Free to Love

"Thank you," he said gratefully accepting the offering. He needed to keep up his strength to look after his boy. "I have a question, Healer," he added, hoping his downward demeanour hid the colour he felt staining his cheeks. "The boy ... Roderick. Is he...is he yet a man?" He didn't see the smile on the Healer's face.

"He is slender, perhaps under-nourished," the older man said thoughtfully. "But I am certain he is not a child. I would think eighteen, or likely more, summers old."

"Thank you, Healer," Vidarr said. Now all he needed was for Roderick to awaken.

****

The next day, Vidarr was surprised to have Olfun as a visitor. The blond behemoth smiled gently at the still unconscious Roderick.

"The Healer is a good man. I am sure the boy will recover. You will then find your life is very different, my friend," he said.

"I don't understand," Vidarr said, genuinely puzzled.

"Decisions you have made all your life because they affected only you will also affect another now," Olfun explained. "I will say no more now as your mind is focused on the boy's recovery, but when he is stronger, come back and we will talk."

"I will do so," Vidarr vowed.

****

Vidarr was walking in the place between dreaming and wakefulness. He and Roderick were happy in their farm. When a quiet voice asked whether they were home, Vidarr simply replied:

"Of course we are, my love." Then the big blond's eyes flew open when he realised he had not heard Roderick's voice in his mind, but in his ear. He gazed down into exhausted, pain-dulled, but lucid brown eyes.

"Truly?" Roderick asked, trying to blink away his tiredness. "I last remember the ship."

"That was a couple of days ago, little one. You have been so very ill. So many times I thought you were drifting from me. You have the soul of a true warrior to have battled your way back to me."

"I kept hearing your voice," Roderick whispered, the tiniest of blushes colouring too pale cheeks. "You begged me to stay. I did not want to go."

"That was not all I said as you lay ill," Vidarr said, his voice dropping in timbre. "Do you remember?"

"You told me many times of your love for me," Roderick replied, his own voice becoming husky.

"And I...I love you."

"Thank all the gods," Vidarr murmured and pressed his lips gently against Roderick's. He kept an iron control of his body, content to simply nibble softly at dry lips. "Let me fetch you some water," he said realising his boy needed to drink. He grinned as he filled a cup from the nearby pitcher. Now that Roderick was recovering, he intended to ensure the young man savoured every moment of Vidarr teaching him about love.

****

It was a further two days before the Healer was satisfied with Roderick's progress and consented to let an anxious, hovering Vidarr take the boy home. The blond was grateful to Olfun for the loan of a small, sturdy horse so that Roderick didn't have to walk or Vidarr carry the young man. Vidarr smiled to himself as a thick cape from the Smith was wrapped around the slender man and the Healer's wife added a fresh loaf of bread and a stew to the horse's saddlebag.

When they arrived at his small farm, Vidarr carried Roderick inside and the young man surveyed his new home as Vidarr stowed away the food. He was on a pallet of furs that clearly made the bed. There were some benches and a table at the other end of the house where a fire was currently being lit by Vidarr. Roderick realised it was both heat and the means of cooking as Vidarr hung the stew pot over the flames. Roderick felt his breathing quicken as Vidarr stalked slowly towards him.

Vidarr came to lie next to the younger man and began a slow, soft exploration of Roderick's mouth with his tongue. He growled quietly in approval as Roderick hesitantly allowed his own slick muscle to slide into Vidarr's mouth. Their clothes vanished like the morning mist over the hills and naked bodies began to press together as the men's arousals grew apace. Vidarr positioned them carefully so that their aching spears could rub, their fluids making them slick. However, as the blond reached between Roderick's legs to seek out the tight rosette, Roderick tried to pull away.

"No...I am sorry...I should not have...You cannot. I am not clean, Vidarr. You deserve someone not tainted as I."

Vidarr could make little sense of the boy's protestations. He held Roderick tight, afraid the movements would hurt the healing foot.

"Be still," he commanded. He regretted the look of hurt in the brown eyes, but Roderick instantly quieted. Vidarr gazed down at the sad face and softened his tone. "I want no one else. It is you I desire, you I love. I have tended you naked and seen your body is unscarred, yet in your fever you begged your master not to hurt you. Tell me what he did. Tell me why you feel unclean. My love for you will not change, that I swear." He watched as tears slid down the angelic cheeks from tortured eyes, but was proud his lover-to-be did not shy away. He saw determination in Roderick's visage and steeled himself for what would come. "Speak to me, heart of my heart," he cajoled.

"I was a clever as a child," Roderick began, his tone wistful with memories. "I had been helping the local village teacher for some years, but was not progressing in my own learning. The local priest encouraged my parents to let him find me a teacher to whom I could be a secretariat. They could not afford to sponsor me, so this way was ideal. I would work as I would learn. It meant leaving home and I was very sad. My new teacher was in a town far from my village. He was a very clever man and I learnt your language, amongst others, from him. As time went by, I became more and more of an unpaid servant, my studies almost stopping. I found out later that he was drinking and gambling." Roderick paused, then spoke again.

"Men would come to his home and I would prepare food and drink and leave them each evening. They could be there several days. One man I detested particularly. His eyes seemed to denude me whenever they turned upon me. Other times my teacher would vanish for days at a time. I began to assist an old woman in herb-lore during these times. Then he told me that he was giving me to a new teacher. It was the man I had hated. I was taken even further away from my home. I found out that my teacher had been unable to meet his gambling debts and my new master had paid them in exchange for me." The young man's pain was reflected in his voice and he was grateful for the gentle hug from the big blond. Taking a fortifying breath he continued.

"His wife was away and he made me to strip. I had never been seen naked before, much less touched. I struggled and he forced me to my knees and began to slap my naked buttocks. He was hurting me and I begged him to stop. I felt his seed on my body. I was bleeding and he was angry as he wanted no sign of his touches upon me. After that he took more care with me. He designed the tunic I wore, telling his wife it would stop me trying to run away. I could see in her eyes she did not believe him. When she was away or when he would take me out he would strip me and either lie on me rutting like an animal or touch me until spilling his seed." Roderick's voice dropped to a whisper. "But as bad as that was, as painful as that could be, worse of all was when he tied my hands and touched my manhood, making it rise. He would touch it until I was on the cusp of spurting, over and over, until I finally begged him to give me release." Anguished brown eyes locked with compassionate blue. "I am tainted."

Even as he finished speaking, Vidarr's mouth closed over his in a long, slow, deep kiss.

"You said you have never been seen naked before this monster defiled you. You never lay with a man or a woman?" Vidarr waited for the shake of Roderick's head before continuing. "He forced his touch upon you. It was neither desired nor welcomed. You were not a seducer or an enticer. You were a helpless victim of his perversions. You are neither unclean nor tainted. You are, however, still a virgin," Vidarr husked, his voice dropping in timbre. "And it will be my pleasure," he kissed Roderick's eyes. "My privilege," he kissed the tip of Roderick's nose. "My right, as the man who loves you, to take and to treasure the gift of your virginity. To be the man who teaches you of love." He kissed Roderick's lips. "I think my heart was yours the first time we met. I knew for certain when my heart ached as I thought I would lose you. It was not just your beauty, but your strength, your courage that attracted me. I wish to share my life, such as it is, with you."

"Never leave me, Vidarr," Roderick suddenly begged, throwing slender arms around powerful shoulders. "All else I held dear is lost to me forever. I could not bear to lose you too. I love you."

"I swear it, my love," Vidarr replied. "I do so swear."

"Love me, Vidarr. Show me what it is to be loved," Roderick pleaded.

Never had the act of lovemaking held such importance to the blond. It had always been about the sharing of bodies and mutual pleasure. But this time...this time...it was so much more. He kissed his way along Roderick's jaw, to suck and bite gently as the young man exposed his throat to soft cries of need and pleasure. He licked his way to the large, dark discs that had held his fascination from the first time he had caught a glimpse of them. A cry of shock and joy escaped Roderick's lips as Vidarr nursed one succulent nub. To a low moan, Vidarr lavished equal attention on the neglected twin. Vidarr's pride rose exponentially with the swelling of his mate's manhood.

Abandoning his lover's nipples to a soft keen of distress, making sure to remember Roderick's enjoyment of having his breasts sucked, Vidarr placed open-mouthed kisses down soft, sweet flesh. He rubbed his beard over the hairless skin, making the dark-haired beauty writhe erotically under him. He devoured the sight of his mate's raised shaft. Unlike his own spear, this organ was slender, smooth and curved just slightly to the left. To Vidarr's eyes it was alluring, beautiful, perfect, just like the irresistible youth who keened softly, hips rising and falling hypnotically to the big man's avid eyes. Unable to resist, Vidarr's mouth engulfed the straining member and was instantly filled with his lover's living essence. The big man swallowed greedily, holding Roderick's hips still as the younger man convulsed and cried out in his completion.

Roderick could scarcely belief he had spent so quickly. With his master it had taken much attention to his manhood to make it rise, but Vidarr had succeeded with kisses alone. He had never known that touches to his breast could inflame his ardour and when Vidarr's hot wet mouth had surrounded his organ, he had been swept away by his outpouring passion. The sensation of Vidarr swallowing had served to increase his sensitivity and he had spent with a fervour he had never known. He moaned softly as he was finally released from Vidarr's rapacious maw. A swift movement and the big blond was lying between his out-splayed legs, his tongue demanding entry to Roderick's mouth. Lust and desire swept anew through the slender youth as he realised the salty taste in Vidarr's mouth was his own seed. He was left dizzy and panting as Vidarr moved from his mouth. Roderick immediately reached to bring him back.

"Vidarr," he murmured, hands grasping at broad shoulders, "Love you, I love you."

"And I love you, little one," Vidarr husked, peppering kisses to the sweat-sheened angelic face. "We are not yet finished, my love and I need this salve for us to continue."

"But I have spent," Roderick said confused, a small frown marring the perfect visage. "However I will do whatever you bid of me to help you achieve completion."

"All I need, little one, is for you to let me love you," Vidarr growled softly. He rubbed his beard over red, sensitised teats to a mewl of pleasure and an erotic wriggle from the smaller man. "The next time we make love you will explore my body and learn what pleasures me. But this time is for you. You and I will spend together, my sweet innocent," Vidarr whispered, undulating gently on the lithe body, letting his furred torso rub sensually against satin-soft skin. "And when we do, I shall be inside you, claiming you as mine." Vidarr's voice was like a whisper of dark silk against Roderick's ear and he felt Roderick's instinctive capitulation to his dominance. The smaller man's legs tried to drift further apart and Vidarr pressed between them, letting his mate feel the hard evidence of his desire.

"Want to touch you, Vidarr," Roderick begged. "Let me touch you?"

Although he had wanted this time to be all about his lover's pleasure, Vidarr could not resist the plea from Roderick. He rolled their bodies so that he now cradled the smaller man with his pelvis.

"Touch me," he husked.

Hesitantly a shaking hand reached to touch the dark blond fur of his chest. Roderick's fingers combed through the pelt till he found a thick, dusky-rose nub. Carefully he bent to lick experimentally at it, instantly looking for Vidarr's approval. At the amused smile, he grinned shyly then Roderick gathered his courage and sucked gently, pleased to hear the rumble of pleasure deep in the bigger man's chest. He gave his own purr as his lover's hand stroked gently through his hair.

Vidarr let his vocal appreciation show in groans and moans of genuine delight. Small, tentative nibbles, soft, sensual touches of hand and mouth were enjoyed as Vidarr felt Roderick worship his body. The big man felt his control slipping as his innocent brought him ever closer to fulfilment. He reached between their bodies and began to stroke the reawakened flesh at Roderick's groin. The smaller man thrust gently, tender cries escaping from his kiss-swollen lips.

"Vidarr, I ...I need...I need," Roderick moaned, unable to articulate what his body desired.

"I will ensure we both get what we need, my love," Vidarr promised as he caressed Roderick's cheek. "But you must trust me. I will need to touch you in a way similar to that of your old master. I swear to you that if you persevere, it will bring us both great pleasure, but if you feel you cannot continue I will stop."

"I trust you, Vidarr," Roderick promised solemnly. "I want you to teach me love."

"Lie back, beloved and spread your legs wide," Vidarr purred seductively, wanting to keep Roderick aroused to make their union easier on his beautiful boy. He watched with pride as Roderick obeyed, a shy look accompanying the wanton spread of smooth limbs. Vidarr picked up the jar of salve he had purchased from the Healer. It would grease his way as well as soothe any hurt inside Roderick's virginal body. He coated a finger generously and reached to simply caress the tight portal.

Roderick gasped at the feel of the thick, calloused finger at his entrance. He pushed from his mind the memory of unwanted fingers hurting him and focused on the tantalising touches of Vidarr. The slow circling of his most private entrance was sending frissons of pleasure throughout his body and Roderick began to relax. The finger moved to begin a gentle push against his tightly furled opening. Roderick moaned softly, trying to spread himself further and offer himself to his mate. Vidarr's mouth possessed his, pillaging the warm, wet cavern, seizing Roderick's submissive tongue to ravish leisurely. As Roderick gave himself into the kiss he barely had time to realise that Vidarr's finger was inside him before it began to stroke at his inner walls. Not allowing him time to react to the intimate invasion, Vidarr's teeth nipped sharply at his throat and collarbone, the small hurt, soothed by a soft tongue, proving enough of a distraction. A bite to a succulent nipple had Roderick arching and crying aloud and coincided with Vidarr sliding a second finger in the young man's tight sheath. This time, however, there was some resistance and Vidarr heard the soft whimper that was less pleasured as the younger man tried to accept the two thick fingers inside him.

"Relax for me, Roderick," he cajoled in a dark purr. "Open to me, let me inside. I wish only to love you." He continued his touches, feeling some tenseness ease.

"I...want...this," Roderick panted. "Want...you...to...love...me." The fingers were moving easier inside him.

"I will love you," Vidarr vowed. "I will love you with my heart, my mind, my soul and my body." He pressed a third digit inside the smaller man and again Roderick's body instinctively resisted. Not deterred, Vidarr delved deeper, trying to ignore the muffled mewls of hurt as virginal flesh was stretched. He curled his fingers, determined to find...

"VIDARR!!" The scream of his name had the Viking grinning with primal triumph.

Roderick had never felt anything like it in his life. It felt as though Thor himself was sending thunderbolts through his body. He could feel his hitherto softening sex begin to harden, even before Vidarr took Roderick back into his mouth. His slender body thrashed mindlessly, torn between pushing upwards into a warm, wet mouth or downwards onto the fingers that had touched such a magical place within him.

As Roderick was lost in his bliss, Vidarr liberally coated his spear with salve. He moved to withdraw his fingers and line himself up at the enticing portal.

"Relax as much as you are able, my love," Vidarr instructed. "Pain will give way to pleasure as you have already experienced." Vidarr guided lithe limbs over his shoulders, kissing each inner knee. As Roderick breathed out, Vidarr pushed forward.

Roderick bit back the cry of pain as Vidarr's long, thick, sword impaled his body. He panted shallowly as untried muscles stretched to sheathe his mate's flesh. He felt Vidarr still and sapphire locked with sienna until Roderick gave a small nod. Vidarr's spear slid deeper, Roderick's body ceding to the welcome invader.

"Let me love you, sweetness," Vidarr crooned. "Let me inside you." Inch-by-slow-inch, Vidarr sank into searing tightness until finally he felt his sac nestle comfortably against that of his mate. "You have me, beloved," he whispered.

"I...I do?" Roderick panted. "It...it is not...not so bad."

"Kiss me, love. Show me how much you want me," Vidarr growled.

Roderick's arms encircled broad shoulders as their mouths clashed together. This time, Roderick's tongue was the pillager, thrusting eagerly as it entwined with the older man's muscle. He was faintly aware of the gentle undulations inside his body as the bigger man rocked them. Then the same magic spot was touched and Roderick moaned into Vidarr's mouth, his eyes rolling back, as dulcet bolts from the gods once again wracked his body. Vidarr's movements became harder, faster, deeper and Roderick could do little more than keen his pleasure. Lights danced before his eyes, his body writhed in ecstasy and his manhood, trapped between their sweat-slick bodies, ached and throbbed with its need for fulfilment.

Vidarr could tell his beloved was close. Although he had shared pleasure with others in his bed, he knew that until this day, with this boy, he had never made love. Now he never wanted anyone else...ever. The experience was sublime, perfect, pleasing not just his body but his soul. His hips pumped faster, wanting to spill his seed with the dark beauty who gazed at him with the fire of love in his eyes. His hand searched out Roderick's slender spear to an impassioned cry from the smaller man. It was hot, hard and dripping with its need. He gave a squeeze and a twist and Roderick's scream echoed around the room. The young man's seed spread between them, anointing both their bodies. Vidarr groaned, low and deep. The clenching of the hot, tight scabbard around his weapon was more than he could bear. His bellow sounded and with a final, feral thrust, he buried himself as deep as possible before his living essence erupted into the spasming channel.