Pluck't

Chapter IX

Tea was a pleasant affair, mostly due to Adelina's staff.  They had brought different teas to choose from, and on the table was set tiered trays with savory duck confit and crusted bread, small eggy cups with chicken and garlic, and pastry stuffed with rich, braised beef.  In addition, there were scones with clotted cream and jam, as well as little cakes, chocolates, and tiny lemon tarts.  After having only a crust of bread and some wild berries on the roadside, Toma had to stop himself from devouring the lot, and he maintained his manners only due to years of his mother's relentless tutelage.

Toma pined for his poor valet, though, who was downstairs acquainting himself with the rest of the servants.  Toma wondered if Emil would know how to behave properly.  He suspected the man was just enough of a scoundrel to lie well enough to fake his way through.  If not, he was smart enough to learn on the spot.

Toma sighed softly over his bergamot-scented tea.  He still felt the pleasant tingling of his release, and the afterglow of Emil's hand upon him.  He anticipated the coming evening with restless want.  Vasile had once told him a serving woman had put her mouth on his member, and that it was exquisite.  Toma considered how to best go about the same with Emil.

"Toma, dear?"  Adelina's voice broke through his distraction.

"Yes, Addie?" he said with a warm smile.

Lines of tension eased from Adelina's features.  "Are you feeling all right?"

Toma nodded as he said, "Oh! Yes.  I was just thinking."

Adelina patted him on the hand.  "You got so quiet.  You've been through such an ordeal, I was afraid you might be stricken."

Toma said, "Nothing like that.  It wasn't horrible enough to break me, Adelina."  He sipped his tepid tea and said, "Contrary to Mother's beliefs, I won't shatter."

Adelina told him, "Mother knows, deep down, I think.  It's just that you're her baby, and now you're all grown up.  She worries you'll leave her."

Toma said,  "It's not that I want to leave her.  I adore Mother.  She's been the best friend I've ever had for most of my life, besides Vasile.  I just want her to treat me like a man, not a child."

"Give her time," Adelina said.  "After all of this, she'll have to see that you're capable of surviving without her hovering over you."

"I hope so," Toma said.  He nibbled on a little cake.  He was finally starting to feel like he'd had his fill.  "Though I couldn't have made it without Emil."  He smiled, despite trying not to; it wouldn't do for anyone to suspect he was falling for the commoner.  "He has put his life on hold to ensure I get home safely, well above and beyond the call of duty and decency."

Adelina tilted her head as she regarded Toma.  Did she suspect?  Toma schooled his features to reveal nothing.  She smiled kindly and patted his hand again.  "You're lucky to have been found by such a kind-hearted person."

Toma nodded. In his mind, he saw a clear picture of Emil's face prior to tea.  There had been a manic glint in his eye, a vicious possessiveness that made Toma's heart beat faster.  Kind-hearted?  Maybe, but there was a fire in him that left Toma wondering just how badly one could get burned.

Toma didn't care.  He already burned for Emil.  He wanted the man's hands on him.  He wanted to run his hands through those dark curls and trace his fingers down that delightful trail of hair that led from his belly button to his thick, throbbing member.  How would he ever get his mouth around it?  Toma's cheeks burned, and, in order to distract himself, he forced himself to study the pine moulding where the sage green wall met the white ceiling.

Adelina patted him on the hand, causing him to start as he was once again roused from his thoughts.  He smiled at her, and she said, "Are you sure you're all right, dear?  You can't have slept well on the road."

Actually, because Toma and Emil had relieved their desire at the inn, he'd slept like a baby.  He was sore from walking, though, and road-weary.  "Actually, I could do with a liedown.  I would like may valet to come help me, and he's probably tired, himself.

Adelina's brows lifted. She had to have suspected something.  Would she tell Mother, though? Mother would have a litter of kittens if she found out.  Toma smiled at Adelina warmly, and with calm reassurance despite his stomach doing flipflops.  Adelina said, "I'll have my Horace summon your Emil at once."

His Emil.  Toma's heart ached as he thought of poor Andrei, who had served him so faithfully.  Emil couldn't replace him in some respects, but Toma didn't want him for his skills with a lint brush.  "Thank you, Addie."  He rose to his feet and gave his older sister a kiss on the cheek.  "I'll take dinner in my room as well, but I promise I'll be tip-top by tomorrow."

Toma hoped he wouldn't even be able to walk tomorrow let alone sit down.

With a bow, he took his leave, and he made his way back to his room.  Once there, he undressed and climbed under the covers naked, waiting for his Emil.

Emil stepped in. "Milord?"  He looked a little harried.  There was a lot more to being a servant that the average person thought, Toma surmised.  No doubt Emil had been getting quite an education.

"Lock the door," Toma said.

Emil did so, then smiled crookedly as he swaggered toward the bed.  "Is Milord tired?  Does he need his rest?"

Toma pushed himself up on his elbows letting the blankets slip down his body, revealing his bare skin.  He had a moment of satisfaction to see Emil devour the image of him with those hungry, dark eyes.

"I could use help getting sleepy," Toma admitted.

Emil sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand through Toma's hair, then down his chest, pushing the blankets lower to reveal his flat stomach.  "As Milord commands."

Toma smiled, his eyes lidding with pleasure to be touched.  "Actually, I was under the impression earlier that you were the master here."

Another surge of satisfaction and pleasure coursed through Toma to see Emil's eyes widen, and the commoner-turned-valet crawled atop Toma and crushed his lips against his own.  Toma slipped his arms around Emil's neck and parted his lips to allow Emil's tongue to plunge into his.  He moaned and pressed back into the kiss, brazenly encouraging him.

"My Toma," Emil whispered raggedly as he slipped a hand beneath the blankets.  Toma bit his lip and moaned again when Emil's hand wrapped around his cock.  "The things I want to do to you," Emil murmured.

Toma ground his hips, sliding his cock in Emil's grasp.  "And you shall," he said, his arms tightening around Emil.  "You shall."