Page 57 of Apple Boy

“That was quite some evening. More adventure than I bargained for!” I observed as Adam locked the door behind us, but I knew with nervous trepidation that this was not the time for small talk. We shared an incendiary look, and I understood that there was only one thing on Adam’s mind.

“Aye, t’was”, he echoed. Adam stood and considered me, his eyes sparkling emerald with flecks of gold in the candlelight. “I can’t tell ya what a weight has been lifted now I know Evan’s okay.” He said. “I’ll send a rider on the morrow with a message fer Ma.”

“Yes! Good idea! You can also add a promissory note from me that she can exchange for coin.”

“There’s no need—” I put up a hand to still Adam’s protestations.

“Rosalie was good to me, and I repay my debts.”

“Fine.” Adam relented and pushed his damp curls back from his brow. “I have so much to tell her.”

“And so much that you cannot”, I warned. That fact hit home, and the silence that fell between us felt vast. We both now understood that we were set apart from all of our loved ones, not only by our feelings for one another but by the gifts that we were only now discovering. How had I lived more than nineteen summers and not known that I was a mage? And what was so special about Adam that the magic leapt and sang in my blood at his touch?

“Aye. I know. I’ll deal with all that in the morn.” Adam said, and then his expression brightened and his mouth hitched to a crooked grin. “I have other things te deal wit now!” Adam wagged his brows, and a broad lecherous smile lit his face. I turned away teasingly and strode into the bedchamber.

The Adam Sewell I met in Mallowick market square was stoic and self-confident amidst his difficult family situation. He was feisty and refused to be oppressed by his brute of a father. Adam had harbored a secret attraction to boys, and a worry for the whereabouts of his brother. He’d kept all of his concerns hidden inside. Now that we had shared intimacy and located Evan I witnessed the lifting of that weight.

Adam’s body was relaxed, and the air of lightness in his countenance as he swaggered past assured me that Adam was at peace with all that had happened since we met. Our adventures made my naïve farm boy thrive, and the swarthy young man who stood before me now was right. Adam was supposed to be here, with me.

The magic still lingered, and I could feel Adam’s contentment radiate from across the room. His happiness infected me as if he’d offered me his life’s breath and at last, I too knew what it was to be alive and to be exactly in the right place with the right person.

Adam strode toward me cursing and laughing, as he dragged at his collar to unfasten the frilly jabot he hated wearing. I did not know if a man could die from unquenched desire, but if I did not have him soon I was sure I would be the first ever victim! I turned from him, removed my rain dampened cloak, and tossed it over a chair, “A moment” I called and teasingly rushed for the bathing room.

In the bathing room, I hurriedly undressed, removing my frock coat, waistcoat, jabot, and shirt.

I returned to the chamber clutching a vial of apple scented oil, naked to the waist with an unmistakable bulge in my britches aching for release. Adam had blown out the candles in the wall sconces, and now only the firelight flickered, burning magic with a rose-gold flame. The fire sent intimate shadows dancing around the large bedroom, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust and locate my lover.

Adam was sitting facing the fire in one of two high-backed hearth chairs. I saw only his legs splayed out restively and a hand barely clutching a glass of Brandymeade. I had been away but a few minutes and I hoped he had not fallen asleep. I saw then that Adam had thoughtfully poured a tumbler of Brandymeade for me too and placed it upon the side table for the chair opposite his.

I strode to the unoccupied chair, placed the vial of oil down on the table, and picked up the glass. I swirled the honeyed liquid around in the tumbler letting the reflections of the magic-tinged fire dance upon it like the countless hues of autumn leaves—and the many shades of earthy brown and gold in Montestine tea—shades that flecked Adam’s wavy hair when the morning sun caressed it as it had that fateful day we met. God’s, I realized now that Adam’s difference stood out to me even then with our first shared glance, but I had not understood why I was so drawn to him. The Star-fall magic helped me understand. It pulled us together and, like a bow and arrow we fit and we worked as one, sending our magic through the air swift and sure. I threw the Brandymeade down my throat in one gulp, gritted my teeth, and hissed against the burn. I was not usually a Brandymeade drinker, but what would come to pass between Adam and I called for some additional courage. I placed the tumbler back on the side table and took a step toward my chair. The view that greeted me when Adam came into full sight made my knees give way from under me. I sat heavily and gazed in awe.

It was clear to me just how amorous connecting with the Star-fall made my once adorably innocent companion, and my groin throbbed with matched arousal. Adam had loosened his clothing and was skilfully arranged for my pleasure. He sat slumped in the cushioned chair, his rear resting on the edge of it. Adam’s white shirt lay open, the skin of his stone-cut torso shining like gold in the dancing firelight. Adam had unbuttoned his lavender silk britches, revealing muscled hips and groin. His firm, corded thighs were parted. Temptingly, atop his flat belly lay his semi-erect prick. I licked my lips and could not stop smiling at the sight.

Adam pretended to be asleep, his Brandymeade glass dangling tentatively from his fingers as if he were about to drop it. Oh, how I feasted on the vision before me. I seared this wanton image of my lover on to my heart; my Apple Boy was a living, breathing work of art.

A lock of dark hair fell over Adam’s left eye. He pursed his lips and let out a puff of air, attempting to blow it back into place. I laughed, and he opened his eyes, beaming at the expression of awe on my face.

“You are so beautiful.” I gasped.

“Yer not so bad yerself… my Lord,” he replied with a lecherous grin. I moved closer to Adam, and then I lowered to my knees in-between his warm thighs. Our eyes met, and Adam dropped the tumbler, but to our surprise, it did not smash, the glass just hung in the air.

In a breath, Adam’s hands roughly fisted in my damp blond hair, and he pulled me to meet his ravenous waiting lips. Oh, Gods, I quivered in his grip and can honestly say that I had never experienced such passion as when we kissed after using magic. It was as if the magical residue within us delighted in our joining and it kindled and sparked as we touched. I rubbed my hands up and down Adam’s thighs as we kissed, feeling his hard muscles flex and stretch beneath my fingers. Adam had stored power beneath his skin, and it seemed our lovemaking was the only way we could burn it out of him. We passed power back and forth in our kisses, the exchange making us both tremble with sensation. What was it about Adam that I found so exceptional and intoxicating? Why did the Star-fall gemstone respond to him?

I drew back from the kiss and caressed Adam’s face. I was alarmed to see a trail of silver glowed where my skin touched his and remained for the blink of an eye.

“What?” he asked at seeing the surprise etched in my features.

“Look!” I said, taking Adam’s hand and running his fingers over my bare chest. “We make mage-light!”

“I’ve never seen anythin’ like it!” He gasped with the awe of a child.

“I have,” I admitted. “I saw mage-light running through cobbles in the city. It was what led us to the depository.”

“Interesting,” Adam cooed ponderously as he drew silver patterns on the back of my hand sending a tickling thrill through me and straight to my groin.

“What do you want to do?” I asked. His cheeks reddened in a blush.

“Eh, I dunno, what do you want to do?” He countered, painfully embarrassed that we were talking rather than doing.