Page 95 of Threadbound

Jamie’s pulse hammered, frantic, beneath his ribs. He spoke the words to himself, not intending Bran to hear. “I wish.”

He twitched when a hand settled on one hip, but didn’t pull away, and another came to rest on the other side, then gentle, warm pressure against his spine, and emotion welled up in Jamie’s throat. It took three swallows before he could speak.

“I guess fae have really good hearing,” he murmured.

“Some of us,” came the answer, a slight vibration against his skin.

Jamie licked his lips, almost afraid to move, not wanting to startle Bran or make him pull away. “What would you do next, if I were fae?” he asked, almost swallowing the words.

He felt Bran breathe against him for a few moments, then the hands on his hips came around his waist, settling on hisstomach, and Jamie covered Bran’s hands with his own. He thought that had been his answer, but then Bran spoke again. “If you were fae, you’d turn around,” he said softly.

So Jamie did, his fingers sliding along Bran’s arms as he turned until they were facing each other, the much smaller fae looking up at him, his expression wary, but also something else Jamie couldn’t identify.

“Then what?” Jamie asked, heart in his throat.

Bran’s tongue, surprisingly pink against the starker colors of his lips and skin, darted out to wet his lower lip, and his deep green eyes bored into Jamie’s blue ones. His hands unclasped, sliding around Jamie’s torso until they slid up to rest on his chest. “Then I’d start undoing these buttons,” came the answer, and Jamie stopped breathing for a second.

Then Jamie nodded, and those fingers, which didn’t look like they were at all designed to undo buttons, deftly began unhooking them, starting at the top of the vest.

“Wait,” he heard himself say, and Bran’s fingers stopped. He didn’t know where this boldness came from, but he let it happen. “If you were human, I’d want to kiss you now.”

Bran’s hands relaxed back against Jamie’s chest. “Please,” the fae breathed.

Jamie bent, cupping Bran’s almost delicate face in his hands before capturing Bran’s mouth with his own. He’d meant it to be sweet and tender, maybe with a promise of something more, but the minute his lips touched Bran’s it felt like fire surged through him, and the kiss turned possessive.

Jamie was not a possessive lover. He had never been the one to push ahead, tending to follow instructions or assume a more passive position.

But this was Bran, and whether it was magic in his blood or the thread under his breastbone or just the fact that it wasBran, Jamie wanted it to be abundantly clear what hewanted. He nudged at Bran’s lips with his tongue, gentle but demanding, and Bran melted in his hands, those long, dark fingers tightening in the fabric of his vest as Jamie plundered Bran’s mouth.

Blood surged south when Bran made a small whimper, and Jamie kissed him harder, catching Bran’s lower lip with his teeth before letting it go, lifting his head to look down at the flush on Bran’s cheeks.

“What next?” Jamie breathed.

Bran looked almost startled, then refocused on Jamie’s chest. “I still havena finished with these,” he answered, fingers going back to undoing the buttons on Jamie’s vest.

Jamie waited, his hands resting on Bran’s waist, the feeling of the fae’s slight body comfortable under his palms.

When Bran had undone the last button, he paused just a fraction of a second, then ran his hands over the skin of Jamie’s chest and stomach. Those dexterous fingers paused at the waist of Jamie’s trousers.

“Next?” Jamie asked, breathless.

“I’d undo these,” Bran answered, the tips of two fingers hooking in the waistband.

Jamie nodded, and that was all the permission Bran needed, fingers just as nimble as they undid the placard at the front.

Fae didn’t wear underwear, and they hadn’t seen fit to provide Jamie with any, either. It hadn’t been his first time going commando, but he’d never in his life been more glad of it than when Bran’s fingers brushed against the semi-hard heat of his erection.

The pants were loose enough that Bran easily pushed them off Jamie’s hips, leaving him completely exposed.

Jamie had been naked in front of a lover before, but it somehow felt different this time, more raw, more real. Branmade a soft humming sound, then dropped to his knees, his hands on the bare skin of Jamie’s outer thighs.

Jamie gasped as Bran rubbed a cheek against the inside of his thigh, one hand coming down to grasp the fae’s feathery hair.

“Shit, sorry.” Jamie loosened his fingers.

“Dinna apologize,” Bran murmured, his breath teasing at the hypersensitive skin of Jamie’s half-hard cock.

“I don’t—” Jamie was having a hard time focusing. “Don’t want to hurt you.”

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