Elf Defence (Adventures in Aguillon #2) - Lisa Henry Page 0,38

were barely a twinge on his conscience. And while his conscience was great with broader social issues and general themes of justice and freedom for all, it did tend to have a massive blind spot when it came to, well, everything else. This had never been a problem before, and it certainly wasn’t one today because Benji and his conscience were about to get laid. Benji planted his arse on the end of the bed, tugging at the laces of his boots while he gazed around the room: pine furniture, a painting of a stag hanging on the wall, and curtains with cabbage roses on them. Decor in Tournel certainly fit a pattern.

His boots hit the floor, and he stood up and peeled himself out of his pants. Then, happily naked, he looked up to check that everyone else was good to go.

Calarian was shimmying out of his clothes as well, and Benji never failed to enjoy that sight. Calarian was lithe and lean, the fluid lines of his body promising to be bendy in ways that Benji knew it could absolutely follow through with. Benji’s eyes widened appreciatively, and then he turned his gaze to Lars.

Lars was standing in the middle of the room, awkward and fully clothed. He caught Benji’s gaze. “Um, so we’re just going to get right into it?”

“Yes?” Benji questioned, failing to see a problem.

“Hold on,” Calarian said, tilting his head like he was trying to puzzle out a particularly tricky Houses and Humans scenario. He dropped his shirt to the floor. “What do you normally do to get started?”

Lars shrugged his massive shoulders. “Um... like, kissing and stuff?”

“Huh,” said Calarian.

“Kinky,” Benji whispered. He stalked toward Lars. “We can do that.”

He planted his hands on Lars’s shoulders and leaned in, only to find himself slobbering Lars’s palm instead of his mouth.

“I meant you two,” Lars said, pushing Benji gently away. “That would be really hot.”

Benji cocked an eyebrow. Weird, but okay. He looked over at Calarian, and Calarian quirked his mouth in a ‘whatever’ kind of way. Benji supposed they’d done weirder stuff. He stood there, his hands on his hips, as Calarian sauntered naked towards him.

“So,” he said, “How are we going to–”

And then Calarian was kissing him. His lips were warm, and not too wet. The pressure was firm. It was okay, Benji thought, but hardly anything worth getting excited about... right up until Calarian’s tongue slid along the seam of Benji’s lips and then pushed inside his mouth.

Oh shit.

Either Benji had just had an epiphany, or the back of his head had exploded, because kissing was amazing. Where had Calarian learned how to do this? Was there a special chapter on how humans kissed in one of his handbooks? Because somehow the slide of Calarian’s tongue against his was one of the most incredible sensations Benji had ever experienced. It was so weird, because his dick wasn’t actually directly involved, but it certainly loved what was happening.

Calarian ran his fingers through Benji’s hair, gathering up handfuls and using them to tug Benji even more fully into the kiss. Their teeth clashed, and Benji didn’t even care. And then Calarian pulled back, leaving them both panting and staring wide-eyed at each other.

Calarian raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

“Yes,” Benji said decisively. He grabbed Calarian by the ears and hauled him in for another kiss. This one was as wild as the first one. Benji didn’t even realise Lars was crowding close to them until he felt a meaty hand on his shoulder. He startled, and turned to find Lars’s face almost as close to his own as Calarian’s.

“Try soft,” Lars said. “Like this.”

He hooked his fingers under Benji’s jaw and tilted his head up. Then he brushed his lips against Benji’s, featherlight, and a violent shudder that was at odds with the gentleness of the kiss tore through Benji’s body. A surprised breath of air puffed out of him.

“Now show me,” Calarian said.

Lars smiled, and ghosted a similarly soft kiss across Calarian’s mouth, and Benji had never seen anything as hot in his entire life. Hardly a touch, and Calarian was already swaying like a drunk. Benji wasn’t any steadier on his feet.

“Now try again,” Lars urged, his bright eyes dancing. “Both of you.”

Benji’s gaze dropped to Calarian’s mouth, to his plump lower lip that shone with both his and Lars’s kisses, and to the pink tongue that darted out to sweep across it. Benji was so captivated that he didn’t even