Page 15 of A Winter Courtship
“Harpy’s tits, boy! It’s a fucking rat! Now get up, wipe your face and snotty nose.” He’d grabbed the rat from Ulrich’s arms and flung it outside. “The world is tough. These mountains are tough. You need to be tough. So no useless tears over a bloody rat! I won’t see a son of mine behaving so pathetically.”
Ulrich’s muscles strained as he hammered.
Still, he was Ulrich’s father. He’d raised Ulrich, and Ulrich had no memory of his mother. His father was the only person, other than his brother, who had ever shown he’d cared about Ulrich. And his brother had left for Bordertown.
Now it was just him and his father.
But Lutoth saw Ulrich’s softness.My sweet, gentle giant.That was what Lutoth called him. He saw Ulrich’s care for Ethel, his need to care for a bird with an injured wing. He didn’t look down on Ulrich with disdain for his softness.
He called Ulrich pretty.
Him! Ulrich!
He called him pretty and wanted to court him. Like he was someone special. Someone deserving of such attention.
Lutoth didn’t care if Ulrich wasn’t some tough man. He didn’t care if Ulrich wanted to look after animals. And maybe it was all right for Ulrich to be called pretty and be courted by Lutoth and be treated like he was something precious.
His father wouldn’t think so. His chest twisted at the thought. His father would sneer and be disgusted by his weakness. “I didn’t raise you to be some weakling, boy,” his father would say. “I raised you to be tough.”
Tough like those men in Bordertown thought he was.
Sweat soaked the front of his shirt. He lifted the metal with the tongs and shoved it into the large bucket of water. It sizzled as the water quenched the metal. He panted as he wiped at his sweaty brows.
A voice cleared.
Ulrich looked up. Lutoth leaned against the door frame.
He looked like he wanted to devour Ulrich.
“Well, isn’t that a beautiful sight?”
ChapterTen
“Ibrought you today’s Solstice gift,” Lutoth said.
Ulrich’s face shone with exertion. His sweaty shirt clung to his thick chest and powerful shoulders.
Lutoth’s cock hardened at the sight. Lutoth stepped into the smithy, moving towards Ulrich.
“What is it?” Ulrich placed whatever he’d been forging on a table with his tools, his entire focus now on Lutoth.
“A necklace,” Lutoth said, holding it up.
“Like what women wear?” Ulrich asked, voice hard to read.
Lutoth raised an eyebrow. “This is what oreads wear, regardless of gender. I made it myself, especially for you. I thought it’d look nice on you.”
Ulrich swallowed.
“Can I put it on you?” Lutoth asked.
Ulrich nodded.
“You’ll need to take off your shirt,” Lutoth said.
Ulrich hesitated, but then his fingers reached for the hem. Lutoth’s fingers itched to help him undress, but he behaved himself and instead watched as Ulrich drew the shirt over his head, revealing his hairy chest, damp with sweat. His gaze flicked to Lutoth’s, as if he was nervous of what Lutoth thought.
Ulrich had nothing to worry about. Lutoth almost moaned at the sight. He desperately longed to reach out and touch Ulrich. To run fingers down his chest, twine them in the dark tufts of hair trailing below his belly button, and tug before shoving his hand down into Ulrich’s trousers and exploring the bulge there.
