Fawn cupped his chin, pulling his face up. A frown tugged at her lips. “You don’t seem alright.”
Arlon groaned and closed his eyes. That frown was hard to bear right now, because dammit, he wastrying. In spite of the pillow, his knees ached where he knelt, but the ropes binding his thighs and shins didn’t allow him to unfold. More ropes pulled his arms behind his back. They were no less constricting, chafing his wrists as he squirmed against them without thought.
“I asked for this,” he said.
“And as with any other time you conduit, you’re allowed tostop,” she said.
Arlon vainly tried to sink into the embrace of the ropes rather than fight against them. “I need to learn how to conduit, right?”
“Itisimportant that a caster knows what they’re putting their conduits through,” Fawn said. “But if you’re notcomfortable with conduiting, we can find other ways to teach you.”
Arlon pulled his chin from her grip as he shook his head. Tapping out sounded tempting, but if he wanted to gain mastery inanyschool, he had to at least try.
“Stubborn,” Fawn said, amusement coloring the word.
“Fawn, this is all I have.”
His tone emerged sharper than intended, and Fawn didn’t miss it. She knelt in front of him as she cupped his face. Her thumbs were gentle, stroking his cheeks in a comforting caress. “What do you mean,a’marra?”
Arlon swallowed, his frustration making his voice tremble as she forced him to meet her eyes. “I-I don’t have anything outside of this place. Not anymore.” He let out a long breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts enough to speak. “I want to be good at this. Ineedto be good at this.”
Fawn was quiet as she considered him. “That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.”
“I-I know.”
Fawn tilted her head curiously before an idea seemed to light in her eyes. “What do you find so enjoyable about casting?”
He thought on the question as he shifted in his ropes, trying to settle his knees more comfortably against the soft pillow underneath them. Finally, he said, “I like being in control.”
Fawn hummed, her hands stroking down his neck, across his shoulders to the ropes that circled his forearms. “Then command me.”
He blinked in surprise as gooseflesh shivered across his skin in the wake of her touch. “What?”
“Command me,” Fawn said again as her hands stroked over his collarbone, just teasing at the v of his shirt. “Becauselet me be very clear about something, Arlon. Casters only have as much control as their conduits give them.”
Arlon’s mouth went dry as he studied her face. Her desire was written plainly across her features, but her touches remained innocent, waiting for his command.
“Stroke your hands under my shirt.”
Fawn shifted closer to him, one of her knees brushing against his as she shared his pillow. Obligingly, she moved to the hem of his shirt. Her hands teased under the fabric, moving over his stomach to travel up through the hair on his chest as she thumbed over his nipples.
In spite of his unease, pleasure shivered through him. “Keep going. Use your mouth, too.”
Fawn obeyed, her nails scratching gently down his chest as she leaned forward to kiss his exposed collar. Arlon groaned, bowing over her to bury his face against her neck, breathing in the lingering scent of juniper soap. Even while bound, her touch was a conditioned thing, and he relaxed by degrees as she nipped along his neck and chest.
“May I lift your shirt?” she asked.
“Yes,” he breathed as he gently kissed her neck, just over her pulse.
Fawn shifted back, lifting his shirt up until it bunched under his bound arms. It exposed his chest, and she kissed the skin just over his heart before moving to tease one nipple with her tongue.
Arlon groaned as his trousers grew tight. He’d chosen to remain clothed for this conduiting lesson, but he was starting to have second thoughts about that particular demand.
“Touch my cock.”
Fawn’s fingers trailed down his stomach once more as her mouth moved to his other nipple. She cast her eyes up, giving him a mischievous look as she rubbed his cock through the fabricof his trousers. As firmly as she handled him, it wasn’t enough to do anything more than tease him, and she seemed to know it.
“Fawn,” he groaned, straining against his ropes as he tried to press into her hand.
