Antero’s mouth brushed his. “Hush,” he orderedlightly, skimming his hands down Melis’ chest, the tunic ensuringMelis couldn’t feel much more than a tantalizing hint of warmth. Itdidn’t matter; merely that, and Melis’ cock began to fill.
Embarrassment made him squirm. “I’m sorry,” hegasped, falling back into the cushion of his wings.
Antero stepped closer. “None of that, my Melis,”he whispered, Melis’ mouth once again beneath his. Melis fought notto rise up to let their mouths meet, though he parted his lips andtilted his head as he had seen countless humans do. Antero spokehis name, savoring the sound of it or the shivers it drew fromMelis, while a thousand kisses played out in his mind, all theplaces and ways he might use his mouth to make Melis happy.
Melis’ thoughts were a heated mess of both oftheir desires and the feverish awareness of Antero’s handcontinuing downward over his tunic; the cloth the thinnest veilbetween them. Antero paused when he found Melis hard. Antero hadimagined kissing Melis there too; was Melis supposed to pretend hedidn’t know that and it hadn’t excited him?
He didn’t get an opportunity to ask; leaving thetunic as a barrier, Antero traced the length of Melis’ cock, hismouth open over Melis’ as if to catch every shuddery exhale. ThenAntero pressed down, his palm hot over flesh that had never been sosensitive.
Melis sought restraint too late, but he couldn’tstifle his cry as he pushed back into Antero’s hand and camewithout any chance to stop himself. He hadn’t even known he wasgoing to until his cock was jerking against Antero’s palm. Hegroaned at every pulse and wet, hot spill into the linen, futilelytrying to silence himself and growing louder instead.
Antero only pressed back in response, breathingharder when Melis bit his lip and his groans emerged as a highwhine. Melis glared at him, or wanted to, but cock was even moresensitive now, which had to be some sort of design error. Hesquirmed, foolish and embarrassed andstillcoming, but thathand stayed firm on him. It was humiliating. It wasgood.And Antero knew exactly how much Melis was enjoying it. Melis couldhave burned under his satisfaction like a human in the sun. Hiships continued to stutter forward, mimicking motions he had onlyever seen in passing.
He imagined himself thrusting forward into theair, red-faced and whining, and belatedly tried to be still, hishands clutched tight around his feathers.
“Hush,” Antero told him quietly as though Melishad spoken, and perhaps he had, too lost in spikes of pleasure tonotice. “You’ve pleased me so much.”
Antero stared down between them at his hand,which to him must seem to hold nothing although he could feel theimpression of Melis’ cock and the cooling puddle of his seed.
Melis licked his stinging lip where he’d bittenit. “This is not how a god is meant to treat a lover.”
Antero raised his head. “I am a lover treating agod, a god who blessed me by allowing me to introduce him to suchmatters. You are new to it. That’s all. People who do this manytimes learn to hold off because desire delayed can make thepleasure greater.”
“It getsbetter?” Melis wondered withoutthought, blood sizzling with embarrassed delight when his wordsmade Antero swoop in as if meaning to kiss him.
But Antero held himself back and spoke with asmile in his voice. “Oh yes. They use your gift for that, and youcould learn to enjoy it too if you wish. But I don’t mind that youlost yourself to my touch so quickly.”
“I wanted to touch you,” Melis confessed,turning his face to hide his blushes, then realizing anew what afool he was—and a coward, for staying hidden. “I’d like to make youfeel as you made me feel, though I don’t know how to do that.”
Antero pulled away from Melis and flexed hishand several times before holding it to his face and breathing inas if the scent was pleasing. Which it must have been because hewas hard. Stupidly surprised by that, Melis looked at Antero’serect cock in the moonlight until his eyes burned. He could kneeldown. He could inhale as Antero had done, he could—
He couldn’t. For Antero’s sake, he couldn’t.
“You’ve truly never had others?” Antero asked,unaware of Melis’ confused hunger for at least the scent of hiscock if he could not have the taste. Melis exhaled shakily. Anteroseemed to take it for his answer. “But there were some youwanted?”
“No.” The very idea was ludicrous. “Onlyyou.”
“‘Only me?’” Antero made a quiet sound ofsurprise. His thoughts were filled with prayers glorious and heady.He wrapped the hand he’d used on Melis around his own cock, histhumb to the foreskin. “I have more to offer, if you ask or demandit of me. I wouldn’t refuse you.”
Melis watched that hand slide slowly up anddown, Antero tugging his cock for Melis to see. Antero wanted,Melis couldn’t deny that, but this was notallhe wanted.Melis had to remind himself of that several times.
“You don’t desire to only be used.” Not even theeastern winds could have found Melis’ words, so small they mightnot have been said at all. “You want more than this.”
“What do you thinkthisis?” Antero mighthave meant it to be playful, but his voice was rough and he slowedhis hand to further tempt Melis into touching him.
Melis snapped his wings out behind him to splaythem against the wall, the sound returning some of his sense, andwith it, fury at himself and his behavior.
“You’re teasing me.” Melis could notgivelike an experienced human and he could nottakelike a god.Now, Antero, crafted by The Most Fair herself, thought to teasehim? Of course, he would—his past lovers were better at pleasurethan a god. Even The Ever-Present would have laughed in Antero’splace. The wind rose up, carrying what was more of a cry of anguishthan an angry snarl. “You play with my body and soul?”
Melis moved with the wind, whirling away fromAntero in less than a heartbeat. He was on the opposite side of theroom when the chill of Antero’s fear hit him.
He stopped, wavering.
“Melis?” Antero searched the dark, steppingforward until he reached the foot of the bed. “Melis, don’t go.Please. Or tell me that you’ll still hear me, even if you won’tvisit again. I forgot how little you know of this. I wasn’t playingwith you. Don’t leave.”
The break in his voice brought Melis’ feet backto the floor. “I’m here.”
Antero spun toward him, twitching forward beforestopping himself. He released a long, shaky breath. “Stay, if youplease.” He appeared calm but his thoughts were not. “I pushedwhere I should not have, so I will leave space between us thistime—not that it matters with how you move.”
