Page 63 of Beyond the Storm
I sensed my brothers poking around in my mind. They were curious, and rightly so.
“I am well,”I told them after opening a link between the eight of us.“Stop fretting over me. I am preoccupied at the moment.”
“Oh, we know,”Castor responded.“Your feelings are so strong we can’t help but feel it.”
“You are not the only one preoccupied,”Bellamy said.“This warrior feels incredible around my cock. His moans are precious.”
“I could’ve lived the rest of my life without hearing that,”Castor said.
As they continued to bicker, I shoved their voices to the back of my mind and focused on Elasus. His lips returned to mine, and we kissed, alternating between hard presses and soft ones. His tongue dipped into my mouth, and my body ignited at the silky taste of him.
“I’ve just spoken to Lazarus outside the camp,”Alastair told us.“He agrees that you have all earned a short reprieve. So enjoy yourselves tonight. We leave at first light.”
Pain burrowed in my chest, hitting me so sharply I whimpered.
One night. That was all Elasus and I could ever have. I had finally found someone who filled the hollow place inside me. And with the rising of the sun, I would have to let him go.
“Kallias?” Elasus cupped my cheek. “Why are you—”
I captured his lips in another kiss. How could I explain to him in a way he’d understand? Better to say nothing at all. We might’ve lived similar lives as warriors, but we came from different worlds. Worlds that might briefly collide but never fully unite.
“You and I are all that exist tonight,” I told him.
“Only for tonight?” Elasus whispered against my lips.
Perhaps explaining would be easier than I’d assumed. I didn’t need to give a reason. He was a warrior and had a duty to his home, just as I had one to my brothers and our mission to defeat Lucifer.
Although my heart was cracking, I spoke the one word that would leave no doubt in his mind—or mine. “Yes.”
He held my gaze, saying nothing. He didn’t need to. I saw the understanding in his brown eyes. Softer than before, he kissed me again. The light joining of our lips felt like a goodbye not yet spoken.
As we kissed, Elasus guided me to the grass and settled on top of me. The gentle current of the river mingled with the distant voices of the soldiers. Smells filled the air from the cooking pits, but only one scent mattered to me. His.
Desire stirred in me for the first time. Heat gathered low in my belly, and my cock swelled. I groaned as Elasus lowered his face to my neck and sucked hard. The sting lasted only a moment before he transitioned to tender kisses. My heart pounded in my chest like the charging of warriors into battle, heavy and quick.
“I…” My fingertips dug into the tops of his shoulders as he lay between my legs, pressing his hard cock to mine. “I have never…”
Elasus lifted his head to meet my gaze. “Never what?”
“Done this.” The confession made me avert my eyes to his chest. I was too embarrassed. “Lain with someone.”
“Neither have I.”
My gaze darted back to his. “You jest.”
He breathed out a short laugh. “I assure you that I speak the truth. I’ve never taken a lover. You were the first to know my kiss as well.”
“My lips have only known yours.”
Elasus caressed my jaw. “It is a relief that you share my inexperience. The thought of anyone else knowing your touch sets my blood on fire.”
“As does the thought of anyone knowing yours,” I said, throat tight. The sudden burning in my eyes caused my vision to blur, distorting his handsome features. I wasn’t certain if the intensity of my feelings came from inexperience or something more, but everything about him consumed me. “Will you make love to me, Elasus?”
He smoothed his thumb along the corner of my eye, catching a tear that had slipped free. And then he kissed me. That was when I felt the quaking of his chin.
Elasus had been trained to live and die for Sparta above all else, to toss aside all emotion and harden himself to the world. I had been taught the same. Emotions led to vulnerability, and vulnerability had no place on a battlefield. Yet, he trembled in my arms, just as I did in his. Two warriors stripped of individuality long ago, now overtaken by an indescribable urge to lay claim to each other. To take something for ourselves.
“Kallias? You make me feel too,” he murmured against my cheek. “I want to sink deep inside you and stay there until the end of our days. But even then, it wouldn’t be close enough. Do you think me mad for speaking such things?”
