Hallowed Bond (Chronicles of Ylandre Book 2) by Eresse Page A

Sighing with resignation.
    Dylen headed for his bedchamber.

Dylen allowed a few days to pass before broaching the subject to Riodan. It was time enough for his lover to becalm himself and listen to counsel he did not like the least bit.
    But listen he did when Dylen finally discussed the matter with him the one evening of the week when he did not report for work. Hirlen had already left for the Seralye while Tarqin busied himself with mending and sorting the laundry.
    Riodan stood up and paced around the parlor restlessly. Dylen let him be. At length, the young Sidonan stood before the window and stared out at the street below. Dylen joined him, pulling him into his embrace to lean back against him.
    “I can’t believe you agree with Aba ,” Riodan whispered.
    Dylen held him tighter. “I told you, it’s only because you still have to establish yourself in society and our liaison might prove a hindrance for you in certain circles,” he softly said. “Much as we don’t want to believe it, there are many Deira like your sire who see hethare as little better than opportunists or, worse, lowly whores. You don’t want it known that your first love affair—”
    “My only affair!”
    “—was with a hethar . Indeed, you must never let it be known that I had you. Always claim it was the other way around.”
    “So I must sustain a falsehood to uphold my reputation,” Riodan bitterly said.
    “It won’t be a complete falsehood,” Dylen murmured. “Not after tonight.”
    Riodan looked back at him, startled. “What-what do you mean?”
    Dylen released him and went to the glassware cabinet. He took out a drinking glass then led Riodan into their bedroom. From the back of the wardrobe, he brought out the bottle of mirash Riodan had impulsively purchased just days earlier. Riodan watched speechlessly as his lover poured himself a glass of the cerulean-hued liquid.
    “Dy?” He gulped. “I didn’t mean that you should—”
    Dylen eyes glittered. “This is my gift to you, Rio. No matter how many Deira I lie with, I shall never allow another to own me as you will this night.”
    He raised the glass to his lips and drained it. A thoughtful smile curved his lips.
    “I didn’t expect it to be so sweet,” he remarked. “In any case, it needs time to take effect. Strip, ariad, ”
    Riodan stared at him disbelievingly. But when Dylen doffed his clothes, he quickly followed suit.
    They came together on the bed with the ease of lovers who knew each other well.
    Neither shyness nor doubts hindered their loving. Limbs sensuously entangled, their bodies all but melted into the other, and mouths and hands roamed and ravished until the room resounded with the sounds of their joy and pleasure.
    Riodan slid down Dylen’s sleek form until he reached the hard flesh that had oft cleaved him these past many months. No longer a novice in this manner of pleasuring, he eagerly wrapped his lips around Dylen’s shaft. A sharp gasp followed by a lingering groan was his reward. Dylen reached down and gripped his shoulders.
    “Turn around,” he ordered. “I want to taste you, too.”
    Smirking, Riodan swiftly complied. Resting his head on Dylen’s hard thigh, he parted his legs to allow Dylen to do likewise. He nearly cried out when Dylen summarily caught his hips and dragged him forward to engulf his shaft in the moist warmth of his mouth. Riodan almost forgot what he was supposed to do for a delirious moment as he was drawn upon so edaciously, he almost spent himself within seconds of the first suckle.
    Riodan possessively cupped Dylen’s buttocks to pull him closer. When the muscles in the firm mounds tightened under his touch, he ran his hands soothingly over them and applied himself to banishing Dylen’s instinctive response to being held thusly. His efforts proved most effective, and before long, Dylen was trembling with the onset of a climax.
    His completion swiftly triggered Riodan’s who greedily swallowed his lover’s