Melis sighed. “You dream of it.”
“I have dreamed ofyou,” Anterocountered, and reached out to find Melis and pull him closer.
His hands were hot even through cloth, his holdstrong. Melis settled over him light as a cloud, and shivered oncehe had fully straddled Antero’s lap.
“You still will not touch me?” Antero asked,earnestly polite even while his soul sang his joy.
Melis raised a hand to nearly his cup his cheek.Antero turned toward it as though he felt the heat. His lips couldhave brushed Melis’ palm.
Melis stared at the bow in his upper lip. “Whatif…?”
“What if.” Antero interrupted him, notseeming overly worried about the wrath of the deity in his lap.“Desire must be convinced he is wanted. So I ask again—amIpermitted to touchyou? God you may be, but you are also myhusband, and having come this far, we might as well continue on asmarried people do.”
More teasing. But his joy would light the roomif it burst free of his ribs, so Melis could not take offense.
“We are already touching, in that sense,” Melispointed out breathlessly, the inside of his legs pressed to theoutside of Antero’s.
“So we are,” Antero murmured, and closed hiseyes before sliding his hands beneath the hem of Melis’ tunic. Hecurled his fingertips ever so slightly into the padded muscle atthe top of Melis’ thighs. As if it felt as good to him as it did toMelis, he let out a harsh breath. “You are real, though your skinis soft as no human’s could be.” His hands inched higher, pushingthe skirt of the tunic up to bare Melis’s cock to the air. WhenMelis gasped, Antero went still. “This is new to you. Do you wishme to stop or slow down?”
“Keep going,” Melis commanded immediately,making Antero laugh and tug at the bit of tunic he held.
“Then allow me to remove this, if it pleaseyou.”
“Oh. Clothing, yes.” Melis gave a start at thereminder of other requirements for such acts, then sent the tunicaway.
Antero jolted as it vanished, then laughedagain, shaking his head ruefully a moment before he splayed hishands over Melis’ ribs. “I would have liked undressing you, even ifI can’t see you.”
“I am enjoyingthis,” Melis insisted,arching to better feel the touch of those hands over his stomachand then across nipples suddenly peaked and eager. Anterodiscovered the light hair on Melis’ chest and smiled to himselfbefore moving on to learn other parts of him. This includedtouching Melis’ nipples again, his smile growing when Melis beganto pant, “And my wings would have slowed you down in the… in theundressing. Antero, it feels…. Stop, or do not stop; it’s somuch.”
Antero paused, hands warm over flesh already toosensitive. “Overwhelmed?” he guessed, quieting Melis flusteredattempts to defend himself. “It’s fine, love.” Then he pausedagain, clearly just noticing what Melis had said and possiblyremembering one of the features in nearly all statues of Desire.“Wings. Yes, of course.” He swallowed, his thumbs sweepingrestlessly over Melis’ ribs. Then he nodded with decision and movedhis strong hands to Melis’ back, exploring the smooth skin underthe base of each wing before touching the wings themselves.
Melis couldn’t stop shivering at each hesitantcaress to his feathers. “Antero?” he whispered into the air aroundAntero’s neck, bashful despite the throb of his cock and the heatall through his skin. “I want to move. Should I?” He shifted hiships forward slightly to demonstrate. “Like this?” He tentativelyrocked his hips to feel their skin together, enjoying even thesweat where their thighs touched.
“Like that.” Antero splayed his hands at Melis’back to steady him, then pulled him closer without stopping Melis’efforts. His approval was a blessing. “Will I even need to teachyou? Or is it a god’s instinct to take?” He brushed his lips acrossMelis’ cheekbone, then bent his head to do the same to the placebeneath Melis’ ear. He exhaled damply to sear the impression of hiskiss into Melis’ skin forever. “Do as you please. I’m enjoying allof it.”
Melis lifted his arms and stretched out hiswings before bringing both forward. Not trusting himself to leavehis hands free, he rested his arms around Antero’s strongshoulders, then hid Antero’s loveliness from the moon’s prying eyeswith a solid wall of feathers.
Some of them must have teased Antero’s skin,tickling, because he laughed again. Melis was surprised to findhimself laughing with him, snorting once and stopping immediately,only to laugh again.
“Every night.” Melis was reckless with a joyousAntero beneath him. “Even though I can only give you this,closeness and my clumsy fucking, it is yours.” Antero’s hands wereflint and fire, slipping down to Melis’ hips to finally direct howMelis should move: back-and-forth rocking, and slow, swaying rolls,and up-and-down glides that Melis didn’t understand but trustedAntero had his reasons for showing him. So far, he liked the firstthe best, especially when Antero pulled him in until his cockdragged along Antero’s stomach. Melis pushed closer until there wasno room between them, only to find there wasn’t enough pressure nomatter how he pressed in. Not enough to bring him to completion,only enough to come maddeningly close.
Antero let him chase the feeling, kissing hisway down Melis’ throat when Melis threw his head back. That waswhen, unable to get closer, Melis tried the second motion: slow,small, rolls of his hips with Antero’s cock hot and hard beneathhim, Antero’s hands clenching and unclenching on his hips.
Melis strained muscles he had never once given athought to, muscles he technically didn’t need to strain. But hewas melted wax in Antero’s hands, and the kisses to his neck Anterogave him as Melis teased them both made his soul shiver.Teasingwas exactly what it was, a mimicry of what theymight do—would do, if Melis had his way. Yet he didn’t want to everstop this, although the longer he poured himself like hot honeyinto Antero’s lap, the more he yearned to have the real thing.“Just don’t look at me. I’m small and foolish. You don’t believeme, but I am. Don’t look so I won’t have to leave you.”
“I won’t look, beloved,” Antero promised, “but Iwilltakeif you will not.”
Then he guided Melis’ mouth to his.
Melis fell against his sworn husband, facetipped up, his heart pounding. Antero’s kiss was firm against hislips and soft against his rough places.
The desires of the rest of the world muted. Thewind danced and twirled above the dark sea outside.
When the kiss ended, Melis whined faintly foranother.
Another was granted.
Melis surrendered to it without hesitation.
