Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore 1)

“The whip worked best, because it really hurts, and you just stop being in the mood, but then I found those porn mags by accident, and I took them, and I couldn’t help myself. They made me so aroused, as if I had to make up for all the time I refused to think about sex. I’ve been found out, and they sent me here. The archbishop thought a remote village would keep me focused on my goals as a priest. You know how that worked out,” Adam said, listening to the dullness of his voice while the rain tapped above his head.

Emil hugged Adam more tightly and kissed his neck. “Do you regret it? Meeting me?”

A voice at the back of Adam’s mind said that he should. Without Emil, he’d have surely kept to his path, but there was no regret in his heart whatsoever. Only fear and uncertainty. “It’s one of the most important things that has ever happened to me. And I wouldn’t take it back even if I could,” he said, squeezing his arms harder around Emil.

Emil nuzzled his collarbone through the T-shirt. “I know you lost the whip, but you don’t hurt yourself anymore, do you?”

Adam swallowed hard. For many years, the whip had offered him a sense of safety, but he hadn’t missed it. “You know I don’t. You see me naked all the time.”

Emil chuckled. “And let’s keep it that way.”

It wasn’t clear if he meant no whipping, or seeing Adam naked often. Most likely both.

Adam closed his eyes and tied some of Emil’s long locks around his hand before bringing them to his face. They smelled of the earlier sunshine, and of smoke, and he longed to have that scent, the safest, sweetest aroma in the world, always clinging to him. “Let’s keep it that way,” he repeated in a soft voice, capturing Emil’s gaze.

The rain tapped the roof of the car in a calming rhythm that enhanced the beauty of the thunder growling in the distance. Something scratched on the metal, and the cawing that followed meant several birds sat on the car, standing guard.

Enclosed in the warmth of Emil’s arms, Adam felt heard. Unlike the priests who listened to his confessions, Emil offered him understanding. Support instead of prayer and penance. He never thought a day would come when he’d tell anyone his secrets in such detail, but he’d trust Emil with his life. They licked each other’s wounds and curled up in the safety of their den.

“I never had anyone I could talk to like this,” he whispered and touched Emil’s face, gently pulling him back. His shoulder blade slid off the backrest, and they shifted together until Emil settled on top of him, chests aligned so tightly it stole Adam’s breath away.

“You wanna wait out the storm in here?” Emil whispered, but it was a silly question, because Adam could’ve stayed there forever and never get bored.

He leaned in and rubbed his nose against Emil’s before pressing their lips together in a soft, chaste kiss that pinned him to the seat, as if he was an insect immobilized with a pin for Emil’s pleasure. “As long as you’re here.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Emil said between one kiss and another, sliding his hands down the sides of Adam’s body. They hadn’t done much sexually and had kept to touching, kissing, and watching each other jerk off as the ultimate pleasure, because that was the restriction Adam had put on their relationship. But he hadn’t expected that this shift in focus would mean he’d get to know every inch of Emil’s body, and that he’d be touched in unexpected places like in the armpits, or on his feet.

And he loved it. He wanted Emil to leave his scent everywhere, he wanted to mark him in return, until there was only one them. And he was desperate for it. “Take it off,” he asked, pushing at Emil’s open jacket. As soon as Emil rose off him, Adam yanked at his own top, briefly getting it stuck on his face.

Emil was just as eager to pull off his clothes and his chest was a marvel once uncovered. His pecs, his biceps and wide shoulders were stunning, but the overwhelming emotion in Adam’s heart was about how close he felt to this man, and how much he’d do to make him happy.

Emil chuckled. “Not afraid someone will drive into the woods in the middle of a storm just to find us?”

Adam shook his head. “Fuck them. Besides, nobody’s coming. It’s you, and me, and the crows,” he said when something scratched at the roof above. “You and me,” he repeated, his gaze trailing the tempting line of Emil’s throat. Dark hair cascaded down the shoulders, leaving Emil’s neck exposed, and Adam let temptation take hold as he leaned in, rubbing his face over the warm skin.