“Do you trust me?”

Ike gave Soren an odd look. Why was
he asking this now? But even without knowing the reason behind it,
he had no reason to lie. “You know I do. I've always trusted
you.”

The look in Soren's red eyes was
indecipherable, somehow mysterious, and he gave a seductive smile in
response. “Good.”

He watched curiously as the mage
removed his clothes, then tied his wrists and ankles to the heavy
wooden bedposts with long leather strips, probably intended to wrap
weapon hilts. Under other circumstances, he might have resisted or
at least asked questions, but after he had promised Soren he trusted
him, he felt it would be a betrayal. So he merely watched and
wondered, trying to relax and trust. Surely that smile promised
something he would enjoy; he always had so far when he let Soren be
in control in bed.

“It's not too tight, is it?”
Soren slid a slender finger underneath each of the restraints,
testing.

Ike pulled at them experimentally. “I
think it's okay.”

When Soren lit a candle with a snap of
his fingers, however, he had to admit he felt nervous. It wasn't
that he didn't trust him, just that he had no idea what he was
planning and the uncertainty made him uncomfortable. He gave in and
asked. “What are you going to do?”

Instead of answering right away, Soren
set the candle down on the table beside the bed, leaned over, and
kissed him passionately. By the time he pulled away, Ike had
forgotten the question. When he tried to reach for him, to pull him
back, he saw what the restraints were for and realized that the kiss
had been his answer.

At least in part. The smile Soren
gave him when he saw Ike try to reach for him was teasing. Ike
watched impatiently as he removed his robes, longing to touch. He
could already tell this was going to drive him crazy.

It wasn't until he was naked, kneeling
at his side and running his fingers lightly along Ike's bare chest
that Soren finally spoke. “I am going to give you what you
deserve for embarrassing me today.”

He kissed him again before he could
gather his thoughts enough to answer the unexpected statement and
didn't stop until Ike was breathless. He reached for Soren again
instinctively and frowned as the restraints prevented it.

Right. He had been going to say
something. Denied action, he struggled to think. “I'm sorry,”
he said, and he was. At least somewhat. He wasn't all that sorry
for what he had done, but he was sorry that Soren had been
embarrassed. “You have no idea how tempting you looked with
your robe that short, though. It was barely decent! I just couldn't
help but want to touch you.”

“Hence the restraints.”
His expression sent shivers of anticipation up Ike's spine. “I
plan to give you plenty of practice tonight in wanting but not
touching.” He bent and starting to suck on one of Ike's
nipples, his hand sliding across his chest to caress the other.

“But everyone...” Ike
struggled to ignore the sensation enough to speak coherently,
“already... knows about us...” His words trailed off
into a moan as Soren began to suck the other nipple, tongue darting
out to lick it.

Soren sat up to answer him, his
fingers continuing to pinch and caress his now sensitive and aching
nipples. “Not everyone today knew. Geoffrey didn't, nor did
those under him. And it makes both of us look bad, especially for a
first impression.”

It was hard: to try to discuss this
while Soren played with him. Perhaps that was why the words just
slipped out. “You didn't seem so displeased when we got back
to this bedroom. In fact, it seemed that the fact I couldn't keep my
hands off you had turned you on.”

He knew as soon as the words slipped
out that he shouldn't have said them. But Soren at least didn't seem
angry, his expression was thoughtful and his eyes had darkened with
lust as he caressed Ike's erection lightly, far more lightly than he
wanted. “Knowing that you find me so attractive does arouse
me,” he said softly. He could hear desire in his voice now.
“But it doesn't make me any more comfortable with being groped
in public. Don't think you are getting out of the lesson I plan to
give you tonight.” His smile was a promise.

The slow, feather-light touches were
driving him crazy. Ike tried to thrust
into Soren's hand and whimpered when he moved it away.

“Not yet,” he said, as he
took another leather strip and tied it tightly around the base of his
cock and then around his balls. “You don't get to come tonight
until I decide to let you,”
he whispered, his breath in his ear making Ike shiver. He sucked and
nibbled at the lobe of the ear he had whispered in as his hand
stroked him, harder now.

Ike couldn't seem
to stop moaning and thrusting into his hand. He felt nearly on the
edge of orgasm when Soren stopped suddenly. He opened his eyes to
see him shaking his head at him.

“Already
so aroused? This will
be an interesting lesson.” He smiled and kissed Ike again,
before carefully blindfolding him. “I'll take that off in a
bit, but for now, I want you to feel without seeing.”

Blindfolded and
restrained, he felt completely helpless, totally at Soren's mercy.
He wasn't afraid, exactly, but it did make him nervous. He bit his
lip to keep from crying out when he felt hot liquid splash onto his
stomach.

“It didn't
burn you, did it?” Soren asked and he heard concern in his
voice as fingers stroked through the liquid carefully.

“No, just
surprised,” he made himself answer. It felt odd, but it didn't
exactly hurt and he didn't think there had been any real damage.

More liquid heat
on his body, and then he felt intense cold. Ice? “Where did
you get ice at this time of year?” he asked, then shivered as
cold fingers caressed his nipples.

“Magic.
I am a mage, after
all. And little magics like this are fairly easy.”

More
heat and more cold, now in more sensitive areas, until he could
hardly tell the difference. Soft cloth of some sort, drying him
gently. He could feel how much more sensitive his skin was now as
Soren tickled him with the ends of his hair, but he still gasped when
he felt his warm mouth on his nipple and hand on his cock. It was so
intense, almost too
much, but so good that he didn't want him to stop.

A warm, wet tongue
licked the head of his penis, once, twice, three times, then he took
it into his mouth. Ike moaned at the nearly overwhelming pleasure.
He would have come quickly from what his lover was doing with that
wonderfully talented mouth had he not been prevented, and he writhed
at the discomfort mingled with desire. He had never known he could
feel this good and yet want this much.

He felt a slick
finger circle his entrance lightly, tickling and teasing, before
carefully sliding inside. He couldn't keep still now, the
stimulation was too intense, as two fingers traced slow, maddening
circles inside him while Soren continued to suck his aching cock.
The restraints held, though, and all he could do was beg, helplessly.
“Please, Soren... please... I need to come so badly!
Please...”

The fingers and
mouth were withdrawn and he whimpered at the loss. Intense cold
again, as ice was slowly run over his blazingly hot and hard as glass
penis and then the remains slid inside him. Ike shivered. Soren's
hot tongue licked the cold water droplets lingeringly. “Soren...”
he moaned again.

Weight, then, on
his stomach, and then he was kissing him again, lying across his
chest. Ike bucked his hips, trying desperately to rub against him,
against anything, for the stimulation he craved, but couldn't quite
manage enough movement.

“You look so
good like that,” Soren whispered in his ear. “You are
incredibly sexy and I am so very lucky to be your lover.”

The sudden removal
of the blindfold was startling. Ike blinked against the sudden
light, wondering when he stopped noticing that he couldn't see.

Soren was still
sitting on him, eyes nearly blazing with arousal as he met Ike's, yet
his smile was still slow and teasing. “What is it you want?”
he breathed and then began to touch himself, fingers of one hand
circling and pinching his hard nipples as his other hand slowly
stroked his erection, already glistening with oil. “Is it
this?”

Ike stared, struck
dumb, panting and unable to look away. Goddess, he wanted so
much! Soren touching himself like that, so close and yet
unreachable, while he felt nearly driven mad with how much he wanted
him already, was unbelievably sexy. He was desperate to touch him
and uttered a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl.

Soren laughed,
although his own breathing was ragged now, and moved between Ike's
spread legs. “Is that a yes?”

“Goddess,
Soren, you know it is! I want you, need you so much... please, fuck
me now,” he growled, trying to spread his legs wider.

He entered him
slowly and carefully. Ike knew it needed to be that way and tried to
relax, breathe deeply, and adjust, but he was so aroused that the
care was maddening. “Please... I don't care anymore, just fuck
me hard and fast and don't worry about hurting me,” he told
him, moving his hips encouragingly as best he can.

“No.”
Soren's refusal was firm. “You trusted me and I swore I
wouldn't hurt you.” And though Ike whimpered and moaned in
frustration, he thrust into him slowly and carefully, refusing to do
it harder or faster until he was sure he was ready, adjusting slowly
until the angle was just right and each thrust brushed the sensitive
spot inside him. Then and only then did he speed up, until it was as
hard and fast as they both wanted, needed it to be.

“Ike, you
feel so good,” he moaned, gasping for breath now, and
Ike was certain he was going to lose control and come soon and surely
he would let him come then, too? He hoped so; he wasn't sure how
much more of this teasing he could take.

He could have wept
with frustration when Soren stopped, shuddering, and withdrew to sit
between his legs, breathing hard and clearly struggling for control
of himself.

“What are
you doing?” he demanded, unable to keep the impatience
from his voice. “I know you were about to come; why are you
stopping?”

Soren's smile
nearly takes his breath away; it is seductive and lustful and
determined, all at once. “I'm not quite done with you yet,”
he said. “I don't know that you've learned your lesson and I
want to make sure you remember.”

Ike moaned as he
went back to giving him what was surely the best blow job he'd ever
had. It was both bliss and torment; he wanted him to stop and he
wanted it to never end. He knew he was pleading, begging, but wasn't
even sure which he was begging for. Maybe both.

When he stopped at
last, he propped his chin on his hand and smiled up at him lazily.
“So do you think you've learned your lesson?” he asked,
hand still caressing his cock slowly.

He couldn't even
think anymore; he felt that the constant assault of pleasure had
turned his brain to mush. “Yes,” he gasped, desperately.
“Anything, I won't do it again. Just please, please, let me
come!”

“Soon then,”
he promised.

He entered him
quickly now and Ike cried out, but not in pain. This time, it was
hard and fast from the start and he knew Soren had finally run out of
self-control. Hot fingers stroked his needy cock and Ike moaned his
lover's name in protest and desire. Then finally the restraint was
gone and he was coming, pleasure overwhelming him as he felt sparks
shoot up his spine and tingle throughout his entire body. He barely
felt Soren orgasm through the intensity of his own climax.

Afterwards, Soren
cleaned them off and then untied him, rubbing and gently kissing the
marks on his wrists and ankles. “I guess I should have padded
these better,” he said by way of apology.

Ike pulled him in
for a kiss, relieved to finally be able to. “It doesn't hurt
that much and I know you didn't intend it. It's fine. I'm just glad
to get to touch you again.”

He still looked
concerned and his voice was uncertain. “Still, I didn't mean
to hurt you at all. Sure you still want to be with me?”

He pulled him
close, hugging him fiercely. “Always. I still trust you, too.
I promise.” Ike put out the lamp and curled around him to
sleep. He always preferred to sleep with Soren in his arms; it made
him feel safe and loved, comforted to know he wasn't alone.

“I think we
will need baths again before we leave tomorrow,” Soren said
thoughtfully. “Hopefully Geoffrey's servants won't mind.”

Ike simply stroked
his hair in response. Thinking back over the night, he at last felt
too curious not to ask. “Soren? Where on earth did you learn
that?”

Soren laughed
sleepily. “I used to do a lot of research and, well... it
wasn't all quite as immediately practical as you might have assumed.
You'd be surprised what you can learn from books.”