The fourth man chuckled, brushing his red hair of his face. His penetrating brown gaze analyzed Alexei with interest. “We know many things.”
Freaked out, Alexei began to struggle in his captor’s hold. The white-haired man released him, and Alexei immediately felt the loss. He struggled not to let it show and found refuge next to his horse. “Who are you people? What do you want?”
“I believe we asked you that first,” the white-haired man said. “But since we do have the advantage of knowing your identity, we’ll introduce ourselves. I’m Zimah.”
The second man got up and bowed courteously. “Visnah.”
The blond also shot to his feet and began to head toward Alexei. “Lyetah.”
“And I am Ohsyn,” the last man said, also making his way to Alexei. “Now, can you answer the question?”
Alexei realized he was being very rude. After all, these men most likely saved him from death. Clearly, they weren’t common people. He didn’t know if they were pulling his leg with those names, since he’d never known anyone called “spring,” “summer,” “autumn,” and “winter.” But at this point, anything was possible. And Alexei found he felt safe here, in this grove, just talking with these strange men.
“Eva wanted violets,” he replied. “I couldn’t find any at the market, so my mother sent me out here. She said there’s a place where flowers grow in spite of it being winter.”
Zimah hummed, sounding thoughtful. “Time is this way for a reason,” he answered. “Can’t she wait?”
“Apparently not,” Alexei replied.
Visnah smiled at him. “Well, we can provide the violets easily enough.”
“But on one condition,” Zimah added.
“What condition?” Alexei inquired, almost afraid to ask.
“Nothing much,” Zimah replied. “We just require a kiss, one for Visnah and one for me.”
Alexei blanched at Zimah’s reply. “B–but… That’s not right.” He shook his head fiercely. He couldn’t do such a thing. For one, they were all male. Not only that, but kissing both of them also went way beyond what Alexei had ever imagined he’d do.
Visnah looked saddened. “Do you find the thought so repulsive?”
The fearful part inside Alexei wanted to say yes, but he knew it would be a lie. He’d long ago acknowledged his attraction for both males and females. But sodomy was supposed to be a perversion. He didn’t know if he could accept the thing he’d struggled against ever since he’d first discovered sexuality.
And yet, he found himself shaking his head. “That’s not it. I just… I don’t know about this.”
“It’s just a kiss,” Visnah coaxed. “Well, two.”
Alexei looked at Zimah, then at Visnah, and couldn’t help a wave of want. After all, what would it hurt? Eva would get her flowers, and Alexei would experience something incredible. For he had no doubt kissing either of these men would be unbelievable. “All right,” he answered. “I’ll do it.”
Zimah gave him an unreadable look. “Excellent,” he said. Zimah blew into the air and the snow around them began to dissipate. Then Visnah bowed his head toward the ground and waved his hand toward it. Flowers bloomed all around them, turning the forest into a green paradise. Violets flourished everywhere, and for a few moments Alexei was too stunned to even move. “Go on,” Lyetah urged him. “Pick your flowers.”
Alexei rushed to do as Lyetah told him. With trembling hands, he picked a bouquet of the lovely blossoms, caressing the soft petals. When he finished, he wrapped them in a soft cloth and placed them in the saddlebag.
This all seemed so surreal. Who were these men? Did he really run into the seasons themselves? No, it couldn’t be. Witchcraft, then? Either that or this was some sort of weird dream. Perhaps Alexei had fallen into the snow and now hallucinated beautiful men.
Zimah’s voice pushed aside his fears. “Now, our reward,” he said.
Alexei nodded. His heart thundered as he approached Zimah and pressed his mouth to Zimah’s in a chaste kiss. He’d only ever tried this with women, but he found Zimah’s lips to be even softer than any maiden’s. But Zimah was unlike anyone Alexei had ever touched before, and the man soon proceeded to prove it to Alexei. His tongue demanded entrance, and Alexei gladly complied, moaning as he did so. Their kiss reminded Alexei of a winter storm, not cold, but wicked, harsh, and unforgiving. Zimah took what he wanted, and his skin, strangely cold to the touch, seemed to warm under Alexei’s touch. Alexei felt odd, as if the fire he’d always felt within him urged him onwards, to melt away the ice inside Zimah.
All too soon, they broke apart, with both of them panting hard. The other three men gave them heated looks. Visnah approached and took Alexei in his arms. “My turn.”
Visnah’s kiss turned out to be gentle where Zimah’s had been rough and ravishing. He coaxed Alexei to relax, licking at the seams of Alexei’s lips with excruciating patience. Visnah smelled like the fresh flowers he’d summoned, and a sense of tamed desire filled Alexei. He wanted to lose himself in Visnah’s scent and taste forever, to enjoy the reviving energy that seemed to course through his veins when they touched.
When the need to breathe forced them to separate, Alexei stumbled away from the two men, his head whirling with arousal and confusion. Ohsyn caught him before he fell. “Careful now. We wouldn’t want you to fall.”
Alexei stared at the man blankly. “Do you want a kiss, too?” he blurted out.
His face flamed when Ohsyn grinned at him. “It wouldn’t hurt, but Lyetah and I didn’t help you, so we can’t ask that.”
Lyetah chuckled huskily. “But since you’re offering, we won’t say no.”
Before Alexei could protest, Ohsyn and Lyetah kissed his cheeks. They should have been friendly pecks and nothing more, but with Lyetah groping Alexei’s ass, they became something entirely different, a promise for more.
Finally, the four men urged Alexei off. “Go on,” Ohsyn said. “Go home. Your family must be worried by now.”
Alexei nodded. “Thank you for your help,” he said.
He retrieved the flowers from the saddlebag and held them carefully while he mounted the horse. He didn’t want to squash the gentle buds, and he needed to keep them away from the chill wind as well.
“Don’t worry,” Visnah said. “They’ll keep until you get home.”
Alexei waved at the four men and rode away. He forced himself to keep looking forward, but with each passing second, his heart became heavier. He found he didn’t want to leave the grove. He wanted to stay here, know these men, talk to them, and find out how they knew Alexei, and why they’d helped him. Perhaps there would even be more kisses.
Alexei turned around and threw a gaze in the direction of the grove. He saw the large four stones, silent, and no sign of the four men.
Alexei would have thought it had all been a dream if not for the bouquet of violets he still clutched against his chest. Even so, he remained rooted on the spot, staring at the grove in hopes that he’d see the men reemerge. They never did, and when night began to fall, Alexei had no choice but to leave.
He didn’t even know how he managed to make the trip back. It must’ve been the horse’s instinct that kept him from losing his way. When at last he reached their home, he’d begun to doubt his own sanity. He kept an almost punishing grip on the flowers, expecting them to disappear into thin air any moment now.
The front door of their house burst open, and his father rushed out. “Come inside, Alexei. Hurry. I was just about to go looking for you.”
Igor pulled Alexei into the warmth of their home. Almost instantly, Alexei felt better, the fire in the hearth calling out to him. Sometimes, he thought he could hear the fire speaking to him, whispering words of comfort and praise. “Welcome home, Alexei,” it said this time. Once, the cheerful greeting would have been enough. Now, Alexei would have preferred an explanation.
He took off his heavy jacket, carefully handling the violets as he did so. “Where’s Eva?” he asked
his father.
Igor’s expression darkened. “In her room with your mother.”
He seemed to want to say something else, but then, Eva burst in, bouncing toward him. “Well? Did you find them?”
“I did,” Alexei answered. He gripped the violets in his hand, caressing the buds gently.
“Oh, they’re so beautiful,” Eva said. “Come, give them to me.”
Alexei took in his twin’s demanding expression. He realized he didn’t want to give her the flowers. Sure, she’d been the one to demand them in the first place, but Alexei had witnessed the magical act through which they’d been created. He didn’t want to let them go. He wanted to keep the tiny piece of the dream he’d experienced for himself.
But his mother came into the room, and Alexei knew he would not be allowed to keep the flowers. It would look odd anyway. Men were not supposed to get clingy over a bunch of violets. Then again, men didn’t kiss other men either.
Eva’s voice snapped him out of his trance. “Why are your lips swollen?” she asked, peering at him.
On impulse, Alexei covered his mouth with his hand. The action merely made Eva arch a brow and Elga frown. Alexei did his best to cover his suspicious demeanor with a nonchalant shrug. “Must be because of the cold.”
Elga didn’t look very convinced, but obviously, she couldn’t find another explanation. “Give the violets to Eva,” she said without preamble.
Helpless, Alexei handed the flowers to his sister. Eva squeezed them to her chest, making Alexei wince when the action hurt the violets. Elga, however, just kissed Eva’s cheek. “Beautiful flowers, darling. Now run along. You should go place them in water.”
With one graceful twirl, Eva took off in a cloud of perfume. Elga finally directed her gaze toward Alexei. “Well, it seems you managed to find them in the end. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Alexei bit his lip, barely managing to keep himself from crying out at the injustice. At least she could show some concern, given that he’d have frozen to death in the wild if not for the four men he’d run into. “Where did you get them?” Igor asked. “It’s not the season for such beautiful flowers.”
“Mama said there’s a grove at the edge of the forest where they grow in spite of the weather. I wandered around until I found it.”
Igor looked thoughtful. “Well, you shouldn’t have gone. It’s dangerous to go out in this freezing cold. And there might be beasts out there.”
For a few seconds, something shifted inside Elga’s eyes, like an unreadable emotion. But then, it vanished as soon as it appeared. “I’m sure Alexei can handle it,” she said, shrugging.
“Thank you for trusting me, Mama,” Alexei answered, keeping his voice level and respectful. At this point, he couldn’t do much else. And besides, as much as the situation frustrated him, he remembered meeting the four mysterious men, and he didn’t feel so abandoned anymore.
“Go on to your room and change,” Igor said. “Your mother will have dinner ready soon, and then you can sleep for a while. You’ve had a very busy day.”
Alexei took his father’s advice, forgoing the call of the fire for the benefit of solitude. As he went past Eva’s room, he heard her hum a low song, her crystalline voice reminding him of the sound of bells. Shaking himself, he entered his own chamber, locked the door, and took off his wet clothing.
He was supposed to get ready for dinner, but he had some time until his parents called him. Naked, he plopped on the bed and covered himself with the blankets. It felt chilly inside the bedroom, but the heavy quilts provided him with a warm cocoon. He’d have to start a new fire in the hearth, but he didn’t have the energy now. Instead, he reached down to cup himself, leisurely moving his hand up and down his cock. A part of him would have preferred to imagine a beautiful woman while doing so, but instead, the four men he’d just met appeared. Alexei remembered Zimah’s hot kiss and Visnah’s gentleness, the promise in Lyetah and Ohsyn’s touches. He wanted more. He imagined Zimah’s kiss go on and on, never stopping. Visnah took position behind Alexei and began to caress his sides, reaching between him and Visnah to tweak his nipples. And then, when he broke away from the two, Lyetah and Ohsyn came forth. Lyetah knelt in front of Alexei, taking Alexei’s prick in his hot mouth. All the while, Ohsyn reached between Alexei’s ass cheeks, prodding at the hidden hole. One finger penetrated Alexei’s forbidden passage. Alexei’s eyes greedily took in the sinful sight of the four men in front of him. Zimah and Visnah lay together, their hands moving on each other’s cocks as they watched Lyetah and Ohsyn work Alexei. Lyetah continued to bob his head up and down Alexei’s shaft. And then Ohsyn’s finger hit something deep inside him that made the flame inside Alexei spark into infinite life. He cried out as he found his peak, his orgasm sweeping through him stronger and brighter than anything he’d ever experienced.
Alexei tried to cling to his men, but they melted, and when the haze of the orgasm dissipated, they disappeared entirely. As he recovered, Alexei realized they’d never been there. His own fingers had massaged his shaft and penetrated his ass.
Alexei felt himself flush in shamed pleasure. He needed to clean up quickly and find a way to get rid of the evidence on the covers. It would be embarrassing if his mother found them. Hastily, Alexei rushed to his task. In a distant thought, he wished this hadn’t been a dream, but reality.
Chapter Two
The violets didn’t last long in Eva’s room. The following day, Alexei saw her throw away the wilted, dried up flowers, and he sighed. He’d have liked to keep them. In his heart, he’d known his sister’s whims would destroy the beauty of the violets.
No one made any comment on this, however, not even Eva herself. Elga laughed gaily as Eva went outside to play in the snow. For Alexei’s part, he had work to do. He always did. He helped their mother with their animals who needed even more care because of the winter, then went out to get more firewood. He didn’t mind. It kept his mind busy and away from other, more dangerous and sinful things.
At lunch, Elga cooked a hot meal, but as delicious as his mother’s dishes always were, Alexei didn’t taste much of it. He ate without paying attention, his thoughts unerringly wandering to the meeting the day before.
Yet again, Eva’s voice snapped him out of his reverie. “Did you hear what I said, Alexei?”
Alexei blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry, no.”
Eva sighed in something akin to exasperation. “I said the stew tastes excellent,” she replied.
Alexei nodded, uncertain why Eva would have addressed this comment to him. “It does, indeed. Like always.”
He meant it as a compliment for his mother, but Elga ignored him. Eva continued to speak, offering him a light grin. “And it would work great with a delicious dessert. I’m thinking strawberries would match the taste perfectly. Don’t you agree, Mama?”
Elga smiled at her. “Of course, dear. You always grasp the essence of each meal. I’m flattered. Alexei, you should go to the market and get us some strawberries.”
Alexei gaped at his mother. He knew for a fact he wouldn’t find any berries there. They were rare even at summertime, and it would be impossible for them to appear in winter in the village. “Mama, there aren’t any. I looked through all the market yesterday. I’d have seen them.”
“Perhaps you missed them,” Elga insisted.
“Besides, if you don’t find them at the market, you can always go to the grove where you got the flowers,” Eva added.
Igor looked upset. “Eva, you can have another dessert. Your mother just baked a pie. You don’t need strawberries. Your brother is needed here, not to go wandering in the wilderness.”
Eva’s eyes filled with tears. “But, Papa, Alexei got the violets with no trouble. He’d surely manage to do so with strawberries as well.”
Alexei wanted to scream. Eva just wept when she didn’t get her way. Her tears unerringly made Elga angry. “What is the problem?” their mother said. “It is only some strawberries. How hard c
an it be?”
“Have you looked outside today?” Igor shot back. “The violets were bad enough. Now you want strawberries, too? No. I won’t risk my son.”
Alexei felt a bit better at his father’s words. At least Igor loved him. However, the conflict was escalating, Eva’s sobs fueling Elga’s temper, while Igor refused to budge from his decision.
Alexei remembered the four men. Perhaps he could use this as an excuse to see them again. And besides, he hated the rare occasions when his parents fought, more so when Elga’s disregard for him was the reason. He didn’t want to be a burden for their family.
“I will go,” he said. “Eva is right. If I don’t find them in the market, I’ll try at the grove once again. Perhaps I’ll be in luck.”
Igor turned toward him. “Are you certain, son? It’s awfully cold outside.”
Alexei knew that, but he counted on something in particular to warm him. His own desire sparked a fire within him, something that refused to go away no matter what and summoned him toward the forest. He’d have probably gone anyway, even if Eva hadn’t asked for strawberries. “I’ll be fine,” he told his father.
“Then it’s settled,” Eva said, tears gone in an instant. “Oh, I can’t wait. I’ve got a craving for them like you can’t believe.”
She didn’t thank him, nor did she tell him to have a safe trip. And so, after lunch, Alexei was off once more. He’d have gone directly to the forest since he very much doubted he’d find the troublesome fruit at the market. In fact, he knew he wouldn’t, but he didn’t want to take the four men’s help for granted, not when he hadn’t exhausted all other options.
His renewed sense of purpose helped him during his trip in the cold, but once he got to the market, he began to regret his scrupulous decision. There were just so many stalls, and Alexei wanted to get out of there already and head toward the forest. Still, he clung to the original plan and asked every greengrocer in the area for strawberries. Predictably, they shook his head at his request. Some of them even laughed and pointed at the cloudy sky.
Hyacinth, Scarlet - Fire of the Four Seasons (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) Page 2