Playing with Food (2 page)

He dashed forward with a gasp, clutching at the bone bars separating him from his home. His heart skipped a beat when he felt the familiar, salty breeze. His whole body yearned to return where he belonged.

“Oh, you like the view?” Rhys asked and sat down on a stone bench to unbuckle his shoes. “Let him out into the pool.”

Llawan blinked, taken aback, but he didn’t say anything, already eyeing the edge of the pool in hope of finding a way out, despite the height.

“I want to know why you came to me on your own. You didn’t hide like the others.” Rhys casually shoved his shoes away as the servants opened the cage. They didn’t even have to urge Llawan. He jumped right into the shallow pool, eager to wet his rapidly drying body. He could stay out and breathe air, but he always prefered the cool weight of water against his skin. Now that he was wet again, he felt much better, despite the unfamiliar feeling of the mosaic at the bottom scraping against his tail. Weighing his options, Llawan cowered close to the edge of the cliff, looking at Rhys’s powerful silhouette, which through the trembling lense of water looked like a big, dark mass.

Nothing apart from the shoes got thrown to the side and Rhys walked into the pool in his clothes. “Answer me.”

Llawan hesitated, but knowing that it was never a good idea to tease a wild beast, he resurfaced, looking up at his buyer. He bit his lip, gathering his hair in one hand, but stayed in the safety of the water up to his arms. “I didn’t want to wait more.”

“So you are not a coward, Llawan. Ready to face your death, huh?” Rhys gave him that freakishly wide smile again and started circling him, like a shark before biting in. That one thought was enough to freeze Llawan in place, and his whole body went rigid. If this man was a shark, then that was the way he wanted to dine; out in the open, on living prey.

“You... eat me?” He panted, curling the tail closer to his body.

“There is a part of you that I want to eat.” Rhys slicked back his black hair. “But you will have to agree for me to have a bite.” He licked his lips.

The water set Llawan at ease, but Rhys’s teeth were another matter, so he tried to look into the glossy, pitch-black eyes instead. “You ask me to let you eat me?” The suggestion was bizarre enough to make him lower his guard.

“I have a need for a resourceful fish boy.” Llawan didn’t even notice when Rhys came close enough to wrap a few strands of ginger hair around his fingers. “But it comes at a price.”

Llawan peeked towards the edge of the pool that was the border between him and freedom. He pulled his tail up, hugging it with both arms. “You speak riddles.”

“No, it’s you who talks funny.” Rhys’s hand slowly crept up Llawan’s shoulder. He was still wearing a thick leather glove.

The touch gave Llawan a shiver, but he didn’t try to flinch away. “Best I can.”

“I will try to be more clear. I have bought you and it’s up to me to set you free if I so choose. But there will be something you will need to do for me when the time is right.”

Llawan’s eyes darted up to meet the cool black of Rhys’ gaze. He’d stopped listening at ‘free’. “What?”

“You will swim back to the pirate islands of Karltaldor and befriend people I tell you to. When the time comes, I will use your arm and then our arrangement will end. You would be free to do as you please.”

Llawan was focussed on the hand on his shoulder and didn’t even notice when two others rested on his waist.

“My arm.”Llawan felt sickened and he pressed both of his palms under the tail. “You want my arm?”

“No, silly.” Rhys’s fourth hand pushed beneath the tail and entwined with Llawan’s fingers. “I want just this little finger here. As a token of your understanding. That’s why I said you will need to let me eat you.”

It was hard to even name the flood of emotions going through Llawan at that notion. Karltaldor wasn’t a safe place for a merman to be, with tritons deep under the water and mermaids of the flesh eating kind, mad with bloodlust. Not to mention it was shallow in a lot of places and swarming with land people. Then again, he would be more careful to avoid capture now that he experienced it once. He swallowed hard, focusing on the firm, but almost weightless hands on his waist. “How do I know you tell truth?”

“You will have to trust me.” Rhys’s fingers moved along Llawan’s spine and he wasn’t even sure which palm it was. The touch made him curl up even tighter, but he slowly slipped his left hand out from under the tail. Looking at it was a mistake. Only now, that he saw how badly the membranes between his fingers shook, did he realize how terrified he really was. He could hardly breathe.

“I want this one.” Rhys slid his own palm up to Llawan’s hand and pinched the tip of his little finger. A strangled sound escaped Llawan’s lips as he looked at the pale digit. Would it hurt a lot?

Frozen with fear, he glanced at the huge, pointy teeth that filled Rhys’ mouth. “You bite it off?”

“Is that what you would like?” There was no compassion in his voice though. Rhys sounded amused, and the way his smile widened made Llawan cringe. He stirred in the hard embrace, instinctively trying to get away. His fin flung up and down, splashing water into the air.

“No, Llawan. We wouldn’t want blood spoiling this perfect pool of water, now would we?” Rhys brought the finger up to his lips and kissed the tip.

Llawan slouched, refusing to look at it. He felt trapped and sickened.

“Do you agree, Llawan? This will not be an easy task, but it will give you freedom. I can’t waste time on you if you don’t want it.”

“What will I have to do?”

“I will make contact when I have the need for you.” One of Rhys’s hands kept stroking his arm.

Llawan didn’t want to know any more, so he nodded. “I want freedom.” He dared to look up, into Rhys’s glossy eyes, trying to stop the slight tremble in his lips.

The man locked his gaze with him, but held Llawan's little finger in a firm grip. At first, all Llawan felt was a tingle, but slowly, the digit became numb. Unpleasantly numb, like when he swam into an icy stream and lost feeling in his hands and fin. He closed his eyes, trying not to tremble too much.

He dared to take a peek and instantly regretted it when he saw his finger, all blackened and stiff. He let out a screeching yell, cowering in the crook of Rhys’s armpit.

Rhys hugged him close and kissed Llawan by the gills. “There, there.” And with those words, he snapped the finger off like an icicle. Apart from a strange tingle, there was no pain, but the sound itself made Llawan so lightheaded he slumped against his owner. He refused to look at his hand, suddenly realizing that the body he was clinging to had no odor, as if it wasn’t flesh and bone.

“Good.” He was so shocked that he barely registered one more brush of lips against his gills and it took a loud crunch to yank him out of the stupor. Breathlessly, Llawan looked up into the ghastly white face and realized Rhys was chewing his finger, those sharp teeth working the digit. It only took a few crunches and he swallowed it without hesitation.

Llawan felt himself go weak and clasped a hand over his own mouth. If he’d had any food recently, he would probably be sick.

Rhys stroked his cheek. “There, there. It’s all done. We can become friends now, yes?”

Llawan looked at him, wide eyed. How was he supposed to become friends with a man who’d just eaten a piece of his body? He still didn’t dare to look at his hand, especially that he didn’t feel that there was anything missing. “Friends?”

“Yes. You gave me something, I give you something.” Rhys sat down at the bottom of the pool, so only his head was above water. Two of his hands stroked the sides of Llawan’s tail, just beneath the hips. It felt odd and warm.

“You give me freedom,” insisted Llawan, trying to calm his breath. His thoughts kept returning to his missing finger and the crunchy sound it made when Rhys had bit down on it.

“Yes, I will.” Rhys’s hand trailed along the front of Llawan’s tail, and he gave it a curious glance. “The way your people look, I often wonder if it wasn’t Ossenthar where you were made.”

Llawan felt himself flush at the suggestion, but decided to ignore the strange tingle in his fin. “We were made by the gods!”

“And what did the gods make this for?” Rhys licked his lips and reached out to cup Llawan's cheeks, holding him in place. If this tender gesture wasn't unexpected enough, a third hand trailed up Llawan's tail and traced the edges of his genital slit. He clicked in surprise, tensing in the shark’s arms. It wasn't long since he had reached maturity and no one had ever touched him there. Then again, maybe Rhys was just curious about the unfamiliar anatomy. Llawan knew land dwelling men did not retract their genitals into their bodies.

“Why?”

“I like to learn about bodies. Moulding the flesh is one of my passions,” Rhys said and pulled back his hand, only to take the glove off and return his fingers to the slit.

“No.” Llawan flinched in his grip, splashing the water with his fin. “You free me!”

“I just want to see,” Rhys growled in obvious annoyance, but he didn’t even blink. He was in complete control of his tense, powerful body and in one quick move, grabbed Llawan’s arms and pulled him back into place.

“Not yours to see!” Llawan tried to struggle, but it was futile. Rhys was far stronger than him and he had a total of six limbs.

“Stay still,” was all he got, before he felt two nail-less fingers slide into the pouch inside his body, teasing the tip of his penis.

Llawan screeched, batting his tail as energetically as he could, but during the struggle, his eyes met the empty space at the outer edge of his hand. He still felt its presence, but when he moved the muscles as he would when he still had the missing digit, only the finger next to it gave a little twitch of response.

“It will leave a scar, but will not hurt,” Rhys said casually, while moving his fingers in the slit with the care of a healer. Llawan stirred in his arms with a slight gasp as he sensed warmth around his cock. It felt so different than when he was touching it himself, and his eyes fell shut.

“Mm... And it grows, like a human’s?” Rhys used another hand to pull the flaps of the slit open.

The gentle slide of fingers against the tender flesh inside pressed a moan out of Llawan’s lips, and he stopped struggling altogether. Even the soothing water he was immersed in seemed to warm up. “Y... yes.” He used his free hand to gather his hair and dared to look down. Beneath the trembling surface of the water, two pale hands touched him where he was most sensitive. He felt his face and chest flush with so much heat it couldn't be cooled by the water and evening breeze alone.

“Oh, it does.” Rhys kept looking down with no shame whatsoever. “It’s swelling already. Is it a good feeling?”

Llawan yelped when he saw one of Rhys’s hands disappear between the rapidly swelling folds of his slit. It felt so full he was aching, submitted to pleasure that sucked him in like a deep, underwater well. “Yes. You know, too.”

“I don’t have anything like it. Though I know most species find being caressed there highly desirable.”

Llawan blinked, suddenly interested in the secret lying between Rhys’s thighs. “Like fish?”

“No, not like a fish.” It brought a grin to his face, but he never stopped touching Llawan’s slit and penis, until it started poking out like a snail out of its shell.

“So how your people do it?” Llawan couldn’t help but hold on to the other man’s large, odorless body. He was out of the tank, bathed in cool water and for the first time, someone was giving him pleasure. He was torn by the conflict between gratitude for the promise of freedom and disgust, which was still lingering deep in his throat. The man
ate
his finger.

Rhys pulled the flaps open, to have a better look at the smooth penis and that alone made Llawan’s genitals swell even harder. “Do what? Mate?”

Llawan nodded, hypnotized by his stone-like eyes.

“In many different ways. I’m not looking for a mate; I’m self sufficient. I do find your organs fascinating though.” He ran his finger from the base deep in the slit, all the way to the tip of Llawan’s penis, making his fin twitch. The touch made him warm all over and the sensation spread to his body, making it soft and pliant.

“Not your time?” As much as Llawan didn’t want to be a shark-man’s mate, it was a surprising confession. Was it not his spawning-season?

“I doubt it will ever be my time.” Rhys suppressed a laugh and pulled away completely, setting Llawan free. “You are very interesting.”

Shocked by the unexpected lack of touch, Llawan blinked up at him, suddenly embarrassed by his exposed organs, now plump and dark.

Rhys leaned over the side of the pool to fetch his gloves, unmoved by the display. “I will help you get down to the ocean.”

Llawan gave a delighted click and darted towards the edge of the pool, to look at the way the moon discus was mirrored in the dark waters. It was so close and yet too far for him to reach the shore on his own.

Rhys grabbed him under the arms and tail and in no time, he was carrying Llawan back onto the main terrace. The air felt dry on Llawan’s skin again, but he was already anticipating the salty ocean water, so he didn’t let it bother him. His hands went around Rhys’s neck and from the height of his arms, Llawan looked into the endless waters that were calling out to him, as if he was a lost child seeked by his mother. The man’s touch however, felt different now, more arousing than intimidating and Llawan couldn’t help but feel at loss about his spoilt pleasure, even if there was nothing he wanted more than getting back into the safety of deep waters, far away from Ossenthar.

They took a turn around a dark bush with no leaves, and he finally saw the waterfall that he had only heard up ‘til now. His heart fluttered, throat choking with hope.

Rhys was taking him down a path of steep stairs, that led all the way down to a tiny shoreline and as much as Llawan wanted to avoid thinking about it, the creamy color of the steps reminded him of bone. With the arousal gone, his penis retracted back into the slit and Llawan was now solely focused on the proximity of water. He hoped with all his heart for it not to be a cruel joke, like when small mermen teased a fish they intended to eat just for the fun of it.