The Betrayal of Rhiad

Part 3

He could see now that he had erred when he had first tried to label Hadrian.

Caledon had been fascinated by the other man's apparent inexperience, his naiveté. But the truth of the matter was that Hadrian was untouched -- untouched by affection, untouched by desire. How this had come to be, Caledon couldn't imagine. But he knew it to be true. He felt it in his bones.

Nothing else could explain why Hadrian literally melted beneath his caresses. Every touch Caledon made upon the younger man's skin left Hadrian trembling and breathless, his body both afraid of the sensation and straining for more. Why has no one done this before me? Caledon wondered as he eased open the stall door with his free arm wrapped firmly about Hadrian's back.

He should just be grateful it was he who had been the one to find Hadrian, first. That's what his sensible side told him. But a deeper part of him felt unexplainably saddened by the discovery. Everyone deserved the comforts of touch, of affection. Why hadn't anyone offered these things to Hadrian?

Caledon's body urged him to forget such ruminations. He wasn't trying to develop a permanent relationship with the other man. Hadrian would be gone within the week. This would simply be an interlude for them both. Even so, Caledon vowed to make it something worth remembering.

He had managed to back Hadrian to the shaky ladder that led to the loft, but now necessity required that he break off the kiss that was currently stealing his breath. For someone who was being taught the basics minute by minute, Hadrian was proving to be an admirably quick learner. Caledon wasn't surprised. Within the swirling grey depths of Hadrian's eyes lurked a passion that did not know itself. All it needed was an introduction.

He regretfully eased out of the kiss and cupped Hadrian's chin, tilting his face up. Caledon nearly groaned with desire for the other man. With cheeks flushed like cherry wine and dark lashes shuttering the mysterious silver of his gaze, Hadrian was a temptation few would be able to resist. Looking down at him, Caledon wondered why he was trying. Oh, yes. The loft.

"Will you come with me up into the loft?" he asked gently. This was an important turning point and he didn't want to scare the younger man off.

Hadrian blinked, as though trying to clear a fog from his vision. "The loft?" he repeated, uncomprehending.

"I've a blanket up there," Caledon explained, feeling a bit of a lecher as he admitted to having anticipated Hadrian's company. "We can relax and look up at the stars."

"Alright," Hadrian agreed after a moment.

He has no idea, Caledon thought. But he noticed that Hadrian's hand on the ladder was less than steady as he pulled himself up. Did he suspect after all?

With sweating hands and a pulse that roared beneath his skin, Caledon followed Hadrian up the ladder. True to his word, Caledon had laid a thick blanket over the scratchy mounds of hay, providing them with a more comfortable place to recline. He recognized the self-consciousness that made Hadrian's movements stiff as he dropped onto the blanket. The wave of tenderness that swept through Caledon was a surprise to him.

He'd placed the blanket before the large opening in the stable wall where new hay was brought up from the outside. Much like a large portrait, it gave them a framed view of the town stretched before them and of the night sky twinkling above.

"This is . . . very nice," Hadrian said quietly. He turned from admiring the view outside, his eyes going suddenly round as he looked up at Caledon.

The mercenary smiled as he stripped off his tunic and let it drop to the straw. He could tell that Hadrian didn't want to look, but his willpower was weak. Grey eyes swept hungrily, curiously, across his chest and down the flat plane of his abdomen. Like what you see, Hadrian? The quick flick of a tongue across rosy lips said that he did.

Still watching the younger man's reaction, Caledon let his hands fall to the ties of his breeches. He hesitated for half a beat, waiting to see if Hadrian would protest this sudden escalation of their intimacy. Though he blushed furiously and his hands curled into fists upon his thighs, Hadrian said nothing, eyes riveted almost helplessly to the mercenary's hands.

Hadrian wanted him so badly he didn't know how to say it. The thought made Caledon grow harder with need. It made things a bit more difficult when it came time to drawing his breeches down over his hips. There was a slight . . . encumbrance, he had to overcome first. But once down, he swiftly stripped the garment off, drawing his boots long with it.

"This is what you do to me," Caledon said in a voice not his own. Hadrian's eyes darted to the mercenary's eyes, then back to the proudly arcing flesh that rose from between his thighs. Already reddened cheeks grew brighter with color. "My body finds you desirable, Hadrian. It wants to find pleasure with you. Can you understand that?"

Hesitantly, Hadrian nodded. "I can. I -- I feel that way about you, as well. Only, I don't know how to . . . how to answer that need."

Caledon savored the younger man's answer. It made him smile as he dropped to one knee on the blanket beside Hadrian. It faded somewhat when Hadrian shied away at his approach.

"It's alright. You can touch me."

With a visible gathering of nerves, Hadrian leaned forward, reaching out to touch Caledon's bare chest. The mercenary bit back a groan as slender fingers delicately explored his skin.

"You are scarred," Hadrian breathed, frowning slightly as though he thought Caledon still pained by the marks.

"I am a mercenary," Caledon reminded him, reaching up himself to thread his fingers through the other man's dark hair. He pushed his hand to the back of Hadrian's head and urged him to look up. "Will you do something with me?"

The other man nodded wordlessly.

"I want you to play a game with me," Caledon began, gently caressing Hadrian's scalp. "When I touch myself, I want you to do the same. Will you do that for me?"

Hadrian looked alternately mortified and intrigued. "You want me to touch myself. For you?"

Caledon nodded. "This way we can both see each other and learn what brings the other pleasure." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of Hadrian's mouth, feeling the lips part for him automatically. "Please, Hadrian?" He took a pale hand and pressed it to his own chest, sliding it over the hard pebble of a nipple. When the hand trembled within his grip, he slid it lower, down his stomach to rest on the taut skin just below his navel. "Please?"

Hadrian was panting against his cheek. "I suppose I can . . . do that."

Caledon held back his smile as Hadrian sat up and turned himself slightly away from the mercenary. Glancing back over his shoulder as if to be certain the blonde wouldn't pounce on him, Hadrian fumbled with the broach on his cloak, finally managing to remove it. Caledon tugged the cloak away and tossed it with the growing pile of garments.

"Now the tunic," he urged softly.

Hadrian took an audible breath before pulling the thick cloth up his chest and over his head. Caledon sighed in contentment. Hadrian was as beautiful as he'd imagined. Pale, porcelain skin covered a slender musculature that hinted at a lean strength. Hadrian wasn't power, he was all grace and sleek curves. Caledon appreciated the physique with a connoisseur's eye for beauty.

"I'm not like you," Hadrian was saying, eyeing the mercenary nervously. "I'm not strong like you or --"

"I'm glad," Caledon interrupted. "I don't want you to be those things. I want you to be just as you are. We fit together better this way." A faint, grateful smile touched the corners of Hadrian's mouth. Caledon returned it. "Keep going, Hadrian. You're doing fine."

Nodding, once again nervous, Hadrian plucked at the ties on his breeches. Anticipation was killing Caledon, but he forced his expression to be one of patient understanding. His body couldn't say the same. By the time Hadrian had managed to wiggle his way out of his breeches and shove it and his boots to the straw at their feet, Caledon's flesh was rock hard and weeping with need. A brief glimpse of pale, tightly rounded buttocks made him swallow back a moan. As for his view of the other --

"Move your hand, love," he gently coaxed. "Everything I've seen of you is beautiful. You don't need to hide."

Staring up at the rafters with his lips pinched tightly, Hadrian dropped his hand to the blanket. Moonlight slanted over his body, caressing the slender column of ivory flesh that curved outward from within a dark shadow. The tip of that smooth flesh glistened with the proof of Hadrian's excitement. He was not as large as the mercenary, but he was stunning in his pale beauty. Caledon unconsciously licked his lips, amazed that he hadn't already thrown himself atop the younger man.

"Oh, love," he breathed, shifting restlessly on the blanket. "You had nothing to worry about. You're perfect."

Skeptical grey eyes slid to him.

"You're exactly what I want," Caledon assured him. He gave a self-effacing laugh. "In fact, you're more than I expected. I may have to cut my game short."

Something that looked like hope, which tore Caledon's insides to see, sparked in Hadrian's eyes. "You find me attractive, then? You still want to . . . be with me?"

"Mmm, let me show you how much." Moving more quickly than he knew he should, but unable to restrain himself any longer now that Hadrian lie naked before him, Caledon brushed the back of his fingers across the younger man's collarbones. It was a light, barely-there touch, but Hadrian shut his eyes and sighed, his head falling back slightly.

Encouraged by the response, Caledon's hand floated lower, grazing a small, strawberry-tinted nipple. This time, Hadrian's eyes shot open, his lips parting in surprise as Caledon lightly pinched the tiny nub. Caledon noted the gratifying reaction lower down Hadrian's body.

"Did that feel good?" he whispered.

Hadrian nodded, gripping the blanket. "Do it again. Please."

Grinning, Caledon turned his attention to the other nipple and circled the aureole with a fingertip. Round and round he circled, watching the flesh pucker up in agitation. Before Hadrian could guess at his intent, Caledon swooped down and sucked the nipple between his lips.

Slender fingers grasped Caledon's hair as a shocked cry reverberated through the loft. This one likes to make noise, he thought with satisfaction. Nice. He sucked the pebble of flesh and rolled it across his tongue. He could feel movement on the blanket and knew without looking that Hadrian was already moving his hips, blindly searching. So quick, so eager. Caledon's body was hot with anticipation.

When he finally raised his head, satisfied that he had left Hadrian's skin sensitive to the touch, the younger man was looking at him with bright, silver eyes. "May I touch you, too?" Hadrian asked with an excitement that made his voice sound breathy and light.

"I'd like nothing better," Caledon replied. He waited, curious to see how Hadrian would touch him, and nearly exploded when slender fingers lightly stroked his erection. "Gods, Hadrian, you're bold!"

The fingers immediately withdrew, Hadrian's cheeks pale. "I'm sorry!"

Caledon caught his wrist. "No," he said hoarsely, "don't stop. This is more than I was hoping for; don't tease me by drawing away now."

Swallowing hard, Hadrian allowed the mercenary to return his hand to the stiff flesh jutting out from between Caledon's thighs. Caledon let his eyelids fall nearly shut as hesitant hands gingerly explored him from base to tip. This was torture, it truly was, but Caledon would sooner impale himself on his own blade than discourage Hadrian from what he was doing. It was just enough sensation to make his flesh lengthen and harden further. It was light enough to leave Caledon all but twisting on the blanket in need of more. When the soft caresses grew too much to endure, he reached between their bodies and took careful hold of Hadrian's erection.

The reaction was instant and exactly what Caledon had hoped for. Hadrian's eyes rolled up into his head, his hands falling slack to the blanket as he collapsed backwards. A red flush drifted up his throat and lingered on his cheeks as he lay gasping for breath and unable to find it. Caledon leaned over him, stroking him firmly, introducing the younger man to the wonders of another's hand upon that most intimate flesh.

"It feels better like this, doesn't it?" he murmured, watching from beneath his lashes as Hadrian writhed beneath him. Pale, slender thighs fell open on the blanket in unconscious offering and Caledon had to fight the nearly violent urge to dive between those slim thighs and push himself into the tight body with all his might.

But he couldn't do that, not even if Hadrian, by some miracle, begged it of him. Caledon forced himself to remember who this was beneath him. His untouched jewel of Rhiad. He wouldn't dare crack its surface with so barbaric a joining. This one required a bit of finesse. Caledon could only hope he had the fortitude for the job.

"Hadrian, love," he murmured, burying his face in the spill of dark hair that lay across pale shoulders, "do you want me to show you more?"

Blind eyes opened with effort. "More?"

"There are ways for men to find pleasure with each other besides this." Caledon rubbed his thumb across the slick tip of Hadrian's erection, simply so he could watch the other shudder. "I promise you, it feels much, much better than what we've done thus far."

Hadrian blinked. "How is that possible?"

Caledon laughed with genuine delight. "Gods, Hadrian, you've a skill for stroking a man's ego. It is no wonder I've fallen so hard for you."

Hadrian's face registered the words at the same moment Caledon realized what he'd said. "You've fallen --"

Caledon squeezed Hadrian's shaft, drawing a desperate moan from the younger man. "Enough," Caledon whispered, shaky for reasons he did not want to think about. "Will you let me show you these things? Will you let me show you the pleasure you and I can find with each other?"

If Hadrian still considered what the mercenary had said, he made no show of it. On his face now was only pure, untarnished lust. "Show me," he breathed. "I want to learn everything."

Caledon smiled, joy and desire unfurling through his body. "Then up onto your knees, love."

Hadrian gathered his shaking limbs beneath him, rising onto all fours. His back trembled beneath Caledon's palm as the mercenary soothed him with long slow strokes up and down his spine.

"You're doing fine, Hadrian. Just fine," he murmured, placing gentle kisses against the back of the younger man's shoulders. "It's going to get a little more intense from here on out, but I promise you that you'll like it."

"It's alright," Hadrian panted, his head concealed by the lush fall of his dark hair. "I know you won't hurt me."

Caledon's hand faltered slightly. So trusting. What had he done to make the other man say such a thing? They hardly knew each other. But as he studied Hadrian's faintly trembling body, Caledon knew that the younger man was caught in the throes of his passion, willing to do anything for more.

So responsive. . . Caledon's body hardened further. Anything he did to Hadrian this night would push the younger man into ecstasy. Hadrian's pleasure would be so easy to manipulate. Caledon's pulse quickened at the prospect.

He stroked both of his palms up and down the pale back before him, using the touch to soothe and relax. Hadrian was tense, still nervous about what would happen, yet eager to find out. Thinking too much, Caledon decided. That needed to end.

He reached up and ran his fingers through Hadrian's hair, letting the silky strands slip between the webbing. He gently massaged the bent head, earning a sensual groan as Caledon expertly found all the points on the other man's scalp that would set his entire head to tingling. Hadrian moaned, looking ready to collapse back onto the blanket. Caledon smiled and slid his hands down over the back of Hadrian's neck and began to knead the tight muscles.

"You need to relax, love," he murmured. "This is only going to feel good. Just take it easy."

"I'm sorry," Hadrian panted. "I'm trying . . ."

"Shhh, don't apologize." Caledon lightly bit a sleekly muscled shoulder. "Don't think about anything right now but how this feels. Forget your mind, Hadrian. Become your body. Feel what I'm doing to you. Enjoy it."

After a moment of hard kneading, Caledon felt the muscles ease beneath his hands. "That's it." He continued the massage lower, working out the tight knots of Hadrian's shoulders and once they were soft and warm, down along the muscles bracketing his spine.

In the moonlight, Hadrian's skin glowed. Caledon's ministrations became less massage and more caressing as he drifted down the graceful curve of the younger man's body. At the swell of his hips, Caledon settled his palms over the creamy globes of Hadrian's buttocks and gently squeezed. Hadrian made a low sound and pushed back ever so slightly. Caledon palmed the soft flesh, satisfying his need to mold Hadrian's buttocks to the shape of his hands. He spread the pale flesh slightly, glimpsing the tiny pink entrance his body yearned for. The mercenary laughed quietly to himself at how his shaft jumped with excitement at the sight. I need to heed my own advice and calm down, he mused.

Hadrian heard the laugh and lifted his head. Silver-grey eyes flashed over his shoulder. "What are you -- what are you laughing about?"

Even in the milky light, Caledon could see that the younger man's cheeks were flushed red with arousal and mounting embarrassment.

"Don't even think that I'm laughing at you," Caledon told him with quiet sternness. "It is I whom I am poking fun at. I see your lovely body and I feel myself losing control. I am ashamed at how green my body is acting."

The grey eyes regarded him steadily. "Is it so bad to be . . . green?"

The whispered question pinched Caledon's heart. He moved up over Hadrian's body, draping an arm around his waist while one hand braced against the straw. "Is it so bad that I get to be the first to show you pleasure?" he whispered into a pale ear. "Is it so bad that I get to be the first to hear you moan in desire, the first to brand my touch onto your skin . . . is that what you mean?" He felt Hadrian shiver beneath him. "Oh, no, Hadrian. Being green is good. Being green makes me hard." As proof, he rubbed himself against the curve of a buttock, letting Hadrian feel how true his words were.

Hadrian let out a ragged sigh. "Caledon. Keep going."

Caledon smiled and dragged his tongue along the swell of a shoulder as the fingers of one hand drifted across Hadrian's chest, searching. He caught a tiny nipple and gently rolled it between his fingertips. Hadrian bucked beneath him, unconsciously rolling his hips in a way that left Caledon's mouth dry. Gods, but Hadrian was sensual without even knowing that he was. He was like a horse that yearned for the freedom of the open range and yet desired a strong hand to guide him there. Let it be me.

Caledon continued to play with the small nub of flesh, relishing the sounds Hadrian made against his chest. He found Hadrian's other nipple and played with it until it too, was sensitive to just the tiniest of brushes of his fingertips. He began to kiss his way down Hadrian's back, mirroring the motion with his hand beneath until his fingers circled the indentation of Hadrian's navel. He felt the inhalation of breath, more than he heard it.

"I'm going to touch you," Caledon told him in a husky voice. "Would you like that?"

Hadrian made a sound and Caledon knew that he must be biting his lip.

"Would you like me to stroke that ache between your thighs?" he teased. "Do you remember how good it felt to have my hand wrapped around you, squeezing you, stroking you --"

"Please!" Hadrian gasped, thrusting against air. "Please do it."

Caledon couldn't help himself, aroused by the novelty of having someone so innocent beneath him. "Please, what, Hadrian? Say it."

"T-touch me!"

Caledon shut his eyes, thrilled by the spark of fire that ripped through his veins. "Hadrian, you're going to kill me before this is over," he said with a breathy laugh. "Let me return the favor."

He curled his fingers about the hard heat that jutted up from Hadrian's thighs, grinning into the darkness as Hadrian cried out, his head flying back.

"Have you ever had anyone touch you this way?" he asked as he stroked the velvety flesh in his palm.

"N-never before you!" Hadrian gasped, twisting and writhing in and out of Caledon's hand as if he didn't know how to move. "Oh, gods, Caledon -- it feels so good!"

"It gets better, love."

He pumped Hadrian steadily, listening to his breathing become faster, more desperate. Caledon read the signs of his growing passion in the uncontrollable jerking of his hips, the clenching of his fists in the blanket. His moans filled the otherwise silent night. Hadrian was so excited it stole Caledon's breath. It also gave him pause. Hadrian should have found release by now, but somehow he hadn't.

"Don't fight it," Caledon told him, reaching down to cradle the twin globes behind the shaft he fisted. The added sensation made Hadrian release a desperate moan. "Why are you holding on?" he asked in a soft voice. "It's alright to let go. It's only you and me here. It's alright, Hadrian. Don't be afraid."

"Caledon . . . please," Hadrian whimpered.

Caledon didn't know what he was asking for. For him to stop? For him to continue? It could have been either. Caledon had never had anyone fight their desires this way. It was alarming and enflaming at the same time. His own cock grew harder at the visible and audible signs of Hadrian's resistance. Caledon couldn't help himself from rubbing himself against a slender thigh.

"What is it you want?" he asked the quaking body beneath him. "What do you need?"

Hadrian shook his head frantically. He was so swollen in Caledon's hand that the mercenary knew it must be nearing pain. "Just . . . hold --"

He didn't finish, but Caledon understood. With a strong arm wrapped about Hadrian's waist, he lifted the younger man upright and held him against his chest. Hadrian collapsed back into his embrace, his head falling to the side so that his breath flashed across Caledon's collarbone.

"I've got you," Caledon breathed, beginning to ache himself. "Just let go. I won't let you fall."

With a broken cry, Hadrian arched against him, fingers digging painfully into the arm wrapped about his waist. Caledon breathed a sigh of relief as warmth dripped down his fingers and Hadrian became boneless within his arms. Hadrian made a sound very similar to a sob and dropped his head against Caledon's shoulder.

Caledon's breath fanned his hair as he looked down at the spent man. "You fought that the entire time, you beautiful fool. I'd no idea you were into self-torture. Perhaps I'll tie you up next time, eh?" He grinned into the dazed grey eyes that looked up at him in confusion. "Never mind. I was joking."

Hadrian shifted, his eyes clearing as Caledon's erection jabbed into the small of his back. "Caledon?"

"That was just the beginning," the mercenary told him in a thickening voice. "Now comes the truly wild part." He kissed Hadrian's lips and murmured against the soft skin, "Back down, love. I want to show you something."

Hesitantly, Hadrian bent forward again. Caledon spent a moment admiring his sweat-sheened body with hands and eyes. Hadrian responded immediately to his touches, his skin sensitized and reacting to the slightest touch. He moaned softly as Caledon caressed him into hardness once again.

"So beautiful," Caledon murmured, stroking him leisurely. With his free hand, he reached beneath the blanket and dug around in the straw. He grinned when he found the small pot of salve he had secreted there earlier. Arrogant? Perhaps. Willing to be caught unprepared? Never.

Coating the tips of his fingers with the sweet-smelling salve, he let his fingers float over the curves of Hadrian's hips. Hadrian was fully hard now, moving somewhat fitfully in Caledon's hand.

"Eager like a colt," Caledon teased, earning him a dark look from over Hadrian's shoulder.

"Do not compare me to livestock," the younger man protested. "Even though you're about to . . . about to . . ."

He couldn't say it, suddenly ducking his head. "Even though I'm about to take you," Caledon finished for him, choosing kinder words than he knew the other was thinking. "Don't worry, Hadrian. I've no doubt in my mind that all of this lovely skin and the exquisite limbs they cover belong solely to the beautiful young man I met yesterday. No doubt at all who it is I'm with. I'm grateful."

Hadrian trembled, whether at the words or Caledon's fingers currently tracing the crease between his buttocks, the mercenary had no idea. Watching the younger man intently from beneath lowered lids, Caledon found the puckered entrance to Hadrian's body and lightly circled it. Hadrian shifted restlessly, perturbed by the unfamiliar touch.

"Relax," Caledon purred, rubbing his fingertip over the clenching muscle. "This will feel good. I promise you. But you need to relax, first, and let me in." Caledon picked up the speed of his strokes along Hadrian's shaft and used the distraction to push the tip of his finger inside. "There you go. Easy."

"I don't know if I like this," Hadrian panted. "It feels odd." His body belied his words, though, as it pushed back ever so slightly upon the invading digit.

"It's going to feel damned good in a minute," Caledon assured him. "Just wait. I'll have you in a quivering puddle in no time."

Hadrian laughed tensely. "And that's a good thing?"

Caledon smiled as he twisted his finger, drawing a startled gasp from his young lover. "Oh, yes, Hadrian. That's a very good thing. You'll see."

With watchful eyes that knew what to look for, Caledon stroked over that nub of pleasure. He saw Hadrian's body react to the sudden influx of pleasure with a suddenness that nearly pulled his finger free. He caught the bucking body tighter about the waist, holding Hadrian steady as he plundered the tight passage, unerringly hitting that spot again and again.

Hadrian released a shuddery moan, caught between the twin pleasures of Caledon's hands on his shaft and in his body. Caledon felt the constricting muscles about his finger release slightly and took that as a signal to go further. He carefully slid another finger inside, then another, pumping them into the loosening channel of Hadrian's body.

"How does that feel?" the mercenary panted, placing an openmouthed kiss against the back of the other man's shoulder. "Do you like what I'm doing to you?"

Hadrian moaned, his arms nearly dropping him to the blanket as Caledon relentlessly stroked him, inside and out. "I can't . . . stand it," he gasped. "Don't stop."

Caledon chuckled. "What if I stopped only to put something bigger here." He pressed his fingers down, making Hadrian spread his legs and roll his hips in unconscious need. "Something bigger, and harder, and hotter rubbing right over this." He nipped a pale shoulder. "Would you like that, love? Hmm?"

Hadrian's hands tore at the blanket. His body was slick and shiny with the force of his desire. Shudders periodically traveled up the length of his body, the shivers transmitted to Caledon's chest and arm. Caledon knew he was so close. He just needs a little push.

"Would you like me to fill you up?" he continued in a husky voice, his own hips starting to move with barely restrained need. "Would you like me to push into you and ease that ache you have, Hadrian? I bet you ache. I bet it feels so good it almost hurts."

He knew the purr of his voice would get to Hadrian. The younger man responded electrically to all of his prompts. This time was no different. Hadrian pushed himself backwards, impaling himself on Caledon's fingers desperately.

"What do you want?" Caledon whispered. "Tell me."

Hadrian panted. "You know what I want."

"But I want to hear you ask me for it."

Hadrian made a strangled sound of frustration. "You're being cruel!"

Caledon grinned in the dark, pumping his hands steadily to push the other man closer to his limit. "I never said I was a nice man, love. Just tell me what you want. I want to hear your innocent mouth say the words. Tell me."

"Unnh . . . Caledon --"

He leaned forward to catch the whispered words. "Yes?"

"-- take me. Please."

Caledon groaned, his cock too hard to deny its pleasure any longer. He removed his fingers from the loosened passage and positioned himself in their place. So slowly it made him clench his teeth with the struggle for control, he pushed the head of his shaft past the tight ring of muscle. From somewhere far away, he heard Hadrian give a small cry. Instinct prompted Caledon to stroke the flesh he still held beneath Hadrian's body. Hadrian jerked, inadvertently pushing the mercenary deeper into him. Hadrian stilled, his body shaking as Caledon eased himself in the last few inches.

Ah, gods, tight. Caledon could think of nothing else but the silken fist of Hadrian's body squeezing him almost painfully. It was a tightness that Caledon knew from experience meant Hadrian hadn't fully accepted him. Sweating, his nerves stretched to the breaking point, Caledon nonetheless took the time to gently stroke the quivering body beneath him.

"Easy, Hadrian, easy," he soothed in a rough voice. "I'm inside now. It won't get worse than this, it will only get better."

"Caledon," the other whispered brokenly. Hadrian was breathing quickly, his chest heaving. "I feel so full . . . I can't take so much."

Caledon bit his tongue, his flesh swelling even more at the unintentionally erotic words. He swore to himself when Hadrian whimpered in response to his growing ardor. This wasn't getting better for either of them. Caledon decided quickly that it was time to change that.

Hadrian's erection had softened in his palm, but with careful kneading and squeezing, Caledon swiftly brought him back to full hardness. The return of pleasure had an added benefit for Hadrian's body, as well, helping it to relax. Caledon sighed in relief when he felt the tight constriction about his flesh loosen somewhat. Now it was up to him.

He pulled back slightly, letting himself ease from Hadrian's body. Then he slowly pushed back in. He angled himself purposefully and was rewarded for his efforts when Hadrian let out a long, low moan, his back arching like a cat's.

Caledon grinned at the reaction. "Oh, yes, that's it. Show me that again, Hadrian."

He slid out with the same maddening pace and eased back in. He almost laughed when Hadrian mimicked the exact response as before. "Oh, you're beautiful," Caledon marveled. "Look at you. So sensitive . . ."

He began to thrust carefully now, making sure to strike that place of pleasure inside Hadrian's body with every stroke. Hadrian's moans turned into full-throated groans of pleasure. He twisted beneath Caledon, his cock stiff and weeping in the mercenary's hand. Caledon could not remember ever seeing anything so breathtaking -- so carnal and yet so pure. Someone like Hadrian shouldn't exist and yet he did, and Caledon had been the first to find him. What have I done, Caledon thought in amazement, that allows me to deserve this?

Hadrian was fiery heat about his pumping shaft. Every thrust was like pushing himself into a fire-warmed glove. Caledon thrust in a little harder now, allowing more of his passion for the lithe body to be appeased. This only stirred Hadrian to be more vocal, his moans echoing off the rafters. Caledon was in ecstasy.

With a growl, he released Hadrian's erection and grabbed the slighter man about the hips. Hadrian's body accepted him completely now. Caledon knew that the rough thrusts with which he now took the other man wouldn't hurt. If anything, Hadrian enjoyed it more, his arms collapsing to the blanket with only the mercenary's hands to hold him up. Caledon pumped into him furiously, grinding himself tight against the pale curve of buttocks to reach as deep as he could.

But it wasn't enough somehow, and he thought he knew what was missing. Hadrian let out a surprised yelp as Caledon expertly flipped the younger man onto his back, never losing their intimate contact. Wide, grey eyes looked up in surprise from beneath a swirling mass of inky hair. With the moonlight pouring down from the opened window, Caledon could see the splash of rosy color that infused Hadrian's cheeks. Hadrian looked wild and wanton and in the process of being thoroughly tumbled. Caledon grinned. This was exactly what he wanted.

Enjoying Hadrian's mixed expression of confusion and passion, Caledon hooked a pale leg over one shoulder and leaned forward, driving himself deeper into the body pinned below. The grey eyes went impossibly wide. Raven-black lashes fluttered down weakly. Still smiling, Caledon reached between their bodies and took hold of Hadrian's erection again and began to pump it.

"Better?" he breathed.

When the grey eyes opened again, they glimmered in the moonlight. Tears? Caledon was afraid to look too closely. So he shut his own eyes and gave himself over to the task of driving Hadrian insensate with pleasure. His long, deep thrusts left Hadrian clutching at Caledon's shoulders and gasping. He began to move with Caledon, small shifts of his hips at first, and then more determined thrusts as his confidence grew. To the mercenary, it was like watching a tightly budded flower open and bloom.

"Hadrian," he whispered. There was more in his voice than even he expected to hear.

A little afraid, a little desperate, Caledon bore down on the slender body beneath his. He lifted Hadrian's leg higher and angled himself carefully. He began to make short, hard jabs directly against the center of Hadrian's pleasure. Hadrian let out a strangled cry, his head arching back against the blanket. His nails dug into Caledon's skin painfully. The mercenary knew this was the end for them both and began to piston faster.

Hadrian's voice grew hoarse with his short cries. Caledon had never heard anyone lose their voice while in the throes of their passion. It left his mouth dry, his heart a stampeding pain in his chest. Not thinking at all, controlled by forces he couldn't name, he leaned forward and muffled Hadrian's cries with his mouth. With his eyes open, he watched the grey eyes stare back at him in shock. Then blackness swept down to hide them as Hadrian gave a final groan and shuddered beneath Caledon.

The heat of Hadrian's essence damped the mercenary's hand at the same time his own release ripped through him. His body jerked with each powerful jet into the trembling body surrounding him. Caledon felt as though he'd been trampled by a hundred horses, and yet something inside of him felt inexplicably light, as though it soared beyond his body. He didn't want to know what that strange feeling meant. It was enough that he had just had the most incredible physical experience in recent memory. It was more than enough.

"Caledon." He felt trembling fingers stroke his sweat-dampened hair from his temples. Groaning, he dropped to the blanket beside Hadrian, regretfully leaving the younger man's clenching heat.

He turned his leaden head and found those crystalline eyes gazing at him with almost drunken pleasure. "What is it, love?"

"Is it -- is it always like that? I had no idea."

Caledon grinned ruefully, staring up through the opening in the roof at the shifting swathe of milky stars. "No, actually, it's rarely like that. I can't explain why this was different." I don't want to.

Hadrian gave a soft, disappointed, "Oh." Minutes passed in which their breathing eased and grew synchronized. Caledon shifted and threw a heavy leg across the top of Hadrian's thighs, one arm sliding beneath the spill of dark hair to urge Hadrian closer. Possessive!, a voice inside him accused. At the moment, Caledon was too content to care.

"Do you think it will be that way between us again?"

Caledon blinked at the unexpected question, a slow grin curving his lips. He stroked the dark hair fanned across his chest. "Yes, Hadrian, I think it will. In fact, why don't we find out?"

Hadrian's startled moan was caught by Caledon's lips. "So soon?"

Caledon kissed him silent. "So soon."

~~~~~

Caledon waited in the shadow of the stable doors as Hadrian pulled his cloak about him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?" Hadrian asked, a touch of worry shading his voice.

He had small bits of straw in his hair and his tunic was rumpled and bunched about the waist, but Caledon didn't point out these things. Hadrian looked freshly tumbled, and Caledon wanted all of Rhiad to see and wonder who was responsible.

"Of course. Don't think I'll let you get away from me that easily, love. There's much more I need to teach you."

Hadrian blushed. "Surely there can't be much --"

"There is," Caledon told him with a smirk. "Trust me." His fingers graced a high cheekbone. "I intend to give you a very thorough education, love."

Hadrian smiled at him, catching the mercenary's hand. "I like it when you call me that."

Caledon looked at him. I enjoy using it on you. He pulled his hand back regretfully. "Go now. You need your rest. I'll see you on the morrow."

Hadrian hesitated before darting forward and placing a quick, soft kiss against the mercenary's lips. He laughed quietly at Caledon's expression before slipping away onto the street. Caledon stared after him, fighting the urge to follow to be sure no one harassed the younger man. When Hadrian had rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Caledon raised a hand to touch his lips.

"Who was that pretty piece of flesh?" said a mocking voice from the street.

Caledon dropped his hand, instinctively reaching for a weapon. He relaxed when he saw the two slender young men watching him with matching grins on their faces. "Gam. Lio," he greeted the one-eyed thieves. He looked at them suspiciously. "What brings you two around the stables?"

The scarred thief with the hazel eye shrugged innocently. "Oh, nothing much," Gam said. "Lio and I heard noises up in the loft and thought we'd investigate." His lips quivered with the grin that didn't quite fully form. "Sounded alarmingly intense, it did. We were afraid someone was being attacked."

"Guess we were right," his green-eyed companion added dryly. The emerald gaze flicked down the path that Hadrian had taken. "Who was that? I've never seen his like in Rhiad before."

Caledon grinned, allowing a certain degree of smugness to seep into his smile. "You never have and never will. He's my latest obsession and one no one will have the chance to experience him besides me."

Gam and Lio exchanged looks. "Sounds serious," Gam remarked.

Caledon looked after his young lover. "Unfortunately, it can't be. He's leaving in a few days." He shrugged, making light of his disappointment for his friends' sake. Inside, though, the reminder that Hadrian would soon be gone was a pain he hadn't anticipated.

He would just have to accept the job Hadrian's father was offering, Caledon decided. It was a way to remain close to Hadrian outside of Rhiad. It would also be an opportunity to find out if maybe, just maybe, Caledon ni Agthon had a chance for something more.