Arik’s hands tightened around Liam’s waist and thigh before deliberately relaxing, as though he were forcing himself to move slowly, and one of them drifted toward the waistband of Liam’s pants.
Liam’s stomach clenched, the tension growing stronger with every unhurried brush of Arik’s fingers against his skin.
His palms remained pressed to Arik’s hard chest, gathering the soft linen of his sleeping shirt beneath them as he tried to steady himself.
"Arik..." he began.
Arik moved before Liam could finish, sitting upright against the wall behind the bed while keeping Liam securely astride his lap, the motion so effortless in his changed body that Liam barely had time to catch his breath.
Large, warm hands slipped beneath Liam’s shirt, spreading over his waist and back before gradually lifting the fabric, every movement accompanied by slow caresses that made it impossible to mistake patience for restraint.
"Yes?" Arik had the audacity to ask, his breath brushing Liam’s throat as his mouth followed the exposed line of his neck. "What do you want, Liam?"
Liam’s fingers tightened in his shirt.
Arik’s smile pressed against his skin.
"Do you want to find out whether anything else became larger?"
Liam went completely still.
For one suspended moment, his mind struggled to understand what Arik was implying.
Then it understood perfectly.
Heat rushed across his face and climbed to the tips of his ears, making any attempt at dignity impossible while he remained seated astride Arik’s lap.
Arik’s smile widened.
He leaned back just enough to admire the effect, his molten-gold eyes moving over Liam’s flushed face with shameless satisfaction.
"You understood," he murmured.
Liam tightened his fingers in Arik’s shirt. "Unfortunately."
"Your expression suggests otherwise."
"My expression suggests I am reconsidering every decision that brought me here."
Arik’s hands settled more securely around his waist.
"And yet," he said, drawing Liam closer, "you are still in my lap."
His hands slid lower, spanning Liam’s hips before closing possessively over the soft curve of his buttocks, long fingers pressing deep enough to pull a startled breath from him.
The scent of saint’s breath flowers bloomed through the room.
Arik groaned, the sound rough against Liam’s throat, while his own scent, warm stone threaded with dark caramel, deepened in answer until the air between them felt almost too heavy to breathe.
"You are going to kill me someday," Arik murmured.
His fingers found the waistband of Liam’s pants and eased them downward, pausing when the fabric slipped beneath his hips and revealed bare skin.
Arik went completely still.
Liam felt the exact moment he noticed.
Slowly, Arik leaned back enough to look at him, molten-gold eyes burning with something that made Liam’s already heated face grow hotter.
"No underwear," he said.
Liam tried to preserve what little dignity remained to him. "I was motivated."
Arik stared at him for another breath before a dark, helpless laugh left his chest.
"And the rest?"
Liam’s fingers curled into Arik’s shirt.
"The rest," he admitted, "was supposed to be your responsibility."
Arik’s expression changed.
The teasing remained, but something hungrier moved beneath it as he pulled Liam closer once more.
"A responsibility," he murmured against Liam’s mouth, "I take very seriously."
Liam kissed Arik before he could say anything else that might turn him completely red.
He went for him with sudden, desperate urgency, his hands sliding from Arik’s chest to his nape, fingers threading through the dark silk of his hair as he drew him closer. His mouth opened against Arik’s, tongue brushing over his lower lip in a wordless request for more.
Arik answered immediately.
One hand tightened around Liam’s waist while the other rose to cradle the back of his head, holding him steady as the kiss deepened. The last trace of teasing vanished beneath something warmer and far more consuming, and Liam felt Arik’s rough exhale against his mouth when he pressed closer.
The bond flared between them, carrying heat, hunger, and Arik’s fierce satisfaction at finally having Liam exactly where he wanted him.
When they separated for breath, Liam remained close enough that their foreheads touched.
Arik’s smile was far too innocent for what his hand was doing between them.
One long finger traced through the slickness already gathered there before pressing carefully against Liam’s entrance, testing the resistance until the tight ring of muscle yielded around him.
Liam gasped, the sound breaking against Arik’s shoulder as he folded forward, fingers tightening at his nape. Arik held him securely with his other arm, kissing his temple and then his damp forehead while his hand continued moving with slow, deliberate patience.
"You feel so good," Arik murmured, his voice low and roughened by desire.
He waited until Liam’s body had begun to relax around him before adding another finger, stretching him carefully enough that the pressure drew a helpless moan from Liam’s throat.
Arik’s mouth brushed his hairline.
"Don’t hold back, my love."
"Gods, Arik." Liam’s fingers tightened in the thin linen of his shirt until the fabric gathered beneath his fists. "Please, hurry."
Arik grinned, his molten-gold eyes almost luminous with hunger.
He withdrew his fingers, ignoring Liam’s immediate sound of protest at the sudden emptiness, and reached between them to free himself, keeping his other arm securely around Liam and holding his face against the warm curve of his neck.
The truth was that the Gate had changed more than Arik’s height and strength.
He was larger than before and noticeably thicker, and although part of him wanted to watch Liam’s expression when he discovered that, the stronger instinct was to shield him from anything that might resemble fear.
"Tell me if it hurts," Arik murmured before kissing him.
His teeth caught Liam’s lower lip in a gentle bite as the broad head of his erection pressed against Liam’s prepared entrance.
Liam answered by shifting his hips impatiently, trying to take him before Arik was ready to let him.
Arik’s hand closed firmly around his waist, stopping the movement.
"Easy."
"I have been waiting four days."
"And I intend for you to remain capable of walking after those two hours you arranged."
"That sounds unnecessary."
Arik laughed softly against his mouth, then began carefully pressing inside.
Liam’s breath caught.
The stretch was stronger than he remembered, enough to make his body tense despite the slickness and preparation, and Arik stopped immediately, holding him close while kissing his temple.
"Breathe, my love."
Liam tried.
It became a broken gasp when Arik moved another fraction deeper.
"You really did get larger," he accused, his face burning against Arik’s neck.
Arik’s chest moved beneath him with a restrained laugh.
"I thought my overall physical changes were a warning enough."
"You implied it, that does not count as a warning."
"Would you have climbed off?"
Liam tightened his legs around him.
"No."
"I thought not."