A Love Like Fire: High Fantasy M/M Romance (Juxtan Book 1) Read online

  "Since you've done it all before," Caledon murmured in a throaty purr against Hadrian's cheek, "you won't mind if I do this."

  Caledon leaned back and kissed him.

  Kissed. Never before in his life and never again would it be like this. Hadrian knew it in his soul. He whimpered, not caring that it revealed his inexperience or his need and desperation. This was magickal. He had never dreamed a kiss could be so soft and gentle that it left him quivering. Lips coaxed his own and, utterly trusting, he opened to Caledon, allowing a wet tongue to slip forward and enter his mouth in an intimate joining.

  Hadrian moaned at the tender invasion. He lost the strength to stand. Caledon caught him and pressed him back against Isa. Even the great horse's immense heartbeat could not drown out the one stampeding wildly in Hadrian's chest. His senses spun. He could hardly breathe. It was almost frightening how quickly and completely he was losing control of his body and yet it was exciting. To give in to Caledon's knowledgeable caresses, to surrender himself to the other man's confidence, knowing that he was being led to a wondrous place...Never let this end, Hadrian thought dizzily. Never.

  Caledon's tongue stroked over his. It pumped across that wet flesh in an elemental rhythm that made Hadrian tighten his legs around a raging, pulsing need. Timidly, Hadrian let his tongue entangle with the other man's and at that first, tentative foray Caledon moaned into his mouth. Hadrian nearly exploded at the sound. Caledon's passion. For him. Because of him. Hadrian's own moan eclipsed the other man's as he clutched helplessly at the back of Caledon's neck. He was so weak he feared he might collapse.

  Caledon tore his mouth away from his to whisper, "Breathe, love. Breathe. I've got you." The hands around Hadrian's waist stroked him comfortingly. "You're doing fine, Hadrian. You're beautiful... so beautiful like this."

  "Caledon," Hadrian panted. "I've never―this is..." He couldn't finish the thought. There were no words to describe what he felt.

  "I know, love, gods do I know." Caledon made a sound that to Hadrian's muddled senses sounded like quiet laughter. "Who would've believed it'd be like this, eh?" So low Hadrian almost missed it, the mercenary breathed, "Who could've guessed?"

  Then he was back to kissing Hadrian and there was no room left in Hadrian's consciousness for anything else. He held Caledon more boldly now, urging their mouths to mate more tightly. He wanted to climb into Caledon. He wanted to merge with the mercenary so that all Hadrian felt for the rest of his life was this.

  All of the blood, all of the nerves in Hadrian's body collected in his mouth and in his groin. He didn't think it could get any better. It was impossible. But Caledon proved him wrong. One of the mercenary's hands slid from around his back. Hadrian was suddenly as sharply aware of the placement of that hand as he would have been a knife at his throat. As Caledon continued to plunder Hadrian's mouth, the mercenary's hand slid down the front of Hadrian's stomach. Hadrian opened his eyes. His breath stuttered. He suddenly knew another way in which this could be better. But would Caledon dare?

  He would. Hadrian cried out against Caledon’s lips when the mercenary’s hot palm cupped him through his breeches. Skilled fingers curled around his swollen length, making Hadrian push forward mindlessly, moaning. Oh, gods, oh, gods, oh, gods. He clenched his eyes shut, no longer able to kiss Caledon back as passion flooded his system. Caledon rubbed him through the cloth, making him grow hotter, harder, until Hadrian was only standing because Caledon held him up.

  "That's it, Hadrian. Let go for me. Feel it."

  I could die right now.

  It was becoming too much. Caledon was kissing his slack lips, murmuring endearments. Hadrian thought his entire body might burst from the too-powerful sensations drowning him. It was beginning to resemble pain. Then Caledon pulled his hand away.

  "No..." Hadrian gasped, opening his eyes.

  Caledon smiled down at him, looking pleased. Hadrian found slight comfort in the mercenary's swift breathing. He wasn’t alone in feeling overwhelmed.

  "I need to slow you down, love. You're like a wild horse, running loose." Caledon bent and brushed his lips over Hadrian's. "But don't worry. I'm more than up to the challenge of taming you. We've a long night ahead of us, love. This is only the beginning."

  Hadrian shuddered at the words. He let his eyes drift shut as Caledon met his mouth again. Only the beginning. Even if Caledon's words failed to be true it wouldn't matter. Caledon had already shown him enough wonders to last his lifetime.

  In the darkness of the stables, with the aromas of hay and horse sharpening his senses and Isa chuffing softly behind him, Hadrian returned Caledon's kiss eagerly. He would never forget this night. When he returned to Shard's Point Isle and found himself once again walking the cold, somber halls of the castle, he would pull out this memory and relive it. Because tonight Caledon had shown him that there was another means of summoning magick beyond that which he had been taught. There was the magick to be found in a kiss.

  Chapter Three

  He could see now that he had erred when he had first tried to label Hadrian.

  Caledon had been fascinated by the other man's apparent inexperience and naiveté. But the truth seemed more incredible. Hadrian was untouched―untouched by affection, untouched by desire. How this had come to be, Caledon couldn't imagine. But he knew it to be true. He felt it in his bones.

  Nothing else could explain why Hadrian literally melted beneath his caresses. Every touch Caledon made upon the younger man's skin left Hadrian trembling and breathless. Why has no one done this before me? Caledon wondered as he eased open the stall door with his free arm wrapped firmly about Hadrian's back.

  He should simply be grateful that it was he who had been the one to find Hadrian first. That was what his self-serving side told him. But a deeper, more empathetic part of him was saddened by the discovery. Everyone deserved the comforts of touch, of affection. Why hadn't anyone offered those things to Hadrian?

  Caledon's body urged him to ignore the mystery. He wasn't trying to develop a permanent relationship with the other man. Hadrian would be gone in a few days. This would be but an interlude for them both.

  Even so, Caledon vowed to make it something worth remembering.

  He had managed to back Hadrian to the shaky ladder that led to the loft, but now necessity required that he break off the kiss that was currently stealing his breath. For someone who was being taught the basics by the minute, Hadrian was proving to be an admirably quick learner. Caledon wasn't surprised. Within the swirling gray depths of Hadrian's eyes lurked a passion that did not know itself. All it needed was an introduction.

  He regretfully eased out of the kiss and cupped Hadrian's chin, tilting his face up. Caledon nearly groaned with desire for the other man. With cheeks flushed and dark lashes shuttering the silver of his gaze, Hadrian was a temptation few would be able to resist. Looking down at him, Caledon wondered why he was trying to. Oh, yes. The loft.

  "Will you come with me up there?" he asked gently. This was an important turning point and he didn't want to scare Hadrian off.

  Hadrian blinked as though trying to clear a fog from his vision. "Up there?" he repeated, uncomprehending.

  "I've a blanket up there," Caledon explained, feeling a bit of a lecher as he admitted to having anticipated Hadrian's company. "We can relax and look up at the stars."

  "Alright," Hadrian agreed immediately.

  He has no idea, Caledon thought. But he noticed that Hadrian's hand on the ladder was less than steady as he pulled himself up. Did he suspect after all?

  With sweating hands and a pulse that roared beneath his skin, Caledon followed Hadrian up the ladder. True to his word, Caledon had laid a thick blanket over the loose mounds of hay, providing them with a comfortable place to recline. He recognized the self-consciousness that made Hadrian's movements stiff as he kneeled atop the blanket. The wave of affection that swept through Caledon was a surprise to him.

  He'd placed the blanket before the large opening in the stabl
e wall where new hay was hauled up from the outside. It provided them with a portrait-like, framed view of the town stretched before them, and of the night sky twinkling above it.

  "This is nice," Hadrian said quietly. He turned from admiring the view outside, his eyes going suddenly round as he looked up at Caledon.

  The mercenary smiled as he stripped off his tunic and let it drop to the straw. He could tell that Hadrian was shy, but his hunger was great. His attention swept over Caledon’s torso, taking in his chest and the flat plane of his abdomen, lingering at the mound that had formed at his groin. Like what you see, Hadrian? The quick flick of a tongue across rosy lips said that Hadrian did.

  Still watching his reactions, Caledon dropped his hands to the ties of his breeches. He hesitated for half a beat, waiting to see if Hadrian would protest this sudden escalation of their intimacy. Though he blushed furiously and his hands curled into fists upon his thighs, Hadrian said nothing, eyes riveted almost helplessly to Caledon’s hands.

  Hadrian wanted him so badly he didn't know how to say it. The thought made Caledon grow harder with need. It made things a bit more difficult when it came time to draw his breeches over his hips. There was a significant protuberance he had to overcome first. But once past his hips he swiftly stripped the garment off, drawing his boots long with it.

  "This is what you do to me," Caledon said in a voice not his own. Hadrian's eyes darted to the mercenary's face then to the proudly arcing flesh that rose from between his thighs. Already reddened cheeks grew brighter with color. "My body finds you desirable, Hadrian. It wants to find pleasure with you. Can you understand that?"

  Hesitantly, Hadrian nodded. "I can. I-I feel that way about you as well. Only, I don't know how to...how to answer that need."

  Caledon savored the answer. It made him smile as he dropped to one knee on the blanket beside Hadrian. His smile faded somewhat when Hadrian shied away at his approach.

  "It's alright. We’ll go slow. Would you like to touch me?"

  With a visible gathering of nerves, Hadrian leaned forward, reaching out to touch Caledon's bare chest with his fingertips. The mercenary bit back a groan as slender fingers delicately explored his skin.

  "You’re scarred," Hadrian whispered. He frowned slightly, as though he thought the injuries still caused pain.

  "I’m a mercenary," Caledon reminded him, reaching up to do his own exploring. He threaded his fingers through Hadrian’s hair. "Will you do something with me?"

  Hadrian nodded, his trust bleeding from every pore.

  Thank the gods I found him first.

  He pressed a kiss to the corner of Hadrian's mouth, feeling his lips part for him automatically. "Will you show yourself to me, Hadrian?" He took a pale hand and pressed it to his own chest, sliding it over the hard pebble of a nipple. When the hand trembled within his grip, he slid it lower, down his stomach to rest on the taut skin just below his navel. "So I may feel you just as you’re feeling me? Please?"

  Hadrian panted against his cheek. "I suppose that’s only fair."

  Caledon held back his smile as he released Hadrian’s hand. “Thank you, love.”

  After taking a few moments to himself, Hadrian turned his body slightly away. He stole a glance back over his shoulder as if to make certain Caledon wouldn't pounce on him, before fumbling with the broach on his cloak and finally removing it. Caledon tugged the cloak away and tossed it to the growing pile of garments.

  "Now the tunic," he urged softly.

  Hadrian took an audible breath before pulling the thick cloth and his undertunic up his chest and over his head. Caledon sighed in contentment at what was revealed. Hadrian was as beautiful as he'd imagined. He wasn’t feminine. His shoulders were broad, his waist straight and narrow. Pale, porcelain skin covered a slender musculature that hinted at a lean strength. Hadrian was all grace and sleekness. Caledon appreciated his physique with a connoisseur's eye for beautiful human beings.

  "I'm not like you," Hadrian was saying, eyeing the mercenary nervously. He started to wrap his arms around himself but then stopped and let them hang. "I'm not strong like you or―"

  "I'm glad," Caledon interrupted. "I don't want you to be those things. I want you to be just as you are. We fit together better this way." A faint, grateful smile touched the corners of Hadrian's mouth. Caledon returned it. "Keep going, Hadrian. You're doing fine."

  Nodding, once again visibly nervous, Hadrian plucked at the ties on his breeches. Anticipation was killing Caledon, but he forced his expression to be one of patient understanding. His body couldn't say the same. By the time Hadrian had managed to wiggle his way out of his breeches and boots and set them aside, Caledon's cock was rock hard and weeping with need. He was granted a brief glimpse of pale, tightly rounded buttocks before Hadrian flopped onto his back on the blanket, hands cupped over his groin. The glimpse of his arse was enough to make Caledon salivate. As for his view of the other―

  "Move your hands, love," he gently coaxed. "Everything I've seen of you is beautiful. You don't need to hide from me."

  Staring up at the rafters with his lips pinched shut, Hadrian lowered his hands to the blanket. Moonlight slanted over his body, caressing the column of pink flesh that curved outward from within a dark shadow. The tip of that smooth flesh glistened with the proof of Hadrian's excitement. He wasn’t as large as the mercenary, but proportionally he was perfect. Caledon licked his lips, amazed that he hadn't already thrown himself atop Hadrian and ravished him.

  "Oh, love," he breathed as he admired him. "You had nothing to worry about. You're what I’d hoped you’d be."

  Skeptical gray eyes slid to him.

  "Believe me. You're exactly what I want," Caledon assured him. He laughed at himself. "In fact, you're more than I expected. I’m more overwhelmed than I’d prefer to admit."

  Something that looked like hope, which tore Caledon's insides to see, sparkled in Hadrian's eyes. "You find me attractive, then? You still want to be with me?"

  "Mmm, let me show you how much." Moving more quickly than he knew he should, but unable to restrain himself any longer now that Hadrian was naked in front of him, Caledon brushed the back of his fingers across Hadrian’s collarbones. It was a light, barely-there touch, but Hadrian shut his eyes and sighed, his head falling back slightly.

  Encouraged by the response, Caledon drew his hand lower, grazing a small, strawberry-tinted nipple. This time Hadrian's eyes shot open, his lips parting in surprise as Caledon lightly pinched the tiny nub. Caledon noted the gratifying reaction lower down Hadrian's body.

  "Did that feel good?" he whispered.

  Hadrian nodded, gripping the blanket. "Do it again. Please."

  Grinning, Caledon turned his attention to the other nipple and circled the aureole with a fingertip. Round and round he circled, watching the flesh pucker in agitation. Before Hadrian could guess at his intention, Caledon swooped down and sucked the nipple between his lips.

  Hadrian grabbed Caledon's hair as his shocked cry reverberated through the loft. This one is going to make noise, he thought with satisfaction. He sucked delicately on the pebble of flesh and lapped at it with his tongue. He could feel movement on the blanket and knew without looking that Hadrian was already moving his hips, blindly searching for friction. So quick, so eager. Caledon's cock throbbed with impatience.

  When he finally raised his head, satisfied that he had left Hadrian's skin sensitive to the touch, Hadrian’s silver eyes were shining. "May I touch you, too?" Hadrian asked. He sat up and shyly peered at Caledon’s groin.

  "I'd like nothing better," Caledon replied, sitting back. He waited, curious to see how Hadrian would summon his courage, and nearly exploded when Hadrian simply took hold of him and squeezed. Caledon bucked. "Gods, Hadrian, you're bold!"

  Hadrian yanked his hand back, his eyes as round as coins. "I'm sorry!"

  Caledon caught his wrist. "No," he said hoarsely, "don't stop. This is more than I was hoping for; don't tease me by drawing away now."
/>   Swallowing hard, Hadrian allowed the mercenary to tug his hand back to the stiff flesh jutting from between his thighs. Caledon let his eyelids fall nearly shut as the other man gingerly explored him from base to tip. It was torture, it truly was, but Caledon would sooner impale himself on his own blade than discourage Hadrian from what he was doing. It was just enough sensation to make his flesh lengthen and harden further. It was light enough to leave Caledon all but twisting on the blanket in need of more. When the soft caresses grew too much to endure, he reached between their bodies and took careful hold of Hadrian's erection to provide an example of what he liked.

  The reaction to his first firm strokes was instant and gratifying. Hadrian's eyes rolled up into his head and his hands fell slack to the blanket as he collapsed backwards. A red flush drifted up his throat and lingered on his cheeks as he lay gasping for breath. Grinning, Caledon leaned over him, stroking him firmly, watching him experience the wonders of another's hand upon his most intimate flesh, apparently for the first time.

  "It feels better like this, doesn't it?" he murmured, watching as Hadrian writhed beneath him. Hadrian’s thighs fell open on the blanket in unconscious offering and Caledon had to fight the nearly violent urge to dive between those long thighs and thrust himself into the tight body with all his might.

  But he couldn't do that, not even if Hadrian by some miracle begged it of him. Caledon forced himself to remember who this was beneath him. This was his untouched jewel of Rhiad. He wouldn't dare crack its surface with so barbaric a joining. This one required a bit of finesse. Caledon could only hope he had the fortitude for the job.

  "Hadrian, love," he murmured, burying his face in the spill of dark hair that lay across pale shoulders, "do you want me to show you more?"

  Blind eyes opened with effort. "More?"

  "There are ways for men to find pleasure with each other besides this." Caledon rubbed his thumb across the slick tip of Hadrian's erection, simply so he could watch him shudder. "I promise you it feels much, much better than what we've done thus far."