-Jaonah-

His expression said that he was skeptical but curious. “I think I might.” Resting his weight against my legs, his hands on my shoulders, he asked, “What will you do to me, my lord?”

“You wanted to be exhausted, didn’t you? I intend to do just that.” I raised my head to capture his lips for another kiss, and while his attention was there, my grasp on his hips tightened as I called on my magic.

Small bits of magic, the kind we used in our everyday lives, were simple enough to be fueled by our own energy alone. More complex spells, however, had to draw fuel from elsewhere. My people’s unique ability to tap into the flow of natural magic around us at any given moment allowed us to weave spells others couldn’t begin to attempt.

As my magic poured into him through my hands, Oleander’s body heated, his breath and pulse quickening until he was forced to break away from me for a gasp of air. Even as he was struggling to catch his breath, I could see the flush on his cheeks, the haze in his eyes. “This is… You’re doing this?” he panted.

“Is it too much?” I asked softly. The intended effect was to excite him, but for one who wasn’t used to the experience, it might easily be overwhelming. “If I’m making you uncomfortable—”

“No, no,” he argued quickly. “I like it.”

His pale eyes had wandered down my neck, and he deftly unlaced the top of my shirt to see the patterns illuminating against my skin. Those lines served as channels for ambient magic to flow through us—hence our calling them ‘straits’—and just as each elf’s spellcraft was unique, so too were our patterns. Mine were currently glowing a warm yellow from the heat and pleasure I was sharing with Oleander, and he ran his fingertips lightly over them, fascinated.

“I didn’t know magic could be used this way.” He sounded a bit breathless as he shakily struggled out of his blouse and tossed it to the floor. His musculature was more defined than I would’ve expected from someone so slender—but the sight of so much bare olive skin, now starting to shine with sweat, effectively limited my commentary. “I’ve…never felt anything like it.”

“It’s yours, beauty.” I ran my tongue up his chest to taste the salt on his skin, eager for every aspect of him I could have. Even feeling him shiver in my arms excited me more. “As long as you stay close to me.” I myself was surprised at how earnest the words were, how helpless I had become. I hardly knew this man! Yet I was entirely sincere in my desire to see him satisfied; despite the fact that I was the one paying, I would still have done anything he asked if it would please him.

“You’re spoiling me, Jaonah,” he said, entangling both hands in my hair. “How cruel that I only have you for one night.” Again, he kissed me, and the feverish warmth of his body against mine had me quickly heating up as well. The effects of my magic seemed to have robbed him of some of his bravado, leaving him leaning heavily against me and moaning for more. His hands made quick work of my belt and forced my tunic off over my head, forcing our kiss to break for a moment. Not for the first time, I began to feel self-conscious, knowing my body was hardly as lean and refined as his—but he seemed satisfied nevertheless, wetting his lips, eyes roaming hungrily over my form.

My lips met his throat and worked down to his shoulder with warm, open-mouthed kisses and soft bites. His hair smelled of something crisp and botanical, jasmine or orange blossom, bright and intoxicating. With his breath falling hot against my ear, it was that much harder to think of anything other than how badly I wanted him, and I found myself leaving a mark at the base of his neck in my fervor. I likely should have asked before marking him, but the way he leaned into my touch and tugged my hair to pull me closer said that he wasn’t offended.

“Wait,” he started, pushing away enough to sit at my side and tug his boots off. For the sake of convenience, I did the same, but I got distracted as I caught sight of the dagger still strapped to his calf. As hard as I tried to ignore all the mystery about him and focus on my main purpose for being there, I still wondered exactly what he meant in calling himself ‘a very special Flower.’ “Ahem.” Unbuckling the sheath to toss it aside along with his boots, he moved back farther on the bed, deliberately posing against the plush pillows to display his svelte body and edging his fingertips just under the hem of his trousers. “Would you like to help me out of these?”

“Very much,” I answered plainly, crawling closer to put my hands to work unfastening them. Even while he was still half-clothed, I could see how aroused he was already—from my magic? Our kisses? Difficult to say, but the knowledge was gratifying nevertheless.

My tugging at the laces must have been hastier than necessary, as he observed knowingly, “And I’d heard elves had such patience.”

“Only compared to humans, who have none,” I countered. Hooking my fingers on the edge of his breeches to slowly work them downward, I dropped my head to outline the shape of his hipbones with my tongue.

“I…I suppose anyone can be tested if he’s teased long enough.” Resting on one elbow, Oleander tilted his head back and combed his hair away from his eyes with his free hand, shivering at my touch.

“Is that what I’m doing?” I inched his trousers down further still to let my tongue explore the dip that led between his legs. The heat from my spell had since faded from his skin, so I slid one hand up the center of his stomach and chest to call it back, drawing another low moan from his lips.

“Jaonah, please.” Each time he said my name, my patience eroded a bit further. At this point, there was little left to wear down. Rather than argue or concede in words, I simply bent to his request and worked his pants down and off, taking his underclothes with them to leave him bare, flushed, obviously desperate for my attention. As if I needed any further encouragement. When I leaned down to run my tongue up the length of his erection, he took in a sharp gasp and gripped hard at the sheets beneath him. “Oh.”

“Was this not what you were asking for, beauty?” Maybe I enjoyed the idea that I might overwhelm him a bit. I felt quite sure I could contentedly spend the entire night exploring every inch of his body with my mouth and not lose interest for a moment.

“No, I do want it,” he admitted without hesitation, “but my patrons aren’t typically so, ahem, generous.” Hearing the way he moaned, seeing the look of honest desire on his face, I couldn’t imagine what sort of patron could not be interested in eliciting this reaction. Glad to know he appreciated the treatment, I kept to it, knelt between his legs to glide my tongue over the firm heat of his manhood. Hoping to push him further, I took it inside and pressed down to swallow his hardness completely until he was panting for every breath and writhing against the bed. Still, the longer I concentrated on satisfying him, the more I realized how much it was affecting me as well; within minutes, I was so hard and wanting that each heavy beat of my heart throbbed between my legs.

“Oleander?” I breathed, drawing away to wipe my lips.

“Hm?” His eyes were clouded, and he almost seemed dizzy—though undoubtedly interested in continuing—as he looked to me.

“Do you have, er…?”

He must have realized what I meant, as he laughed softly at my apprehension. “You weren’t so shy a moment ago, my lord. You should find what you need in there.” He nodded toward the counter on which our masks rested, where there was a drawer I hadn’t noticed before. Inside, I found a variety of contraceptives and, more to the point, a vial of pale yellow liquid, presumably an oil of some sort.

Gesturing at the drawer, I glanced back at Oleander to ask, “Would you like me to use one of these? I want you to be comfortable.”

Lying on his stomach, he watched me with his head resting in one hand and an amused smirk playing about his lips. “I’m hardly concerned about carrying your child. But if you like, go ahead. Whatever brings you back to me fastest.”

Then I’m not the only one who’s impatient. I quickly joined him in bed again, trying not to be bashful about his nudity or my own obvious excitement. Before I could awkwardly ask him to do so, he pressed back onto his knees so that his upper body still lay splayed against the mattress but his hips were easily accessible. “Do you intend to keep teasing me?” he asked, half-lidded eyes meeting mine over his shoulder. “Or will you give me what we both want?”