“At the very least.” Caelan’s voice dropped to a rough whisper, and he leaned in closer. His rough, chapped lips were so very close to Drayce’s. His hot breath brushing against Drayce’s skin, tempting him. “Are you scared of me, Drayce?”
“No, never scared of you. I’m scared for you, but I will never be scared of you, Cael,” he admitted without an ounce of hesitation. He closed the last couple of inches between them, pressing their lips together in a sweet kiss that was burning away all of Drayce’s caution and good intentions. Kissing Caelan set all of his common sense on fire.
He swiped his tongue along Caelan’s lower lip and had to swallow back a groan when Caelan instantly opened for him, welcoming him inside. Deepening the kiss meant pulling Caelan even closer, tasting his pain and heartbreak. Drayce wanted to pull all of that out from his friend and replace it with pure pleasure. He wanted Caelan to moan his name and cling to him like Drayce was the only thing keeping his world together.
A soft, needy murmur rose from Caelan, fueling the fire growing in the pit of Drayce’s stomach. Their tongues slid and tangled together. Caelan’s fingers gripped his shirt, tugging him closer, but they couldn’t get enough with so many clothes between them.
The idea of laying Caelan down and stripping all the damn clothes off them both was so very tempting. Cool air teased what little exposed flesh they had, but Drayce could keep them both warm. In the dark forest, they were hidden from the entire world. This moment was theirs to steal, and he wanted this part of Caelan that not even the gods could have.
Caelan broke off the kiss first, each pant buffeting Drayce’s damp lips. “We should return to the camp. Rayne. Rayne could be in danger.”
Fuck. That was a good reason.
“Promise me something,” Drayce said, loosening his hold on Caelan.
“What?”
“Promise we do this again, and maybe with less clothes.”
In the silence of the forest, there was no missing the hitch in Caelan’s breathing. “Yeah. Okay,” he agreed after a second.
With a great deal of reluctance and some inner grumbling, Drayce unwrapped himself from around Caelan so they could shove to their feet. From the corner of his eye, he might have caught a tiny glimpse of Caelan adjusting himself, and yeah, it was a nice confidence boost to think he affected the King of Erya like that. Of course, he needed to do the same as his dick was uncomfortably pressed against his own pants.
“Do you know which way it is back to the camp?” Caelan inquired.
Drayce took a step forward and frowned. He waved a hand in front of him. “Well, you sort of ran straight, which was handy, but this is just a dark mess.”
“Let me see if I can give us a clearer path.” Caelan lifted his hands, holding them in front of his chest. He was going to use his power from one or both of the gods.
Drayce reached out and placed his hand on one of Caelan’s. His heart was hammering and it was a struggle to keep his voice calm when he was inwardly freaking out. Caelan had just fallen to pieces over losing control of his powers. Was now really a good time to jump in?
“Are you sure?” he asked carefully.
They’d taken a step out of the square of light and most of Caelan’s features were lost to the shadows, but his friend caught his fingers and squeezed them. “I’m okay. I’m feeling in control again, and we need to return to Rayne.” There was something else in Caelan’s voice. It sounded like he was holding something back, but poking at him wasn’t going to get Caelan to cough up all his thoughts and feelings. He was the type who needed to work through things at his own pace. Drayce was the one who liked to spew out everything that crossed his mind.
“Yeah, he’s probably losing his shit worried about you.” He released Caelan’s hand and took a step away.
Caelan drew in a deep breath and held it for several seconds before releasing it in a steady stream. At the same time, he pushed his hands out in front of him. Something heavy swirled through the air, brushing past Drayce as it rushed forward into the plants and trees that hand sprung up from the power of the Goddess of Life.
As he watched, the trees directly in front of them parted in a line up the mountain for as far as he could see, revealing a darkening blue sky and clear ground. The forest parted under the power of the goddess, bending to Caelan’s will. It was both awesome and terrifying to see. What couldn’t Caelan do?
And what would happen when they reached the Dead God? It was becoming obvious that Caelan likely had more than enough power to resurrect or wake the god if that was what he was supposed to do.