The Wildness Within

Consumed 2

They settled into routine as though Ash and Gwyn had never been gone. Except this time Augus felt like he was relaxing into it more than usual, knowing that he would have regular access to his own space and aloneness. Until Gwyn's cabin was built, Gwyn could go to the human realm or Ash's lake. The solution seemed too neatly done, but as Ash had said, it didn't mean they'd missed anything out.

The evening found Augus leaning into Ash as they both read their books. Gwyn dozed at the bottom of Ash's bed, his arms sprawled and his knees tucked in, the cuffs on his wrist making him look like he belonged.

Augus kept looking over the top of his book at him, considering. Ash had drawn him aside earlier to let him know that they'd exorcised some of their tension through intimacy, and Augus stared at Gwyn's faintly troubled face – so close to sleep – and wondered at Gwyn's relative ease with sexual contact.

For a while, he'd thought Gwyn had been lying when he said he hadn't been raped. Or that he hadn't understood the question. But now, Augus was aware that for all the issues that Gwyn had with people and their motives, certain kinds of touch didn't scare him nearly as much as Augus assumed they would. If anything, the cuffs around his wrist grounded him. He'd kissed Augus first. He had the signal word and gesture and he used them. He seemed to welcome sensual contact.

Augus didn't exactly want to test that theory, but he did want to push harder. He looked at Gwyn's strong thighs, the pulled in muscle of his waist, his broad shoulders, and slowly closed his book, placing it on the dresser.

'Bro, you up to something?' Ash said softly.

'Would you be at all bothered if I used your bed to see what he might allow me to do?'

Ash exhaled sharply. 'Can I join in?'

'If all goes well, then...yes. Do you have slick?'

'I mean, it's me we're talking about here, what the fuck do you think?'

'I'm going to take that as a yes,' Augus said, shifting on the bed so that he was on all fours and facing Gwyn, then lowering himself down onto his elbows so that their heads were close. Gwyn hadn't even shifted yet. He must have felt safer than usual – he could jerk out of a doze quickly.

'Hey, Augus?' Ash said.

'Mm?' Augus said, tilting his head to the side and looking down Gwyn's body, trying to think of the best way of waking him up without being hit in the process.

'You're pretty hot.'

Augus smirked. 'Enjoying the view, are we?'

'It's just- Your ass is kind of facing me here, and you move like a panther...and those two things- I'm really enjoying the view, yeah.'

'Wonderful,' Augus said, smiling.

Then, knowing it would get a reaction and bracing himself for it, he trailed his fingers through Gwyn's hair.

Gwyn's eyes shot open, his whole body jerked and Augus caught one of the arms that came down by the wrist, squeezing the cuff hard and drawing his focus. Gwyn's mouth opened, he stared in shock. He seemed to remember where he was, and the arm that was tense in Augus' grip went lax. He even rolled back just a bit, exposing more of himself as though he hardly had to think about it.

Augus moved closer and watched Gwyn's face as he bent down and kissed his cheek, then the place where tender skin merged into his ear. He listened to uneven breathing and felt it against his own face as he bent and kissed him properly, lips pressing against lips. He didn't let go of Gwyn's wrist, knowing that of all the things he was doing, it was the ache at that joint that would keep him grounded more than the gentle sensuality.