For You

Lysandra's favorite sound was that first pleading roar as Aedion came.

His eyes would close and scrunch tight against his building release. He would stroke her tongue one last time with his before pulling away to claim precious oxygen. His breath would be shallow and hard as he neared his end.

Thrust, gasp, thrust, gasp, thrust-

Then a soft, long breath in before his mouth stretched wide and he cried out his pleasure.

She loved that sound above any other. It was a sound that belonged to her, was born of her body and what it could do to Aedion's.

Servicing Aerobynn and the flesh-buyers of Rifthold taught Lysandra well the sound of a man- or woman- who has taken pleasure for themselves. In those transactions she wasn't human. She was little more than a toy to be used. Yes, some played well with her until her body did genuinely wake to their touch, but even then it was for the desire of that temporary master. Just because the buyer's cock grew hard or their quim wet to see Lysandra's release did not mean her pleasure was her own.

It was always part of their own gratification.

Aedion though- his desire had nothing to do with himself. He loved Lysandra with his entire being, and to his eyes everything she was- it was nothing short of a miracle. Her wicked smile made his pulse race- though in fear or joy was entirely at the mercy of the intent behind it. Her skin was the ever-shifting cover that somehow managed to contain a soul of pure, raw brilliance and undimming light. Her voice- it was a sweeter, softer music than anything he'd ever heard.

So when Aedion seized and that first cry was torn from his lips- to Lysandra's ears it wasn't merely someone bringing their liaison to a close. It was the pure, raw power of what her body could draw out of the male who loved her so wholly and so completely.

She held him tight with her legs as he continued to roll his hips and filled her with something warm and thick. That was something she was proud to call Aedion's alone.

In Rifthold she was too precious to her owners to allow any man to risk impregnating her- no matter the potions and tonics they forced down her throat. No, even with that red-haired bastard who claimed her maidenhead, the final thrusts were always aimed down her throat, between her tits, and across her stomach or back. Never inside. Never where it could not be quickly and easily washed away before the next man or woman was ushered into her chambers.

Lysandra, having found her own release a few minutes before Aedion, smiled up at him and stroked his cheek as he continued to moan. His throbbing member deep inside her seemed to wilt with each wave of heat it released, and she knew all too soon it would leave her. Still, the feeling of his body against her- inside her- it was a gift fate had granted. So precious, and so incredibly welcome.

Aedion's eyes relaxed. His stillness became something less pronounced and more… exhausted. She brushed his hair behind an ear as Aedion loosed a happy sigh. His hand came up from her hips to cover the one on his cheek and he gave her palm a soft kiss before opening his eyes.

'Thank you', that was how some of the more courteous clients would speak after they were finished with her. Even when they left a tip in the little porcelain jar beside her door, it was always 'Thank you', followed by a hasty retreat. Very rarely were clients proud of what they'd come to pay for.

The first time Lysandra let Aedion into her bed, he'd whispered a thanks into her ear. To anyone else it was a simple, soft expression of gratitude for what their partner had given during their coupling…. But Lysandra's skin had gone cold and the light left her eyes by the time Aedion had leaned back to smile at her.

She couldn't even look at him as her breath caught and her heart shuddered.

Lysandra left the bed the moment she could and didn't return even to her own chambers. She spent five days as a mouse hiding in a field outside the palace, in a skin that hadn't belonged to the woman who was thanked. She thought she might stay out there forever as the shock of Aedion's words faded. She wanted to return, to explain- but how could she? How could she ever explain what was taken from her for those long, long years? And if she did explain… would Aedion even want to stay with a whore?

Rowan caught her in his talons and flew her back into her chambers the evening of her fifth night. He used ice and rain and wind to force her out of her little hole in the ground and corral her where he could safely pick her up. He left her on a cushion near an open window, beside an Aedion fraught with worry. He apologized endlessly and showered her furry little face in kisses before she finally took human form once more.

Lysandra heard in bits and pieces in the weeks that followed how Aedion had hunted for her in despair and confusion. He'd known something was wrong- but he couldn't figure out what happened. It was Gavriel who caught her scent at the edge of the field and helped Rowan track her… and it was Aelin who took Aedion into a private room to explain what a simple 'thank you' might mean to the woman he loved, even if she pretended those scars had healed.

Lysandra didn't want to talk about that day ever again, and Aedion never raised the subject.

So, though she could see the gratitude shining in his eyes as he leaned in to kiss her after their joining, he merely said, "I am yours."

I am yours.

Not 'I love you' or even 'my love'- both of which he said to her often and at great volume. Those were a claiming of sorts. He loved her, she was his love… But instead, for those first moments after they made love, merely 'I am yours'. Words that gave her power over him body and soul. Words no man or woman she serviced ever whispered to her after they claimed their pleasure.

"You are mine," Lysandra murmured between kisses.

Aedion slid himself from between her legs and shifted so that both could lay on their sides, with Lysandra's back pressed against his chest and his arms wound lazily around her. He'd worried it was too proprietary a position so close to finishing, but Lysandra loved the feeling of his heart pounding against her skin as his body cooled.

Aedion brushed her hair from her neck and began to gently run his lips over the curve of her neck. He tasted the sheen of sweat on her skin and hummed his approval at its salty tang. It was the pure, undiluted essence of her scent. In it he could smell the sweetness of berries, the rich musk of fur that somehow clung to each form, and even a thin hint of her own release- put there when he rose from between her legs to bite and suck at her skin as he first entered her.

"Mmm," Lysandra pulled one of Aedion's hands to her breast, where he began to play with her nipple, "I like spending mornings this way."

"Me too," he nuzzled into the back of her neck, "and afternoons, and evenings, and nights, and-"

"You're out of times of day."

"Early mornings, lunch time, mid-afternoon, early-evenings, the middle of the night-"

Lysandra laughed and felt Aedion smile against her back. She loosed a happy sigh, "It is nice though… having this time."

"No Valg, no Erawan, no Maeve… No friends lost." Aedion drew Lysandra closer, reminding him she was still there, still alive after the dust cleared. They'd both been wounded in that final battle… but they survived through a mixture of healer's tricks and sheer stubbornness.

"I admit that I started it, but stop." Lysandra caught Aedion's hand as it drifted down across her ribs to the puckered scar where a Morath arrow struck true. He shifted so that she could roll over to face him, "Don't think about it. It's in the past."

"I won't think about it," Aedion promised. He kissed the top of Lysandra's head and pulled her in closer, "Though, now that I am thinking about it it's a little difficult to stop." He traced a scar on her shoulder from that final battle- this time caused by a spear when she was in wyvern form.

"Then… think about what you want to do next time I take you to bed." Lysandra looked up with a smile, "Anything new you'd like to try?"

Something flickered in Aedion's eyes, and for once Lysandra thought she'd get her answer… But then he simply cleared his throat, the new light was pushed away, and Aedion simply shrugged, "Nothing in particular. You?"

"Bondage," Lysandra grumbled, "you all tied up at my mercy."

"Deal. I know where to find the appropriate restraints." Aedion detached from his lover to slip out of the bed and stretch, "I was thinking about a shower- would you like to go first and clean up?"

Lysandra sighed. He was avoiding her gaze suddenly, "Yeah, I'll go first. I have an errand to run this afternoon." She scooted out of the bed and walked quickly to the bathroom, acutely aware of the shift in Aedion's release still inside her. Despite the metaphorical ticking clock before it became problematic, she hesitated by the door, "Aedion?"

"Yeah, Lys?" He looked over at her.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

He flashed a cheeky grin, "Of course."

She glanced back as she closed the door. Just before he was out of sight, the grin vanished from his face and he took a slow, deep breath.

"The Lady Caraverre!"

Lysandra entered the barracks before the poor little squire could announce her. She usually took her time to enjoy the pageantry of being introduced, but just this once she wanted answers above all else.

She hadn't been with Aedion for three days, not since she caught a glimpse of that face she knew he didn't want her to see. It was far from the first time she'd noticed that shift, and so she was determined to get answers from the only other person she knew who might be forced to speak:

Aedion's second-in-command.

His former lover from the Bane.

The man- whose name Lysandra had long forgotten- was an imposing figure. Tall, muscled, with eyes that could dance with mirth one second and fill with rage the next if his enemies made a move. He was Aedion's dark reflection in all things- manner, humor, build, and fighting style.

She'd indulged herself a few times in imagining what they must have looked like together- golden hair mixed with black, cream skin over ebony. Lysandra had no intention of ever sharing Aedion with another, but she wasn't above admitting it was an attractive image.

"I need to talk to you." She said simply, and breezed past him.

The man said something to one of the Bane lieutenants and followed her into the barracks and straight to his office.

"Lady Caraverre, how may I be of assistance?" His deep voice filled the room as Lysandra sat, boldly, in his chair behind the desk.

She eyed the male a moment, then nodded to one of the other chairs- the one she was supposed to be sitting in, "We're going to talk about Aedion."

"Nope." The man turned in an instant, but Lysandra transformed one of her arms into a long tentacle and wrapped around his torso, holding him fast. "We've had this talk before- I won't gossip about old flames."

"Yes you will, because if you don't I'll just tell him you did anyways. Either way, he'll come for your head."

"And here I thought annoying the piss out of people was an Ashryver trait."

"Ah, well, I can see where you'd make that mistake." Lysandra nodded to the chair again and loosened her tendrils. The man stomped over and sat hard. "You're pouting like a child."

"What you two do is your own business. I'm not comfortable talking about Aedion and I with you. Our relationship ended a long time ago, and male or female- I do not talk about past lovers."

Lysandra inspected her fingernails as her arm re-formed, "Well, Aedion is keeping something secret and I want you to tell me what it might be."

"If I spell out the word 'no', are the chances better you'll understand?" It wasn't hard to see how he and Aedion worked as a couple.

She ignored him, "There's something he wants to do in the bedroom, but he won't tell me. I've gone through everything I know- bondage, wax, ice, more positions than you can imagine, neither of us want to add people to our bed, he said he'd leave me if I turned into any animals even as a joke, and I offered him the back door but he showed no interest whatsoever." The man's face grew redder and redder as Lysandra spoke. Few were up to the brash honesty of a retired cortesan, "So what could it be? What isn't he telling me?"

The commander coughed and stuttered through a series of "Well," and "I", before giving up.

"Use your words. What did he like when he was with you?"

"I'm not comfortable talking about that with you." The man couldn't even look her in the eye. Still, he wasn't trying to leave.

"I was a whore for three years, in training a lot longer than that. I have no delicate sensibilities left for you to offend. I've had sex with people who identify as men, women, both, or neither. There is nothing I haven't done or had done to me- so what the hell is Aedion so shy about?" Lysandra crossed her arms.

"I- I'm not-"

"I'll make it easier- what did he do when he was-" she waved a hand to try and spare the commander's shyness. When he merely looked confused she returned to the blunt approach, "When he fucked you, what did he like to do?"

The commander opened and closed his mouth several times, but said nothing. Still- the way he suddenly avoided even the possibility of her gaze told Lysandra she'd asked the right question.

"Just tell me- please. I've tried asking Aedion and whatever it is, he's too ashamed or thinks it's too much and won't say."

"If I tell you will you just leave it at that? No more questions?" The commander knew what Aedion wanted, and he hated the idea that he was ousting his brother-in-arms, even if it was to his intended bride.

"Yes."

"He wasn't- I didn't-" the commander swallowed hard and closed his eyes, "hewasn'ttheonestandingup." He said it all in one fast breath and his cheeks burned hotter. He covered his face with a hand. After a moment's silence, he opened a single eye and winced at Lysandra's gaze.

"Aedion wasn't the one-" she wasn't asking, she was trying to process exactly what the man had said so quickly, but he nodded all the same. He wasn't the one standing up. What did that mean? If he was on his knees, then that meant- "So what he's not saying is that he-"

"Probably." The male coughed again and dropped his hand to stare up at the ceiling, "Please get out, never come back, pretend you don't even know me, and don't tell Aedion I said anything?"

Lysandra stood, a smiling blooming on her face. She stepped around the desk and planted a kiss on the man's cheek, "Thank you for your help, and if you ever want me to introduce you to a handsome face, don't hesitate to ask. I know all of the Queen-consort's cousins."

"I already have a husband," the commander grumbled as she skipped to the door.

"Well, talk it over with him then and see if you want an introduction. I know three who could be persuaded to join you- not all at once, of course. And unlike you, I can keep secrets."

The commander jumped up with a shout of protest, but Lysandra was already gone.

"Lysandra!" Aedion jumped up from his seat at the head table as she entered the dining hall. It was lunch time, and rather than sup alone in his chambers, he'd surrounded himself with the hustle and bustle of the palace.

He looked relieved and apprehensive all at once as she smiled and came to his side, her mauve gown neatly whispering across the stone. She'd been somewhat dismissive for the past few days as she tried to puzzle out what Aedion wasn't telling her.

It wasn't intentional- but he'd worried it might be.

"Whatever I did, I was wrong, you were obviously right and I was incredibly stupid to even cross you in the first place." Aedion pulled Lysandra close and- in front of everyone- gave her a welcoming kiss.

"You're well trained," she patted his cheek and broke away, "but you didn't do anything wrong. This time."

Apprehension drained from Aedion's face and he smiled all the brighter, "Good, because mentally I was calling you a 'crazy bat' the whole time."

"Oh? 'Bat'? That's the best you could come up with? I can think of at least three better words that still begin with a 'b'." Lysandra winked and accepted the chair Aedion pulled out for her.

"Well, I suppose I'm just too in love with you to ever call you anything so vulgar." He shrugged and popped a slice of cucumber into his mouth.

Lysandra smiled and began filling a small plate for herself, "I had a lovely chat this morning with someone I won't throw to the hounds. It'd be a good idea to have a bit of protein, drink plenty of water, and get yourself nice and cleaned up."

"What does that mean?" Aedion shot her a look.

Lysandra sighed as she finished and stood, plate in hand. She turned her back on the room and leaned down to whisper in Aedion's ear so that even those damned fae in every corner couldn't hear, "It means eat, drink, and take a bath because I know you practice swordsmanship before lunch and I'm not too fond of sucking on a sweaty cock." She took a step past him, then said for all to hear, "Oh, and bring the restraints, would you dear?"

Aedion failed to bite back his grin as every fae within earshot went brick red (and more than a few coughed). Lysandra was brazen to say the least, and it was something he loved dearly about her. He could hear her skirts brushing the stone as she exited the dining hall, and he tracked her until she'd gone too far for his pointed ears to detect.

He ate slowly, drank slower, and bathed thoroughly in his own sweet time. He knew she'd be waiting- impatiently- and it was fun to imagine her mischievous mask going crooked, then dropping altogether as patience ran out.

Still, nearly two hours after her demand, Aedion felt his pants grow tight as he imagined what she might have in store. He pulled a simple satchel from beneath his bed, carefully hung it across his body to hide the bulge in his trousers, and headed off to the chambers of Lady Caraverre.

When Aedion opened the door to Lysandra's suite he expected to be pounced upon and disrobed with at least some damage to his clothing.

He didn't expect to see Lysandra robed and sitting on one of the large, plush couches of her foyer sipping tea.

"I didn't take long enough, or I took so much time you've gone past angry." Aedion raised an eyebrow.

"Set the bag down by the door and come here," Lysandra hardly looked his way. She'd had plenty of time to think about this confrontation. At first she wanted it to be playful and fun, but… she had a point that needed to be made.

Aedion did as he was told, but a hint of tension crept into his shoulders as he approached and sat beside her. He moved in close to give her an apologetic nuzzle for making her wait, but Lysandra held up a hand.

"What are we?"

"Pre-married." Aedion answered instantly. When Lysandra did not respond he began adding to the list, "In love. Lovers. You are courting me. I am courting you. Engaged… Best friends? Confidants? You're a beautiful, powerful woman and I'm… your toy?" He was less and less sure as he went on, but his answers were snarky all the same. "Two adults? Two non-humans? Roommates? Future permanent roommates? Too beautiful for our own good? Did... did I say 'partners' already?"

"You did not," Lysandra confirmed with a nod of her head. She still didn't look at Aedion, "Partners. And what does that mean for us?"

Aedion reached out a finger to stroke Lysandra's arm. He couldn't deny the relief that fluttered in his chest when she didn't move away, "Nothing is one-sided. We share in everything. Every adventure, every mis-adventure, every trial, every victory, every laugh, every tear, every day and every night- we share everything."

"So you don't decide on your own what I can or cannot know?" she looked to him at last.

Aedion nodded instantly, "Of course. You know I'm not the kind of male who-"

"-who refuses to answer a simple question honestly for three months because he's worried about what I'll think of him?"

"You've lost me." Aedion's expression was convincing enough- except for the sudden reddening of his ears, "Is this a sex thing?"

Lysandra nodded, "You know that to me a 'sex thing' isn't something simple to be dismissed. I love you, and you love me. We're partners, Aedion. That means we share everything."

He looked down at his hands, shy and unsure. "Lys, I- there's nothing-" he swallowed the lie as Lysandra set down her tea cup and took both of his hands in hers, "I don't want you to-"

"I won't look at you any differently," she murmured. "And I won't run away. There is nothing you could ask me for that I wouldn't give you. Not a single thing. I have offered every inch of my body to you. What is so frightening about doing the same- especially when it's something you want?"

"They made you do things you didn't want… I won't be like them." Aedion kissed Lysandra's fingertips and gave her a pleading look, "I'm fine with what we do- honestly. You are incredible, you make me feel incredible… Just- if I'm being honest the wax was kind of… when we were playing with it I was fine, but I was picking drops off some very delicate parts for a week."

"It's not about what's good enough," Lysandra slid onto Aedion's lap and took his face in her hands, "it's about trust. Trusting that I will love every last part of you, and trusting that there is nothing you could do to make look away. They made me do things I didn't want to do… But they weren't you. And I want to do whatever makes you happy, to repay the happiness you've brought me."

Aedion didn't speak. He couldn't speak. He merely nodded and rested his eyes against Lysandra's neck. She brushed his hair back, shifting the golden curtain that hid his face. She merely sat there, with Aedion's arms wrapped tightly around her, and stroked his back as he collected himself and gathered the courage to speak.

"Can I have a few days?" Aedion murmured. "I'm not- I'll do whatever you want, even the wax. Just, I need to work up the courage."

No. That wasn't how it was going to go.

He'd been trying to work up the courage for months, and right now Lysandra knew she was close- so close- to convincing him to open his heart. He would lose his nerve in an instant.

"Whatever I want?" She was suddenly as uncertain as he was. Give him even more time- during which she knew his courage would flag, or make the move herself? "What if what I want is what you won't tell me you want?"

"I barely followed that, but still... unlikely," Aedion shifted against her slightly as he leaned back to meet her gaze. There was a plea in those Ashryver eyes. He wanted her to reach the conclusion- to take the burden from him and give some sort of permission to his desire.

Lysandra merely nodded and lowered to brush her lips against Aedion's. It was a gentle kiss- sweet and simple. Passion did not add fire or intensity to it, but it was precious all the same. Aedion's arms instinctively closed around her, holding her tight and safe in his arms. One slid up Lysandra's spine to cup the back of her neck as he opened his lips ever so slightly and traced his tongue along the seam of hers, asking permission to enter.

She curled her fists into his hair and opened her mouth. Her lips closed around the top of his tongue and she held it fast until Aedion chuckled against her. His usual mirth was still muted by those words he was leaving unsaid, but with the playful nibble on her own tongue he gave in response, Lysandra felt the change in his mood.

"Touch me?" She murmured as they kissed. Sometimes it felt as though hours passed before their hands began to wander, stroke, and pinch. Today… today she wanted Aedion to find it while he was still brave.

His hands began to move at her request. Nails lightly scraped up and down her spine, across all the areas her gown rubbed against, and all the areas she loved him to scratch when she was in animal form. Lysandra sighed and found her way into Aedion's shirt. Corded muscle shifted beneath her touch as his hands slid to her sides, her hips. She opened her legs wider and parted from Aedion's lips to remove his shirt.

When he pulled open her robe-

-well, Lysandra was almost willing to bet that his very blood froze in his veins.

Aedion didn't move, didn't breathe. He simply gaped at what was revealed: for the most part, Lysandra's normal form. Her full, perfect breasts, a smooth, toned stomach, and the slight v of muscle leading down to the apex of her thighs-

-where that 'v' tapered to the base of a smooth, long shaft with a perfect pink head.

"What did you do?" Aedion breathed at last, but he never pulled his eyes away. Instead he reached slowly between them and touched the head. Both he and Lysandra jumped at the contact and he took a fast, panicked breath.

"If this is what you wanted, I'm willing to try it," Lysandra continued to comb her fingers through his hair. "It's alright, Aedion. It's perfectly alright. I'm curious too."

He reached out again and his shaking fingers touched the shaft- a bit more purposefully this time. He ran the backs of his knuckles across it, feeling not only the familiar silk of tender flesh, but a slight pulse and tightening of muscle as it began to slowly harden.

It was a strange sensation to Lysandra, but not wholly alien. It was as if all the nerves had simply been stretched out of her own body and into the length of the penis. Its head carried all the delicate tenderness of the knot Aedion was adept at flicking with his tongue, it was just… further away. And when he shifted her delicately to graze his fingertips along the admittedly small balls she had granted herself- that didn't feel much different from when he stroked the lips of her entrance.

"Well?" Lysandra waited until Aedion's touch stilled once more on her shaft before drawing his chin up so that their eyes met. "What do you say?"

Still beyond words, he merely swallowed hard and nodded. He still wasn't entirely sure this was happening… But he wasn't going to waste his chance.

Aedion's hands found Lysandra's thighs and he lifted her in his arms. She let him stand and spin her so that she was the one sitting on the couch. He slid down to his knees between her own to make a more thorough inspection of what she had created.

"Why are they so small?" Aedion poked at one of the balls.

"Well- I didn't know if it would be uncomfortable for you." She was suddenly very self-conscious.

"Are mine uncomfortable for you when we-"

"No," Lysandra said quickly. Something about the way Aedion was lightly tracing their curve made her blood heat up. "I just- I didn't know how it might be different when we both have them… Anyways, it isn't like I'm locked in to this design. Just say what needs to be adjusted and I'll do my best."

Aedion swallowed again, "It's alright? To-"

"-always. I don't know what I'm doing here, so go nuts." Lysandra leaned back and rolled her hips up, giving herself room to expand if necessary.

"A little bigger then," he glanced nervously at her. Aedion stuttered a few times before he finally managed to force the words out, "A-about the s-size of a comfortable m-mouth-full each."

Her powers were more designed to change an entire physical form, not just a small piece. Lysandra scrunched up her eyes and willed her power to make the requisite adjustments. Aedion held the parts in question as they changed.

"A bit more… Just a little… there. Stop."

Lysandra let out her breath and released her grasp on the magic. She took a few panting breaths as Aedion gently kneaded her in his hand, "What about the rest? Tell me now if it's too big or small or crooked or something."

"It's perfect," Aedion breathed. Lysandra's member twitched as the air from his mouth brushed across the head of the cock. "Don't change a single thing."

"It feels weird," Lysandra admitted. "Not bad, but… strange."

"I can only imagine," he gave her a wry smile, "what does it feel like when I do this?" He leaned in and brushed his lips along the underside of the shaft.

Lysandra groaned, her hands instinctively finding their way to his head, "Like when your tongue flicks inside me."

"And this?" He took a (comfortable) mouth-full of one testical.

She let out a high whimper at the sensation and her hips rolled ever so slightly, "Like when you bite at my slit."

"This?" He released her and flicked the opening at the center of the head with his tongue.

It took everything in Lysandra to not force Aedion's head down, "Like when you suck on my clit."

"And this?" he traced the top of her shaft this time.

That sensation was a little harder to identify, somehow different from when he'd touched the underside, "That felt like… Like when your fingers are inside me."

Aedion raised his eyebrows and inspected her new member again, "So- outside, outside, inside, inside?" he tapped along in the same order that he'd tasted and touched. Lysandra just nodded. "This is going to feel very strange for you then." She had only a moment's warning before Aedion's mouth enveloped her entire cock.

He took it as far into his throat as he could, and her hands at last gained purchase in his hair. The way his lips strained to accommodate her, the hopeful light in his eyes as he looked up through pale lashes-

-she suddenly understood the allure.

"Aedion," Lysandra panted. The sensations around her were too new, coming from too many different angles as he took the balls in hand and began to massage them once more, matching the movement of his bobbing head, "Aedion, I don't know how to stop it." She could feel a churning that had nothing to do with his hand as something drew up and readied itself expectantly.

Don't try to stop. She could see the words in his eyes.

He wanted her to come like this.

Lysandra hunched forward in spite of herself and as she pushed Aedion's head down hard, her entire body curled around it. She loosed several wrenching cries as she flooded his mouth- as his throat rippled around her and he expertly swallowed each drop.

She collapsed back onto the cushions, releasing Aedion from her shaft. He gulped down oxygen nearly as quickly as she did, but the smile on his face told her he had no objection to being manhandled like that. He kept kissing the head of her member, the shaft- anywhere that glistened with even a hint of her release.

"It still tastes the same," wonder shone in Aedion's smile as he wiped a few escaped droplets off his cheek and tasted them. "How is that possible?"

"You're fiancée grew a cock to surprise you and you're wondering at the flavor?" Lysandra offered a wry smile to match his own.

"I'm wondering what I can do to thank my exquisite and luscious fiancée for that experience." Aedion kissed her stomach, then her chest. His mouth found its way over a peaked nipple and his tongue played with it for a moment, teasing her by withholding the kiss she wanted.

"That experience wasn't what I had in mind when I shifted," Lysandra moaned as Aedion deliberately pressed himself against her and slid up to kiss her cheek.

"And what was?" his voice was deep, rasping. Lysandra could feel his hips rocking himself against her, though there was still a pesky layer of fabric or two between their cocks.

Lysandra pushed him back and reached down to unlace the stays on his pants, and Aedion's breath caught. He wasn't letting himself hope, he was just enjoying the moment. But she was close, so close to what he'd been wanting to ask for so long. Something he loved, but would live without rather than impose on her.

"I want to know what it's like," Lysandra whispered as she reached into his open trousers and began to stroke Aedion. "I want to know how it feels to be inside someone."

She could feel the shiver that went through his body at those words. Goosebumps rose on his arms and his cock throbbed in her hand. Aedion licked his lips and claimed her mouth hard and fast, "Yes," he moaned between kisses. "Anything you want. Anything."

"You'll have to talk me through it," Lysandra whispered. "I want this, I want to do this for you, but I don't want to hurt you, alright?" That was the only part of the arrangement she wasn't sure about. How to proceed without harming the male she loved. She wanted to claim him as he wanted to be claimed, but safely, tenderly, and with as much attentive care as he showed each time they came together.

"I understand." Aedion and Lysandra stood together, and she at last released him. He slid his shoes off and his trousers down, and she pushed her robe off her shoulders at last. "Come on, it'll be easier in here the first time." Aedion led Lysandra through gilded doors and into her bedchamber.

The bed was massive and typically covered in more throw pillows than anyone had any business owning. All of that was gone- piled neatly in a corner. The velvet comforter had been likewise removed and stored on top of a chest of drawers, leaving only the linen bedsheets exposed.

A small rose-colored phial sat on her bedside table- twin to the one Aedion kept in his chambers for their lovemaking. In it were special oils to heighten the sensation of bodies joining and guarantee an easy entry.

Lysandra stopped Aedion at the side of the bed and pressed herself against him. She kissed him, her arms wrapping around his torso as she let her touch wander down his back to grip his hips.

When their lips parted and she slid to a knee though, Aedion took a step back.

"Don't worry about that," he pulled her back to her feet with a soft smile.

"I just want to return what you gave me earlier." She batted her eyelashes at him.

He ran a nervous hand through his hair and tried to match her grin, "Trust me… you'll do enough. It takes a while to- to prepare for… for that."

"Oh," Lysandra's heart pounded a little faster. There was no delaying it then. The part that scared her was coming.

"Lay down," Aedion stood aside and offered Lysandra the bed.

She trusted him to know how best to proceed, and so she crawled up onto the soft blankets and settled with her head upon one of the few non-decorative pillows left. Aedion stared at her body, his eyes heavily lidded as he took in the sight of her and of what she'd crafted for him. He pulled himself onto the mattress and prowled over to the woman he loved.

He slid between her legs and arranged her cock so that it was pointing back up towards her stomach, then angled his own to lay against the side of it. Aedion wrapped his hand around them both and rocked his hips slowly, savoring not only the feeling of her against his shaft, but the way Lysandra threw her head back against the pillow and gasped at the new sensation.

"Are you sure you don't want me to show you how to enjoy them like this? There is a lot that can be done without penetration, you don't have to rush anything- it's alright." As much lust as there was in Aedion's eyes, concern still won out.

"Teach me that later," Lysandra smiled.

Truth be told, she was starting to realize that she was the one in danger of losing her nerve now. Aedion had accepted that she was doing this for him more than out of any personal curiosity, and as nervous as Lysandra was at the prospect of penetrating him, giving herself any more time to think about it sounded like a wonderful way to lose sleep.

He nodded and released their joined members, "In that case, I'm going to switch places with you, alright?" He'd hoped stroking her against his own cock would persuade her to take things slowly, until she was more comfortable with the entire concept.

Lysandra moved out of the way. Aedion slid closer to the nightstand with the phial on it and pulled a couple of pillows over to stack at his hips. He leaned over them and, with a few adjustments, laid down on his stomach with his hips high in the air and his knees spread wide.

It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, and he already felt a strain in his back, but it gave Lysandra the best view possible of her target.

"You'll want to shorten your nails, by the way." He tried to glance back, but the pillows largely blocked his view. All he saw was a knee settling in beside his own.

"Done." Lysandra ran her fingers along the backs of Aedion's calves, drawing a shudder of anticipation from him. As promised, her nails were barely noticeable.

"Alright, just start with light touches- anywhere you want. Think of it as a massage. Normally we would do this while we kiss or if I stroked us like before. This time though, I thought you'd want to see what you were doing as clearly as possible," he said.

Lysandra rolled her eyes as she began to gently stroke the thin skin behind Aedion's balls. He was still worrying about her. That was usually the case when he began explaining why he was doing something.

Aedion didn't rush her, and he did his best to relax as her sweet touch moved higher up and she began to knead the hard muscles there. Her thumbs brushed above and below the entrance that made her so nervous. It felt incredible- both her touch and the fantasy of what was going to happen. He could live without this, and he'd mostly resigned himself to it, but Lysandra figured out what he was too shy to ask for. Not only was she willing to give it a go, she was eager to learn.

It was the most erotic thing Aedion could imagine- something of pure trust and love and-

"Wow, your ass is clean." Lysandra's thumbs were trying to part the puckered entrance. What she managed to glimpse was pristine. Aedion coughed and decided it was actually pretty lucky she couldn't see his face as it turned brick red, "Do you even shit? There's nothing here."

"Lys? Do we need to discuss this right now? I don't tell you how clean your vagina is every time I see it."

"You should. I don't get many complements like that. Anyways, I'm just saying- I'm pretty sure my ass isn't this tidy." She continued to pry, aware of just how much of an effect her actions were having on relaxing his muscles.

"I maintain certain grooming standards others might consider excessive. Happy?"

"Intrigued."

"I like being clean, and I don't see why it's such a big deal," Aedion snapped.

"Aww, are you feeling a bit sensitive?" Lysandra leaned over so that she could see his face, "Poor baby." She rested her thumb against his opening and applied just enough pressure so that it moved ever so slightly as she stroked that thumb up and away.

Precum was beading at the head of Aedion's cock even as he growled in response, "Just grab the oil, would you?" he pointed to the nightstand, "You'll need only a little to start- just enough to cover a single finger."

Lysandra abandoned her teasing as she picked up the bottle. When she leaned forward her cock pressed against Aedion's and he groaned into the mattress. "My pinky?"

Aedion shook his head as best he could, "Start with your pointer finger. It's going to take a lot of coaxing and I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I can handle myself, you just make sure you tell me if I'm doing something wrong, alright?" Lysandra drizzled a bit of oil between the hard rise of Aedion's ass and ran her finger through it.

"Slowly," his breath was shallow as Lysandra began to circle his entrance with purpose. "Increase the pressure just a bit at a time until it slips in. Add more oil if you think you need it, and then just keep rotating your finger along the rim until it opens a bit further. Push in a little deeper with each rotation. Remember how I stroke you before we make love? That. Do that." He was breathless by the time he finished.

"Wait, you're going to be talking me through this, right?" Lysandra hesitated. She was pushing against him hard enough that she knew in a moment she would be inside him.

"I'm mostly going to be trying not to come, but if something goes wrong I'll let you know."

Lysandra leaned forward and kissed Aedion's spine as she pushed just a little bit harder and the tip of her finger slid in.

Aedion's entire body jerked, and he loosed something between a squeak and a moan. Lysandra whimpered in fear and froze. Either because he could not speak or out of some primal instinct, Aedion rotated his hips ever so slightly, encouraging her to keep moving.

The ridge was hard and tight, and while what was behind it had a familiar heat and texture to her own entrance (well, at least when she had a vagina), it was somehow thinner. Lysandra feared too much pressure would tear something.

Still, she did as she was instructed and traced her finger along the inside. Bit by bit, that hard ridge began to ease and relax. She drizzled a bit more oil on (which only solicited another primal groan from Aedion) and used her finger to push it in and around. Lysandra was hardly daring to breathe as she reached the first knuckle of her finger. However Aedion was fighting back his release, he was careful not to clench around her hand. His member was visibly throbbing by the time she was up to her second knuckle.

"Can I- should I put a second finger in?" Lysandra asked hesitantly. Her circle had gotten wider, and now his entrance gaped ever so slightly.

"Yes," Aedion breathed. His skin was flush and hot, his thighs strained, and his toes were curled tight. Every few strokes a tremor ran through his hips that made it look as though he were vibrating.

She pulled her hand free and stared hard as she reached for the oil, "Aedion?"

"Yeah?" he was breathing a bit more with her fingers outside of him, taking the opportunity to force down his rising need for release.

"Seriously, I was in there just about as far as my finger would go and it's still clean. What are you doing? Shoving a pipe cleaner up there when you bathe?"

"Lysandra-"

"It's really clean."

Aedion growled, "Please stop talking about the cleanliness of my asshole, alright?"

"I mean, I'm just wondering if this is your normal state or if you knew I'd be in here today and tidied up. I told you to take a bath not polish every orifice" She pushed her index finger against his entrance. It slid in easily enough, but she was careful to return to the gentle swirling as the second finger began to push though.

Aedion's hiss was lost in another moan, "Aelin isn't the only one with a bit of water magic. Leave it at that for now?"

"That only raises more questions." She was babbling to hide her own nerves as Aedion opened a bit more each passing second. Soon it would be time… and she was afraid.

"Stop there," Aedion said quickly. Lysandra's fingers were nearly all the way in, and her index finger found an odd notch on the upper edge. When she pushed it, Aedion thrust forward away from her so forcefully her hand slipped out. He shouted once, bit the sheets, and his body shook as he fought down his orgasm tooth and nail.

When he was sure he could move without climaxing, Aedion's body went loose. He began to pull the pillows from beneath him, relieving the pressure on his back, "Remember when you had me hunt for your g-spot?" Lysandra nodded, pale with worry, "Now you know where mine is."

"Wait- seriously? That's what that was?"

"Basically, yes." Aedion took a deep breath and waited for Lysandra to shift her position so that he could roll over onto his back. He used his legs to pull her between his knees. He swallowed hard and grabbed the phial one last time, "Alright, that should be fine, and I'm not sure how much longer I could have lasted." He looked down to the temporary cock between her legs and swallowed hard, "Ready to find out how it feels?"

She nodded, wide-eyed. Aedion waved her closer and planted both feet on the bed to lift his rear slightly, "Lots of oil, a little slower than when I enter you, and before each push in, pull out a bit so the oil spreads. Alright?" Lysandra nodded once more, "I'll help guide you. For now, get the tip in, then wait."

Aedion watched closely as Lysandra oiled both her shaft and his entrance. She lined up the head- it was quite a bit wider than she'd stretched him. She was about to say just that when Aedion released his leg, grabbed her side, and pulled her against him.

This time, they both gasped at the sensation as the head slid through that tight barrier and into Aedion's heat.

It was a strange and wonderful feeling- similar to how she felt when Aedion entered her, but slightly different as seemingly disparate parts of her registered the feeling. To a male, it would just be the end of their cock in a hot, wet vice. To Lysandra it was three different zones entirely that weren't used to feeling so much all at once- at least not without a hand and a cock working together.

Aedion pushed Lysandra back slightly before pulling her in another half inch. She paused to add a bit more oil, then repeated the motion again, again, again. Aedion kept his hand on her, pulling and pushing until he was sure she had the rhythm. His eyes were closed tight and his breath was coming in sharp, high pants- he was in heaven.

It wasn't an easy task to enter him- even once he seemed adjusted to the thickness of her aching cock it took a great deal of effort to pull out before pushing in once more. Aedion's insides seemed to cling to her, and Lysandra worried she would draw something out that was meant to be internal. She'd seen it happen with other courtesans, and they often wailed in pain for hours after.

"Is it too big?" Lysandra tried adding more oil, but he was well saturated. His own natural lubrication had joined the oil to form a cloudy white sheen. "I can make it smaller if-"

"No, it's perfect," Aedion panted through a hazy smile. "It takes a bit of work, doesn't it?"

"It's different than when I'm on top of you," concern still lit Lysandra's eyes. "It's resisting too much- right? Maybe I should make it a little smaller, I was too greedy."

Aedion pulled Lysandra down and gasped sharply as it changed the angle of her shaft inside him. He gave her a long, lazy kiss. As soon as she lowered her defenses, Aedion shoved her back until it was she who was laying on the bed and he was sitting on her cock. Both cried out as the last couple inches of her length impaled him.

Instinctively, Aedion braced for impact before Lysandra's hand had time to smack him up the side of his head, "You could have hurt yourself!"

"Hardly," he grinned widely. "Besides, you were going to shrink your cock and like I said- it's perfect. It isn't the largest I've had, and you worked very hard to make sure I was ready for it. You showed more courtesy than others have. Don't worry." Before she could continue her objections Aedion asked, "How does it feel?"

Lysandra sighed and Aedion rolled his hips, moving her within him. She grabbed his sides as a wave of sensations crashed over her, "Incredible… but not much different than when you're in me. It's- it's external, which is weird, but for the most part… the same."

"Just wait until you come. That'll be a new experience, I think. It's different outside of the mouth." Aedion smiled and braced his hands on either side of Lysandra's face. His hips began to rock forward and back, providing the friction both of them desperately needed.

Her hips seemed to know their duty well enough, even if the angle and motions were different. They began to thrust up to meet Aedion as he found his rhythm.

"When I give you the warning, you'll have to roll off quickly. I don't know how to hold it back." Lysandra panted and whimpered as Aedion moved. The oils were beginning to activate, increasing the sensitivity of their skin at every point it touched.

"Come inside me," Aedion reached down to grab onto a breast as he panted with effort and picked up his pace.

Lysandra reached up to grab his cock and began to stroke it in time with her thrusts into him, "Really? That's alright?"

"It's alright when I come in you," Aedion whimpered at her hand on his cockhead. Lysandra tightened her grip and his whole body began to shudder. He'd been building towards this for so long- he couldn't fight his release off much longer. "Come inside me, I want it. I need it." He choked on the last word and released her breast to brace himself as his limbs grew tight and hard. His breath began to shorten and Lysandra couldn't help but smile.

She would hear her favorite sound soon.

The head of her cock grew more sensitive with each thrust, but there was something she'd been fantasizing about.

"Stop- I want you on your knees again, this time vertical."

Aedion whimpered, but he never refused a direct order from Lysandra. Both nearly came as he slid her from his body. His cock was dripping and throbbing as he crawled to the head of the bed and grabbed the headboard.

Lysandra wasted no time in sliding behind him and finding his entrance again with her cock. She thrust up and into him faster than before, but still with a shy delicacy. Her cock was curving ever so slightly, the universal sign that a man was at his limit. As Aedion's heat closed around her once more she shuddered and wrapped her arms around her lover's torso.

One hand went down to his cock, where she continued to stroke it in time with her slower, more pronounced thrusts up. The other wound across his muscled chest to his nipples. She loved how sensitive he was just before he climaxed.

"Fuck," Aedion was trying not to hunch forward as Lysandra's cock reached a deeper, newer angle than it had before. It rubbed closer and closer to that small notch that would send him off the edge whether he was braced for it or not. Her hand engulfed his cock with a warm force and when he heard her own high, breathless moans in his ear he knew the end had come.

"Aedion-" Lysandra's thrust hard and true- hitting that notch at last.

He shouted and let Lysandra's cock drive him forward into the bedframe as he erupted. He continued to cry out as rope after rope of hot cum shot forth, covering his chest and the wooden headboard in equal measure.

As was their tradition, she didn't stop moving as he came, though the spasming of his body around her cock was beyond containment this time. He clenched tighter and tighter, until it was a genuine effort to move. Still- Lysandra couldn't imagine stopping now. Her needs were taking over.

Aedion fell forward at last, apparently spent. He let out a soft, throaty sound each time Lysandra thrust into him. Shudders radiated out from that notch she was now hitting harder and harder. It wasn't long before his still-hard cock seized again and Aedion came once more. There wasn't much left in him as he shouted and writhed beneath the woman he loved until her cock thrust deep and she felt that first lurch of cum shoot from her into Aedion.

He was right, it was very different from when she'd come down his throat.

The heat wrapped around her while she thrust, but she also felt it pushing deeper into him, prompted forward by the sheer tightness of his walls around her cock. It couldn't slip out or around- not so long as the thrusts were shallow and hard. Aedion cried out with her as she filled him with rope after rope of moist heat, until her cock grew soft and she was forced to draw it back and out.

Without the steel of her erection to keep it at bay, his entrance clamped down on her cock tighter than anything she'd ever known. It was as if it were determined to keep every last drop of cum inside him, and so he was scraping it from her while she departed.

The head came free with a soft pop and Aedion was moving in an instant. He pinned Lysandra down on the bed and took her in his mouth to clean her. At least- she assumed that was his intention. However, long after she was free of even the oils, his head was still buried between her legs.

"It's not getting hard again for at least ten minutes," Lysandra propped herself up on her elbows to watch. She couldn't deny that it felt good, it was simply that she'd given Aedion every last drop. He didn't stop his attention as he took her cock as deep into his mouth as he could while it was still limp- it wasn't exactly cooperating. "Aedion, it's not-"

"Men can still orgasm without cum," he raised his mouth from the head just long enough to speak, "I bet I can prove it to you." He wanted more of her- he wanted her to fill him time and again. It was more incredible than he'd let himself imagine. Lysandra opened the door and pushed him through, he felt as fresh and hungry as he had after his first time with a man.

"As much as you want," Lysandra said softly as she stroked his hair back. Despite her earlier words, she could see her cock beginning to stiffen bit by bit.

Light danced in Aedion's eyes as he looked up at the woman he loved more than life itself. She'd figured out on her own what desire he'd been too afraid to ask for, and not only did she embrace the request, he could see in her eyes that she'd genuinely enjoyed herself.

That was always what he loved best about Lysandra: no matter what she learned about him or about his life, she never turned away. He thought admitting he held no sexual preference in his partners would make her shy away, as it had the few other women he'd confided in. It didn't even make her blink. He thought she would falter when he first bedded her- but they'd fit better than anyone he'd ever been with. He thought she wouldn't love him again after he'd made the mistake of thanking her for their lovemaking, but she opened her heart and gave him another chance…

And he thought she would look at him in disgust or make him feel weak for wanting to be taken, for wanting to feel something move inside of him. Admittedly he was trying to work up the nerve to ask her to use a belt with a false cock strapped to it, not change her form entirely, but again- where Aedion thought Lysandra would balk, she instead threw herself into his arms, her only hesitation out of concern for his own wellbeing.

Lysandra pushed him onto his back and pinned his knees to the bed, opening him wide as she claimed his mouth and entered him once more. There was no limit to what Lysandra would do for Aedion, nor him for her. With that final secret exposed at last, Lysandra kissed Aedion and felt the last bit of tension ease from her heart.

"I am yours," he whispered as he saw a new light glimmer in her eyes.

"And I am yours. Forever."