Magically Delicious by Caitlin Ricci Page A

he only hit the small table underneath. Very well then, Arn thought with a mental shake. He'd try it another way if the coin refused to come with him on good terms. He slipped off his thin white shirt. It did little good to keep him warm since it was soaking anyway, and he tried to pick it up with the material instead. Again the object refused.
    "Hey…" a sleepy voice called from the side of the bed. "Thasss my coin…"
    Arn let out an irritated breath. So that was it. The young man had claimed the treasure and now he'd have to convince the small human to give it back to him. A lot of stupid rules, if you asked him.
    "I'll give you a bargain for it," Arn whispered, crouching down next to the man's head so as not to wake the others he could hear snoring in nearby rooms.
    The man's eyes, brown as a deep ale, slowly opened and he yawned. "Wow. Vivid dream." He seemed to be coming more awake as he struggled to sit up in the narrow bed. The sheets fell around his hips and Arn's gaze caught on a part of the man's anatomy that he was glad to see waking up as well.
    The man was leaner than he usually liked in his lovers and he had a strange accent that he'd never heard in these lands before. But his lips were well shaped and his pale skin looked soft. And it had been a good fortnight since he'd last taken a man to his bed. Arn brushed his knuckles over the pale expanse of the man's stomach and watched, fascinated as the muscles rippled in the wake of his touch.
    "What'll you ask for?" Arn asked him. "In exchange for me coin?"
    The man slowly shook his head as if he couldn't quite understand what was being said. He reached for the lamp beside his bed but Arn stopped him with a steady hand on his wrist. He could see well enough in the darkness and the man needn't be frightened by the emerald glow of his eyes or the rune tattoos covering his skin.
    "Dream?"
    Arn nodded and chanced running the pad of his thumb over the man's nipple, drawing a gasp from him. "Yes, this is a dream." The longer he could convince him he was having a dream, the better off they would both be. Not many humans took well to having strangers visit them in the night.
    "But it's my coin." Though the man was clearly affected by Arn's light touches, his head still seemed rather clear. An unfortunate problem. It would have been much easier if the man had melted instantly, like most of Arn's lovers chose to.
    Arn gnashed his teeth. The coin must be given willingly. He couldn't just knock the man out and take it as he wished. "A bargain, then."
    "Whatever I want?" The man's voice sounded hopeful.
    Arn nodded before he realized the man probably couldn't see much detail in the thin stream of moonlight coming from his open window. "Yes. Anything." There were limitations, of course. There always were. But Arn somehow doubted that this young man wanted anyone to die or be brought back from the grave. "And then you give me the coin."
    The man smiled and lay back down, getting comfortable back under his heavy blankets as he closed his eyes. "Make love to me."
    Arn stilled, surprised—and yet, not quite. Sure, he'd wanted the man to say something along those lines. But usually when humans bargained with sex, they were crass with their requests. This one—his words were whispered as if he couldn't quite believe he had said them.
    "I… sorry…" the man said from beside him, worry tingeing his thoughts, even in his dream.
    Arn silenced him with a gentle kiss. He could do this, willingly and happily. It'd been so long since he'd made love to someone instead of the quick trysts the others had taken to lately. The man's mouth moved easily under his as Arn reached between them and undid his kilt. He kicked off his shoes before the kilt even hit the ground.
    "Luke… my name's Luke," the man whispered as Arn moved his lips to the man's neck and began gently sucking his soft skin as Luke's arms came around his wide shoulders.
    Arn hesitated for only a moment before whispering, "And I