by Mike Shade
"Yes. To me." He smiled, licked Bram's lips, nibbled them.
"We have time for a quick break."
"You're sure?" He cuddled against Bram, purring.
"We're taking the break. I want you."
"Good plan." He petted Bram's cock through the heavy pants, heat pouring from it, such a contrast to the cold air around them. "Can you feel me?"
Bram nodded, hips pushing up into his touch. "It gets stronger every day. This morning I thought you were touching me, but it must have just been my imagination because you were a few yards behind me."
"Really? I've been fantasizing about you off and on all day..." He shivered, but it wasn’t just from the cold.
"What kind of fantasies?" Bram had his coat and shirt open now, fingers moving and sliding and making him feel good. Hot fingers and cool air together, an unlikely, but heady combination.
"About you inside me. About you piercing me. About your eyes when you look at me."
Bram groaned, bucking up against him again. "I want to be inside you, Quinn."
"Yes." He nodded, pushing his winter slacks down, baring his ass to the cold. "Please."
Bram undid his own pants, cock pushing out, eager. He was tugged into place, that thick cock so hot, pushing against him, the energy just exploding wherever they touched.
His eyes flew open. "We need to. Now."
"Come on then, Quinn. Ride me. Ride me hard." Bram's hands found his hips and encouraged him down.
So big. So hard. Quinn's head snapped back, a sharp cry filling the air. Bram groaned, hips pushing up, sending that cock deep.
They didn't take it easy, not even a little. He just slammed back and down, cries filling the air. Bram met his body with hard thrusts every time he came down, his lover's moans building in strength as they rutted hard.
Close. He was close. Aching. Needing. Please.
Bram's hand wrapped around his cock, pulling, making him fly. His head snapped back as he shot, eyes rolling.
"Yes! Quinn!" Bram's voice filled the air as those hips snapped, pushing heat deep inside him.
He took a deep breath, heated all through. "Did we melt all the snow?"
Bram laughed softly, sounding happy, sated. "No, but we came close."
"Close works." He leaned down, kissed Bram hard.
Bram purred, mouth opening beneath his, cock jerking inside him. He squeezed back, body milking Bram.
Bram groaned. "We shouldn't again. We need to keep moving..."
"Mmhmm." Moving was good. He liked moving.
"We're out in the open, anyone could happen upon us."
Quinn nodded again, still rocking.
Absolutely.
"We're not going anywhere until we do it again, are we?" Bram didn't exactly look upset about the prospect.
Quinn shook his head, starting to bounce. "Nope. Still want."
Bram laughed, hand squeezing his cock. "Can't have that."
"Mmm...good man." He grinned, moaned a little. "Very good man."
"I try." Bram winked, free hand wandering up to pluck at his nipples.
"Mmm. More." He loved this, fucking and laughing and loving. Even in the snow.
"More of this?" Bram pinched his nipple this time. "Or this?" This time the words were accompanied by a thrust.
"Uh-huh." Yes. Absolutely. More. He pushed down harder, rocking.
Bram's hips snapped harder, fingers torturing his nipples, one and then the other.
"Going to wear your rings." He groaned, the snow so bright, so shiny.
That made Bram pinch harder, twist. The cock inside him pushed so deep, so hard and hot and good.
"Love. Close. Please." He leaned forward, lips brushing Bram's.
"Yeah, I want to feel you come around me again," Bram murmured, tongue snaking out to slide across his lips.
"So hot." He bucked, balls drawing tight as stones.
"Yes." The word was hissed, Bram's thumb pushing against his slit.
He shot again, hips thrusting, coming hard.
"Yes!" That word again as Bram bucked, coming deep inside him.
He moaned, starting to shiver. "We need to get up. Your butt."
Bram laughed. "Yes, my butt would be happy to get up."
He stood, swaying a little, cleaning himself up. Bram stood and put an arm out to steady him, offering him a warm smile as the strong fingers tucked him into his pants and did them up.
"Okay, snow's not too bad. I think we should find somewhere warm to sleep tonight, though. Somewhere snuggly."
Bram chuckled and did himself up, too. "Snuggly and warm sounds good. I haven't had you completely naked in awhile. We'll look for a cave."
"Mmm. Then we can make rice with honey." He almost bounced.
"I'd almost forgotten that an army moves on its stomach." Bram reshouldered his pack, settled it and nodded at their path. "Let's go."
"Yes, love. Let's go find a cave." Their laughter rang through the snow.
Chapter Seven
They walked for weeks, crossing over the mountain and into the North Territories. There wasn't really a peak, a place where they went from going up to going down, they just went and went and the way never got easier, but eventually they were going more down than up.
Bram was having the time of his life. He'd never felt so fit, so healthy. And then there was the link between him and Quinn, the energy growing stronger and stronger. He could tell where Quinn was without seeing the mage, knew now when Quinn was tired, or hurting, or happy.
And Quinn would probably deny it, but the man’s body was growing used to the trek, growing stronger. There were rangy, beautiful muscles on the lithe body now.
Bram glanced back, admiring.
Quinn smiled up at the sun, silver hair pouring all around, catching the light and glowing, the pale skin a sweet gold now.
It made Bram stop and just look, his heart beating fast, the energy between them flaring.
Quinn's eyes dropped, met his, the pale blue seeming to flame, to glow. "Bram."
"Quinn." He shivered, body going tight.
Quinn nodded, moving toward him, eyes unwavering, his mage hunting him. Stalking him. Needing him.
It was the sexiest thing ever, the way Quinn moved now, the way he wanted.
Bram purred, opened his arms. Quinn pushed into him, sure and hungry, tongue pushing into his lips. He held on and opened up, letting Quinn in, sucking that sweet tongue, letting his teeth graze over it.
Quinn groaned, eyes wide, hot, hips bucking. He knew the feeling, it was so intense, so wonderful.
One of Quinn's hands reached down, pushing at his pants, reaching for his cock. He groaned, his own hands pushing into Quinn's pants to cup the sweet ass. Energy shot through him as Quinn's fingers wrapped around him, pumping.
"Yes! Damn!" He shuddered, hips pushing his cock into Quinn's hand. He couldn't seem to ever get enough.
Quinn kissed and touched, rocking against him, those eyes alight. Groaning, he tugged open Quinn's pants, wrapping his own hand around Quinn's need. Quinn cried out into his lips, shoulders rolling, heat growing and growing.
It was almost scary, the way they were connected, but it was also the best thing he'd ever felt and he was going to ride it as long as he could. He pushed their cocks together, twined their fingers around both.
They moved faster, Quinn pushing them, loving him. "Bram. Mine. Such heat."
"All yours, Quinn. Every single inch."
"Yes." Quinn nodded, offered him a wild smile. "Soon."
"Yes. Like now."
Quinn's pleasure exploded through Bram, igniting his own orgasm, and they splashed together, the scent of them strong on the cold air.
Quinn smiled against his lips. "You tempted me and we stopped walking again."
"I tempted you? That's not how I remember it."
"No? That's what happened. I swear." Playful, mischievous. Wicked mage.
He laughed, bending to nip at Quinn's lips. "And I would swear that I turned to
make sure you weren't falling behind and you bewitched me."
"I wouldn't magic you. You'd be upset."
"I know, Quinn. I was teasing you."
Quinn's eyes laughed. "Good. What do we do at the bottom of the mountain?"
"Look for civilization I guess." He stiffened suddenly, the feeling of being watched coming over him. But from down the mountain range, not the way they'd come.
He tucked both himself and Quinn away as quickly as possible and turned, keeping Quinn behind him. Quinn peeked around his arm as a tall, lean woman pointed a rifle at him, grey braid catching the light.
"Sereah!" Quinn squeaked, moving from behind him and heading straight for her. "Sereah! You're alive!"
"Quinn!" He didn't even think, just tackled Quinn, covering the slender body with his own before the woman could decide to shoot.
"Don't you hurt him, you son of a bitch. I'll kill you right here." The woman's voice was hard, cold, and she kept the rifle trained on him, not moving a muscle.
"No! No, Sereah! He's my lover! My best friend! He saved me!"
Bram glared up into the weirdly pale green eyes, Quinn warm and alive beneath him. "You'll not lay a hand on him. He's mine." The words came from deep inside of him, growled, angry, possessive. Quinn was his. His. She couldn't have him. He continued to protect Quinn with his body, eying her warily.
He felt Quinn nod beneath him. "Sereah. Please. Put the gun down."
"Are you working for him?"
"Working? I love him Sereah. Put it down."
The instinct to protect and keep Quinn was so strong it took a few moments for him to force it down and realize that Quinn was calling this woman by name, that he knew her. "You know her, Quinn?"
Quinn nodded. "She's my aunt. My mam's sister. My family."
"Family?" He blinked and let that sink in and then slowly rose up off Quinn, he still put himself in front of Quinn when he faced the woman though. "If you're working for the Emperor I'll kill you," he warned.
"We're hiding from the Emperor, Guard." The gun wavered. "Why did you come here?"
"I'm no longer a Guard. Unless you count that I guard Quinn." He held out his arm, keeping Quinn behind him, still not quite trusting.
Her eyes flashed to Quinn, then the rifle barrel dropped. "Quinn. My dear, dear boy. I thought we'd lost you."
"Bram kept me safe."
Bram nodded. "He's mine," he said again.
He shook himself. He might not be with the Guard anymore, but he still had a brain, still knew strategy and could figure things out. He put his arm around Quinn and drew the mage up next to him.
"How long have you been here?" he asked the woman -- Sereah.
"Since last summer. We ran with as many as we could from the school and intended to go back, but the genocide started too soon."
"Genocide?" Bram shook his head. "The Emperor only ordered the round ups after Quinn and his group committed treason." And why was he still defending the man who now wanted him killed? He knew Quinn now, knew Quinn would never deliberately hurt anyone.
Quinn went stiff beside him, then stepped away from him, hugging the tall mage, kissing her cheek. "We should go. I love you, Sereah. I'm glad you didn't die. Don't tell everyone it was my fault."
Then Quinn started walking east, shoulders tight.
The pale eyes flashed at him, the woman in pure fury. "You bastard. You brainwashed fucker."
She waved one hand, a flash of light blinding him, stunning him.
Bram gasped, stumbling almost to his knees as the world went black. He blinked and blinked again as instinct kicked in, and he pushed the horror of the sudden darkness away. He whipped his pack off his back and threw it with all his might in what he thought was her direction. "Quinn! Protect yourself!"
"Sereah! No!" Quinn's cry seemed to come from a distance.
"You didn't cause this. You didn't commit treason. He's lying to you, sweet boy. The killings started over a moon before you hooked up with Kantrell."
"Quinn! Get away from her!" Bram stumbled away himself, trying to go toward their voices. He was pretty sure he had to get away from whatever she threw at him -- at least if it worked like Quinn's dust did. He kept blinking, shaking his head to try to get his eyes to focus.
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody." Fuck. Quinn's voice was fading, the woman's voice only a murmur.
And he still couldn't see a damned thing, just a grey mist.
He stumbled toward them a few more steps. "Quinn! Quinn!"
Then he stopped, standing stock still as he listened as hard as he could for them. He couldn't hear Quinn's voice, but he could feel his lover, pulling him, needing him.
Damnit. Damnit it all to hell, this was his fault. He'd let his guard down and now Quinn was gone.
He moved slowly, feeling around for his pack and finding it about where he expected to. Well, at least some of his instincts seemed to be okay. He found his knives and secreted them on his person before shouldering the pack.
Then he just followed the pull, the call from Quinn. He could still feel his lover -- it wasn't strong like it had been as they walked together, but it was there, sure and clear.
Taking careful steps, he started to walk.
***
Being blind and tracking down Quinn wasn't as hard as Bram had feared.
He found a stick and swung it in front of him to keep himself from walking into trees, and his eyes started to clear so he could see dark and light. Through it all he could feel Quinn, could feel himself getting closer. Sereah obviously wasn't expecting him to follow -- she wasn't marching Quinn along at any great speed.
And maybe Quinn was complaining, playing up his dislike of walking and his tiredness.
Bram continued to move in the direction he felt Quinn from, steps long and confident, until he managed to convince himself this wasn't hard at all.
He stopped when he heard voices, Quinn arguing and angry. "... love him. I don't care who he was. He's mine."
"He believes you deserve to die. That we all do."
"I'll take him away, but I won't leave him. I love him."
He grinned fiercely. That was his Quinn.
He tested to make sure his knives were ready and threw away his guiding stick, striding confidently toward them. "I don't want to hurt anyone," he called out. "But Quinn is mine. I've come for him."
"Bram!" Quinn's cry was victorious, joyful. "See? You can't separate us."
He held out his arm, trying to judge by the shadows and noises if it was still just Quinn and Sereah or if there were others there. "Come to me, Quinn."
There was the sound of a brief struggle, then Quinn slammed into his arms, fingers brushing his eyes. Energy soared through him, dissolving the mist.
His arm closed automatically around Quinn, his other hand flipping out a hidden knife, holding it in front of him as he took a step backward, taking in the surroundings.
There were dozens of them, all silver-haired and frightened, children mostly, gaunt and shivering, watching the handful of adults with wide-eyes. "They're not bad people. We're not bad, Bram."
"Didn't say you were. She had the riffle on me, Quinn. She magicked me and stole you." He wasn't going to be fooled twice.
Quinn nodded, pressing closer. "I know. I'm coming with you. Yours."
"I'm not against any of them, Quinn. I just won't have you hurt or taken away from me." He said the last looking at Sereah, making sure she knew he meant her.
"You're letting Quinn believe he caused the killings. That's not true. My sister was killed moons before he was involved. The school elders started dying, children were stolen -- it has nothing to do with him."
"I never said he caused the killings. I know he didn't. But the people he was associated with did. It doesn't matter anyway. No one is going to hurt him now." Bram shook his head. The Emperor proclaimed that it was the mages' fault, that they had been responsible for the chaos.
"The Emperor ordered the killings. He was afraid because the Mage
s’ Council disagreed with him, defied him." Another man stood up, ancient and gnarled.
"Disagreed about what?" Bram asked, trying to keep his eyes on all of them, lest one of them catch him off guard again.
"He wanted one of ours for his harem, for his use to spy upon other heads of state. To seduce and push into their minds." The old man shook his head. "We will not be whored out and used."