And So It Begins by R.G. Green Page B

attribute the trader’s ease in that particular matter to, but this wasn’t the time or the place to test the waters of intimacy beyond his own fantasies, any more than the washroom at the Crossroads had been.
    Instead, he snorted aloud this time, though softly. “I’m a prince, not a trader, so I guess I don’t have to worry about that.”
    Derek didn’t answer, but took the clothes from the prince’s hands, one piece at a time, having covered a large portion of the floor by the time they were both naked and chilled. Then he stepped back over the makeshift bed, drawing Kherin with him with a touch to his arm.
    “Come, let’s get what sleep we can. With luck, we’ll be in Gravlorn tomorrow.”
    Kherin hoped the trader was right. He stretched himself out on a dry cloak with a surprising sense of relief, and pulled the edges around him, even as Derek did the same. Talk didn’t resume, and with no other distractions, it didn’t take long to become aware of the blunt stones beneath him and the uneven ridges that pressed uncomfortably on his back and thighs. He flexed his fingers to work out their stiffness, and he knew by morning his whole body would be paying the toll for this night. Thunder rumbled around him.
    “Come,” the trader said quietly, shifting closer as he spoke. “It’s going to be a cold night without a fire, and body heat will do well to keep us warm.”
    Kherin granted at least that much was true, though it was odd that, even now, he didn’t feel cold, just tired. It was the heaviness of the air, rather than the chill, that seemed the most discomforting, but he let the thought go as he told himself the cold would undoubtedly leech in soon enough, and he shifted over until Derek became a solid presence at his side. The chill of Derek’s skin was surprisingly comforting, and Kherin nestled into the coolness as the stark awareness of their intimate positioning increased. He closed his eyes as he breathed in the smell of rain and wet leather that seemed almost a part of the trader himself. Damp strands of long, dark hair brushed against his cheek as Derek reached over him to draw the cloak more securely, though he felt it when the trader hesitated and pulled back. Derek lifted a hand to gently brush the hair from the prince’s face.
    “You’re warm,” the trader said quietly, studying the prince’s face in the darkness. “You feel feverish. Are you feeling well?”
    Kherin gave a slight smile. “Well enough, considering,” he answered as lightly as he could, pointing out with his tone that the circumstances were far from ideal.
    But cool fingers continued to brush his skin, and even in the shadows he could see Derek’s frown at the heat he felt. He knew being in the city—any city—would have been better if he were indeed falling ill, but they both knew there was nothing that could be done at the moment, and Derek finally drew a breath with the sound of resignation. Derek’s only move then was to tuck the cloak closer around them.
    Kherin sighed as he burrowed again into the coolness the trader offered. Then the sigh gave way to a yawn, and he relaxed. Derek followed, though more slowly, and one hand slipped over the trader’s hip in an almost unconscious movement as sleep began to take him. Derek made no argument against it.
    Neither woke when the next crack of thunder shook the stones.
     
     
    D EREK stirred, pulled out of sleep as awareness of the heat pressed against him grew stronger. He was on his side, and though he remained far from fully awake, the hardness he felt pressing against his own made him twitch his hips forward. He relished the feel of his stiff cock sweeping over the hard shaft of another. Recognition invaded his waking senses, bringing with it the awareness of newly heightened pleasure, and he began moving against the velvet heat stretched against him, pressing into the contact, answering and encouraging it as a slow pattern of teasing and touching ensued…
    Until