Page 40 of Brave Truth

They certainly couldn’t try out everything in one night, no matter how hard he currently was at the idea. “My bed. And how do you feel about less in the way of clothes? Undoing things, to start, not going bare.” For one thing, if they were going to do that, he’d want to warm the place up a bit more first for his own sake, as well as Claudio’s. Cold toes were not something he found remotely arousing.

“Mmm.” Claudio stretched, reaching for the abandoned beer bottle and casting a charm to seal it up again. Matty did the same instinctively. No sense wasting it. “I like that idea. Lead the way?”

A minute later, they were on Matty’s bed, having shed their shoes and jackets. Matty shoved two pillows out of the way. Claudio was willing enough to let Matty take the lead again, as Matty pushed him onto his back on the bed. He got one leg between Claudio’s to help put some pressure in the useful places. And he was a quick learner, as quick as anyone Matty had ever been with. People found tongues awkward, or made it into a battle, with one winner.

Claudio took a little to figure it out. Then it was as if they were together against the world, ebbing and flowing in a way that Matty could and did get lost in. And his hand. Claudio got his fingers into Matty’s hair in a way that wasn’t demanding, just connected so solidly there wasn’t any doubt about how he felt or what he wanted.

By the time they were both breathless, he could feel how hard Claudio was. Matty lifted on one elbow. “May I touch you? Stroke you, I mean. I’ve got some oil.”

Claudio blinked once, then laughed. “Should tell you, my clothes are enchanted six ways to Sunday to be easy to clean. And protective in various ways. You needn’t be delicate on my account.” There was something primly delighted about it that had Matty lunging for the side table and the bottle of oil he kept there for stroking himself off when he did.

He remembered, just in time, to undo Claudio’s clothing before pouring the oil on his hand. And his own. It was a mess, and he had to shove his trousers and pants down closer to his knees with his other hand, fumbling until he could touch. Claudio bucked up into his grasp immediately, grunting with it, but Matty was absolutely certain it was all pleasure. “Oh, we’re going to have fun, aren’t we? Some day soon, we’ll take it slow. Not tonight. Tonight’s all about you learning what you want more of so you can ask for it.” He sucked in a breath and trusted his instincts. “Beg for it.”

That shattered everything, an explosion of sound and fluid. Claudio was driving up against him, groaning with it, utterly caught up in what he was feeling. Matty wanted to do that over and over until he was certain it’d be fixed in his memory forever.

When Claudio was finally blinking at him, half-lidded and coming to grips with what had just happened, Matty kneeled up a little. “Touch me. Stroke me. You’ve done that enough with yourself?” He suddenly wasn’t sure, the way Claudio had talked. But he got a little nod, and he took the offered hand, cupping it around his own cock. “Won’t take long.”

He was taking what Claudio had said about the clothes for truth. There wasn’t time for anything else. Claudio got a half dozen decent strokes in, shifting his fingers precisely as he watched Matty’s reactions. Then the world went black for a second. Matty could feel himself shuddering, and the way he had to be soaking Claudio’s face and chest. It couldn’t have lasted too long— everything was too urgent for that— but it felt like forever. He let himself settle back, kneeling, until Claudio tugged him forward by one hand before his eyes properly focused. Then, there he was, half across Claudio’s chest, legs tangled, both of them breathing hard and needing to say nothing.

They lay there until his feet got cold and everything was slightly damp and sticky. Matty was the one to speak first. “All right?”

“Grand. More than grand.” There was a huff of breath. “Beg, you said?”

“You like the idea, then?” Matty half-pushed himself up on one elbow so he could see Claudio’s face. “Not offended?”

“It’s possible you’ll offend me sometime. But you haven’t yet. Good odds you won’t.” Claudio opened his eyes. “Um. What’s the etiquette for now? Or, more to the point, what do you actually want?”

Matty considered the question. “You want to borrow my bath to wash up and do whatever charms you do for your clothes? I can get dressed and pop out and find something for supper. You’ve an hour before you needed to leave?” He added, out of honesty. “I want more time. I want to be greedy and ask for all the time. I know neither of us can. We’ve other things we need to do. So maybe we need to figure out a thing for after. All the wanting, but then the quiet.”

“Remember. I said— was it only a fortnight ago?— I want that too. Meals with you, and sitting reading in the same room. Though yes. Entirely interested in more in bed, now you mention it.” The posh accent made it suddenly hilarious.

Matty lifted himself enough to kiss Claudio’s forehead and rolled himself off the bed without actually falling over his own feet. “Let me go see about some food, then.” It did give him the advantage of getting a good look at Claudio, utterly debauched, half-dressed, on his bed. He’d be getting himself off to that bit of memory for weeks to come. Until he had others to work with, which seemed likely soon. It was with some difficulty that he turned away to rummage for a change of clothes in the wardrobe. Then he went off to the bath to shrug them on and go find something to eat.

Chapter 27

Thursday, June 1st

Claudio was, it turned out, having an easier time keeping up with Orion’s current duelling obsession than usual. He wasn’t entirely certain why. Part of him felt terribly distracted, wondering what Matty was up to.

Part of him felt freer, looser, than he ever had before. As if he could lunge just that much further and recover, reach those extra inches, get that much more height. It was utterly exhilarating and demanding enough to keep his mind from skittering against what was coming next. What had to come next. He would never have a better point for this conversation with Orion.

The duelling, at least, came naturally. They’d agreed on a points-based match, and Claudio was currently ahead, three to two, first to five won. Orion got a touch, though Claudio shifted out of the way and didn’t take the brunt on his shoulder. He made a note to talk to Matty about the duelling and specifically the bruises. He wasn’t sure what Matty’s standard or current practice was. But the only people who’d seen him less than fully dressed in decades were either duellists and fighters or Penelopes. Then he saw a chance, lunged, and got a solid hit on Orion’s knee.

Somewhat to his surprise, Orion stuck his hands up. “Hold. And yield the match.” As soon as Claudio did the same, Orion shook his head. “You’re at your best today.” Then he tilted his head. “What happened, and who should I be talking to about it?”

Claudio rocked onto his back foot for a moment, then snorted. “You think there’s someone involved?”

“Plausible grammar of magical change. I did learn that one in school. Though not by that name. Noun, though, I think, not something else.” The phrase had come from Gabe while they were in Germany. He had an argument— a decent one— that while a lot of magical acts were verbs, and most of the rest were adjectives or adverbs, there were some nouns in the mix. Orion cocked his head, taking a couple of steps back, paused to stretch out that knee, and then went off for the keep-cold box and something to drink.

Claudio took the chance that was sitting there and hopped up on the half-wall between the seating area and the salle again. Orion handed over a bottle and settled beside him, which meant they could both look out at the unobjectionable and uncomplicated salle. “Cheers.” Claudio offered the bottle, Orion clinked the neck with his, and then just waited.

It was a particularly active sort of waiting. Orion had a number of moods, and some of them were slow-building and quiet. More were a specific flavour of energetic, the same kind of energy that Matty brought to conversations. Claudio would be chewing on that one for a bit. Later. “So. I’m seeing someone.”

There. Four words. That was easy enough. He felt Orion inhale next to him, then heard the careful, “Someone I know, then?”

“Know of. Don’t know if you’ve been in the same place for a bit? I don’t keep track of everywhere you are.” It was true. He was teasing, a bit too, and putting off the complicated bit, of course.

“And you are not a man of simple locations. How many bits of Albion have you been in since I saw you last?” Orion asked.