Enabling

Drastic times called for drastic measures, Albel decided. The slippery slope he was falling down was at last beginning to nag at him in a most troublesome manner. He had tried covertly searching out the king and some of the dragon brigade members, only to dredge up a good deal of nothing. It was time to address the issue head on. It was embarrassing that his private life was in such shambles that he had to stoop so low as to discreetly try to discover what was vexing his husband.

He had stayed clear of the dragon brigade’s camp for over a year—with good reason seeing as Vox had up until that point taken any opportunity to bed him, be it in the presence of the old count or a camp filled with maggots with wagging tongues. If all went well this time, such an outcome would not be frowned upon too much. The mission, so to speak, was simple; discover what was troubling the duke, remedy it, and earn his place back in the man’s good graces.

As he walked briskly towards the camp the young captain idly wondered just when he started to care whether or not Vox held him in esteem. One part of him told him it was more than right to care, seeing as they were joined in a union. Another part accused him of being afraid of the wrath that the duke could bring upon him; he ignored that part. After warring with himself for the entirety of the walk, Albel decided as he walked through the rows of tents that he did indeed care because, whether he liked it or not, there had been an intimate relationship between them and the feelings attached to that relationship still lingered in the icy, black thing of his he called a heart. What a miserable way to discover that he had feelings beyond disgust and anger for the man.

~~~Many suspicious glances were thrown the youth’s way, accusing him of infringing upon another man’s territory. As if he had any desire to command the dragon brigade. That was a dream long since trampled out. He entered the duke’s tent without so much as a warning call. The man looked up, having apparently been in the middle of a strategy session; the other men around the table also eyed him curiously.

“May I help you?” Vox asked dryly, his tone clearly stating that he truly did not care what Albel was after.

“I’d like a word.” Albel said calmly, studiously ignoring the other men in the tent.

“Then have it, just make it brief.”

The men bent their heads down to the map between them and once again began to converse. It was a stinging slap to the boy’s pride. For a moment he stood before them, waiting for them to finish or at least pause to give him his time to speak, but when he caught eyes with Demetrio and heard the arrogant twat laugh all poise left him in an angry rush of emotions. Albel planted his hands firmly on the table, in the middle of their map, and leaned forward to speak to Vox.

“I’ll have my time and when I am done you can have your map.”

Anger streaked across the duke’s face, but it faded quickly. The man leaned back, tossing his quill onto the paper and letting out a frustrated sound. “Fine then, speak.”

“In private.”

“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my men.”

Albel felt his upper lip curl a bit; Vox always had to make things difficult. He used his most pleasant voice and made a request. “I would take it as a favor if this conversation stayed between us captains.”

Vox seemed stunned. Frankly, Albel was just as stunned that he had uttered that sentence with only minimal snarling. The small entourage of men were dismissed. When the tent flap was secured the elder captain poured a glass of wine for himself and sat down. He looked at Albel and gestured for the boy to begin.

Albel stared at him.

“Well? I hope you did not come all this way to waste my time.”

“No, I came to ask you directly about the sudden coldness you’ve taken towards me.”

"I have not been cold to you."

"You have been and I demand an answer as to why."

"You demand?" Vox laughed. "You presume much if you think you can demand things of me."

When Albel did no more than stare at him with level eyes the duke frowned. He let out a growl. "Had I been acting cold to you, which I maintain I have not been, the fault would lie in you and not within me."

"And how do you think to explain that?! How could I be to blame?!" Albel yelled indignantly.

Vox ignored him.

When no answer was given the young captain leaned forward and gripped his husband's wrist. "I demand to know what has put you in such a foul mood that you no longer value my company or my person. I have done nothing which would lower me in your eyes, so I must assume you're being fickle for some reason. If I have offended you then you aught to tell me rather than act the fool and destroy our marriage while you sulk like a child."

Again there was no answer. Letting out a sigh of disappointment, for he realized that he could pull no answer from the man, Albel turned to leave. It saddened him a little that there was no way for them to reconcile their union, but if the duke was not willing to take a step forward then Albel refused to continue onward. He would not drag Vox the entire way, for the rest of their lives. Especially not if the rest of their lives looked to be bleak and miserable.

Just as he was lifting the tent flap aside to leave, the man called out.

"I was unaware that you truly cared whether or not you were held in high esteem in my eyes. Do you care so much?"

He turned. A puzzled look formed across the boy's features. He looked at Vox, searching the duke's eyes for deceit of some kind, for a hint that he was being tricked or played. When he could find no obvious deception Albel nodded, but offered no more. Vox should have been damn flattered that he actually gave a rat's ass about what the man thought of him, though he doubted the man would see it in the same light.

"I assume this care stems from some desire to keep our union alive and well.” Vox stated. “Prove it."

"Prove it? Coming here should have proven enough! And if it didn't, how else am I to prove it? This isn't something lightly proven."

"There is something you can do for me which would prove your devotion."

Albel would not go so far as to say he was devoted to the man, but if it would put Vox in a better mood he would allow the man to think whatever he wanted. As to what it was the duke wanted him to do...that was all too clear.

"Surely you don't want me to do such a thing HERE, much less NOW."

"And why not?" The man asked, waiting to see how the youth would respond and whether he would obey.

"I can think of quite a few reasons as to why not, some of them being that it's the middle of the day and we're in the center of your camp. We already had a narrow escape at being discovered while we were in a camp some time back."

"You're frightened."

"I'm wary. There would be little point in proving that I would like our union to continue and then be discovered and forced apart."

Vox stared at him with a level gaze, instructing him to begin. Albel warred with himself for a moment; he had no desire at all to take part in sexual activity in the middle of the dragon brigade's camp. Yet if he refused he was certain the duke would take it as some sort of affront and would be even crueler with him than before. If he refused then, there was no telling if he would ever get back into the man's good graces. His husband might take his refusal as the final straw, a gesture meant to mock him. The youth cursed under his breath; he was damned if he did it and damned if he didn't.

He stepped forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When his young spouse stepped forward, Vox's attention was snared. He had expected Albel to throw a tantrum, as he usually did when told to do something that did not please him, and storm out of the tent in a whirlwind of violet cloth and swaying war braids. The boy surprised him.

When Albel came close and wrapped slim arms around his neck the man sensed something; Albel was nervous and hesitant. They were not emotions he saw very often in the boy. For a moment he thought that the youth was worried about being discovered by his men, but that did not seem completely right. It felt as though there was something else bothering the young captain. It took some time to place the boy's apprehension, but when he grasped the boy's chin and forced a kiss on him Vox was suddenly aware of what was bothering his young spouse; Albel was uncertain of whether he was still held with affection. It was so uncharacteristic of the boy, it was almost laughably cute.

He wrapped an arm around the boy’s waist, a possessive gesture that he had not shown in some time. It felt right, how snug his arm felt pressed against Albel’s back. The motion seemed to settle the youth’s tautly strung nerves some.

The action did calm Albel some; he knew that if Vox cared for him, the man would not allow him to be humiliated by being discovered in a compromising sexual situation. Had the duke only wanted to use him, Vox could easily write an incident off as raping him. And given his social stature and royal connections…Vox could walk away from such an incident with no repercussions, whereas Albel would lose the respect of many a people, perhaps even his position. Hierarchy was a bitch. Luckily, Albel did not think he would need to worry about such a thing.

Firm hands lifted his slight frame onto the table. Lips smashed against his own, a tongue forcing its way inside, lapping at the warm insides of his mouth. It had been some time since he and his husband had shared a kiss as searing as that. Albel reached forward and grasped fistfuls of Vox’s shirt and pulled him closer, into a deeper kiss.

Hands pawed at his clothes. A hand ran up and down the youth’s back as another snuck under his shirt to rub harshly at a nipple. The kiss was broken abruptly and Albel’s shirt was bunched up at his armpits. The man’s mouth latched onto his hardened nipple, suckling it and biting eagerly. Albel let out a harsh cry, responding to the intimate attention that he had been deprived of as of late, before a hand clamped down over his mouth.

“Quite, you little fool!”

Albel bit the hand teasingly. A hand squeezed his ass in retaliation to the nip.

Moments later, Albel found himself on his back on the table. His husband was kissing down his stomach while the man’s hands hastily undid his sarong. Fingers encircled his quickly hardening erection, giving it several slow, soft pumps.

Vox moved to whisper in his ear. “You’ve stayed obedient.”

“You stole all of my underwear, there was none to wear.”

“I did no such thing.”

The youth’s lips were claimed again, with the same bruising force as before, as his legs were forced apart. The man pressed his heavy, warm body against the young captain’s. Albel raked his nails down his husband’s back, eager and receptive to the attention being lavished upon him. It seemed ages since there had been a spark of affection between them as they had sex.

Blunt nails dug into Albel’s thighs as they were lifted and wrapped around the man’s thick waist. He could feel Vox’s erection, stiff and slippery with moisture, as it rubbed against his own hardened cock. Reaching down, the youth grabbed his husband’s hand which had been running up and down his thigh, and guided the tips of the man’s fingers to his entrance.

“There?” Vox asked in a teasing tone.

Albel threw his head back and moaned, spreading his thighs wider, welcoming the persistent stroking at his hole. The fingers withdrew for a moment only to be coated with saliva and then immediately placed back at the boy’s entrance. A finger wriggled its way inside of Albel’s body, pushing forward to the knuckle and stroking the boy’s inner walls in such a pleasurable manner that the youth could not help but let out a low keening sound.

Two more fingers worked their way into his body and Albel forced his body down on the invading digits. It felt ages since he had been intimate with a being of flesh; his toys did not count.

Vox could tell how eager his young spouse was; the boy’s lips were quivering and his brows were knitted together in desperation. It fired his ego to see the reaction he could inspire in the normally cold and stoic warrior. He teased the youth for several long, tantalizing minutes by pumping his fingers in and out, stroking the boy’s walls, and finding that special spot that made Albel’s muscles clamp down around his fingers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the fingers left his body, Albel sat up immediately and took hold of the duke’s cock and stroked it eagerly. Vox growled in appreciation, surprised at the boy‘s enthusiasm; it was rare that his young spouse was such an active participant. The duke was much more surprised when Albel spread his legs wider and guided the man’s cock into his body. If that was not a clear invitation--if not a demand--then Vox did not know what was.

Vox pulled Albel into his arms, supporting the boy’s weight as he began to slam into the tight passage his cock was buried in. The boy wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and his legs around his waist. It felt wonderful to the duke to be buried in that constricting heat, to feel his spouse’s need, not just in the way the boy welcomed him into his body, but in the way Albel clung to him and panted soft noises into his ear.

Release was found quickly for the duke, it having been so long since he enjoyed the pleasures of his spouse’s body. He came hard, spurting his seed deep into Albel’s body and biting the boy’s shoulder to keep in a yell of deepest satisfaction. The youth followed soon after, opening his mouth to let out a silent scream.

They slumped together. Vox rested the boy back on the table and after he slid out he leaned over him, catching his breath. He idly ran a hand over the youth’s cheek. For several minutes they remained still and quiet.

“You should leave soon.”

Albel nodded . He lifted his head a moment later and looked his husband in the eyes; the duke looked back at him and he was pleased to see warmth reflected in those eyes. After a moment the man righted his clothes and went about picked up the boy’s discarded clothing. A hand was extended, sarong dangling limply in the man’s grasp.

The young captain did not take it. He pulled the garment from the duke’s grasp, but let it fall back to the floor. Vox’s first reaction was to glare, assuming Albel was trying to be coy and have him pick the article up again. When Albel reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt the anger evaporated.

It wasn’t often that they indulged in more than one round of intercourse--especially given Albel’s habit of rolling over and falling asleep immediately after sex--but something about the situation warranted more contact. Albel pulled the man back on top of him and pulled the man’s growing erection out of his pants.

“Inside of me,” the youth panted, “get back inside of me.”

It was an easy enough command to follow. Vox pushed the boy away, flat on his back on the tabletop, and spread his spouse’s thighs. Albel’s hole was pink and loosened and waiting to be filled once more. After inserting a finger experimentally, the man determined that he would be able to slide in easily with no need to prepare the youth. He took hold of Albel’s hips and flipped the boy onto his stomach.

Albel lifted his hips and presented himself to be claimed again. There were no exploratory fingers or gentle coaxing with the tip of the man’s slippery cock; Vox was buried inside of him in a swift motion, making him arch his back and gasp in pleasure. An arm wrapped around the boy’s waist and pulled the small body close. As he was held close, the hand crept up to fondle Albel’s nipple, rubbing it roughly.

The young captain lifted his own hand, placing it over his husband’s, encouraging the playful stroking of his nipple. Vox chuckled, using his other hand to squeeze the boy’s ass while he bit at the youth’s shoulder. They had fallen into a sloppy rhythm, pausing every now and then as they adjusted their position. The slow pace did not last however. When Albel lifted his head and glanced at his husband over his shoulder they locked eyes for a moment. There were no sparks flying nor did they feel some sudden jolt of enveloping love through the glance or anything equally sappy. But the sight of those red eyes clouded with lust and fine brows drawn in need served only to harden the man’s cock further. Vox started slamming into his spouse’s body, drawing out sharp, indrawn gasps of pleasure from the boy.

Albel reached down and wrapped his flesh hand around his aching cock. Even as the duke was pounding into his body, hitting that spot that made his muscles clench, his own hand was pumping his throbbing cock. His hips would shift forward into his hand and then back to meet the man’s powerful thrusts.

It was easy for Albel to find an end. He clamped his teeth down on his tongue to keep from yelling as he coated his hand with his own warm semen. When his body clamped down on his husband’s cock it dragged the man over the edge as well.

After coming a second time in so short a time, Albel’s energy was spent. His body slumped forward and he rested his weight on the table. Vox pulled out and dressed again; when he saw his spouse lying still on the table a small grin tugged at his lips. Stooping down, he picked up the boy’s sarong and draped it over the youth’s hips to preserve some modesty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nearly half an hour later when Albel emerged from the tent. He had indulged in lying about, seeing as the duke was also in a mood to indulge him in his lazy habit. When he had finally made a move to redress he had found Vox staring at him with an amused smirk. He had grinned back and made a show of dressing and straightening his clothes.

Before he left, the duke had cleared his throat, drawing Albel’s attention. “I will see you later tonight.”

Albel had nodded and then left without a word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming all over his stomach tended to put Albel in a good mood, but he was in a particularly good mood given the fact that his union seemed to have moved beyond the rocky patch of time it had previously been stranded upon. He still did not know what had put the duke into such a foul mood, but the phase had passed. The man’s suspicions had been annihilated.

“I suppose a small bit of affection, real or not, can take me quite far.” Albel thought, though he much preferred to be frank and honest in his dealings with people. Really, it was tedious being married to someone who could be an enemy if the man was not properly satisfied with the relationship.

From then on Albel knew he would have to tread more carefully around Vox, but getting back into the man’s good graces did not seem to be difficult. Perhaps staying in those graces was as simple as spreading his legs and pretending he was enjoying himself each time.

Either way, Albel was able to sleep better knowing he had seduced the beast. After weeks of no contact with Vox, to have the man promise to see him later that evening was a reward. Really, Albel thought, he was capable of anything, even swaying a man who was more fickle than a dragon.

~END

Just three more to go! By now you must be thinking what I’m going to do, but bear in mind I have to cover 2 more years in three chapters and anything can happen in two years. I will say no more. Now to think of what else to write afterwards. I have some thoughts…Review!