Darshan shuffled closer, perching on the edge of his chair. “We could find out together, if you would like?”
“Starting with what?”
Darshan ran his forefinger down Hamish’s palm. It radiated unnatural warmth. “How about I show you a little sex magic?”
“Here? Is that a good idea?” Whilst there were a number of bookshelves they could duck behind, the door didn’t lock. “What if someone comes in and sees us?”
“They will see very little. I have no plans to strip you…” He cocked his head. “Not below your waist, at least. I shall require you to sit down on something a little steadier than a stool, though. You are certainly far too tall to stand for what I am thinking of.” Leaping to his feet, Darshan dragged a nearby armless chair away from the table. “Strip to your skin and straddle this.”
Curiosity had Hamish obeying before he could properly think of all the ways this could go wrong. He peeled each layer off one by one, the mute chill in the air digging into his flesh as his undershirt finally hit the floor. Throwing a leg over the seat had him facing the chair’s back. A few quick adjustments to his position by Darshan’s thankfully warm hands left Hamish with his arms propped on the back of the chair.
A hand, gentle and smooth, slid across his shoulder before gliding back up. His hair shifted, then a single strand snagged. A hiss slithered between his teeth. He could handle a tug at a clump of hair—he wouldn’t be able to hunt in half the places he did if he couldn’t—but this was like being stabbed in the scalp by a needle.
“Frutz,” Darshan grumbled, the word almost too quiet to make out. “Hold on.”
Hamish tilted his head, letting the mass of coils fall either side of his neck as Darshan untangled the rest. The presence at his back faded and the clatter of metal hitting the table filled the silence.
“My apologies,” Darshan said as he returned. “I had rather forgotten that ring is somewhat carnivorous.” He laid his hands on Hamish’s shoulders. “Now, you should feel a slight tingle…”
Warmth soaked through his skin like a damp cloth, accompanied by a deep buzz that could only be his lover’s magic. It did tingle. Soft and low, it put him in the mind of a tiny kitten purring happily away. Hamish relaxed against the chair back, resting his chin on his crossed wrists. A contented sigh whistled through his nose.
The breath of his lover’s chuckle skittered across Hamish’s back. “Shall I take that sound to mean it is all right? Not too much?” There was a sliver of concern in the question. “I can decrease the vibration a little further.”
Hamish shook his head. “This is good,” he slurred.
He sagged further as sure and sinuous fingers swept over his back, finding each knot in his muscles like a boarhound on the hunt. The warmth and gentle kneading did much to relieve the little aches he hadn’t previously noticed last night’s tumble through the window had caused. Was it healing magic? There was a faint familiarity to the tingling.
But that didn’t explain what Darshan had said earlier. Massaging his back wasn’t new, although this was different in execution by being magically assisted. The nagging thought continued to tug at his slush-ridden mind. “I dinnae see how this can be seen as sex magic,” he half-mumbled against his forearm.
“Like this?” Darshan gave a contemplative hum. “It is not generally considered as such, I will give you that. I merely thought it prudent to start low given this was your first time.”
“Of what? Having magic used on me?” A hearty laugh bubbled in his chest. “This is nae me first time there.” Granted, a good two decades had passed from the last time he’d been in a position to require such healing from spellsters, but it seemed Darshan had forgotten he had used magic on him last night. But then, other thoughts had surely swarmed his mind since.
“Oh?” Such rich delight and surprise tinted the word that Hamish wished he could see his lover’s face. “Then, would you be agreeable to me increasing the strength?”
Nodding, Hamish garbled something that he hoped the man took as acquiescence and a crackling surge of heat washed over his body in answer. The tingling intensified, burrowing deeper into his flesh.
“Of course,” Darshan murmured. “Even now, it is a shadow of what the real thing is like. I am afraid you shall just have to imagine it…” His hand slunk down Hamish’s side, angling around to the front, the tingling touch sliding further until his fingertips slipped beneath the waistband of Hamish’s trousers. “…lower,” he purred.
Hamish swallowed. Imagining wasn’t in it. Even with his lover not lingering long, the light vibration running through his abdomen was enough to stir him. “Aye?” he managed, the word thick on his tongue. “I can do that rightly enough.”
“My apologies,” Darshan whispered, his voice husky and failing at sounding in any way remorseful. His fingers returned to the warm massaging of Hamish’s shoulders. “It was not my intention to tease so much. I shall stop before this gets awkward. Just allow me to turn down the heat first.” Like the breath of a frost giant from the stories of Hamish’s childhood, a wave of coldness slipped down his back.
An involuntary gasp filled his lungs with the library’s musty air. The hair on his bare skin swiftly lifted. Jumping into Mullhind Harbour during the midwinter festival was a ghost of a comparison.
Chuckling wickedly, his warm breath only serving to make Hamish feel colder, Darshan planted a firm kiss onto Hamish’s shoulder. “We call that the auk-maardin.” Heat slowly returned to the man’s fingers. His lover hovered them over Hamish’s bare skin, his fingertips brushing Hamish’s skin fleetingly as the radiating warmth returned him to normal. “You are welcome to ask for it any time you desire to
