Healing Fire (8 page)

“You’ve never bathed?” Lem sounded, and looked, shocked.

“Lem!” Jules giggled happily. “Do I seem filthy?”

“No! Of course not! But you said you’d never...” Lem looked confused now, brows furrowing.

“Not with another!” His laughter rang out, his happiness too big to hold in.

“My prince is laughing at me.” Lem grabbed him up and stood, turning in a circle.

“With you. You simply haven’t remembered to laugh.” Dizzy! Lem made him dizzy with joy.

“I make you laugh, though, and so it doesn’t matter if I’ve remembered to do it or not.” Lem carried him toward their rooms.

“You make me fly, Lem.”

“You know my answer to that. I want to teach you to fly for real.”

“I know.” But that was impossible.

“One day, I will teach you, I swear it.”

“I believe you.” He believed Lem wanted it.

They went in, Lem carrying him into the room at the very back of his suite.

“Do you still wish to bathe together, my prince?”

“Yes. Yes, very much.” Very much.

“Then it shall happen.”

Lem set him carefully on the large rock chair next to the big bath. He curled up, watching Lem draw the bath, watching the efficiency of motion. Soon the room filled with steam and earthy scents.

“The oils remind me of the rivers that run from the mountains,” Lem told him.

“Tell me of them?”

Lem’s eyes grew a faraway look. “The mountains are huge. Nothing is taller than them, and they reach up beyond the clouds.”

“And you flew about them?”

“I did. I flew over them and through them and among them. One day, you will, too,” Lem insisted.

“Was it cold? Warm?” Jules wanted to. He wanted to fly.

“Both. The mountain tops are covered in snow all year round, and the waters that flow from there are so cold, it feels like they are freezing your insides if you drink from them.” Lem tested the water, then adjusted one of the copper taps bringing the water in. “And below, it follows our own seasons—although it is never as hot as it can get in the castle. Never overbearing.”

“And the winds? Do they blow?”

“Oh, Jules, the winds blow always. Lifting you while you’re flying, cooling you when you are not. And singing. Always singing through the mountains. I was told as a child that the mountain and the wind are made for each other.”

Jules listened, utterly enrapt.

Lem glanced at him, appearing suddenly shy. “I feel as if I was made for you as the mountain was made for the wind.”

“You are my mountain or my wind?” Both were lovely, perfect thoughts.

“I am your mountain, my prince. You could only ever be the wind.”

“Your wind.” Oh, what a lovely image.

“Yes, Jules. My wind.” Lem shivered and came to him, holding him tight. “Now come into the water with me so you may have your wish.”

“Yes. Yes, please.” He dropped his robes, his body erect and aching.

“Oh, my prince.” Lem groaned, gaze like a touch on his swelling.

His instinct was to hide, but not from Lem, simply because he had been taught it was wrong. So he didn’t hide. He preened. Lem reached for him, fingers gentle, reverent. Jules fluttered as he stepped forward, a low cry escaping him.

“I have you, my prince.” Lem’s arms slid around him, his strong dragon lifting him up and carrying him into the tub.

They sank down together in the water. It was warm, silken. It felt like he was floating, but Lem’s arms held him close, kept him from drifting away.

“Oh.” He’d never experienced anything so erotic, so sensual.

Lem began to touch him, solid fingers sliding on his skin, slick in the water.

“Magic.” Better than. He didn’t have words for how good it was.

“Just water, my prince.”

Water and Lem. He thought maybe Lem could make anything magical.

“More than,” he argued. There was an alchemy between them.

Lem nodded. “You make everything special.”

“We do, together.”

Lem smiled and kissed him softly. “You do me honor.”

“I hope so.” No one else had ever said so.

Lem kissed him yet again. “I love how your lips feel against mine.”

“I can’t believe this is forbidden.” Perhaps it was because everyone would become distracted by this amazing thing, and nothing would ever get done if it were allowed.

“Shh. You are the prince. Nothing is forbidden.”

Jules sighed softly. Were that it was so.

“I will find a way to bring you everything you wish for,” Lem assured him.

“I believe you.”

“You should. I will do it.”

So sure, so serious, his guardian.

Taking the soap, Lem began to wash him, hands sliding over his skin, making him shiver deliciously. His body ached with the pleasure trying to escape. Lem’s fingers lingered on his rear, stroking. He shivered, his body refusing his command to relax, to enjoy. Lem found his swelling and wrapped a soapy hand around it.

“Oh. It aches so,” Jules murmured, arching into Lem’s touch.

Lem rubbed the tip of his shaft, back and forth, over and over. Jules’ eyes crossed, his toes curling at the sensation. Lem licked at his lips, and the sensations merged, shaft and lips both tingling.

“My Lem.” He moaned the name into their kiss, blessing it.

“Jules.” His name was a whisper from Lem’s lips, a breath, a prayer.

“Yours.” His word was a promise.

“As I am yours,” Lem replied.

They stretched together in the water, soft moans bouncing off the stone. How could something so beautiful be wrong?

They continued to move together, Lem keeping his swelling stimulated, fingers pushing him higher. His skin didn’t fit, and he stretched his legs to make room. One of Lem’s legs wrapped around the back of his, which brought their middles closer together. Lem was so hot, but his swelling was even hotter. They couldn’t actually catch fire in the water, though, could they? No. No, the water would save them. It must.

He held on, his belly aching, the muscles so tight.

“My beautiful prince. I could not have made you up, even in my dreams.” Lem’s hand moved faster on his swelling, and it felt like his sac was growing bigger and bigger with need, filling to bursting with his seed.

“No need. I was here, waiting.” Just as now he was waiting for this delicious tension to end, to ease.

It grew first, becoming more than he thought he could contain, and still it grew. Every touch of Lem’s hand brought him closer to what he wanted. The dragon surged forward from within him again, and he gasped, fighting the urge.

No. No, you can’t come out. You cannot.

Lem’s lips wrapped around the spot where his throat met his collarbone, Lem sucking at first, then biting down on his skin. That helped not at all. Jules arched, his feet banging on the bottom of the tub. Lem’s hand squeezed him terribly, wonderfully tight.

“Please. He wants out!” Jules didn’t know how to stop it.

Lem frowned. “Who?”

“The dragon.”

“Oh! There’s not enough room in here,” Lem told him. “Think about your shaft. Expel the urge through that.”

“My shaft. Yes. My need.”

“Spend yourself, Jules. It will feel so good.”

He nodded and pushed up into a kiss, desperate for Lem’s touch. Lem’s mouth opened beneath his, and when he pushed his tongue in, Lem began to suck on it. With his free hand, Lem grabbed his ass, fingers slipping against his back entrance. His eyes flew open wide, confusion flooding him. Lem bit again, both hands squeezing, and the pleasure was undeniable. When Lem’s finger entered him, he spent himself in hard, needy jerks.

“Jules! My prince!” Lem bucked against him. Even though the water they were in was hot, he could feel Lem’s pleasure spreading warmly between them.

Oh. Oh.

He clung, sucking in huge gulps of air. Lem held him tight against the solid chest, keeping him submerged and warm, but not letting him drown.

“Lem.” His dear Lem, always protecting him.

“I have you, Jules.”

Jules nodded, head lolling on his shoulders.

“I will always have you.”  Lem kissed head. “Are you happy, my prince?”

“More than I imagined I could be.” More than he would have dreamed to have asked for.

“Then everything is as it should be.”

“Yes.” Everything was more than he’d hoped.

Now his hope was to have it as long as he could.

There were rumors about more attacks, about dark winds blowing and rains filling the skies for weeks on end. Lem figured if the rumors were making it to them in their isolation, then they were to be noted, worried about.

“My prince. We must talk about what to do if we are attacked again. I want to put protocols in place to keep you safe.”

“No.”

The refusal shocked Lem.

“What do you mean, ‘no?’” That wasn’t how it worked. He was Jules’ bodyguard. Jules would have to do as he said in these matters.

“No. If they come, you will run away and be safe, and I will deal with them.”

Lem stared at Jules for a moment, even more surprised by these words.

“No, my prince. If they come, you will run and hide where I tell you, and you will be safe. I will deal with them. It’s my job. It’s my calling.” He would protect Jules. That was the end of it.

“Mabon died trying to protect me, my secret.”

Lem took Jules’ hands and touched the marks in the palms. “Your secret?”

Jules flushed dark, but nodded.

“Do you know the meaning of them?” He’d asked before, but his prince had not told him.

Jules shook his head. “They’re evil.”

“I don’t believe that, Jules.” He would not believe anything about his prince was evil. “Besides, they have nothing to do with my protecting you. We
will
go over my protocols, and you
will
let me protect you if evil comes for you.”

Jules blinked up at him, eyes wide, but Lem was in the right. He refused to let Jules fob him off.

“My prince. I will hear your agreement.” In this, in all matters of safety, his will was paramount. He stared Jules right in the eye, waiting for his prince’s reply and refusing to back down.

Jules tried to stare him down, but couldn’t. “Yes, Lem.”

“Good.” He smiled in approval and began. “There are several places where you can hide, but it wouldn’t work for me to call out ‘under the bed’ because then your attackers would know where to find you.”

Jules was pouting, just a bit, and it was so hard to do, but Lem needed to remain strong, in command. This was potentially life and death, and he would not lose his prince because they were not prepared.

“Under the bed will be ‘books.’”

He wanted to make code words that would be easy for them both to remember, but not obvious. Jules always read to him in bed, so to associate under the bed with books would make sense to them, but no one else.

“Books. Yes. I understand.” Of course Jules did. His prince was very bright, so much smarter than Lem.

“Excellent. By the fountain will be ‘mother.’” Lem hoped that wouldn’t make Jules sad.

Jules nodded. “I have my curse. I will burn if they come, rather than let them take me.”

“Stop that. You will do as I say, and you will be safe.” Lem was not letting fear for himself, or for anyone else, put Jules in harm’s way. “Behind the apple tree will be where you go if I call out ‘sunshine.’”

Once Jules knew his three words, they would practice.

“Sunshine.” Jules reached out for him. “Can we go read now?”

Lem would have loved nothing better, but he had to make sure they could move efficiently if they were surprised by another attack. “No, my prince. You must tell them back to me, and then we must practice.”

Jules sighed so dramatically. It was adorable. And it made Lem want to gather Jules up and kiss him until they were both breathless.

“I know you can remember the words and what they mean. No one is smarter than you, my prince. So tell me.” He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look stalwart instead of needy.

“Book, mother, and sunshine.”

“And where do you go if I say any of those during an attack?”

“Under the bed for book. Mother means fountain and sunshine is in the apple tree.”

He beamed and nodded. “Okay, let’s practice. Book!” He shouted the last word as if the place were on fire.

Jules stared at him. “Do you really want me to go?”

“Yes! We have to practice. So when it’s surprising and scary, you can do it.”

“But, Lem, I can’t let them hurt you,” Jules insisted.

“My prince, if I cannot protect you, I might as well be dead.” He took Jules’ face between his fingers. “I must protect you.”

“Yes, Lem.”

“Then we will practice.” He took a step back and shouted. “Mother!”

Jules jumped, then hurried to hide behind the fountain.

“Books!” he cried out.

Jules fluttered between the tree and the bed.

It made him growl that his prince wasn’t taking this seriously. “The tree is sunshine.”

“Don’t growl. You yelled.”

“If we need to use the code words in a dangerous situation, I will need to yell, my prince.”

Jules needed to be able to respond immediately no matter what else was going on, if he was surprised or scared or anything. This fluttering and confusion could be deadly in a true emergency.

“We will have to practice this every day.”

“This is not fun, Lem,” Jules told him.

“It’s not meant to be fun. It’s very serious and very important.” He took Jules’ hands and squeezed them. “It is meant to keep you safe if something awful happens.”

“Nothing will happen. Awfulness happened already.”

“But if it does happen again, my prince, we have to be ready.” He implored Jules with his whole being. “Indulge me in this, please?”

His plea melted his lover, softened the expression in the lovely eyes.

“Go to ‘books,’ and then we can be done for the day.”

Jules nodded and slipped under the bed, disappearing from sight almost immediately.

“We need a code for when it’s safe for you to come out, too. How about ‘fly away?’”

He didn’t get an answer.

“My prince?” Worry went through him, and he rushed to the bed.