STORY EXCERPT

Water and wind whipped mercilessly at Midori’s face. Once, he’d almost hacked, coughed and choked on the rainwater. That was it. He had to put his foot down and convince Rin not to kill the two of them out of pure stubbornness.

“Rin, we have to find shelter. The rain’s coming down too hard and the horse is too worked up,” Midori yelled.

He tightened his grip on Rin’s waist. Midori was afraid he’d fall any second from the galloping horse.

The other man’s body tensed for some reason. He tensed at Midori’s little touches so often that Midori sometimes wondered if he repulsed Rin. Having been adored and wanted all his life by countless lords and samurais, it was really an unflattering and baffling notion to have someone actually look at him with disdain and dislike.

At the length of the silence that followed, Midori expected Rin to ignore him yet again, and was surprised when Rin spoke.

“Fine. Night’s falling soon too. I see a small house over off the path ahead.”

Whatever house he mentioned, Midori couldn’t see it in the indistinct landscape that was continually pelted by the downpour. It seemed Rin possessed sharper senses than most men, but perhaps that was a product of his soldier training. Midori remembered Rin mentioning that he had been a soldier in the prince’s guard ever since he was young. If this was part and parcel of soldier’s life, Midori wanted none of it.

True to his word, Rin steered the steed into a beaten and narrow path, and soon enough a humble one-room thatched roof cottage appeared in Midori’s line of sight.

“How are you sure they’ll take us in? We’re just soaked-to-the-bone strangers to them,” Midori pointed out as Rin helped him dismount.

The doors to house, a shack really, opened. Browned faces peered out. They were probably farming folks, or woodcutter folks as most of the commoners in this region were.

“I’m very sorry to bother you folks, but we’re looking for shelter,” Rin said, walking in front of Midori.

The faces stared back at them blankly, but the clink of coins from the pouch Rin held out did it. They were quickly ushered in and taken care of. Rin parted with more coins and a young boy of twelve steered their horse to a sheltered area where the family kept their livestock.

Midori expelled a contented sigh. The house’s interior was small and its tatami floors and walls were worn-out, but it was neat, orderly and had a fire burning in the middle of the room. A cast-iron pot was placed above it. Midori imagined the family would often eat their meals together around the fire. It was a nice thought, to have a permanent domestic arrangement like that. To be stirring porridge from a pot and spooning out a bowl for Rin, and reprimanding him later for asking a second bowl.

Blast it all. Why was Midori still thinking of the hard and reckless insensitive idiot?

The wind and rain occasionally howled against the house’s rickety sides, but the structure was stable. Midori liked the little house and the farming folks that owned it. Even if they accepted Rin’s coin, they looked like decent folks. The house and its people reminded Midori of his own home and the aged father he left behind.

An old familiar ache throbbed inside Midori’s heart. Home. He liked nothing better than to abandon this foolish journey and head home.

Damn Rin and the prince that sent him. The farmer’s wife handed each of them well-patched, but warm blankets and a cup of much-needed hot black tea. Midori thanked her profusely and sat by the fire.

Staring at the dancing flames, Midori let melancholy fill him. It wasn’t too late to head back. They just arrived at the outskirts of the central dominance region. The good thing was, the arrival of the rains signalled the end of summer and the start of autumn. There would be no rain then, just a pleasant breeze. The bad thing was, it would take weeks to cross the large expanse of woods.

That meant weeks of hard riding and weeks of terse replies from a man who clearly hated him. The thought of spending hour after hour and day after day with a man he hated and who hated him was unbearable. Furthermore, the man was a terrible companion and didn’t really provide much conversation.

“What are you thinking of?” Rin settled beside him, ignoring the fact that Midori drew away from him and huddled in his blanket.

“What do you think?” Midori snapped. “I’m sore from all that hard riding. This is the first time in a long time we slept with a roof under our heads. Can’t you leave me some measure of peace?”

“I didn’t realize you hated me that much.”

Midori expected a lofty and arrogant reply, but Rin said those words softly and carefully. He hid it well, but Midori could somehow tell that he was hurt by his words.

“What you do expect? You took me from my home and intend to hand me over to a stranger like a gift,” Midori spat, his chest rising and falling. “I mean, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad travelling with you, but you’ve been nothing but horrible to me.”

Rin was silent for a while. “I know. I’m sorry. There have just been a few things on my mind lately.”

Midori snorted, but didn’t pull away when Rin reached out for his hand. His hands were a soldier’s hands—tanned, rough and callused. To his surprise, Midori found himself liking the contrast of Rin’s rough hand against his own smooth one. They were sure and steady hands. Hands, Midori knew, would never hurt him.

ADULT EXCERPT

“By the Gods, boy. I have to say that’s impressive,” Rin said.

Midori fell back on his heels, licking his lips like a satisfied cat.

“You were impressed?” Midori asked sardonically.

Rin strode over to him. A cautious look passed his features. He yelped when Rin grabbed his hand and yanked him upward. Ignoring Midori’s sounds of protest, Rin easily threw the lighter man on the sleeping futon.

“You said that’s enough for the day,” Midori squeaked.

Rin was on top of him, pulling both his arms above his head. Rin could feel Midori’s heart beating erratically against his wonderfully lean and pale chest, like a caged bird fluttering about.

Did it flutter in fear or anticipation? For a certainty it was in anticipation, Rin decided watching him and his steady midnight eyes. This one is not afraid of me.

“Relax,” Rin whispered against his ear.

He could feel his wolf rumbling in approval inside of him. Good mates deserved rewards. “Just relax and let me return the favor.”

Midori’s heartbeats slowed and relief etched itself on his face. Rin let go off his arms and went down on him, fingering the loosening ropes as he went. The contrast of the rough texture of the rope and Midori’s smooth skin felt wonderful under his fingers.

Mine, they seemed to say. All mine. All ours, his wolf agreed.

“Mine,” Rin said, not aware he’d whispered the words out loud.

“What did you say?” There was surprise in Midori’s voice.

Surprise laced with…an emotion Rin couldn’t pick out. Rin decided to put it aside for the moment. Now wasn’t the time to be confronting feelings and emotions he didn’t have a name for and couldn’t put a name to. His boy had been good, or at least, had been on his best behavior. It was only right that he’d be rewarded.

“Just relax,” Rin coaxed.

Rin parted his thighs gently and when his lips merely brushed against the tip of Midori’s cock, the only sounds that came out of Midori’s mouth were moans. Rin could feel his body relaxing under him like soft clay he could mould to his own liking. Satisfied that he wasn’t showing any resistance or second thoughts, Rin began to reward his boy.

With each careful flick of his tongue and the occasional press of his lips, Rin showed Midori just how appreciative he was. He began at the base and took each of Midori’s balls into his mouth, sucking them like they were delicate peaches. Midori buckled above him, but Rin kept his hands firmly on his thighs. From there, Rin slowly worked on his cock.

 It wasn’t his intention to shock the moon prince into a new world he’d soon had to get used to, but to only give him a taste of it. Certainly, Midori seemed to respond well to his training.

Rin lapped at his cock with slow strokes, liking Midori’s straining body above him.

“Rin…please…” Midori tugged urgently at his hair.

Rin paused from his task reprimand him. “You must learn patience and some measure of control, Midori. If you react so openly to anyone—”

“I’ve never reacted like this to anyone but you,” Midori murmured.

That only gave Rin’s ego a boost. With a little smile, Rin resumed his task. He realized it was fun tormenting Midori. By the time he closed his mouth over the moon prince’s throbbing cock, Midori was moaning a mantra of pleas.

“Please…please, Rin!”

His name sounded wonderful on the boy’s lips. Rin raised himself up a little and licked the pre-cum from his upright shaft, and he was rewarded by Midori’s sweat-soaked and soft expression of torment.

“Patience, my boy. Pretty soon you’ll be experiencing an orgasm like no other.”

Then Rin’s mouth effortlessly closed over his fully erect cock.