All for One (3 page)

They had barely made it to Cussy-les-Forges when they heard hoof beats pounding hard behind them. The brush on either side of the road offered good cover. Perrin glanced at Léandre and saw the same concern in the blond’s eyes. As one, they reined their horses off the track and into the woods to see who was following them.

Léandre held his mount still behind the concealing foliage, the scent of Perrin’s sweat teasing his nose as they watched a rider sweep past without slowing. “Looks like a merchant,” he commented, observing the heavy saddlebags bouncing against the horse’s sides. “Probably worried about running into thieves along the road.”

“Probably,” Perrin agreed. “Better safe than sorry, though.” They walked their horses back onto the road and spurred them on again, trying to cover as much ground as possible before the fading light added to the danger of their mission.

The sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving the landscape covered with ever-lengthening shadows, when they finally reached the first farms outside Auxerre. They had left the road twice more at the sound of horses approaching—the first proving to be a young courting couple riding out together, the second a hay wagon—each encounter leaving them with heightened pulses despite proving to be innocuous. By the time they made it to the inn, Léandre was more than ready to call for dinner and a bottle of the local wine.

Perrin left orders for their horses to be cared for, too tired and parched to take the time to do it himself. Gesturing for Léandre to follow him, he grinned jauntily at the look of horror the
aubergiste
gave them as they strode inside. “A room for the night,” he ordered, “the one we had last night will be fine. And a meal and a bottle of your best wine. Quickly, man, we’ve had a trying day!”

“Will your—friend—be joining you?” the innkeeper stammered, looking about for the third member of the raucous trio. Well remembering his guests’ behavior during their previous stay, he escorted the two men into a private parlor unasked, his eyes widening as the blond dropped into a chair, resting his dust-caked boots on the table.

“No, but I’m hungry enough to eat his share too,” Léandre answered, stretching his arms over his head to work out the kinks from a day of riding.

As soon as the innkeeper moved away to arrange their meal, Perrin leaned forward to whisper, “I’m hungry enough for his share too. His share of your arse anyway.”

“If that’s what you want to eat, be my guest,” Léandre invited with a grin. “I was thinking roast chicken myself—at least to start.”

“Roast chicken or your arse,” Perrin mused aloud, leering at the long, lean form as Léandre continued to stretch. “That’s quite a difficult choice.” He paused before adding, “But then, I don’t have to choose, do I? I can have both.”

“You usually do,” Léandre retorted, pausing when their host returned with a bottle of wine and two mugs. “Tell me, my good man, do you have any sausage? I have a powerful hunger for a long, hot sausage.”

“I… I don’t know,” stammered the innkeeper as he set down the wine. “Let me check with the cook.”

“Don’t scare off our host,” Perrin scolded once the door closed behind him. “If it’s something long and hot you want, I’ve got just the thing for you to feast on when we get to our room.”

“I want a meal, not a snack,” Léandre retorted, biting his lip as the innkeeper returned to reply nervously that the cook had no sausage at present. “Never mind, fellow, I’m sure I can put my hand on some in due course,” he answered magnanimously.

Flushing but not daring to speak against two musketeers, the innkeeper left them alone, resolving to send one of the slatterns who worked for him to tend the men from now on. They would be far more capable of dealing with two such blackguards than respectable folk like himself or his wife.

“Just for that,” Perrin threatened, “you’ll have to make do with your own meat tonight.”

“I’m more like to find another means to slake my hunger than you are,” Léandre answered easily, winking at the serving-maid who’d entered to drop a platter of chicken and roast vegetables onto their table before departing with a smile. He was as happy to take his pleasure with a woman as with a man, while Perrin was strictly a cock-whore, and Aristide—well, Aristide was too particular in his tastes altogether, from what Léandre could see. Except when it came to himself and Perrin, of course.

“Not with her,” Perrin retorted, spearing some vegetables and pulling a leg off the chicken, “not if you’re looking for sausage anyway. She doesn’t have the right equipment.”

“Ah, but as I keep telling you, I’m very flexible,” Léandre countered. “In fact, I think you’ll have to earn the privilege of my arse—or any other part of me—tonight.”

Perrin considered the challenge as he ate. “I suppose I could just tell Aristide that while we were supposed to be protecting each other and getting this letter to
M.
de Tréville, you were chasing after a light skirt,” he commented innocently. “I’m sure he’d understand.”

“You’re welcome to join me,” Léandre invited, unperturbed by the implied threat. “I’m more than happy to further your education in the varied paths of pleasure.”

Perrin’s moue made his opinion of that suggestion quite clear. “Go enjoy your plaything,” he offered airily. “When she can’t give you what you need, I’ll be waiting for you. I know you, Léandre. After a day like today, you want a man who can fuck the tension out of you, not some sweet, dainty thing who’ll squeal in protest at the first hard touch.”

“And what if I want to do the fucking?” Léandre purred, leaning across the table toward Perrin. “To sink my cock into a hot, tight sheath and pound into my partner until he howls for me to let him come?” He watched the muscles in Perrin’s throat work as he swallowed, knowing the younger man was as hard as he was under the cover of the table. “I’ll tie you to the bed this time,” he promised, his voice heavy with arousal.

“I thought you’d decided on the wench,” Perrin drawled despite the lust riding him hard at the image evoked by the blond’s words. They didn’t play those games when Aristide was around, at least not often, his tastes running to the less adventurous. Perrin was tempted to lie back and let the other man do as he pleased, but he had a certain amount of pride, especially after Léandre had threatened to replace him with a woman. “Make up your mind, Léandre.”

“But that would leave you with no recourse but your own fist,” Léandre answered mournfully. “I couldn’t treat a friend that poorly.”

“Oh, so now I’m a charity case,” Perrin retorted. “If that’s the way you feel about it, maybe I prefer my own fist.”

“Your loss,” Léandre shrugged, picking up a leg of chicken from the platter. He closed his mouth around the crisp skin, moaning in pleasure as the taste hit his tongue. His teeth bit into the firm flesh before he drew the morsel back, his tongue sweeping over his lips to capture all the meat’s juices. “Mmmn, delicious,” he murmured, his green eyes flicking to meet Perrin’s hungry stare as he licked lasciviously at the roasted fowl.

Temper and a jealousy he wasn’t ready to admit rose in Perrin’s throat, choking him as Léandre played him expertly. Pushing his chair back harshly, he jerked to his feet. “Then I’ll find my own companionship tonight,” he ground out as he started toward the door.

Before he reached it, Léandre rose to his feet, grasping Perrin’s shoulders and forcing him around, pushing him backward until they both slammed against the closed door. “You’re not going anywhere but my bed,” he insisted possessively, his mouth covering Perrin’s to smother any protest. The moment their lips met, the game he’d been playing fell away, lost in the conflagration of desire and need Perrin’s kiss ignited. “Delicious,” he murmured again, before plunging deep into the seductive depths of Perrin’s mouth.

Perrin moaned as he ceded control to Léandre’s devastatingly thorough siege. Nobody kissed him like Léandre did.
Nobody
. His body melted into the demanding embrace even as his cock hardened to its full length, pressing uncomfortably in his suddenly tight breeches. When breathing became a necessity again, he pulled back enough to gasp, “Then take me there and keep me there.”

Léandre grinned, reaching back to grab the platter of chicken before all but dragging Perrin behind him. “We might get hungry later,” he offered at Perrin’s raised eyebrow. “And since we’re both going to be naked in about two minutes’ time, I thought I’d save us a trip back down.”

Perrin chuckled all the way up the stairs and into the room they’d bespoken for the night. His laughter continued right up to the point when Léandre, having set the platter on the dresser, shoved him firmly up against the bedpost. Then amusement changed to pure, unadulterated lust, leaving Perrin weak in the knees and grateful for the twin supports of the bed and his lover. Otherwise, he would have ended up in a graceless heap on the floor. He could feel Léandre’s cock pressing against his through their clothes, and suddenly any barrier between them was too much. He tugged haphazardly at their garments until they were skin to skin. “Fuck me,” he begged shamelessly.

“I intend to,” Léandre answered, pushing back until they both toppled onto the bedding. Leaning down, he snatched a pair of hose from the floor and then settled his weight on top of Perrin, pinning him to the bed. Before the younger man could protest, he quickly tied an arm to each bedpost with the silken bonds. Perrin could easily free himself by exerting only a fraction of his strength, but he lay quiescent, his hazel eyes burning with hunger. A hunger Léandre shared completely. “I’m going to enjoy hearing you plead with me,” he vowed, promising to feast on every bit of Perrin’s body before claiming him completely. Beginning at the top, his mouth closed over the palm of Perrin’s right hand, his tongue dancing over the calluses from the hilt of his sword.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Perrin retorted automatically even as his hand curled into the caress and his body arched off the bed. “I’m not some girl you have to seduce,” he goaded. “Touch me like you mean it!”

Spurred by Perrin’s taunt, Léandre’s teeth closed over the toughened flesh, sucking it into his mouth before releasing it. He nipped his way down the length of Perrin’s arm, his tongue flicking out at the tuft of dark hair beneath his armpit, a spot where he’d learned his partner was especially sensitive. Perrin squirmed beneath him, the movement bringing their cocks into contact for the first time, and Léandre’s intentions to take things slowly disappeared with the first slide of silken flesh against its mate. He breathed in a last whiff of his lover’s musky scent before dipping his head lower, biting down hard on a tawny nipple.

“Oh, fuck,” Perrin groaned, pulling against his bonds just enough to flex the muscles in his arms and chest. Pride abandoned, he seriously considered begging, except he doubted it would avail him at this point. Once Léandre got his mind set on something, very little could change his plans. Then again, begging was what he’d said he wanted. “Do that again!”

“Anything you ask,” Léandre agreed, moving to the other side of Perrin’s broad chest. He might have the younger man bound, but Perrin was the one in control here, though he knew it not. Worrying the dark nubbin until it blossomed for him, Léandre closed his teeth around it, tugging hard until the skin rose from Perrin’s ribs. Easing his grip, he suckled lightly, soothing the distended flesh.

“God, what you do to me!” Perrin gasped, and it was true. He wasn’t above seducing a pretty face when he found one, but nobody touched him like Léandre did. He wouldn’t have let anyone else see him this way, with the possible exception of Aristide, wouldn’t let anyone else but these two past his defenses and into his body. “Harder.”

Perrin was right about one thing, Léandre thought as he bit down again on the younger man’s bronzed skin. No woman ever made him feel as strong, as potent, as Perrin did. He’d learned how to judge where most women liked to be touched, but with Perrin he simply knew the way he knew his own body, and he never had to hold back for fear of hurting him. Perrin took everything he had to give and demanded more. Having bitten both nipples hard enough to leave bruises, Léandre swiped a wet tongue over each and slid lower, sucking at the curved planes of Perrin’s abdomen, leaving a trail of reddened love-marks in his wake.

Each nip and bite sent chills up and down Perrin’s back, leaving him trembling and needy. He hated and loved the feeling, a vulnerability he reveled in and reviled. Hiding behind his demands, he bucked his hips against Léandre’s chest, his cock nudging the blond’s throat. “Suck me,” he ordered huskily.

His mouth opening greedily, Léandre took the heavy shaft inside, his lips closing around the velvety skin. He’d teased Perrin about proving a snack rather than a meal, but in truth his partner’s cock was everything Léandre hungered for, hot and thick and deliciously salty. Playing his tongue up and down the pulsing vein, he took Perrin deep, until the dark pubic hair tickled his nose. Still sweaty from the day’s ride, Perrin’s scent was heavy and arousing, and Léandre inhaled it like perfume. Scraping his teeth up the sensitive skin until he reached the bulbous head, he played at the hooded sheath, slipping his tongue beneath it and lapping at the fluid that leaked from the rounded tip before sucking him deep again, using every trick he knew to drive Perrin wild with need.

It worked. Only Léandre’s hands on his hips and the ties on his wrists kept Perrin from thrashing wildly, trying to get more sensation, more of Léandre’s intoxicating touch. They might have missed out on the new vintage at Clos Vougeot, but he didn’t need wine to make his head spin. Léandre did that just fine without any other assistance. Perrin’s hands clenched into fists on the silk stockings that held him in place. He could free himself, he knew, though Perrin doubted there was anything Léandre would ask that he wouldn’t freely give the other musketeer, but part of the attraction was the illusion, however thin, that he had no control over the situation.

The growing tension in Perrin’s muscles beneath his palms told Léandre he was getting close to at least the first climax he hoped to wring from Perrin this night. Increasing the suction as the head of Perrin’s cock bumped the back of his throat, he let his hands slide over the side of his lover’s hips to grip the firm cheeks of his buttocks. Filling his palms with the hard flesh, he spread the globes apart, knowing just the stretch of the muscles would put Perrin in mind of a far more intimate touch.