The man left a trail of kisses on Kanuen’s neck and shoulder, his hands brushing over his chest, and sighed.
Kanuen furrowed his brows and pressed his eyes shut, trying to ignore what was happening. Just where was Hou Dong? Don’t tell him he wouldn’t come? Don’t tell him he would have to let this happen? He didn’t want to. He didn’t want this. He wanted to be with the person he loved. Why was it so hard?
"Lianuo." The man glanced up, peering into Kanuen’s face. Seeing his expression, he chuckled and caressed his other cheek. "I wonder what you’re thinking about. Making you look like that … It seems you’re not as indifferent as you pretend to be. Maybe I should give you another name, after all?" He looked down again, rubbing Kanuen’s shoulder. "Somehow, I still think the name fits you very well. Even if you’re not indifferent, you certainly are as beautiful as this mythical being must’ve been. That alone makes you deserve the name, doesn’t it? Lianuo."
He reached down and opened Kanuen’s belt, making the thin robe fall to the ground. He took a step back and appreciated the sight of Kanuen’s naked body. "Look at you, Lianuo, there really isn’t anything to find fault with. How deserving of your name." He put his hands on Kanuen’s backside, pressing his fingers into the soft skin and kneading it. "Lianuo, you were made for the touch of a man." He gripped him tighter and leaned in closer, his hard crotch pressing up against Kanuen’s body.
Kanuen faced away as well as he could, pressing his eyes shut even tighter. He couldn’t help but bite his lower lip, once again trying to hold back any sound. Inside, he couldn’t help but call out Hou Dong’s name. Hou Dong, please, just come and save me already! I cannot hold on.
The man behind him let go of his backside but only to loosen his belt, letting him pull the fabric of the robe aside and reach for his pants.
Kanuen couldn’t see what he did but what he heard was enough to let him know. This was the same sound he had heard in the bath. The rustling of the fabric when the guards took off the robes, the sound of cloth sliding over skin when they pulled down their pants. It was still edged in his mind.
This time, he couldn’t hold back. A stifled sob escaped his lips. "Hou Dong …" He trembled and folded his hands in front of his body, praying that things would be over fast.
Behind him, a curbed groan sounded and then an arm wrapped around his waist, a rough hand rubbing his shoulder.
Kanuen flinched and wanted to turn away but then a familiar scent hit him. It was the smell of leather and the dust of the road. He opened his eyes and blinked away the tears that had gathered in them, lifting his gaze to the man’s face.
Hou Dong leaned in, his lips softly brushing Kanuen’s. Just when he wanted to deepen the kiss, he suddenly pushed him off and sneezed.
Kanuen blinked. He wanted to hurry over but Hou Dong raised a hand.
"Stop." His voice sounded nasal, not at all like the strong tone he normally used.
Kanuen stayed where he was even though he wanted nothing more than to rush into Hou Dong’s arms. He looked around, trying to see whatever danger might still be there. He only found the man that had bought him lying on the ground face-first, held down by two of Hou Dong’s men. He was struggling and trying to break free from their hold without success. He glared at Kanuen as if he was the one who was at fault for all of this.
Hou Dong reached to his neck and pulled up the cloth that he had originally worn in the desert to cover his face. "Just what did they do to you? You’re smelling like …" He furrowed his brows and looked at Kanuen, his lips twitching when he saw that his lover was still naked. He glared at his men that where unashamedly appraising Kanuen’s body and rushed over, picking up the robe on the ground. He wanted to put it back on his shoulders when the same smell hit him once again. He threw the robe away and cursed, glaring at the man that was lying on the ground behind him. "Fuck, do you think he’s a flower garden? He was smelling great before you know? What’s wrong with it? You fucking rich people have no taste at all!"
He turned away and looked through the room, finally going and ripping off one of the veils that hung on the side of the bed. He smelled at it and even though there was a light flowery scent, it was better than the fucking robe. He took it back to Kanuen and wrapped his body in it. "Make do with this first. I’ve already prepared a set of clothes for you downstairs. You can change into that in a bit and then take a bath when we return to the inn where we’re staying."
Kanuen nodded and pressed the veil to his body, trying to cover as much of his skin as he could. Unfortunately, the veil was also made of a half-transparent fabric. It’s only remaining advantage was that it was long enough to wrap it around his body several times. It didn’t help much though. Even Hou Dong’s men still looked over, salivating at the sight.
Seeing the look they were giving Kanuen, Hou Dong’s expression darkened. He didn’t scold them though and just turned to the guy on the ground. "I’d say this is your fault. Look at this! Even my men can’t look away. Now, what if they always think of this when they look at Kanuen in the future? Won’t that be a problem for me and my men? I don’t want to have to beat my brothers up every day."
The man grunted. "What are you talking about? This is the slave that I bought! How does this have anything to do with you and your men?!"
Hou Dong laughed. "The slave that you bought?" He returned to Kanuen’s side, stepping behind him and taking him into his arms.
Kanuen immediately hid in his embrace, closing his eyes and letting go of his worries. He finally felt safe again.
Seeing that scene, the man’s expression changed. "You —"
Hou Dong chuckled. "That’s right. He’s my lover. These merchants … Don’t tell me you really didn’t know that we came here together? And I thought your arm reached so far that you were able to control the whole western region of Kai that borders on the desert. Seems like I was wrong. You really didn’t know and just stepped right into the trap, paying a fortune for somebody else’s lover.
"Well, it won’t be to our disadvantage. That merchant said we’d split the profit fifty-fifty if it worked out. I guess with that money, my lover and I won’t have to worry for the rest of our lives. Thanks for that, I guess." He grinned and grabbed Kanuen’s chin, turning his head to the side. He hesitated a bit but then pulled down the cloth covering half of his face and finally kissed his lips. "Mn."
Hou Dong gave a smile and reached up, gently caressing the cheek that the other man had touched before leaning in and lowering his voice to a whisper. "Sorry for being late. We went to teach those guards a lesson when they got off their shift and I guess I got carried away a bit."
Kanuen raised his gaze to Hou Dong’s, his eyes widening. "You … you know?"
"Of course, I know. You really thought I’d let you go in there and not have somebody close by watching? I’m sorry it took so long to lure them away. You must have been scared. But don’t worry. They got what they deserved and you’re safe now. Nobody will touch you anymore if you don’t want it."
Kanuen nodded and burrowed back into Hou Dong’s arms. So it turned out he hadn’t been alone. There had actually been somebody close by, watching over him. His previous fear … even though it hadn’t been completely unwarranted, he had still worried too much. Of course, Hou Dong wouldn’t just leave him alone.
Hou Dong smiled and kissed his temple. "Alright, let’s pay this guy back then. I certainly won’t let anybody touch my lover and get away with it." His eyes blazed and he let go of Kanuen, turning to the man on the ground with a smirk. "You like dressing your slaves up like that? You like giving them such humiliating names like Lianuo? You want to mess with them until they feel they have no worth at all anymore? Well, then let us give you a taste of your own medicine. Men, strip him!"
His men laughed and went to work. Hou Dong also couldn’t help but grin at the thought of what he was about to do. He coughed when he remembered that Kanuen was still watching though. His lover wouldn’t like this kind of practice. How could he let him see? He turned back and gently pulled him into his arms again. "I’ve brought some horses and a carriage. Let’s get you in there before we continue. You probably don’t want to see him anymore."
Kanuen nodded and the two of them left the room, rushing through the corridors of the villa and to a courtyard behind it. A dilapidated carriage was standing there.
Hou Dong coughed at the sight and rubbed the back of his head. "It’s not much but I thought that would be good. We can pretend we’re poor merchants. There are some clothes in there too. Just pull the canvas closed and change inside. Some of my men are around but they wouldn’t dare peek."
Kanuen laughed. "True. They don’t peek. They outright stare."
Hou Dong coughed again and pushed him to the carriage. "Alright, alright, they were wrong to do that just now. I’ll beat them up for you once, alright? They’re my brothers though. They wouldn’t do more than to look."
"Mn." Kanuen crawled into the carriage and stared at the heap of cabbages inside. It seemed Hou Dong had made sure they were convincing. "About that man …" He turned back to Hou Dong only to see him furrow his brows. "What?"
"You wouldn’t feel compassionate, would you? He was about to force himself onto you. Whatever we do, he deserves it."
"I … I know. I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t take too long. Won’t he scream for help? Then you and your men would be in trouble." He certainly wouldn’t care for that man’s well-being. He might not like seeing people suffer but what that man had done … if not for Hou Dong, then things wouldn’t have turned out well for himself. Somebody that treated another human being like that didn’t deserve his compassion.
Hou Dong laughed and pecked his lips. "So you were worried for my sake. How sweet of you! Well, you don’t have to be though. Haven’t you seen the people in this house? I bet they’re used to hearing the strangest things from that room and most of them are slaves anyway. They hardly speak a few words of the local language. 'Help' certainly isn’t one of them. So whatever we do … nobody will notice."
Kanuen nodded. "Then you should go and finish up. I want to leave here."
"Mn." Hou Dong pulled the canvas closed for him and then glared into the shadows where his men were hiding. "If I hear that any of you were peeking, then you’ll really get a beating. Face the other way until he’s done."
There was some grumbling coming from the shadows but Kanuen still heard the rustling of clothes when the men shifted away before the courtyard fell silent again.
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