Page 115 of Tell No Tales
"If you die, I could bring you back."
Klaus laughed, and nearly jumped out of his skin when Mewskers hopped onto his shoulder. Instead of lying between them, the kitten made his way to Vadim's pillow and curled up above their heads.
Vadim's eyes gleamed in the low light. "Yours is the smartest cat I've ever known."
"Why do you say that?" Klaus asked as Vadim loosened his robe and tugged his hip closer.
"He knew to stay out of our way."
Every time Vadim kissed him, Klaus felt his world shift from being a tiny speck in the universe to being the entire universe for one man. Now that Klaus knew he loved Vadim, and that Vadim loved him, every kiss consumed him and built him anew. He was nothing more than a vessel to contain his love for Vadim. He used his body in every way possible to show his love. Every kiss, every touch was a sign of worship for the man who had saved him from certain death and from his own insecurities.
Vadim had given him back his autonomy. He was no longer a navy seeker, tied to Coryn through a blood debt he never would have been able to pay. Now, their futures lay with their emperor and any alliances they could forge over the winter months. Come spring, they would take the fight for Embertide to Hearthstone.
For now, though, the best he could do was enjoy his time with Vadim, especially when the death weaver, always conscious of heat loss, tied their robes together around their naked bodies. Once again, Klaus explored every inch of Vadim, learning every raised and dimpled scar, every sensitive spot that made him moan, and places like the tip of his chin and the divot between his collar bones that caused him to suck in a breath and curse as his cock leaked precome. Where once Klaus had thought it the most taboo of fantasies to dream about the death weaver, he now easily lifted his leg over Vadim's to better align their cocks. Vadim took both of them in hand and found a rhythm. Klaus thrust in time with his movements and released his own litany of curses and blessings alike until he spilled over Vadim's hand. Instead of following him over the edge, Vadim brought his hand to his lips and licked it off, making lurid sounds that had Klaus's cock twitching with aftershocks.
Not to be outdone, Klaus dropped his hand between them and circled Vadim's leaking cock head with his palm before slicking back his foreskin and jacking him, slowly at first. Klaus wasn't familiar enough with his bearings in the sail bed to adjust his position and take Vadim in his mouth, so he brought his hand up, licking it in much the same way Vadim had cleaned his own.
When he returned his spit-slicked hand to Vadim's cock, it only took two more pulls before Vadim pressed his head to Klaus's shoulder and came with a muffled cry.
"I cannot wait to get you alone," Klaus whispered after he cleaned up his hand as best he could and licked the rest off Vadim's chest.
"We are alone, except for the cat."
"I mean alone where no one can hear us." Even in the academy dorm, they'd had to be quiet, lest Yvette and Nola heard them, or worse, the children. OnStarlight Specter,their crate was far too close to the crew's quarters in the hold and muffled only by a flimsy wood partition.
"My new house," Vadim promised. "We haven't given Petri much time to build it after everything Efren asked of them."
"If not, we can find a secluded spot on the beach."
Vadim grimaced, and Klaus laughed at how adorable he looked.
"There's too much sand on the beach," Vadim said. "It gets everywhere. That might work for Nola and Yvette, but I'm no water weaver."
"I'm kidding." Klaus kissed the tip of Vadim's nose and then tilted his head back to kiss him properly. Klaus loved how they tasted together, tangy and sweet with a hint of salt.
"I could kiss you all night," Vadim said.
"You could have been kissing me for the last two weeks, had you asked."
"I'm sorry." Vadim wiped the remaining stickiness from them with a handkerchief, and Klaus laughed. Only Vadim would keep a handkerchief in the pocket of his robe.
"I also have oil for later, when you're ready to go again."
Klaus shook his head. "I love you so much, you fool."
"I may be a fool, but I'm your fool." Vadim kissed both of his cheeks. "And I love you." Vadim's tongue was warm and wet inside Klaus's mouth. He'd worried kissing a death weaver would be like kissing a corpse, on one of those first nights he'd laid awake fantasizing about Vadim. He was so much more than a death weaver. He was a pirate, a man of principle, and a family man, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He was an orphan, and his aunt by blood was a horrible bitch, but Vadim had forged his own family with Emperor Hesse, with the crew ofStarlight Specter,and with the young earth weaver they'd met at the academy.
As Klaus was drifting off to sleep, a thought brought him back to full awareness, and he shook Vadim awake, too.
"Do we need to be married to adopt a child on Aquarion?"
Chapter 28
Vadim
Since they weren't pursuing any naval ships while they had the emperor aboard, Stan had made good use of the space in the true hold. With plenty of spare wood to draw from along the shores of the Embertide mainland, Stan had built another wooden partition to section off Hugo's quarters. Then, he'd slung sail beds for the three children and one for Yvette and Nola to share. Yvette kept a close eye on Trin and let Vadim know when she was well enough for a tour of the ship.
The two air weavers were much better off. Coryn hadn't used her power on them, nor had they fallen unconscious. They were ready to take the afternoon shift between Niall and Milton's morning shift and Stan and Tovey's night shift already. Vadim had yet to offer his services to navigate for a third of the day. Perhaps if he had Trin by his side, Efren would ease up on him a little.
