Page 22 of The Prince's Sacrifice

Slowly, Pel shook his head. “No, you strike me as the sort of person who pretends nothing frightens him and wanders out tothe mountains for what was supposed to be a lovely lunch but was probably awful for him.”

“It can’t be awful,” Tor told him truthfully. “I’m with you.”

Pel got a funny look on his face, and Tor, who’d thought that was a perfectly natural thing to say, suddenly worried that he’d gone too far, admitted something he wasn’t supposed to admit yet. Maybe—

And then he realized that Pel was holding out his hand.

“Would you Tendril with me?” he asked.

Tor stared at him for an embarrassingly long time, stunned so completely that it was like his brain had stopped working. Far from being unwelcome, Tor’s declaration had made Pel decide—

Tor felt his face light up, knew he was smiling too big, but he didn’t care. Even as he realized that Pel’s ears had gone red and his hand was wavering, Tor sat up and flung himself at the other man, wrapping his arms around him and pressing a flurry of kisses to his face.

“Yes, yes, yes,” he gasped out between kisses, exhilaration rushing through him. “I didn’t want to rush you, and I couldn’t figure out when was an acceptable time to ask. Yes!”

Pel was laughing, his arms coming around to clutch at Tor a bit too tight. He was trying to kiss him back, but the laughter and Tor’s sudden need to kiss all over his face was making it hard for him to reciprocate. He clutched harder at Tor’s tunic.

“Yes,” Tor affirmed one more time before sealing his mouth over Pel’s.

Pel surged into the kiss, and Tor tried to meet him emotion for emotion, all his excitement and need and hope, because Pel had had the courage to ask Tor if he would Tendril with him.

Pel was suddenly moving to straddle Tor’s legs, and Tor grabbed his ass and hauled him closer. Pel ground down, and Tor thrust up, both of them gasping at the sensations.

He had just enough presence of mind to realize making a mess of their underclothes was a bad idea, and there was a sudden scrambling for clothing and rearranging so they could suck one another, frantic and eager until they were coming in one another’s mouths.

They tucked themselves away to maintain at least the illusion of decency in the unlikely event someone interrupted them. Pel was propped up against Tor now, though, and Tor didn’t think anyone would mistake this for a casual lunch between friends.

But maybe that didn’t matter. Pel had asked to Tendril. He’d never Tendrilled with anyone, and Tor knew his feelings about Tendrilling were tied up in his feelings about magic. So to have asked this? Tor couldn’t help but be buoyed with a giddy hope for what this could mean for them.

Chapter Four

Pel

Pel blew out a shaky breath.

“Asking that was probably the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done,” he confessed in a low voice.

Tor laughed softly and tilted his head so he could kiss Pel’s temple.

“Your courage should definitely be rewarded,” Tor told him, offering his hand so that Pel could grasp it.

Pel stared at it for a moment, and then he wildly scrambled away, turning so he was facing Tor properly. He couldn’t just grab someone’s hand while they were cuddled up together! Theyhadn’t even been facing one another! This was way more serious than that!

Tor must have seen the panic in Pel’s eyes, because he held up both hands like he was approaching a skittish animal.

“Hey, it’s nothing to worry about. People do this all the time.”

“I’m not most people,” Pel gritted out, trying to figure out why he was breathing so hard, chest rising and falling rapidly.

Tor smiled at him, not seeming the least bit perturbed. “No, you’re Pel. And I want to Tendril with you more than I’ve ever wanted to Tendril with anyone.”

Pel sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his thundering pulse. He wanted to Tendril with Tor more than he’d ever wanted to Tendril with anyone, too, didn’t he? That was why he’d brought it up. He swallowed.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

He hadn’t even meant to ask the question, but now the words were out there, and he looked up at Tor with a mixture of embarrassment and apprehension.

“Not going to happen,” Tor told him calmly.