Weasel Presents (8 page)

It took only a few minutes of rubbing before Benton had had enough. He reached for Jherik’s pants, sliding his thin arms inside the cougar’s larger ones and deftly undoing the fastenings. Jherik let him work without protest, and smiled when his pants slid down and he heard Benton’s soft breath. The fox touched him tentatively, then with more confidence, gentle fingers brushing down his sheath and up the long, hard member extending up from it, giggling and rubbing the stickiness at the tip and bringing the dripping fingertips playfully to his muzzle.

While he was licking, Jherik slipped his own paw down Benton’s pants and cupped his sac, then brought his pads slowly up the sheath, feeling a knot (
must be a canid thing
) already growing at the base of the fox’s erection. It fit comfortably in his paw, especially when he curled his fingers around it, which he discovered was a delightful way to make Benton moan and yip.

After the third time, Benton pushed his paw away, panting and giggling. “I’m gonna come all over your paw,” he said.

“That’s okay.” Jherik reached for him again.

“Don’t you wanna do something else?”

Jherik inclined his head. He brushed a finger around behind Benton, along the fox’s beautiful tail, and under it. “Like this?”

“Er.” Benton lifted his muzzle to lick Jherik’s nose, and stroked his erection with a paw. “I want to do that, and I think I could sometime, but...you’re pretty big.”

Jherik flicked his ears. “Oh. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You wouldn’t, if we did it right, but we don’t have the stuff. We’d need oils, and something to stretch me...what?”

“Is there something I don’t know about my brother?” Jherik stared at the fox. “How do you know so much?”

Benton lowered his ears. “I’ve been down to the Velvet Den. Haven’t you?”

Jherik shook his head again. “That’s the brothel?”

The fox nodded. “They have males and females. Not too expensive. Why didn’t you go?”

Jherik shrugged. “Marhik never went. I didn’t think it was proper for a noble.”

Benton smiled. “Well, I’ll be happy to give you the benefit of my experience. You can tell me if I’m as good a teacher as you are.”

“You’re doing fine so far. So...what should I do?”

The fox grinned at him and then guided him to the cot. “Lie on your back?”

Jherik obliged, stretching his bulky frame over the small cot. Benton knelt at one end, and lowered his nose to Jherik’s sac. The first few licks were familiar to Jherik, soft sensations traveling up his shaft and sheath, a smaller, more delicate tongue tracing lines of pleasure around his member. Then the tongue descended slowly, lifting the sac and venturing underneath, and Jherik felt its touch on the opening beneath his tail. He shivered in pleasure and let out a gasping moan.

“Mmm,” Benton said in reply, and licked again, pressing harder. Jherik lifted his legs and rump, stretching his thighs apart, doing anything he could to give the fox more room to lick. Every touch set his body tingling; it was a different and more diffuse pleasure than the strokes to his member had produced, but it was just as delightful and it made him feel as though he were floating on the cot in a dreamy, blissful state.

The warmth and rhythmic stroking seemed as though it would go on forever. The tongue pressed further into him, and he just wriggled more, moaning to the ceiling. He curled his toes, lowered them slightly and found fur, and rubbed the fox’s back, hoping it conveyed his feelings properly.

Benton smiled, lifting his muzzle. “Tell me if this hurts, okay?” he said softly.

Jherik saw the fox licking his paw, saw him lower it down between his own legs, and knew what was coming. “Go ahead,” he replied.

He watched Benton raise himself up, felt a brush at his tail hole, and then a pressure, a little harder than the tongue, and then much harder. “Relax,” Benton breathed, and Jherik tried, allowing the fox to slide inside him.

It was only mildly pleasant at first, but when Benton wrapped his paw around Jherik’s member and started to stroke in time with his thrusts, Jherik felt himself shudder in delight. “Ohhhh,” he moaned, and clutched the sides of the cot. He looked up at Benton and saw an expression of bliss on the fox’s muzzle as well. He felt as though he wanted to do more, but couldn’t figure out what he could do, so he lay back and let the waves of excitement shudder through him.

When Benton started to pant harder, and pushed his knot through Jherik’s opening, the cougar couldn’t restrain himself. He moaned loudly and felt his whole body tighten up. There was a low crack from the cot as he clenched it, but he ignored it and wrapped his legs around the fox’s waist, pulling Benton closer in to him as he arched his back and finally gave in to the ecstatic pressure, dotting his chest and stomach with splashes of his warm seed. His body convulsed over and over in pleasure, and when he finally lifted his muzzle, he was treated to the sight of a white-coated black paw on his member, above which Benton’s muzzle was hanging open as his body shuddered and released into Jherik. And it struck him that he was as genuinely delighted to see the fox’s pleasure as he had been to feel his own.

So this is what he meant, he thought, thinking of his books, and then opened his arms to let the exhausted fox fall onto his stomach.

He wrapped his arms around Benton. He couldn’t quite reach him with his muzzle, so he just stroked his shoulders and ears. The fox’s eyes were closed, and he didn’t seem to mind that his fur was now largely stuck to Jherik’s. He was smiling and nuzzling the cougar’s chest, paws rubbing his sides.

Jherik giggled as the black claws teased a particular spot below his ribs, and Benton opened an eye, grinning mischievously as he brushed the spot over and over again. “No no no!” Jherik laughed, squirming and clinging to the fox but unable to move him. “Hey, you’re stuck!”

Benton stopped and grinned. “It’s a knot.” He licked Jherik’s chest fur. “You never got tied with Mishel?”

“No. I never had anyone...in me before.”

“Oh.” Benton looked suddenly worried. “I thought you’d...I mean, I wouldn’t have if I’d known...”

Jherik hugged him. “I liked it. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.” Benton sighed.

“How much do you know about Mishel?” Jherik said cautiously a moment later.

“I think he comes from down south somewhere.” Benton murmured.

“I mean about him and me.”

“You came in that one time with him all over you,” Benton said in a low voice.

“But you said...it sounded like you know I’ve been seeing him a lot. Don’t worry,” he said, as Benton looked away. “I told him tonight that I don’t want to see him any more.”

“Really?”

Jherik nodded. “I...realized that he didn’t have what I was looking for.”

Benton exhaled and nuzzled him. Jherik stroked his ears. “So...how much do you know?”

Benton sighed. “He used to brag. In the barracks.”

Jherik found himself picturing the barracks building as seen from the grove of trees, and he suddenly remembered that the narrow windows in the mess hall looked out onto that grove. There normally wouldn’t be anyone in the mess hall that late. Normally. Putting that together with Mishel’s penchant for staying right at the edge of the grove, he found that he didn’t want to pursue that line of questioning any more. “Why didn’t you say something to me?”

Benton was quiet for a long time. Jherik kept stroking him, and eventually the fox spoke. “I didn’t want to say anything. Because I didn’t know if you knew, and I thought that I might only be telling you because I wanted to be with you too, and I thought you must know how I felt and if I told you, you’d just put it down to jealousy.” He sighed. “I don’t know. I was confused, and jealous, and I thought I’d never have a chance with you, especially next to someone like him.”

“How long...how long have you felt like that about me?”

Benton pressed his muzzle into Jherik’s chest and didn’t answer. Jherik rubbed him gently. “Benton?”

“I don’t know,” the fox said muffledly. “Your brother talked about you and how you were so sweet and passionate. He talked about how he envied that passion, and I thought you sounded like such a great person, and then you started feeling bad, and I just wanted to make you feel better. And then you spent all that time to teach me. That was so nice. So I guess it’s been either a year and a half or a few weeks. Depending on how you look at it.”

“Wow.” Jherik extended his claws slightly to comb through the fox’s soft fur. “I have some catching up to do.” It still bothered him that he hadn’t picked up on it sooner, but better late than never, he supposed.

Benton murmured something, and shifted his hips, his knot sliding through Jherik and out. Jherik shuddered at a final wave of pleasure, then took advantage of his mobility to lean down and kiss Benton again. “Come on,” he said softly. “I think we both deserve a good night’s sleep.”

“Yeah.” Benton grinned, and his grin grew wider as Jherik leaned over and scooped him up. The cougar managed to throw the lock, checked the hallway to make sure it was clear, then scooted across and into his own chambers, and shut the door behind him.

Yakua’s cot was empty. Jherik padded through the main room and slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind him with his rear. He leaned against it and sighed, and Benton hugged his neck warmly. He smiled, nuzzling the fox back, and the fox’s tongue sought his again. He met it gladly.

When they broke from the kiss, he lay Benton down in his bed, thinking about how often he’d dreamed of having someone share the bed with him. The thought kept him looking down, smiling, and standing, until Benton patted the bed impatiently, grinning. “All right, I’m coming,” Jherik said, and slid in next to the fox. They curled up around each other, embracing and nuzzling, and Jherik draped his tail across the fox’s rump, where it lay, perfectly still, until morning.

Morning intruded gradually upon his awareness. He yawned and stretched, and his arm brushed fur. Blinking, he looked over into a pair of amber eyes and a bright smile. “Hi,” Benton whispered.

“Mmm.” Jherik leaned over and kissed the fox on the nose. “You’re still here.”

“I wouldn’t dare leave.”

“How long have you been up?” He curled his arm around the fox, pulling him close. He could feel the slender body against his, but even the brush of Benton’s sheath against him wasn’t as pleasant as just feeling the fox in his arms. So he closed his eyes, nuzzled and purred, and curled his tail tightly around Benton’s waist. He was a bit sore from last night’s activity, especially where the fox’s knot had stretched him, but it was a good kind of soreness, almost like the kind that came from working out.

“A little while. I like watching you sleep.” He stroked Jherik’s chest. “Yakua came in a little bit ago. He said he’d come back when you were up.”

“Oh. He probably wants to know if he should pack my things.” Jherik opened his eyes and saw Benton’s looking back at him.
Best time to ask him, when he’s in my arms and can’t run away.
“So. I was wondering if you might want to come to Caril with me. You could join the city guard. Marhik said I could bring someone.” He hoped Benton would be more likely to come along if he could be useful.

Benton hesitated, then shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever be a good soldier, sir. Despite your excellent teaching.”

Jherik felt a tiny tremor of worry in his heart, remembering that the fox had refused to go to Caril with Marhik. Maybe that hadn’t been just to stay near him. Maybe last night had been just a good bye. “I’m sure there are some woodworking shops there. You could get an apprenticeship...” That was no good. Apprentices lived in their masters’ shops. He’d never see Benton. He searched desperately. “You’re a good valet. Maybe you could come with me and be my valet.”

There was a flicker of something in the fox’s eyes as he looked up into Jherik’s. “I wouldn’t want to put Yakua out of a job,” he said softly.

And then Jherik understood, or hoped he did. He held the fox tightly and said, “Then maybe you could just come with me? Please?”

The flicker grew to a light, and the fox’s muzzle slid back into a warm and easy smile, and he nodded. “I’d love to, sir.”

Jherik shook his head, forcing words out past the blossom of relief and love that seemed to be leaving very little room in his chest and throat for anything else. “Don’t call me sir,” he said, and to stop himself from having to talk any more, he lifted his muzzle and took Benton in a deep, long, satisfying kiss that put any he’d read about in his books to shame.

Jherik and Benton can be seen again in “Inside the Cage,” in
The Prisoner’s Release and Other Stories
, on sale in print from sofawolf.com and as an e-book.

The rooms at the Lonely Cock were everything the chambers in the palace were not: wooden, over-ventilated, dusty, and prone to bug infestations. They were also open to non-palace residents, the overriding consideration on the nights when Helfer didn’t feel the need to sneak a random piece of tail into his rooms. For the young weasel, waking up amidst the dust and scratching chiggers from his fur was a small price to pay for the warm body by his side, ready to start his day off right.

He poked the sleeping rabbit. “Norbert.” When the rabbit didn’t stir, he repeated the name, louder, and put a little more energy into the poke.

The rabbit grumbled and turned onto his side, away from Helfer. The weasel put a paw on the naked hip, under the blanket, and tickled fingers under the sleep-matted fur of the short tail. “Come on, Norbert. I’ve got to be back at the palace soon.”

“Mmf,” the rabbit said. “Norville.”

Helfer cocked a short, round ear. “What?”

“M’name’s Norville,” the rabbit mumbled. “Not Norbert.”

“Whatever.” Helfer reached around to the rabbit’s groin, fondling the warm sheath. “Wake up, little Norville, and let’s have a little fun before breakfast.”

Long ears twitched. “Listen,” the rabbit said, and then turned over onto his back and saw Helfer looking down at him. The weasel saw the slightly widened eyes and heard the rest of the sentence buried in the rabbit’s throat. “Uh, Lord Ikling,” Norville said, “I mean, it was a long night last night, and...”