Into the Lion's Den

by Tionne Rogers

  Inside, Constantin was sitting with his legs crossed and reading some papers in Russian, as Guntram noticed while he sat next to him.

  “Hello Constantin, I'm truly surprised to see you.”

  “Happy birthday, Guntram,” the man told him very warmly. “I was in the continent doing some business and decided to visit you.”

  “I'm glad to see you. Thank you for remembering it.”

  “Do you want to have dinner with me?”

  “I'd like to, but I'm not ready for it.”

  “Then, come home. I think we could find something there. You don't have other plans, do you?”

  “No, nothing. I'm not very sociable.”

  “Then, it's decided. My home. I hope Zakharov hasn't depleted the wine cellar.”

  After a small dinner, Guntram was more relaxed and openly laughing at Constantin's stories of his time as a student. “I need a cigarette. Do you want to come to the terrace?” “You don't smoke inside?”

  “Never, it could ruin an artwork.”

  Guntram shuddered in the cold night and Constantin went immediately inside, without telling a thing to return a few minutes later with a thick cover ornamented with fox tails. “You're going to catch your death with this cold and only that thin pullover,” he said simply, putting it around Guntram shoulders. “Come, sit next to me,” he stated simply pulling Guntram down with him.

  “Are you not cold?”

  “Not really, I live most of the time in St. Petersburg. I dislike hot weather. I escape from there in the summers as they can be suffocating. You, on the other hand, look like you're going to catch the flu with this fresh air.

  Come closer,” Constantin pulled the boy against his shoulder and embraced him, rubbing his sides to warm him more.

  Guntram leaned against the man instinctively although his education was telling him not to take so many liberties with another man and smiled warmly, getting lost in Constantin's black eyes. A large hand forced delicately his head against the Russian's chest and he complied, enjoying the feeling of being embraced by another person.

  Constantin was very glad that his angel was slowly accepting him and enjoying his caresses. He continued to stroke with long movements his back as the boy nested his head over his shoulder, his hair softly playing with the sensitive neck skin. He knew he shouldn't press much or the boy would be scared. This was a long game and it could be very rewarding at the end. “Are you warmer now?” Constantin asked casually, disentangling himself from his angel, unable to hide his disappointed look. That was what he loved most of him; his kindness and innocence. Like seeing everything for the first time: not like a seasoned lover, someone with a good heart who wouldn't try to take advantage of him or betray him.

  “Yes, thank you,” Guntram answered, blushing as he realised that he had been using the poor man as a pillow.

  “I have something for your birthday. I saw it in London and thought you might like it. I think your style is very similar to his.”

  “What is it?” Guntram couldn't help to ask like an eager child.

  “I have it inside. Let me go for it.”

  “No, stay here, please. You haven't got the time to smoke.”

  “You don't smoke?”

  “Oh, I tried in school but threw up after the second or third puff. Not my thing. I felt as if my heart was about to explode,” Guntram explained as Constantin chuckled softly. “I even tried with a full vodka shot when I was sixteen and I still remember the headache.”

  “You should try some champagne when we go inside. It's not so strong. The secret with alcohol is that it has to be very cold outside and you won't feel it.”

  “I'm not so sure.”

  Constantin lighted his cigarette and Guntram lightly coughed with the dense smoke. “Is that legal?” He asked, when he smelled the smoke.

  “Russian cigarettes. Unmistakable. Very legal. Perhaps that's why we don't have much weed consumption back home. You'll get used to them. Once you're used to them, you want nothing else. I like them a lot, but don't smoke much. Only two or three boxes per week, at night. It helps me to think.”

  Inside the flat, Constantin opened a second bottle and gave his present, enjoying how Guntram was deeply absorbed by the book's illustration; a Bronzino's drawings guide. He laid against the white leather couch delighting himself in just watching the boy's profile in the half-light and how his hand traced reverently the contours of the drawn figures and his eyes registered every small detail.

  “It's magnificent. How did you know I love this man's work?”

  “I didn't know. I'm no fortune teller. I just thought that since your style was similar to his, perhaps you would like to copy it.”

  “I love it. I used to have a Madonna painted by him in my room. It was a copy, of course. My father had brought it for me from Paris. I think it was sold with the rest of the furniture at our flat in Buenos Aires. He was the first painter I copied from.”

  Without really knowing his reasons, Guntram closed the book with a dry thud and left it over the coffee table, his eyes looking for a second at Constantin's face. He leant over the man and without any further notice his lips touched the others and he kissed him softly at the beginning as his boldness increased with Constantin's passivity.

  Constantin let the boy do till he felt that he was ready for some more action and firmly clasped the silky hairs before his tongue briefly caressed the lips, gently demanding to enter into the mouth offered to him. Surprised, Guntram opened his lips, allowing him a free entrance and the man roamed his mouth with his tongue, increasing his hold on the boy, pulling his body closer. Guntram felt his own lips on fire as he wantonly put his arms around Constantin's neck and entwined his fingers with the black hair.

  As suddenly it had started, Constantin ended the kiss, gently pushing the boy away. “Why did you do it Guntram?”

  “I'm sorry. The wine must be on my head,” he hurriedly answered, blushing like never before.

  “No, it's OK, but you said you were not into men.”

  “I don't know any longer. I think not but I think you think you can have something with me.”

  “Guntram, all this thinking can't be good for you. Your logic remains very unclear for me.”

  “You visited me on my birthday and gave me champagne. You offered me a generous scholarship and go with you to Europe. The least I can do, and the most honest, is to let you find out if you would like it or not.”

  “I see. Whoring yourself to me is the most honest thing to do. Are you sure you don't want a scholarship for the Law School?”

  “I'm not whoring myself! I'm giving you the opportunity to see that what you want is not so great as you think!”

  “You're whoring yourself the minute you're offering yourself for sex even if you know you don't like it.

  Don't come to me with a tearful story. I hear hundreds per day!”

  “I don't know any longer if I don't want it!” Guntram admitted, dying of shame.

  “How did you feel when you kissed me?”

  “It wasn't bad or repulsing as I thought it would be. Sinful, but good.”

  “Two more words and I would have thrown myself over the balcony. Flattery is not your main virtue, it seems, and honesty is quite overestimated in my opinion.”

  “I didn't mean to be rude. I liked it in fact.”

  “Why are you not a little more honest to yourself and tell me that you would like to see how it is?”

  “Because I don't know! I don't want to jump into someone's bed for a single night. I always thought that my first time would be with a woman whom I would love enormously, but here I'm offering I don't know what!”

  “Guntram, I've told you that I'm not the romantic type. We can have an adventure but the minute you start to cling to my neck, I'll be gone. If you want it, it's under my rules, do you understand me?”

  Guntram gulped, truly afraid now because, his doubts assaulting him more than before. “I also don't think this could be permanent. You'd
be disappointed the next morning, but at least you would know that you're missing nothing. I think we should try it again, if you want it, Constantin. I think, I wouldn't find any better teacher than you. “

  “Remove your pullover,” Constantin ordered sharply and Guntram felt his heart stop, blanching like a paper sheet, a gesture that didn't went unnoticed for the man. “Do you see it? You're about to get a heart attack only with those words. What would happen if I tell you on your knees boy and suck me?” He smirked. “Don't play with fire, child. This is a very dangerous game for you.”

  “I still think we should do it.”

  “Really? All the way?” Guntram hesitated for a brief moment before trying to utter an answer. “See again? You're still considering what “all the way” means,” Constantin chortled.

  Guntram fixed his eyes on Constantin's, tired of the belittling remarks the man was throwing at him. He was not such an idiot! He could do it. He gulped again, rather noisily and removed his pullover without saying a word as his voice would betray his nervousness and uneasiness. He gasped when Constantin advanced toward him and took his head by the neck, exerting a light pressure over the cheek to affirm his hold over the boy. “Have you ever been with a man ever before? In school?”

  “No, it was not my game,” Guntram answered shortly before Constantin plundered his mouth with a long kiss, sucking the air out of him. Without fully realising it, so absorbed he was in the kiss, Guntram felt himself being repositioned against the cushions over the large sofa, a strong arm taking him by the waist as Constantin settled his weight against his chest.

  Guntram felt the kiss odd but utterly erotic, nothing that could compare to the smooches he had once exchanged with a blonde girl on a party when he was fifteen years old. In his mind, it had been pleasant but nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps because he was not in love with her and they both were very nervous, well, he was. The expert kisses he was receiving from Constantin were different, he thought. First, Constantin was advancing as he would swallow him in one go but then, he was stopping and encouraging Guntram to repeat his actions with a brief lick of his tongue over the boy's lips. This play of cat and mouse was maddening for him at the same time that he felt more bold and comfortable with what he was doing. Relaxing more than before, Guntram put his arms around the man's neck and pulled him against his chest while his tongue devoured and tasted the faint traces of champagne on Constantin's mouth.

  The Russian's free hand expertly unbuttoned the first buttons of Guntram's plaid cotton shirt, briefly marvelling at how cold and smooth the skin was, like alabaster, no better like ivory, lightly playing with his left nipple, enjoying the initial surprised gasp and then his soft moans at the caresses. Constantin finished to open the shirt revealing the white torso reminding him of a teenager's Apollo sculpture by Praxiteles he had seen so long ago in the Louvre; classic long limbs despite the boy was short, well proportioned chest, nothing overdeveloped in a cheap, made to the excess, no, his angel had truly a classical beauty, trapped in that moment when he was not a child any longer but not yet a fully grown man. Although his desire urged him to take the boy, he knew that he needed some self control if he wanted to keep him forever as it was his wish.

  “Guntram, we must stop right now,” he made the supreme effort to disentangle from his angel, regretting his words the minute they were out of his mouth and feeling the bulge on the boy's trousers pressing against his.

  “You're half drunk. If we do it now, you'll regret it in the morning.”

  “I do want it.”

  “Guntram, you won't remember a thing tomorrow. Stop now and we will reconsider it later. Come, I'll take you to bed.”

  “Let me sleep with you,” Guntram pleaded nearly clutching the Russian's jacket lapels.

  “Do you think that's a good idea? I'm not made of stone and someone like you in my bed…”

  “Please, I don't want to be alone,” Guntram wailed not truly understanding why his mood had changed so much in a few minutes; from being completely high and optimistic to feel utterly dirty and miserable.

  “All right, but don't come to me crying in the morning if you don't like it.”

  “I like it very much,” he smiled shamelessly.

  'Two glasses of champagne is his limit. Three is too much.' Constantin evaluated as he stood up from the couch offering his hand to Guntram, who stood up, faltering a bit, his opened shirt completely forgotten when under normal circumstances he would have been terribly shy about his body.

  Constantin surrounded his angel's waist with one arm as he led him toward his own bedroom, quickly typing the entrance code. Guntram was not very coherent when he took a look around the big room, sparsely and modern decorated, with several blurry paintings on the walls.

  “Do you think you can go in the bathroom by yourself?”

  “I'm not a baby any more! Of course I can go!” Guntram was deeply offended at the suggestion and went there by himself as Constantin sighed. 'No, alcohol and him do not mix well,' he thought again as the normally modest boy, always hiding his beauty with those horribly large pullovers was removing his shirt and trousers without caring at all of the show he was putting on… 'and a very good one, I can't control myself any longer. Perhaps a little taste won't hurt us.'

  Guntram took care of his needs while Constantin searched for some night clothes for him. He washed his face in the marble basin but the haze around his eyes didn't go away, sighing again and muffling a yawn, he stretched his arms and back, like a lazy cat under the sun. He didn't jump when two strong arms grabbed him from behind, and he just lay against the chest that was there, offering his neck to the man slow and languorously caressing his belly, drawing long circles. He closed the eyes to revel in the blessed feeling provided by the lips, softly kissing the side of the neck, the teeth scratching the sensitive skin or playing with his earlobe and the tongue licking his salty sweating, while a strong hand wrapped against his member and with firm moves made him reach his climax in a few minutes.

  “Shower,” was the only thing Constantin could utter, pushing him slightly toward the stall, closing the glass door behind them.

  Under the warm water, Guntram felt himself more alive and relaxed at the same time as he let the water kiss his skin at the same time Constantin massaged his body. Unable to hold himself any longer, the boy turned around and renewed his kisses with more ardour than before, plundering his lover's mouth with all his energy, making the normally reserved Russian moan when the object of his desire for almost a year rose on his tiptoes to have better access to his mouth, tightening his embrace.

  Unexpectedly, Guntram felt the need to repeat what Constantin had done for him and his hand took the fully erect member and jerked it with long moves, enjoying as the man groaned in pleasure. Not truly realising what he was doing, he went to his knees and licked the shaft in front of him several times, his lips only playing with the top, sucking it with force while Constantin put his hands over his temples to encourage him to continue with what he was doing. The tangy taste of the precum was strange for Guntram but it wasn't disgusting as he used to believe and in his dazed state he wanted to do more.

  Needing to breath he briefly removed his mouth from the penis but in that moment, Constantin had his own release, staining his face, shocking him a bit, through the dense haze fleeting in front of his eyes.

  Fearing that it could have been too much for his angel, Constantin went to his knees and quickly hugged him, while he cleaned his face with tender moves. “That was too much for a first time, my love. Come, let's stop now and go to bed. You're tired and need to rest. We'll speak tomorrow,” he said hugging him tighter and turning off the water.

  The man took a big towel and dried Guntram as you would do with a small child, looking very carefully every detail in the youth's slender body. Wrapping them both in towels, he led them to his bed where Guntram took silk pyjamas and put them on without saying a word. He went into bed silently, tucking himself under the covers still shocked
at what he had done and with whom he had done it. Embarrassed, he turned around in the bed, trying to escape the man and hide the knot he felt constricting his throat and the tears willing to fall from his eyes.

  Constantin immediately felt that something was very wrong with his young lover. Had he overdone it?

  After all, the boy had no experience at all and from a few kisses to oral sex in the shower, was an important jump for someone so prejudiced as him. He carefully placed an arm over the tiny waist and spooned his body against the boy's back. “Are you all right, little one? Have I made you feel uncomfortable?” He said as softly as he could.

  “No, you did nothing,” the saddest voice he ever heard answered.

  “Why are you on the brink of tears?”

  “I'm not. You must be thinking that I'm a whore by doing all this,” he partly cried.

  “You? Never. We both wanted and we both enjoyed this. Believe me, I've seen countless whores in my life and you're the sweetest creature I've ever seen. It's impossible not to love you the minute you see yourself in your eyes. Guntram, don't you ever think about yourself like that because you're a pure soul, nothing that can be stained or corrupted,” Constantin intoned softly, almost cursing himself for having bared his soul to the shy boy, ruining his original strategy.

  “Do you really think that?”

  “Yes, I do. With all my heart.”

  “This month I couldn't stop thinking about you all the time. I think I'm falling for you, Constantin,” He whispered before falling asleep in the Russian's arms.

  “I love you, Guntram,” he whispered as he petted the head cuddled against his chest. “You have no idea how much I do. I won't let you go away.”

  Chapter 5

  The silken sheets and the comfortable mattress made Guntram realise that he was not in his bed much before he opened his eyes to the new day. Nearly jumping out of the bed from the shock, he remained very quiet to realise several more things. First, it wasn't his room at all, not even the guest room in which he had already slept twice. Second, the decoration was far richer and luxurious than said guest room, as if that could be possible. Third, the pictures on the walls were not abstract as he had believed last night, proving him how trashed he had been, but an incredible Quinquela Martín and a three very delicate Raúl Soldi, if he was correct. Fourth, Constantin was nowhere to be seen or heard in the room or the bathroom. Fifth, the sun was up.