Bee Among the Clover (283 page)

He didn’t want to leave Aron. He wanted to stay by his side forever and care for him as Aron had done for him while they were still under Wulfgar’s hall. What was the difference? Either way, free or not free, he’d be with the man he loved. Why even consider running because Aron hadn’t given him his freedom when doing so would only break both of their hearts? Aron loved him. He’d proved it over and over, no more so than today when he’d taken him from Wulfgar’s hall, when he’d returned Roman’s journal. How could he even consider it?
Because it would forever taint the beautiful relationship they’d somehow discovered amidst the upheaval of the past year. He couldn’t stand to watch their love die a slow death, poisoned from within by lies and mistrust. Better to have it over and done with quickly.
Sweet Jesu, please let him be true to what he said.
Roman tried to express his thoughts and emotions in his touch, in his kiss. Now he thought he understood why they always sought to show such things through touch. At times like this, words were inadequate, but maybe he could show Aron. He wasn’t going to focus on the problems. Not now. The worry would still be there to examine when he was more coherent and Aron wasn’t making love to him. All he wanted was to revel in this love they shared and not let his insecurities and doubts ruin what was supposed to be a beautiful night for them both.
They finished undressing each other, taking the time to observe each response in the flickering firelight. Roman ran wondering hands over the curve of Aron’s ribs, following the line of his body down to his strong thighs. His lover looked at him with clear eyes, not darkened by shadows from the last year. He was so beautiful, in body and spirit, unlike the scars that marred Roman’s soul. Roman pressed his lips to Aron’s shoulder, his eyes closing, savoring Aron’s nearness.
Aron’s body covered his own, warm and comforting. He loved Aron’s weight pressing on him, loved the way he smelled. His scent was stronger this evening after they’d spent the entirety of the day outside in the sun, and he drank it all in. Aron’s cock was hard against his thigh, and he arched against it, pressing harder with a low groan, his own cock responding with a throb. Aron shifted between his thighs, and Roman gasped as their cocks brushed together.
“You set me on fire, Aron,” Roman murmured, meeting Aron’s eyes in the half-dark and shadows.
Aron smiled in response. “I haven’t even started, darkling.”
Aron pressed a gentle, tender kiss to Roman’s lips, savoring the sensation of his darkling beneath him, the sweet warmth of him, the liquid strength of his slim, lean body, the smell of him, sweet and heady, spicy with a hint of sweat, but so beautiful to Aron. He wanted to love every inch of him from head to toe and everywhere in between. He wanted to taste him and feel him and hear Roman calling out his name as loudly as he pleased with no fear anyone would overhear them and tear them apart.
One hand brushed back the dark tangle of Roman’s hair, twining his fingers through it, fingers rubbing the silky strands. He had such beautiful hair, a mass of thick, inky waves. He was suddenly filled with a vision of Roman spread out on a bed of clover, his hair stark against a blanket of the tiny white flowers, sun shining down on him. He wondered if Rome had clover.
Roman’s leg slide up alongside Aron’s, his darkling’s toes tracing an imaginary line up from his calves to the small of his back and then back down again. Roman’s hands mapped out the contours of his shoulders, his back, searching out the spots Roman had learned made him tremble.
Roman’s mouth was hot on his neck, and his darkling’s soft sounds of pleasure as he feasted on him were making Aron lightheaded. Then Roman’s mouth dipped lower, and Aron hissed as he felt the playful bite on his nipple, the shock sending a jolt of pure pleasure through his body before Roman’s tongue flickered out to soothe the sting.
Aron slid his hand between their bodies, laid it across Roman’s flat stomach, his fingers caressing the dip of his navel before moving lower to cup Roman’s balls, rolling them gently in his palm. He stared down at the unabashed pleasure on Roman’s face as he arched into his touch.
His darkling was so sensitive, so responsive, and he knew it wasn’t just because he was a trained pleasure slave. Roman himself was the most sensual creature he’d ever known. His darkling could turn anything, something as simple as drawing breath, into a study in the erotic. Was it any wonder so many craved him, so many coveted him, and why Aron was so protective of him? That kind of beauty, that kind of allure, was dangerous in a world such as theirs.
Aron let his fingers caress the soft skin of his balls for a moment before a single finger slipped back a bit to stroke over Roman’s entrance. He watched, enthralled, as Roman gasped and his soft lips parted, his eyes darkening even more with pleasure.
He shook his head. “Marcus, you steal my breath. My very soul, if you desire it.” Aron claimed his mouth in a torrid, thorough kiss. He slipped his finger inside, feeling how Roman clenched and relaxed, how his darkling opened for the penetration and lifted his slim hips for more.
Roman moaned against Aron’s lips, feeling his body starting to turn to molten liquid as Aron pushed his finger deeper into him. It always warmed him how Aron would take his time to be gentle, as if to make up for all the others who hadn’t been. With him, there was never any pain, and in return, he welcomed Aron into his body more than willingly. It felt right when they were joined together. It was as if they communicated much better when they didn’t use words. It only got muddled when they were separated, with their minds divorced from their hearts.
He slid his palm down Aron’s chest, teasing a nipple into pebbled hardness, moaning as Aron’s tongue leaped deeper into his mouth in response. He suckled on it briefly before kissing him back. Roman’s hand slid lower, his long fingers wrapping around Aron’s cock, caressing its hard length, brushing his thumb over its velvety head.
Aron’s finger pressed lightly against that spot deep inside of him, and Roman trembled, curving into him, craving more. He broke the kiss, taking a deep, shuddering breath, his hips moving impatiently for more. “Aron… Aron,
te amo
.”
Aron smiled down at him, eyes curious. “What does that mean, darkling?” It sounded beautiful, soft and musical. He loved to hear Roman speak in his native tongue.
Roman touched Aron’s cheek lightly, his dark eyes lit up and soft. “I love you. I do, I love you so much.”
Aron melted inside and nodded, brushing his lips to Roman’s. “I know, my love, I know you do. And I love you, more than I ever could have thought possible.”
Aron reached his free hand over to the pack beside the fire, rummaging before his fingers closed on the small bottle of amber oil and deftly unstoppered it one-handed. He withdrew his finger from Roman to pour a bit onto his hand, then thrust that now-slick finger back inside him, eyes flaring at the breathless cry Roman gave.
“So beautiful, my love….” Adding a second finger, Aron gently began to stretch him, his own body on fire from the sensation of Roman’s slender fingers around his cock, nodding to the bottle of oil he’d set to the side. “Prepare me for you, Marcus. I need to be inside you soon.”
Roman felt a breathless excitement at those words. His fingers fumbled with the bottle as he poured some of the oil onto his own hand. He locked his eyes with Aron’s as he began to stroke him again, stomach fluttering as the fire in Aron’s eyes flared. He looked down, groaning at the sight of Aron’s cock disappearing in and out of the circle of his fist.
He spread his thighs wider in invitation, splaying his knees out and lifting his hips. “I want you inside of me, Aron. Now, I want you now.”
The breathless groan Aron let out sent shivers down Roman’s spine. He grasped his cock and guided Aron to him, eager and body trembling in anticipation. The head of Aron’s cock rubbed against his entrance briefly before he began to push inside, and Roman gasped, eyes fluttering as the pleasure consumed him.
“Gods, darkling, I have no words to describe how I feel when I’m in you.” Aron’s voice was husky, and Roman opened his eyes to smile up at him.
“Nor I, Aron.” He wrapped his long legs around Aron, tightening them around him so Aron couldn’t move just yet. He enjoyed the sensation of being stretched so fully, of Aron’s weight on top of him.
Aron didn’t move, and the emotion welling inside his lover overwhelmed Roman as well, the tenderness almost painful as Aron nuzzled against Roman’s lips, their noses rubbing lightly. “My love.” Aron breathed the words, his touch reverent as he brushed back the silken dark waves from Roman’s cheek.
Roman felt his heart turn over, smiling in return and nodding, whispering back. “My love.” He felt whole, complete in a way he’d never been before.
He eased his tight grip on Aron’s waist, hips shifting against him, and an age-old smile curved his lips. “Make love to me, Aron.”
Roman couldn’t stop touching him. He brushed his fingers over Aron’s face, following the line of his jaw to the curve of his neck. He buried his hands in Aron’s thick hair and tugged his head back so he had unlimited access to Aron’s throat. He felt Aron’s moan vibrate against his mouth as he did. Aron’s slow, deep thrusts into him were maddening, stoking the craving burning deep within him.
He slid his hands over Aron’s shoulders, his touch worshipful and exploring. Roman’s fingers skimmed down the length of his spine, and he delighted in every soft sound that fell from Aron’s lips as he touched him and tasted every sensitive spot he could reach. He cupped his hands over Aron’s buttocks, feeling the play of muscle underneath the skin, and sighed in pleasure.
Aron groaned as Roman clenched reflexively around him. He did it in rhythmic little ripples of sensation, his dark eyes trained on Aron’s face, watching his every reaction. The way his darkling was touching him was driving him mad. The look of joy and delight on his features touched him to the quick to know he was the one to put that expression on his face.
His darkling was an ethereal creature that could slip right through his fingers. Aron groaned and kissed Roman possessively. He was never going to let him go. He’d shelter Roman, keep him safe for the rest of his days, and make sure he wouldn’t feel the terror and uncertainty that had marked the last four years of his life.
Aron shuddered, hips thrusting hard, feeling every nuance of his reactions, every breath from his lips, and drinking in every whimper and cry his darkling gave him, giving him his own in return.
The connection between them was magical, as magical as anything he’d ever known or experienced, and nothing could ever compare to it. The feeling that everything would be all right now was strong, and Aron reveled in the knowledge that, one way or another, they were going to make it.
His hand closed around Roman’s cock, stroking him in rhythm with their bodies’ movements. His blue eyes locked to Roman’s dark ones, gasping out his pleasure. “I love you, darkling… want you with me… always, my love, always….”
Roman nodded frantically, clinging to him. “Yes, always, Aron. Please….” The pleasure clawed at him, body out of his own control and entirely in Aron’s hands. Whether he willed it or not, Aron had more control over him than anyone ever would. And at the moment, Roman welcomed and relished it.
He knew he couldn’t last much longer, it was all too much, too overwhelming, and Roman’s body arched tightly. “Aron, please….”
Aron nodded, hips moving faster, hand stroking tighter, letting out a shuddering groan as Roman felt his lover’s orgasm cresting. “Now, my love… come with me, darkling….”
There was no need to ask, it had already begun, and they both clung in desperation to each other as the pleasure and need and love twined inexorably together.