Part 2

Reclining on a divan in the spacious sitting room of their inn suite, taking in delicately perfumed air, Jarlaxle had almost everything he could want. He and Entreri had eaten a fine meal for supper, acquainting both of them with filet mignon; they had bathed in a luxuriously large bathtub. Jarlaxle was now dressed in a silk robe, and he even had his favorite wine in a bucket of ice on the table by his side.

But after paying for all these luxuries, Jarlaxle was preoccupied by the one thing he wanted that it was not possible to buy. Though the experience had at times been terrifying, he wished it could be a tenday ago, when he had been blind. Blindness had allowed him to experience a different side of Artemis Entreri. While he hadn't been able to see the assassin, the man had transformed.

However, two days ago, he had regained his sight.

Jarlaxle held in a sigh. He couldn't know if seeing made any difference. Had it been easier for him to trust Entreri, or had Entreri been more willing to act differently when he couldn't see? If either was the case, his recovery meant the loss of the thing he wanted.

Stepping in from the balcony, Entreri shut the double doors and trapped them, then glided across the room, taking the divan perpendicular to Jarlaxle's. Like Jarlaxle, he wore a silk robe, which was complimentary from the upscale inn, although his was black while Jarlaxle's was red. With a sigh, he poured himself a glass of wine and settled in. Although pampering himself felt odd, even he felt like the break had been earned. Crossing the Calim Desert and back had been an utter nightmare, given the three dead magic zones they'd ultimately found.

Taking a sip, Entreri considered Jarlaxle, who had gone without his eye patch tonight in celebration of having his eyesight back. Ever since they'd touched in the desert, Entreri had longed to touch Jarlaxle again - this time without blistering heat and sand in the way. However, being himself, he hadn't let on. His need to not overly indulge his carnal nature—and therefore weaken himself—was at war with the odd but powerful quality of their exchange. Even after a tenday, Entreri was still struck by how different it had been from his past experiences, although he wasn't sure in what way.

Jarlaxle smiled and picked up his half-full glass of wine. He took a sip, savored, and swallowed. "I know I have good taste in wine because you're willing to drink it." Entreri was not a wine drinker by nature, Jarlaxle had noticed.

Entreri actually chuckled. "It's a sweet wine, and you chilled it. That makes it tolerable." To his discomfort, he found himself wondering if their little tryst had been unusual for Jarlaxle as well. Certainly it wasn't the kind of question he would ever ask a lover—or potential lover in this case. Lovers were not something Entreri often took, both because of his loner tendencies and because of the gaping hole it could leave in his defenses. Granted, he'd never fallen in love with anyone—he couldn't even imagine doing so—but it also occurred to him that Jarlaxle wasn't a liability the way most people were. Jarlaxle could defend himself.

Jarlaxle grinned. "I'll keep that in mind." He realized to his own chagrin that he wasn't pursuing the topic he actually wanted to know. There was subtlety, and then there was avoidance. He was avoiding. But every time he thought about putting a question to Entreri, no matter how delicate, his chest clenched and he could hardly breathe.

How unlike his previous life this was. Males didn't need to ask about their performance; females duly informed them during or after sex had taken place. One was routinely judged. Jarlaxle thought of himself as confident, but he'd also become used to hearing a dispassionate breakdown of his actions.

Entreri liked it at the time. I know he did.

But...

Jarlaxle circled around the question again in his mind. Will he ever want to give that to me again? Am I worthy of having that from him again?

Because it was more than sex, and Jarlaxle was certain Entreri knew that.

Taking another sip of wine, Entreri forced himself to admit that he had been obsessed with Jarlaxle for the entire last tenday. He hated it when this happened to him, but occasionally it did: he got distracted by the idea of sex with a specific person. As soon as they'd finished, he'd wanted to repeat the experience, but somehow that desire had worked further under his skin than usual. He found his gaze hovering on Jarlaxle: the angles of his face, the grace of his body, the sensuality of little patches of ebony skin peeking out from the crimson silk robe.

Jarlaxle took another sip of his wine and set it down. He was despairing and amused at how Entreri seemed content to be silent. As usual. How was it that he had ended up attracted to someone so much his opposite? This didn't happen to him.

Or was it that he'd never noticed others' silences because he'd been content to fill any silences himself? He was shaken by that thought. Until a tenday ago, he hadn't known he'd isolated himself from others in the process of learning not to be vulnerable. Yes, he easily could have ignored others' silences.

In fact, he couldn't let the silence stand now. The lack of conversation prickled against his skin. "Losing my sight was interesting," he found himself saying. Jarlaxle internally flinched at the inane statement.

"People always claim your other senses compensate with time," Entreri said, "but I wonder if that's really so or if you simply pay more attention to the senses you have left."

The serious answer calmed Jarlaxle. "I don't know. I do know it was very intense..." He looked away. "Not only because of my lack of sight."

Entreri's body took immediate interest in this turn of the conversation. He took a small sip of wine. "Some people have themselves blindfolded during sex to heighten the experience," he murmured, "but you say it's more than that?" He wasn't sure Jarlaxle had been talking about sex, but his body was absolutely talking about sex.

A pulse of heat took Jarlaxle by surprise at Entreri's casual mention of sex. "More," he murmured in agreement. He looked at Entreri with his peripheral vision. "Heightening an experience is a neutral effect. One would not wish to heighten all experiences. Only few. Very few."

Entreri found this answer to be odd, but he suspected it had to do with some kind of difference between drow and human sexual practices. "I don't use or do anything I wouldn't want heightened," he said dryly.

Jarlaxle finally turned his head and smiled at Entreri, freed by that declaration. "I know."

Since Entreri's body was already ten steps ahead of him, Entreri threw in the proverbial towel. Setting down his glass on the coffee table, he transferred to Jarlaxle's divan, telegraphing his interest.

Jarlaxle inhaled sharply. "Will you...may we..." He couldn't get it out that way. "I wish you to do what you did before," he whispered.

Entreri barely let him finish the sentence. Instantly his arms were around Jarlaxle, pulling their chests flush, and his lips found Jarlaxle's just as quickly, mouthing and tasting. A faint sweetness from the wine lingered there, but Entreri was more engrossed by the soft warmth of Jarlaxle's lips.

Afraid to let go, Jarlaxle wrapped his arms around Entreri's waist tightly. He knew it was unlikely Entreri would pull away, but with desperation quickening his pulse, he couldn't stand to take the chance. He gasped at the kiss and squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on the sensation of it. He let Entreri guide him, the kiss slow and soft.

Entreri teased his tongue into Jarlaxle's mouth, trading caresses, his entire body enflamed with need. He'd wanted this, looked forward to this, even longed for this. He toppled Jarlaxle over onto the divan, settling between his thighs, his imagination already racing to the next step—his tongue and lips on Jarlaxle's bare skin. However, he lingered on their kiss a moment more, a shiver racing through him as Jarlaxle's tongue slipped into his mouth instead.

Jarlaxle dared to let slip a moan. Last time such a noise hadn't been offensive to the assassin. He wanted this to be like last time. Entreri's mouth was hot and sweet. He explored it gently, caressing. This position, Entreri on top of him, asked him to trust. He did. Only if Entreri caused him pain would he retract that trust.

An answering moan escaped Entreri as Jarlaxle caressed and explored. With some regret, he broke the kiss, but he wanted to taste Jarlaxle's skin again. He kissed his way over Jarlaxle's jaw and down his throat, lapping and sucking as he went, Jarlaxle's body hot against his own. By this point, the drow had to feel his erection pressing against him as Entreri's body drank in the pleasure.

Jarlaxle moaned and then cried out, arching. His skin tingled wildly where Entreri's mouth had been. Entreri's enthusiasm for using his mouth took Jarlaxle by surprise all over again. Heat rushed up to his ears and down to his groin at the same time, making him dizzy. "Artemis..." He tightened his hands on his partner's back.

A soft moan met Jarlaxle's reaction, which only stoked Entreri's arousal higher. He kissed his way back up Jarlaxle's throat, then continued upward to his ears, first sucking on the earlobe. Then he traced the edge up to tip, which he captured with his lips and teased with his tongue.

Jarlaxle's breaths hitched at the kisses up his throat. He squirmed and moaned sharply at Entreri's mouth on his earlobe. His heart pounded, and he was achingly hard with anticipation. Entreri's lips moved upwards, and Jarlaxle felt himself leaking. The torrent of pleasure when Entreri licked the tip of his ear was so strong he almost came. A loud cry burst out of him, the assassin bringing him to sobbing.

The power of Jarlaxle's reaction alone made Entreri leak, and he slowly lapped Jarlaxle's ear, worshipping the skin there. He wasn't sure he'd ever had such a vocal lover, and it left him achingly hard. "Yes," he whispered against Jarlaxle's ear.

Jarlaxle wailed at that approving whisper. Pleasure whiplashed through his body, and he didn't know if he could hold his body back a second time. He grabbed for his self-control and couldn't keep it for more than a second. Sobbing, and with his blood singing in his ears, he came. Bliss obliterated his coordination, making him feel messy. His body became hypersensitive, flooding him with details: Entreri's hardness against him, the sweat beading on his skin, the light of the sunset washing through the window, the smell of lavender in the room. Entreri's breathing. Entreri's weight. Finally, he emptied out and fell limp, his body utterly relaxed.

Entreri's heart thudded in his chest. He wasn't sure he'd ever made someone come so quickly, but he couldn't complain. Oddly, he did find that he hoped Jarlaxle would be up for a second round later. For the time being, he rested atop Jarlaxle, nuzzling his neck.

The affection, as if he deserved such a thing after losing control, struck through Jarlaxle so strongly that his throat constricted. He could hardly breathe. His vision was still blurry with pleasure, but it got blurrier. He recalled weeping after his first experience with Entreri and couldn't stand to do that again. All he could do was close his hand around the back of Entreri's robe, taking a loose handful of silk.

Why are you...Why... Jarlaxle felt a near unbearable strength of emotion. Whatever it was, he could barely physically contain it. It wasn't a negative one, like fear or shame. But he was terrified by how powerful it was.

Entreri hummed faintly in his throat, enjoying the sensation of Jarlaxle clutching at his robe and back. He'd always liked that from his lovers, and it prompted him to press a kiss against the hot skin of Jarlaxle's neck. Because of their earlier experience, he didn't doubt Jarlaxle would bring him relief after he'd recovered from his orgasm, so he skipped straight to the next stage: "Again later?"

"Yes," Jarlaxle said, relieved that he could get the words out normally. Entreri's voice was beautiful. He'd always thought so, but right now it seemed more beautiful than it ever had been before.

"Excellent." Entreri didn't even bother to hide how pleased that made him. In fact, he was more pleased than carnal pleasure alone could account for, but he didn't stop to dwell on it and just went with it. After all this time spent with Jarlaxle, he was learning the value of sometimes just following a path without micro-planning every step.

Jarlaxle recovered enough to wrap his arms around Entreri's shoulders. He nuzzled the assassin's neck and planted a gentle kiss there. "What can I do to please you?"

Although Entreri could think of a few things that would work, he had no idea what kinds of things male drow did for one another or what Jarlaxle would be comfortable with. "Well, what you did before will work, unless there is something else you'd like to try."

Jarlaxle didn't know what to offer. Various images flashed through his mind. Most of them hadn't felt very good when he'd done them, but he had been told they were pleasurable for the other person, and Entreri was different from all the others. It seemed possible to enjoy anything.

He sided with caution. "I will touch you the way I did before, if this will please you."

The mere memory made heat surge to Entreri's groin. "Certainly." Climbing off of Jarlaxle, he offered him a hand up and then retreated to one of the beds with him, assuming it would be easier to get situated there. "Shall I sit in front of you again?"

Jarlaxle stripped and wiped himself off the best he could. "Yes." He sat down with one plump goose feather pillow behind his back, and placed another in front of him between his legs, feeling it should make Entreri more comfortable.

Giving him a wicked little smile, Entreri slid off his robe, letting it pool on the floor. For a moment, the man stood fully naked before Jarlaxle, letting himself be seen, and then he slipped onto the satin sheets, leaning back against both Jarlaxle and the pillow. A little bead of moisture welled up on his tip, evidence of his anticipation.

Jarlaxle felt warmly aroused at Entreri's need to reveal himself and at the beauty of his partner's lithe, muscular form. The assassin leaning back against him was comfortable and intimate. He wrapped his arms around Entreri's waist and nuzzled his partner's neck. This was satisfying in the same new, unusual way it had been before. He ran his hands down Entreri's body slowly.

The way Jarlaxle's lips brushed his neck sent a shiver through Entreri, and he closed his eyes at the sensation of Jarlaxle's warm hands tracing over his skin. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized it mattered to him that someone as powerful, intelligent, clever, and beautiful as Jarlaxle found him appealing, but he didn't let himself dwell on the observation. Instead, he opened his eyes again so he could watch Jarlaxle's delicate, ebony hands touch him.

Jarlaxle felt the shiver. A punch of emotion exploded in his stomach. He hummed in the back of his throat and kissed Entreri's neck, mouthing gently. At the same time, he stroked the tops of Entreri's thighs, feeling warm skin. He slipped his hands down, stroking up along the inside of his partner's legs, feeling the heat increase. Finally his fingertips brushed Entreri's erection. He took in a breath.

He opened his eyes to see, watching a bead of moisture well up at his feather-soft touches.

A shudder of pleasure shot through Entreri - a mix of the kiss and the touches. Again he was struck by the power of his response and wondered what made Jarlaxle different, better. Letting the question slip away from him, he immersed himself in the sensations, his erection aching with his arousal. Suddenly it seemed the most erotic thing in the universe to have Jarlaxle's intimate touch.

Jarlaxle felt his partner's relaxation and smiled against Entreri's neck. He carefully licked up to a pulse point and sucked gently. At the same time his hand gripped Entreri's hardness lightly and pumped. He palmed Entreri's tip and spread the wetness down his partner's length. His experience was different than in the desert; seeing assured him that he could do everything correctly.

A soft, deep moan escaped Entreri's lips, his pulse jumping as Jarlaxle's lips and hand captured him in the same moment. The two pleasure points seemed to resonate between each other, and his lower back arched faintly. Just seeing Jarlaxle's hand stroking him sent sparks of arousal shooting through him, and he gripped the side of Jarlaxle's thigh with one hand.

Jarlaxle let out a quiet sound of appreciation at Entreri's reaction and tightened his grip a little, continuing to stroke slowly. He didn't want this to be over quickly. Holding Entreri was too precious. Imagine all the people who would have died for this. He was lucky. He could never have dared think himself deserving.

Realizing that Jarlaxle meant to draw out the experience, Entreri moaned again, more beads of moisture welling up on his tip. The sheer luxury of having Jarlaxle slowly tease him into orgasm made his heart pound, the pulse echoing in his erection. His hand squeezed Jarlaxle's thigh as his back arched a fraction more; gods, but Jarlaxle's hand felt good upon him. A strange power infused not only the sensation but the situation, as though some second impulse or need or message underlay the intimate touch, and Entreri's body buzzed with it without knowing for sure what it was.

Jarlaxle moaned and lavished attention with his tongue and lips to the back of Entreri's neck. His other hand glided into place, stroking Entreri's balls softly. Being able to touch someone so gently, to be allowed to access his definition of respect, affected him deeply. He shared this experience with Entreri. They were doing something together, not defending opposite positions.

A sharp gasp escaped Entreri, followed by a sharper moan. Having his neck kissed and sucked would have been enough, but the way Jarlaxle caressed his balls made shudders race through his body. "Yes," he hissed, unable to remain quiet, his nipples hardening with the flood of pleasure. He parted his thighs further, giving Jarlaxle more access, and felt the beads of moisture escape his tip and run down his length.

Warmth washed through Jarlaxle at that. "I will," he whispered. He massaged Entreri's balls gently with the extra freedom he had and stroked a little faster, more firmly. Entreri was hot against him.

Entreri's head collapsed back against Jarlaxle's shoulder, and he didn't even try to hold in his sounds of pleasure, moaning with each stroke. His hips shuddered, warning him he couldn't last much longer, and he panted, losing his breath. "Jarlaxle..."

"Yes," Jarlaxle said, emotion tugging at his chest. He didn't stop. As Entreri's pleasure heightened, he went slightly faster, accommodating the movement of Entreri's hips. He felt Entreri's balls tighten.

"Oh, gods!" Entreri's grip on Jarlaxle's thigh tightened, his lower back arching sharply as the added pleasure struck him. With a gasp, he came, and even before he had fully come back down, he realized he wouldn't—couldn't—let go of Jarlaxle. He slumped back against him, his free hand gripping Jarlaxle's other thigh almost possessively.

Jarlaxle wiped his hand and wrapped his arms around Entreri, shifting subtly to fit their bodies together. He shut his eyes and drank in the perfection. An emotion, recognizable this time, welled up inside of him. He'd never felt it towards another bipedal creature before: affection. He wanted to stay fitted together with Entreri. He wanted to pet Entreri. He wanted Entreri to feel good.

Entreri tolerated the position for a few minutes, the shifted around, toppling them over onto the bed and embracing Jarlaxle face-to-face. A lingering impulse to kiss Jarlaxle took over, and he gave in, capturing Jarlaxle's lips and telegraphing the sudden swirl of emotions inside of him—a complicated mix of positive feelings he barely could name. Despite his lack of experience, he realized he wanted to make Jarlaxle his lover in a way he'd never before attempted: someone who lasted more than a few one-night stands. Someone who was also a friend. Someone who perhaps might stay around longer than a few tendays.

Jarlaxle moaned and gladly reciprocated, mouthing Entreri's lips and stroking his partner's hair. He wove their bodies together again, entwining their legs. Entreri's heartbeat pumped out a cheerful beat, giving Jarlaxle extra information at this close range. His own body responded fundamentally to the sound, flooding him with giddiness. He was safe and happy in a way he'd never expected to be.

When Entreri finally pulled back, he pressed his forehead to Jarlaxle's. "Again later?" Then he specified: "Again tomorrow as well?"

"Again later, again tomorrow, again after that," Jarlaxle whispered.

"Good," Entreri said simply, pressing a quick kiss to Jarlaxle's lips as though to seal a deal.

Jarlaxle gave him an answering kiss.

With that, Entreri relaxed, feeling as though he'd secured what he needed to, at least to the best of his ability at the moment.