Hallowed Bond (Chronicles of Ylandre Book 2) (7 page)

“You have a lot of gall to paint yourself so favorably after abusing him,” he snapped.

“I did not—”

“Yes, you did, blackguard. He told you to stop, but you continued to touch him.”

Ithan looked down, unable to refute the statement. “Stay away from him,” Dylen repeated. “If you get close enough for him to catch even a glimpse of your face, I’ll come for you. And I won’t just break your back. I’ll make sure you have nothing left to stick into anybody ever again.”

With a final glare at the terror-stricken Deir, he strode to the door, yanked it open and stalked out, slamming the door behind him so forcefully it rattled in its frame.

It was nearing sundown by the time Dylen returned home. He had passed by the Seralye to inform Zarael that he would not come to work that evening. To make amends for his absence, he’d helped Zarael screen a number of guests who hoped to become full patrons of the club. Afterward, he’d paid a visit to a regular patron of his. The Deir was a member of the board of trustees of the State University.

Dylen was certain he had convinced Ithan of the wisdom of staying out of Riodan’s way. However, he was not above using whatever means at his disposal to ensure that Riodan’s erstwhile friend never troubled him again.

He found Riodan anxiously waiting for him in the parlor. The younger Deir rose to his feet when he heard Dylen mounting the stairs.

“Where did you go?’ he asked fearfully.

Gesturing to Riodan to reseat himself, Dylen joined him on the couch.

“I paid Ithan a visit,” he said.

Riodan caught his breath. “Saints above,” he whispered. “What-what did you do?”

“I nearly strangled him,” Dylen readily admitted. “But I thought that was too easy an end so I thought of beating him to death instead.”

“You didn’t…” Riodan half-bleated.

Dylen shook his head. “I decided to give him a chance to explain his side.” At Riodan’s incredulous gasp, he put a soothing arm around his shoulders. “He admitted that he gave you a philter to make you more receptive to his overtures. When you asked him to stop he thought you were just stalling, that you were still too tense. And he didn’t expect you to pass out. The drug was supposed to make you amorous, not lose consciousness.”

He held on to Riodan more tightly when the latter began to shake violently and tried to rise from the couch. “You have to hear this,” he insisted.

“What?” Riodan said disbelievingly. “Listen to a detailed account of how he violated me? I can’t believe that
you
did!” His eyes beginning to tear, he averted them.

“I almost didn’t,” Dylen said. “I was ready to tear his head off.” He lifted a hand and cupped Riodan’s chin, compelling the youth to look at him. “While he was preparing you, you began to weep and plead for help. And then you fainted.”

“Which is when he raped me,” Riodan spat out bitterly. “When I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”

“But he didn’t.”

Riodan stared at him. “What?”

“He didn’t go on, Rio,” Dylen said emphatically. “He couldn’t. Not when he heard you crying for help and saying how sorry you were.
To me
.” He paused to let the information sink in. “It struck him finally that he was forcing himself on you. That you really didn’t want to couple with him. And, that if he continued, it would make him a rapist.”

“But I felt something… enter me—inside me—” Riodan stuttered. He took a deep breath. “How do you know he was telling the truth? He was probably just so afraid of you.”

Dylen shook his head. “I have my ways. Trust me when I say he didn’t take you.

And as for you feeling something… Well, he prepared you, didn’t he? I think that’s what you remember—his fingers stretching you.”

“But it felt like more than that. Bigger.”

“How would you know? You’ve never had anything up your arse before. One finger is intrusive enough; what more two or three?” Riodan considered this then slowly nodded in agreement. Dylen continued. “But you can confirm this for yourself. I didn’t ask you at the time because I assumed that he
had
raped you. Now I want you to think back. When you woke up, were you in pain? Was there any discomfort at all? Did anything leak out of you?” When Riodan’s eyes widened in obvious contrary recollection, Dylen smiled faintly. “The lack of seed aside, even if you had been willing, you still would have felt something—an ache or soreness. Anal penetration always leaves some discomfort, but especially after the first time.”

Riodan gazed at Dylen. “I didn’t feel anything,” he whispered. “No pain, no discomfort. Not even the-the stretching. I was slippery from the oil he used but there was no—Nothing leaked from me.” Riodan gulped. “He did tell you the truth. He didn’t—I was not—” He heaved a shuddery breath. “Merciful Veres…”

He turned and buried his face in Dylen’s shoulder as sobs wracked his body, the full import of his discovery hitting him with storm force. Dylen held him, rubbing his back soothingly. He did not notice how much time passed, and it was only when he felt his arm begin to cramp that Dylen loosened his hold on the younger Deir. By now Riodan’s sobs had subsided, and he seemed to be calming down at last. Dylen squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

“He didn’t rape you,” he reaffirmed. “Thank the Maker for that. But it doesn’t change the fact that he molested you. That he drugged you to make you more compliant and went on doing things to you after you told him to stop. Never go anywhere near him again.”

Riodan shuddered. “I don’t even want to see him. Not ever.”

“You won’t. I warned him not to show himself to you. I told him I would geld him if you so much as complained that you’d caught a glimpse of him.”

A strangled laugh escaped Riodan. “Oh
heyas
, you didn’t,” he sputtered.

“I did,” Dylen said with a slight smile. “I was going to break his back with my bare hands. What makes you think I wouldn’t castrate him?”

Riodan guffawed though it was clearly more an expression of intense relief rather

than humor. At length, he sobered and, drawing out of Dylen’s arms, leaned back wearily.

“I feel so drained,” he moaned. “So tired.”

“Of course you do,” Dylen said, ruffling his hair. “Why don’t we eat something?” He rose from the couch and headed for the stairs. “Is soup fine with you?”

For a moment, Riodan stared after him, startled by the sudden redirection to so mundane a matter as dinner. But then the wisdom of grounding themselves in practicalities after such a gut-wrenching discussion registered.

“Yes, it’s perfectly fine,” he agreed, following Dylen downstairs to the kitchen.

He busied himself toasting bread over the fire while above, the flavorsome salted meat and vegetable soup from the midday meal slowly heated up once more. Meanwhile, Dylen put together a simple salad of sliced fruit doused with honey-sweetened cream.

They did not bother to go up to the dining room but ate their meal at the kitchen worktable. Riodan was still in a bit of a fugue and said very little. Dylen let him be. It was only when they were done eating that Dylen broached the subject once more.

Covering Riodan’s hand reassuringly, he asked, “For what did you need my forgiveness, Rio-
min
?”

Riodan started then flushed. “Oh, that…” He bit his lip then mumbled, “It was several things actually, not just one.” At Dylen’s encouraging nod, he said,” I was sorry for not listening to you about misleading Ithan. He called me a tease when I went home with him.” He cringed a little when Dylen scowled then hurried on. “I was sorry for stupidly putting myself in that situation after you’d warned me about him.” He swallowed hard and looked down at the tabletop. “And most of all, that it would be my first time and—it wasn’t going to be with you.”

Dylen did not reply. But he patted Riodan’s hand before getting up to clear the table.

“Let me do that,” Riodan quickly offered.

Dylen regarded him hesitantly. “I think you should come back and live here,” he said. When Riodan started to protest that he was fine, he swiftly added, “It’s for my sake.

I know you don’t want to be coddled. But I can see how affected you are by what happened, and it bothers me. So, until I feel more secure about you living by yourself again, I would like you to stay here.”

Riodan looked searchingly at him for a while. Finally, with a crooked grin, he replied, “All right. For
your
sake.”

Dylen smiled back. “Well then, that’s settled. Now I need a good, long soak,” he decided. “This is one day I want to forget.”

“Not all of it,” Riodan muttered under his breath as he set about putting the kitchen in order. But Dylen heard as he walked away.

Chapter Six

Surrender

After washing up, Riodan returned to the parlor and extinguished the lamps. He then went to Dylen’s bedroom. He listened for sounds from the bathing chamber, but it was quiet. Had Dylen fallen asleep in the tub? He peeked into the chamber. Dylen turned his head almost as soon as he did.

Riodan blushed, abashed at being caught and affected by the glimpse of Dylen’s nakedness. No matter how many times he had seen the
hethar
in the nude, he had never gotten over his shyness. Even now, when much of Dylen’s body was obscured by the bath foam, it still had the power to discomfit him.

He looked down in embarrassment. “I thought that perhaps you’d fallen asleep,” he murmured by way of explanation.

Dylen chuckled. “I’m not in the least bit sleepy.”

Riodan dared to glance at him. “Still tense?” At Dylen’s nod, he said, “Ah, I just realized, I didn’t thank you for what you did for me.”

Dylen gestured dismissively. “By the way, apology accepted,” he lightly added.

For a moment, Riodan was confused. And then he realized Dylen was referring to the litany of apologies he’d mentioned earlier. “Which one?’’ he asked with a crooked grin.

“All of them.” Dylen waited for Riodan to recover from his surprise before softly saying, “Care to join me?”

Riodan caught his breath at the invitation. In that instant, he knew Dylen was offering him more than a companionable soak. Suddenly feeling dizzy, he began to strip nevertheless.

Blushing brightly after he shed his drawers, he walked to the tub. Dylen held out a beckoning hand, and he slipped his own into it. Dylen gently pulled him into the tub and down between his legs. Riodan gasped slightly as their limbs and other sundry body parts touched.

Half-cradled in Dylen’s arms, he wondered what the other Deir would do next. He did not wait long. A hand snaked behind his nape and pulled him close. Their lips met for the first time. Riodan moaned almost upon contact.

Never before had he known the pleasure of the leisurely slip and slide of bared bodies as they came together in love-play, the thrill of naked limbs unashamedly entangling or the slow-burning build-up of sensation where each and every burst of bliss could be savored to the hilt. Least of all did he know just how potent a kiss could be, let alone the titillating hot-tongued caress Dylen was treating him to with the confident finesse of a practitioner of the love arts and the thrilling passion of an eager lover.

To his surprise, Dylen broke their kiss and slightly drew away. But, even as he started to protest, Dylen smiled and gently shifted him about to lean back against him. He caught his breath when he felt Dylen’s shaft hard against his backside. Again he opened his mouth to question the
hethar,
but no sound issued save for a long, low groan. Dylen

had reached down with both hands to cup his seed sac and take hold of his shaft. Dylen proceeded to stroke his shaft to straining, thrumming hardness and fondle the tender pouch beneath until it tingled and tightened.

His whole body shaken by pleasurable tremors, Riodan let his head fall back onto Dylen’s shoulder. A moment later, he was moaning helplessly as lips pressed against the side of his throat and Dylen trailed searing kisses up and down its length. A hand smoothed over his abdomen, kneading the firm flesh before it continued its upward journey toward his chest. Riodan’s trembling increased as agile fingers rubbed and pinched his nipples until they tensed into little rose-brown peaks.

With sensation threatening to overwhelm him, he wriggled in an unconscious bid to escape. But Dylen held him fast while he continued to play with his nipples and stroke his shaft even as he nibbled on the side of his neck. Riodan wanted to rear and thrash, but trapped in Dylen’s embrace, he could only shudder in ecstasy.

“Dy, p-please,” he croaked as the pressure in his groin built up to a nigh unbearable degree. “I can’t-I can’t—hold it—off…”

“Then don’t,” Dylen whispered. He gave a few firm tugs to Riodan’s shaft.

Riodan sobbed harshly as his orgasm crashed through him. His hips bucked forward while his seed spurted over Dylen’s fingers into the soapy water. As the last of his climax played out, he sagged into Dylen’s arms, his head lolling onto the other’s shoulder. It was several seconds before he could think lucidly, let alone speak.

He turned his head dazedly and gazed into Dylen’s eyes. “I’ve never felt anything like that before,” he murmured.

“It gets better.” Dylen grinned rakishly.

“It does?” Riodan stared in amazement. And then he grinned back. “Will you show me?”

Dylen kissed him long and deeply. “In good time,” he murmured against Riodan’s lips. “Relax. We don’t have to rush anything.” He turned Riodan to face him. “I want you to enjoy yourself. Do whatever you like,
ariad
.”

Riodan’s eyes widened. “Am I truly your beloved?”

“Against my better judgment,” Dylen teased.

Laughing softly, he kissed away Riodan’s indignant rejoinder.

Hirlen hid his smile behind a hand. He did not want young Riodan to feel conscious about being observed, and Dylen would likely send a glare his way that said “look elsewhere”. But if they could only see themselves, he fondly thought as he watched them from his great chair in the parlor. One would think them newlyweds if one did not know the truth of their situation.

He had returned from his holiday in Glanthar to find Riodan Leyhar back in residence and not only sharing his son’s bedchamber again but also his bed. It had been a great surprise given Dylen’s previous resistance to any entanglement with Riodan. But, once he got over Dylen’s capitulation, Hirlen heartily welcomed Riodan into their little family circle. Not for all the treasure in Aisen would Hirlen forego the chance to see Dylen in such a state of bliss. And blissful he was if the sparkle in his eyes and his ready laughter were any indication of it.