Page 28 of Rumpelstilzchen

He’d never felt more alive than when his Shadow hooked his gloved finger under that same golden thread he had secured in place around Boy’s neck and led him across the expansive throne room by it.

It wasn’t until they came to a stop beside the vast table that Boy realised there was only one chair—positioned at the head of the long table. The black and red throne-like seat was raised upon a dais, and he considered that his Shadow may want him to kneel, as he had on all other occasions.

“Please,” Boy whispered.

“Please?” the geist echoed as he pressed closer, eliminating all space between them.

Boy wanted his touch, his control, but he struggled to articulate his desire. Shadows draped around him like a second skin, and it was there that he found his voice. “I want to kneel for you.”

His Shadow closed his black eyes and raised his face to the fading light that filtered in through the stained-glass window high above them. “Say it again.”

“I want to kneel for you.” This time, the words felt like a vow that bound them together.

The geist stepped up onto the dais, but instead of making space for Boy between his legs, he hoisted him by the backs of his thighs to sit on the edge of the table.

Still, he towered over Boy, and his sensuous mouth curved into a small smile that promised the world. It washed over Boy like a fever.

sixteen

Rumple

Boy’s naked body was splayed out on the table. All long, lean lines and supple flesh temptingly dusted with cinnamon freckles. A feast, if ever Rumple saw one, but it was the shadow-infused golden thread that now collared Boy’s neck that held his focus. It glistened in the flickering candlelight, and the sight sent a jolt of excitement through him.

He was one step closer to claiming his Heart.

Unable to resist, Rumple pushed his way between Boy’s parted legs until the edge of the table bit into his thighs. Starting at Boy’s bare knee, he ever so gently trailed the tip of his gloved finger up the soft and pale skin, revelling in the way Boy melted under his touch. The dark blond hairs on his leg raised when Rumple skimmed higher, tracing the sensitive line of his groin that led to his pronounced hip bone.

What was it about his Boy? No matter how many times he asked himself the same question, he never found a satisfactory answer. Boy was untouched by the brutality of this world, and Rumple wanted to sink into his innocence.

When the soft leather of his glove brushed over the curves of Boy’s ribs, he squirmed in place and his breath hitched. The golden collar pooled in the hollow of Boy’s throat, and something burst inside Rumple’s chest. A strange, hot emotion he couldn’t name.

Compelled, Rumple slipped the tip of his middle finger between his teeth and bit down. He pulled the garment off and spat it on the floor. Wide brown eyes tracked his every move as his newly exposed palm flattened against Boy’s chest, directly over his Heart.

Thump, thump, thump.

Its rhythm was fast, but steady and sure, and Rumple wanted.

He bit off his other glove and took a possessive hold on the back of Boy’s neck. His skin was heated, despite his nakedness in the large room, and Rumple pressed their foreheads together. There could be no space between them.

“What are you doing to me?” Their lips were so close that Boy’s whispered words were spoken straight into Rumple’s mouth.

He breathed them in.

“Anything I want,” were the words he meant to say. But as he slipped the hand over Boy’s Heart lower, what came out instead was, “Everything you want.”

A full-body shudder worked its way from Boy’s head to his toes.

Eyes the colour of chestnuts peeked through long lashes, and tentative fingers sought out the collar of Rumple’s starched shirt. In return, Rumple teased across the band of pale skin just above Boy’s pubic hair, and the muscles of his abdomen tightened reflexively. Rumple’s lips lifted into a small smile. How responsive his little human was.

Boldly, Boy slipped his hands inside the opened front of Rumple’s shirt, just underneath the embroidered skull that held his collar, and drew in a ragged breath. With the exhilaration of their shared contact, Rumple’s form flickered between corporeal and not. He’d never experienced such affection from a lover—and Boy’s was almost more than he could bear.

Copying his earlier gesture, Boy flattened his palm over Rumple’s chest, and with an immediacy that caught him off guard, the space where his Heart should have been burned hotter than coal inside him. Rumple released the back of Boy’s neck and gripped his wrist. His shadows pulsed and smoked around them, but Boy seemed unaware, transfixed as his fingers sank deeper inside Rumple’s unsteady form.

But he couldn’t risk piquing his human’s interest so far that he might ask questions that would expose the truth of their connection—not yet.

Needing to regain control, he took an abrupt step back, caught Boy by his ankles, and pushed them up and over his head. Boy had no choice but to be rolled back, and he let out a squeal of surprise at the sudden change in position. Rumple held him in place, despite Boy’s struggles with his dignity.

Boy’s chest flushed and his nipples peaked, and that uninhibited response fuelled the lust coursing deep within Rumple. He commanded his shadows to pin Boy’s ankles in place and smoothed a palm over the rounded flesh of his glutes. Boy whimpered.