Vasili said.
Niko growled out a warning but kept his hands held high.
Vasili straightened, running both hands down Niko’s chest, and pulled the silk strip from his hair, freeing his long locks. He pulled the silk tie through his fingers, and all Niko could think was how those fingers really, really needed to be on his cock.
Niko panted too hard, too fast. He couldn’t deny the desire his body was revealing with every breath or the way his heart quickened at what use Vasili had for that silk.
Vasili fell forward and looped the cool silk around Niko’s wrists, tying them together above his head. The lick of silk and the dance of Vasili’s fingertips against his skin summoned a moan. Vasili’s open shirt revealed his chest within licking distance, his scars gleaming. Niko bit his tongue. His throbbing cock leaked in want.
Then he realized what the silk was for. “You’re tying me?” It made his heart skitter, but the tiny bite of fear did something else to Niko too—made everything more immediate. Made his skin burn with anticipation.
“Pull hard enough and it will loosen,” Vasili said. His mouth hovered over Niko’s. “If you wish it to.”
Oh gods, Vasili had tied him… he was fucking restrained. His heart thudded hotter and louder. He didn’t trust him enough for this. But he had said he could pull free… But he didn’t want that. Not yet.
Vasili’s hand pressed against Niko’s chest, holding him down. The prince looked into his eyes, and it was like seeing him for the first time. There had been glimpses—Vasili asleep wedged in a chair, Vasili enjoying the simple pleasures of chopping wood, Vasili at the waterfall—but not like this. Vasili, open and honest, his smile bright and alive, his barriers abandoned. Because he felt safe.
Vasili’s smile tilted, and his fingers skimmed Niko’s chest, circling around a spot below his right nipple. “This scar?”
The scar Vasili had found was tiny. Little more than a nick. There were bigger, more obvious scars for him to focus on, but the play of Vasili’s fingertips, circling tighter and tighter—gods, his mouth was dry. He wet his lips. “Elf dagger.”
Vasili tilted his head. His light touch skipped lower, over Niko’s abs. “This one?”
Oh, by Aura, the prince was going to kill him by teasing alone. Niko swallowed and looked at the ceiling while Vasili’s fingers danced around the deeper, more ragged scar at his hip. Suddenly, soft, warm, wet lips sealed over the scar. “Fuck!” He arched under the prince, barely containing the moan. This wasn’t fair.
“Tell me.”
“Elf. Ambush.”
“Hm.” Vasili pushed both hands up Niko’s chest and tongued a trail behind them, veering below Niko’s left pectoral. “This one?” His tongue flicked over a patch of rough skin, and Niko loosed a growl.
“Fell from a horse.” He couldn’t do this. His cock was leaking, his body ablaze, and Vasili was too damn calm and controlled. “Kiss me, damn you.”
And suddenly, he did. Vasili’s mouth was soft and gentle at first, his tongue a tease, but as Niko tasted more of him, he wanted more, needed more, and Vasili answered those silent demands, shoving his tongue in and rocking into Niko. This had gone different in Niko’s mind. He’d have grabbed the prince and flipped him onto his back, then made him writhe as he lavished attention on his cock. That’s how it had gone in his dreams. But Vasili clearly had his own way.
Straddling Niko’s hips, he straightened and tore his loose shirt over his head, then shook his hair out and grinned. Niko had never seen him so… unbidden. Vasili kissed him again, and his cruel mouth found all the wicked ways to torment Niko as it traveled down his neck and chest, tongue flicking.
Niko’s cock twitched against his lower belly, silken strands of precum cooling on his skin. Vasili’s fingers skimmed the wetness, and his mouth followed, chasing down, over his hip.
Vasili was going to suck him off, and, by fucking Walla, he wasn’t ready for this. But gods, he needed it.
A quick puff of air cooled the head of Niko’s cock, and Niko thrust his hips up for more. “Fuck, Vasili…”
A soft chuckle filled the room, and fuck if Vasili wasn’t going to kill him from desperate need alone. Warm, soft lips sealed over Niko’s crown, and his tight, sucking mouth stole him in deep. Tingly desire raced down Niko’s back and all reason vanished.
Niko tossed his head back, arching his spine, seeking more of the perfect tightness. Vasili took him