Kei's Gift (125 page)

“She’d kill you,” Arman said with a snort. “Literally slice you into ribbons. And Reji would hold you down.”

Kei chuckled. “Yes, I know. Poor Reji, the thing he always hated about the travelling was the lack of sex. He’s talking about taking her with him at some point for the company and so she can visit Darshek again.”

“Can’t see why he shouldn’t. We can cut that round trip down to three weeks for loaded wagons, I’m sure of it.”

“If you could, it would make a huge difference. We could actually start trading fruit from Darshek—even from the south. And send them our perishables, such as they are.”

Arman nodded. “I was more thinking of people and post, actually. It’ll make a difference. We might need to make the roads better though, and who’s to do that, or pay for it, I have no idea.”

“You just can’t stop planning, can you?” Kei murmured, leaning his chin on Arman’s shoulder. “Still a general in your mind.”

“It’s just ideas. You empire build in your own, scholarly way.”

“Don’t get defensive, it’s not a criticism.” Kei picked up Arman’s letters. “Reis wrote, and Neka, and Meda. The message is the same—come visit now!”

Arman chuckled. “Thought it might be. Maybe if Reji takes Jena up there, we could join him.” He stretched a little and groaned. “Ouch.”

“Let me stoke the bath.”

“Ah, the most beautiful words in the Darshianese language.”

Kei grinned. Of all the things Arman admired about Darshian, the baths were right at the top of the list. Sometimes he had the sneaking suspicion Arman loved a hot bath even more than he loved Kei, but of course Arman would never admit it.

Arman spent an hour or so looking at his post and eating a quick evening meal, but then admitted he really, really needed that bath. They cleared up and then Kei indulged his own great pleasure—stripping Arman and lovingly washing every inch of that pale skin, and combing out and soaping the unruly mane of hair, now full of sawdust and grit. “What have you been doing?” Kei murmured as he rinsed the soap out and lathered up again. “Sweeping the wagons out with your hair?”

“It picks up the dust,” Arman muttered. “I don’t know what secret you have, you always look so sleek.”

“I use my gift to keep the dust out,” Kei said, grinning.

“Really?”

“No. I think I’m just good at ducking it.”

Arman examined one wet lock ruefully. “That’s a skill I’ll never acquire, I suspect.” Kei dumped another dipper of water over his head and he spluttered. “Ugh. Are you done?”

“Get in, I won’t be long.”

Kei washed himself quickly and rinsed through his braid without undoing it—it wasn’t that dirty. Then he joined a naked and slippery Arman in a deliciously hot bath. “Feel better?”

“Mmmm,” Arman murmured contentedly, sliding his arm around Kei’s waist and pulling him into his lap. Kei lay his head on Arman’s shoulder, and thought he couldn’t be happier if he tried.

“Myka all settled?”

“Yes.” Kei hesitated. “Arman, Lord Meki wrote to me.”

“Oh?”

“He...wants you up there.”

Arman went rigid under him. “Why is he writing to
you
about that?”

Kei looked at him guiltily. “Well, he sort of asked me to ask you. He mentioned it to me when we were there.”

“Did he now,” Arman said heavily, and Kei could sense his displeasure. “That was kind of him. Was this what was bothering you so much when we were travelling back?”

“Some.”

“And why didn’t you mention it to me?”

“Because....” He was teetering on the edge of a cliff here. “I was afraid.”

“You mean you didn’t trust me to choose you over Meki?”

“No.”

Arman tilted Kei’s head to make him look at him. “Are you sure?”

“I...knew how much you’d given up, and I didn’t think....”

“...you were enough?” Kei nodded. “I can’t say this delights me.”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t the easiest thing for me either. There were so many other things going on.”

“Hmmm.” Arman pulled him close and kissed him. “Do you trust me now?”

“Yes. I did before...it was me I didn’t trust. I wasn’t sure I could go with you if you decided your duty lay elsewhere.”

“My duty is currently sitting in my lap and giving me cramp. Move a little, will you?”

Kei grinned and obeyed, sensing he was forgiven. He decided it was best not to conceal any more from Arman. “There’s something else. He’s asked Seya if you could pass your sentence working for him, not Ai-Darbin. She’s agreed, if you want to do it that way.”

He felt Arman getting really angry now, and regretted bringing it up. “I won’t allow you to suffer for Meki’s ambition and that’s final. I’ll write to both of them and explain. Seya said she would wait, and so she can.”

Kei nodded. “Only...Arman, what if you did go to Darshek for six months? It’s not like I don’t have good reasons to go there myself, and the village is well-provided for now with healers, or it will be on Myka’s return.”

Arman looked at him in surprise. “You want me to accept?”

“I’m saying I don’t object if you choose to work for Meki, not Seya. We both know you could do more good in Darshek than in Ai-Darbin, and their village doesn’t need another labourer. They need more people to move there, but that’s being encouraged from the south anyway.”

“Hmmm. Let me think on it, and let’s talk more. Don’t let Meki or Seya push you around. I’m just one person, skilled at destruction. You’ve saved many lives. You’re more useful to Darshian than I am, I feel.”

“Lord Meki has another view on that.”

“Lord Meki’s not sitting in my lap.”

Kei grinned. “And are we not all thankful for that? All right, I’ve told you about it, and you can think about it. I do want to go back to Darshek at some point—we have friends there, and I was talking to Jena about the library just today. If we can get Lord Meki good and grateful, I think I can exploit that.”

Arman looked at him in surprise. “Well, aren’t you the little general too? My little boy is all grown up.”

Kei splashed him. “Little nothing, you great hairy bastard. A couple of inches difference and suddenly you think you’re so much bigger and better than me.”

“Hmmm, maybe bigger,” Arman said, grinning.

Kei rolled his eyes. “I’ve created a monster. Five months ago, you wouldn’t have given a damn about your penis size, and now you bring it up all the time.”

“So to speak,” Arman said, kissing him again. Kei took a little time over responding, enjoying Arman’s freshly cleaned mouth, and even his slight bristle was now familiar, enjoyable. “If you keep that up, bath or no bath, we’ll end up having sex here.”

“Myka’s away.”

“Yes, but it’s the principle of the thing. Besides.... I like falling asleep with you afterwards. If I have to wake up, dry off, and then go to bed, I suspect it will spoil things.”

Kei shook his head in disgust. “You’re so incredibly logical. I thought I’d cured you of it when it came to making love.”

“I’m sorry. Some things are too ingrained, and besides I’ve got cramp again. Move.”

Sighing, Kei admitted defeat and got out of the bath. It wasn’t the most practical place in the world and it was considered very rude, but just once.... “You don’t even think about the fact I might not be in the mood once I dry off and go upstairs, do you?”

Arman just laughed at him. “You’re always in the mood. Even Reji isn’t as eager as you.”

“Oh, yes, and what do you know about Reji’s eagerness?”

“Jena’s very forthcoming. Of course, she expects a similar level of openness from me.”

Kei stared at him in horror. “You don’t...you do...you don’t, do you?”

Arman grinned in what Kei considered to be a
very
annoying manner. “Hurry up. I want to go to bed all warm and relaxed.”

Kei considered telling him to sleep in the bath, but the possibility of sex outweighed the need to punish his irritating lover. Sex with Arman would outweigh a good deal more irritation than Kei was feeling, which was very little in truth. He was more glad than anything to see Arman a little playful, confident about sex and relaxed about it too. He was more relaxed about a lot of things, and any lingering doubts Kei might have occasionally had about whether enticing Arman from his home was wrong, disappeared every time he saw Arman laughing with Jena and Reji, talking seriously to Fedor, or working intently on one of Vikis’s new wagons, tongue stuck through his teeth in concentration as he wrestled a joint into position. Arman’s heart was less burdened every day, and those who loved him—and now there were more than Kei included in that number—rejoiced to see it.

Kei lit the bedroom lamps and climbed onto the bed. Arman, sitting cross-legged, insisted on unbraiding Kei’s hair and combing it out before carefully remaking the plait, obviously enjoying the task. Kei, who was always happy to be pampered, felt his heart slow as he reacted to the gentle grooming. “I still don’t know why yours is so much longer than anyone else’s,” Arman murmured. “Reji’s seven years older and his is shorter. It makes no sense.”

“It depends on luck, and Reji has to trim the ends off more than I do. The beasts tend to chew it,” he said.

“Oh, that sounds unpleasant.”

“Better the braid than your hand. If they try to chew on yours, they’ll break their teeth.”

Arman gave his hair a tug. “Are you saying I have coarse hair?”

“No—it’s just thick and curly. Jena thinks it’s pretty. I’ll have to keep an eye on that woman. She spends too much time admiring your finer points.”

Arman finished the braid and pulled Kei back against him. “Jena is a wonderful woman who holds absolutely no attraction for me at all. I don’t even notice other people when I’m around you.”

Kei twisted and grinned in Arman’s face. “Gods, you don’t really think I’m jealous, do you?”

Arman raised his eyebrows. “You sounded it.”

“I need to tease you a lot more so you get to know what the difference between it and reality is.”

Arman flicked Kei’s nose with the end of his own braid. “I don’t know if it’s possible for you to tease me more, you impossible boy. You spend every waking moment doing it now—you’d have to harass me in your sleep.”

“Boy?” Kei said, grabbing Arman’s hand and putting it around his cock. “Does that feel like a boy to you?”

Arman stroked Kei’s erection with a skilled movement which made him jerk with pleasure. “No—but that mouth of yours is as bratty as it comes.” He cupped Kei’s head with his free hand and pulled him close, so that he could kiss him. Kei closed his eyes and lost himself in the feel of Arman’s lips, the taste of his mouth. Arman was a very good kisser, and very dedicated to practicing his new skill. Kei liked that in a lover—dedication, that was.

“Can I have you tonight?” Arman breathed.

“Thought you were tired and sore?”

“Mmmm, a bit, but I want to be inside you.”

Kei had no problem with that at all. He reached for the pot of cream they kept in the bedroom for this and handed it to Arman, then lay down on his stomach, anticipating the pleasure of preparation as much as the sex itself. He loved being touched and played with, and Arman was always gentle and patient, not to mention admirably thorough. He didn’t like the kind of boisterous sex Reji did, but Kei didn’t mind. The concentration Arman brought to bear in lovemaking made Kei feel like he was the centre of Arman’s universe, literally the most important thing in it—exhilarating to experience. He shivered as Arman’s hands spread him, and a cool, slick finger stroked lightly over his entrance, spreading the cream over him as Arman bent and kissed the back of Kei’s neck, pushing the braid aside and licking his skin just at the hairline. Kei sighed and bared his neck a little more—Arman knew all his pleasure areas now, and found them unfailingly. Kei had Arman pretty well mapped too, but on nights like this, Arman liked to be in charge, taking his time stretching Kei and loving him slowly. He never liked to be rushed.

Arman’s finger entered him, and massaged him a little. Kei smiled, knowing this would take a while and loving every moment of it. Arman had long, agile fingers and had learned how to use them to pleasure Kei in exquisite detail. Kei cried out a little as the finger stroked over his prostate, gently, but still sending delightful ripples through his groin. It grew even more intense as Arman bit his shoulder a little, the dull, deep sensation mingling deliciously with the more powerful ones radiating out from his lower parts. “Gods, Arman....”

Arman reached under him and wrapped a hand around Kei’s trapped erection—it was almost unbearably pleasurable, being touched in three such different ways, at three different points, the raw desire racking up in him like a rising wave.

“Oh, I’ll come, don’t!” he cried softly, twisting in helpless delight, trying to get more of the different sensations and not knowing which to beg for first.

Arman’s hand on his cock eased off, and Kei could relax again. The careful nibbles turned to licks, long delightful strokes of his skin. He turned his head—all he could really see was the top of Arman’s golden head, the dark damp hair already drying and brightening into the astonishing colour that was uniquely Arman’s. “Please,” he whispered. “Now?”