beneath him. Perian had pulled out Brannal’s hair tie at some point, and it was haloed around him, shiny strands dark but catching the light. Brannal was looking up at Perian with an expression he was pretty sure he could put a name to—and maybe he was allowed now, because they’d both said it, they’d told one another how they felt, and this definitely didn’t look like simple lust or pleasure.

This looked likemore, and Perian was fast becoming addicted tomorewhen it came to this wonderful man. Brannal’s hands were gripping his hips, but Perian was the one controlling their speed, deciding just how fast they could come or if he was going to try to drag this out endlessly, because he never wanted the moment to end.

He’d found the position where Brannal brushed against his pleasure spot every time Perian slid down his shaft. Every whimper from him made Brannal smile.

“I love you,” Perian said, the words spilling out because his heart felt so full he couldn’t contain all his feelings anymore.

Brannal’s smile deepened, his fingers tightening on Perian’s hips. “I love you, too.”

Perian didn’t think anything could topthis moment.

He sped up his thrusts, soon bouncing on Brannal’s cock to the delightful accompaniment of his moans of pleasure. They came with joint cries of ecstasy, the emotion clear on Brannal’s face, mouth open, neck arched, eyes closed, no care in the world for who might have just heard them.

Perian slumped down on top of Brannal, who promptly wrapped an arm around him. To Perian’s surprise, he didn’t quickly make sounds about them needing to put clothing back on. Instead, they dozed briefly, the sun keeping them warm.

When Perian woke, Brannal used those lovely long arms to reach their food and offer Perian things he could pop into his mouth. Probably predictably, given that Perian was involved, this led to sucking on fingers, and this led to Brannal putting those fingers to good use as he sucked Perian off and then fucked him again, this time entirely in charge and driving himself to orgasm that Perian got to watch from his position on his back on the blanket. Brannal shone, the sun a true halo behind him, dazzling and perfect.

Eventually, they piled the dishes and remaining crumbs of food into the basket, cleaned themselves up as best they could—Perian had gotten rather smeared with food at some point—and dressed once more. Perian tried to pout when Brannal was all covered up, but he couldn’t keep it up.

Brannal raised an eyebrow.

“I love you naked, but then I love you dressed like a powerful Mage Warrior, too, so I can’t really complain.”

Brannal laughed and leaned in to press a kiss to Perian’s lips.

“You always look extremely fetching as well. When you’re wearing clothes, I can think of all the ways I want to get you out of them.”

Perian let out a crow of laughter. “Yes, exactly! You don’t know the number of times I’ve undressed you with my mind.”

Brannal was smiling. “Oh, I think I have a fairly good idea.”

They finally rose to their feet, folded up the blanket, and added it to the now nearly empty basket. Perian felt a little bit of melancholy now that the picnic was suddenly over, and Brannal must have picked up on his mood because he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Perian’s lips.

“Thank you,” he said. “This was wonderful.”

Perian tried to shake off the sadness. “You’re right. It really was.”

Brannal held out his hand, and Perian happily twined their fingers together so they could make their way back to the inn.

Perian was maybe a little exuberant in his thanks to the innkeeper for the perfect picnic, but the woman looked very pleased. After a moment, she ventured, “And perhaps you’d like the bath prepared?”

Perian looked at Brannal. He reached out and brushed a finger across Perian’s cheek. “I’m not totally sure what that is. And your hair is… artful.”

Perian could only laugh.

“Oh, dear. Then yes, please, we could clearly benefit from the bath!”

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