Tori felt the earth spin and fall away from him for a moment. He’d known Baldewin was serious about him. That moment in front of the king, when he’d told Alric point blank he would follow Tori away from the clan, had spoken of how serious he was. And still, somehow, hearing these words from him was a shock. Knowing that this man was falling steadily in love with him was a thrill all its own.
But his lack of faith that Tori returned his feelings was a cold bucket of water in the face. Baldewin feared breaking his heart, and here he was leaving the man on tenterhooks.
No.
“I haven’t said enough to you, either.” Tori gathered up courage, because for some reason, this was beyond scary. Putting himself out there was harder than he’d ever suspected. If not for Baldewin’s confession, he might not have been able to get the words out. “That I like you. Really like you. That I trust you. I want to be your lover more than anything.”
A brilliant smile broke over Baldewin’s face, and he swooped in, hauling Tori into a firm embrace. Tori laughed, hugging him back just as fiercely, feeling lighter now with it all out there. They wanted each other and that assurance was all he needed.
Pulling back, he caught Baldewin’s face with both hands and kissed him. It was a new dimension, kissing Baldewin like this. With all of this emotion behind it, he fairly buzzed under the kiss.
Baldewin was the one who took it to another level and made it dirty, his tongue sweeping into Tori’s mouth and tangling with his in a hot glide. Tori groaned, trying to give as good as he got, up on tiptoes so he could grind into Baldewin’s groin. It felt good, that friction, and yet frustrating. Because clothes.
Trailing his mouth down, Baldewin kissed his way under an ear, nibbling a little on Tori’s neck, and hmm, that felt good. He’d never thought his neck was sensitive until Baldewin got his mouth on it, but yes. Good spot. Noted. Do it again.
“If we continue like this,” Baldewin whispered against his skin, “we’ll end up in bed very shortly.”
“I want that.” Tori’s nerves returned, but for an entirely different reason. Oh hell, this was going to sound lame, especially at his age. But Baldewin deserved a head’s up. “Just….”
Baldewin seemed to sense something had changed and met Tori’s eyes with concern. “What?”
His eyes skittered to the side, a flush heating his cheeks. “I need you to take the driver’s seat. I’m, um…you’re my first.”
Baldewin kissed him gently, once, twice. “Thank you for the trust. I’ll do my best to make it good for you, but if at any point you wish to stop, just say so.”
He nodded, agreeing, but nothing in Tori wanted to stop. He desperately wanted to get his hands on this man, but he only had theoretical knowledge to work with. Watching porn and reading fanfiction wasn’t the same as hands-on experience.
Lifting onto tiptoes, he kissed Baldewin again, trying to re-start the passion that had them climbing each other before. Baldewin caught him behind his thighs, lifting him further up, which Tori took as an invitation. He wrapped both legs around Baldewin’s waist, not surprised when the man easily held him up.
He continued peppering kisses over the man’s face and neck as Baldewin carried them into the bedroom; he couldn’t help but touch. Baldewin didn’t do the gentle thing, setting him down on the bed. Instead, he tossed him.
Tori landed on the bed with a laugh, carefree in the best sense. He bounced once and sprawled out, looking up at his soon to be lover with a grin. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
“I like making you laugh.” Baldewin set his glasses on the nightstand before reaching for his shirt hem, tugging it off in a simple motion and tossing it aside.
Oh, yum. Tori hadn’t seen him without clothes before, and it was quite the view. It made sense that dragons were built—all that flying around obviously required muscle—and it carried over into their human form very, very well. Tori definitely had to get his hands on all of that.
Baldewin continued with his trousers while stepping out of his shoes. They were shoved away to reveal dark red boxers, already tented. The dragon’s smile turned into lascivious as he pushed them down as well.
Oh my. That was…that was a very fine package. Baldewin’s cock was half-hard already, and he was very proportionally built. It would not be easy taking that in, but Tori’s body tingled, already up for the challenge.
Baldewin’s hands fell to Tori’s feet, pulling off socks and shoes, and Tori allowed the help, as he liked having the chance to look.
But he also wanted clothes off, so he undid his own trouser button and zipper, aiding in their removal. He might have felt a little shy about stripping off trousers and boxers, but the shyness was buried under his fascination with getting to explore Baldewin’s body.