Chapter 103: Learning [Win-Win]

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Learning [Win-Win]

"So responsive," Nero murmured, satisfaction settling openly into his expression. "And all mine."

"You—"

Sebastian never finished.

Nero caught him around the waist and pulled him upright, settling him back across his lap with Sebastian’s knees braced on either side of his hips. The movement was effortless enough to remind Sebastian, somewhat inconveniently, just how much larger Nero was.

"My moon." Nero’s mouth brushed close to his ear, warm breath stirring the fine hairs along his neck. "Let me see how badly reality has ruined seven years of imagination."

His hands disappeared beneath Sebastian’s underwear.

The first contact against bare skin made Sebastian shudder.

He had noticed Nero’s hands before. It would have been difficult not to. They were proportionate to a man who stood seven feet five, broad through the palms with long, elegant fingers that looked equally natural wrapped around a ceremonial blade or resting against Sebastian’s waist.

They felt considerably more imposing like this.

One palm covered almost an entire cheek as Nero squeezed slowly, learning the weight and shape beneath his hand rather than immediately reaching for more. His other hand followed, kneading with the same attention until Sebastian’s forehead dropped against his shoulder.

Nero kissed his temple.

"Seven years," he murmured, almost absently.

Sebastian laughed under his breath. "You keep mentioning that."

"You keep giving me reasons to."

His hands moved again, spreading Sebastian beneath them before drawing him closer, and the pressure dragged Sebastian’s hips forward against Nero’s growing bulge.

Nero inhaled sharply.

Sebastian heard it.

Enjoyed it.

"Do you have any idea how many versions of this existed in my head?" Nero asked.

Sebastian lifted his face from his shoulder. "Tell me."

A quiet laugh vibrated through Nero’s chest.

"You were considerably less cooperative in most of them."

"That sounds more realistic."

"I had to work with the material available to me."

Another firmer squeeze pulled Sebastian over the erection. His fingers slid deeper between Sebastian’s cheeks, exploring the sensitive skin there.

Sebastian held his breath, anticipation coiling in his stomach as Nero’s fingers moved closer to his entrance.

When Nero’s fingertips brushed against his hole, Sebastian knew the instant he discovered the slick.

Everything stopped.

The humor vanished first.

Nero’s hand remained between them, one fingertip resting over the hole that was already softened and prepared, while smoke and burning wood thickened almost immediately in the air around them.

Sebastian could practically feel Nero recalculating the entire evening.

Slowly, Nero lifted his head.

"You prepared."

His voice was different now.

Sebastian’s face warmed despite himself.

"I was planning ahead."

Nero’s fingertip traced carefully around the muscle rim, testing the evidence with an attention that was far too intense for Sebastian’s dignity.

"You prepared yourself before coming out here and then spent half the evening laughing at me."

"I promised you a gift."

Nero stared at him, his purple eyes darkened.

"Sebastian."

"What?"

The way Nero said his name should not have sent another pulse of heat through him.

It did.

His finger pressed inside just enough to make Sebastian’s muscles tighten instinctively around it. The preparation had made the obscenly easy, but that hardly mattered when it was Nero touching him now, Nero’s enormous hand holding him open while the man himself looked increasingly as though his famous control had become a limited resource.

"You did this yourself."

Sebastian swallowed.

"Yes."

Nero pushed a little deeper, watching Sebastian’s face with a look that bordered on violence.

"How much?" His voice was barely a whisper, his mind replaying how Sebastian did it.

Sebastian knew exactly what he was asking.

"Nero," Sebastian warned.

"How much?" Nero raised his tone just enough to send shivers down Sebastian’s spine.

"Three fingers."

For several seconds, the enigma did absolutely nothing.

Then his eyes closed.

Sebastian started laughing.

"You asked."

Nero opened them again.

"That was irresponsible of me."

"Oh?"

"I preferred ignorance."

His finger curled experimentally, trying to find Sebastian’s prostate.

Sebastian’s laugh collapsed into a sharp breath as pleasure went through him, his hips jerking before he could suppress the reaction.

Nero froze again.

Then very slowly, his mouth curved.

Sebastian immediately regretted giving him new information.

"Do that again," Nero said.

"That was involuntary."

"I know."

Nero pressed his finger deeper .

Sebastian caught his shoulder.

The bastard looked delighted.

"Three fingers," Nero murmured, gaze fixed on Sebastian while his hand remained maddeningly controlled. "You stood in my bathroom preparing yourself for me."

"Technically, it’s our bathroom tonight."

"My moon."

Sebastian smiled despite the heat burning across his face.

"Yes."

Nero’s expression changed.

There was hunger in it, certainly, but underneath that was the same almost painful yearning Sebastian had begun recognizing whenever Nero received something he had never dared assume Sebastian would give him.

"You were thinking about me."

Sebastian reached up and caught his face between both hands.

"Who else would I have been thinking about?"

That answer affected Nero far more than the explicit one had.

His fingers tightened against Sebastian’s hip.

Sebastian kissed him once, then drew back before Nero could follow, keeping their faces close enough that their breaths still mingled.

"You can do it next time."

Nero’s gaze sharpened immediately.

"Next time?"

Sebastian smiled at how quickly he caught on.

"Prepare me yourself." His thumb brushed over Nero’s lower lip. "Just keep in mind that this is my first time being topped too."

For once, Nero’s expression went completely blank.

Sebastian had expected interest, perhaps another indecent comment. Instead, something almost violently pleased moved through those violet eyes.

"You’ve had sex before."

"Yes."

"But never—"

"Never."

Nero stared at him for another second before his mouth slowly curved.

Sebastian recognized the expression and immediately regretted giving him information he would undoubtedly treasure for the rest of his natural life.

"Oh, don’t look so pleased."

"My moon," Nero murmured, drawing him closer, "you just told me I still get to be your first at something."

"You are unbearably competitive."

"This has nothing to do with competition."

"It absolutely does."

Nero kissed him, still smiling against his mouth.

"It has everything to do with being greedy."

Before Sebastian could answer, Nero added a second finger.

The stretch drew a low sound from him, his head falling back against Nero’s shoulder while his fingers tightened instinctively around the wrist resting across his waist. Nero paused only long enough to read the reaction, then began moving again, separating his fingers with controlled patience that felt far too deliberate for someone doing this for the first time.

Sebastian had expected some awkwardness.

Apparently, he had underestimated what happened when Nero was given a problem involving Sebastian’s body and enough immediate feedback to learn from.

"Nero..."

"I know."

"You absolutely do not."

A quiet laugh brushed his ear.

"No, but I am learning."

Nero adjusted the angle of his hand, trying something slightly different, and Sebastian’s next breath broke halfway through when pressure landed exactly where it needed to.

His entire body tightened, pulsating around Nero’s fingers.

Nero stopped.

Sebastian could almost hear the thought forming.

"Oh," Nero said.

Sebastian closed his eyes.

"Don’t."

"That."

"Nero."

"That was very useful information."

The satisfaction in his voice was intolerable.

Then his fingers moved again.

Sebastian’s warning dissolved into a moan.

Nero immediately repeated the motion, slower this time, watching how Sebastian reacted rather than simply chasing the result. The hand around Sebastian’s waist tightened when his hips moved instinctively, keeping him firmly against Nero’s chest while heat gathered beneath his skin.

"There," Nero said quietly, almost to himself.

Sebastian laughed, and the sound turned ragged when Nero found the same place again.

The amusement vanished beneath pleasure so quickly that he barely registered Nero’s other hand moving until long fingers wrapped around his cock.