Sex Wizards - Mastery Ch. 11

Author's Note: Thanks for your kind comments all! I'm glad you're enjoying this so far. The remaining 10 chapters of this story are some of the favorite things I've ever written, so I hope you all like it!

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Sleep is a long time coming that night. Every time I close my eyes, I feel like Virico is waiting for me, lurking just on the other side of the veil between here and Quietus. Arlon is patient and understanding. He stays awake with me, fingers stroking my hair as he murmurs quiet assurances every time I jolt awake. Exhaustion finally catches up with me, and I fall asleep with his arms secure around me.

When I wake the next morning, I carefully extract myself from his grip. I'd wait for him to get up, but I have a feeling he'll sleep late today, and he deserves the rest. I don't know how long it took me to fall asleep, but Arlon was still murmuring quiet comforts to me as I did.

I've gotten rather good at sneaking around without waking him. I still take the time to set his clothes and robe out for him before polishing his shoes and setting them out under his chair. He hasn't ordered me to do it, but I know he appreciates it. I stoke the fire again and press a light kiss to his cheek before I leave.

When I head down to the mess, I'm surprised to find Allisande already up. It's only when I grab my breakfast and go to sit next to her that I realize she's been waiting for me. I yelp as she throws her arms around me, and barely manage to save my cup of tea from scalding my hand.

"Hell Allis, let me put my stuff down," I say through a laugh.

"Dom, I am so sorry," she says, and it's only then I realize she's crying. I swear and set my breakfast on the table before I pull her with me to sit on the bench.

"Hey, it's okay," I say gently and tilt her face up. There are bags under her eyes, and it's obvious she hasn't slept a wink. "I'm okay. Shit went sideways, but I promise I'm fine." It's not a lie, but it's not the full truth either.

She shakes her head, her red hair falling in front of her eye. "It was a bad idea from the start," she says. "Virico was the most vicious of them, and I still asked you to do it."

"I knew the risks," I say. "And I agreed to it anyway. It was a good theory, and it was worth it to try." It doesn't do anything to ease the guilt written on her face, so I say, "But I had another idea last night." She looks up at me and wipes the tears on her sleeve. "What if we track Isa?"

She blinks in confusion. "Who?"

"The mercenary that Diran hired," I say, equally confused now. I thought she'd be jumping at that, but I'm met with another blank look. "We caught up to her outside of the cave. Galiva interrogated her under enchantment. She told us she was working for him."

Allisande drags her fingers through her hair, frowning. "A woman?" she asks, and I nod. "Diran never let us out of that room except to bathe. There could have been a whole crew of mercs that we never knew about. I never saw her, but I think I heard her voice." I see her mind start to work behind those intelligent blue eyes. "I'm not familiar enough with her to try it."

"I don't know anything more than her face and her voice," I admit. "But Galiva questioned her. It might be worth asking her to conduit."

Allisande nods, and I see a little bit of hope break through her guilt. She wraps her arms around me again, and I return the embrace, holding her tight. "You know the last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you or anyone else, right?" Her arms tighten around me, her face buried against my neck. "I'm so sorry it went so wrong."

"I know." I press a kiss to the side of her head. "It just... shook me, is all. I promise I'll be okay." I tilt her head up and catch her lips to prove it, breathing in her quiet little sigh. "I know I say that I'll try anything twice - but I think you found the thing I'm only going to do once."

Allisande gives a wet laugh and kisses my cheek. "And I'd never ask you to try again," she promises. "No one should have to know what it was like in that cave." I see that darkness behind her eyes again, but she pulls away with a wan smile. "Thank you for the lead, Dom. I'll talk to Galiva."

"Good luck," I say and mean it. "Know that we all want to find him as bad as you do."

Allisande nods and rubs her tired eyes. "I know," she says. "And we will. I'm sure of it."

#

After I eat, I head towards Olbric's room. It's far too early for him, so I don't knock as the focus on his door clicks open to let me in. He'd given me permission to come whenever I needed to, and I sure need it now. I wasn't lying to Allisande when I said I was okay, but yesterday definitely rattled me. Arlon helped me through the worst of it last night, but all I want to do now is see Olbric.

I slip quietly into his room. He's lying on his side, curled up under his blankets, breathing heavy and slow. I put my robe over his chair and slip my shoes off before I slide into his bed behind him. He shifts just slightly, a contented little sigh escaping him as I drape my arm over his waist. It's warm and comfortable in his room, and I start to doze as I hold him. I'm not sure how much time passes, but the sun is up by the time he starts to stir.

"Hey," I murmur gently, so I don't startle him.

He lets out a quiet groan and stretches before he rolls to face me with a smile. "This is a rather nice way to wake up," he murmurs. He blinks the sleep from his eyes, and his smile fades a little. "What's wrong?"

I tell him what happened in the silver, and his eyes widen in horror as his hand cups my cheek. I lean into him and say, "I'm fine. Just... a little rattled, still."

"I don't blame you," he says. "Virico was a right delightful bastard from what I can remember. Was responsible for the black eye and the spit lip." I see the shadow cross his face, but he forces it aside with a smile. "I don't know how you do it. Divination scares the shit out of me."

I don't want to talk about Virico either. My grin comes out crooked. A small part of me agrees with him. "What happened when you tried it?" I ask.

Olbric gives a wry grin. "Learned I'm afraid of confined spaces and got a muscle cramp all at once. Margeurite was laughing so hard she had trouble getting the silver off me. Was not my proudest moment."

"Really?" I can't stop a laugh. "You're an abjuration wizard. Being confined is kind of what you do."

"At least let a man squirm!" He says it with such righteous indignation that I can't help but laugh. It persists until my sides start to hurt. I feel Olbric's grin as he pulls me close and kisses the top of my head.

I pull back so I can look at him, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. I'm struck again by how beautiful he is. Even disheveled from sleep, he makes my heart skip a beat when he gives me that look. He usually wears his thick black hair tied back, but it does something to me when he puts it down.

I slide my hands through it and grip gently at the roots before tugging his head back. His little gasp of surprise sends a thrill through me. "I could make you squirm today," I offer. Olbric shivers as I kiss down his neck before nipping gently. He gives a sweet little groan. Well, that's definitely encouraging.

"Give me a second to wake up first, then I'm all yours."

#

While Olbric gets breakfast, I seek out Alix. He's on the second floor of the abjuration tower, just a couple of doors down from Galiva. His door opens as I approach, and I hear Arlon's deep voice before Alix laughs.

The grandmaster steps from the room, and he goes to close the door before he catches sight of me. "Uncanny timing," Arlon murmurs, and I realize they must have been talking about me during their weekly check-in. "Good morning, Dominai. I didn't get a chance to see how you were feeling this morning."

The concern is still there, and I feel a little bad for leaving before he got up. I close the distance between us and have to lean up to kiss his cheek. "I'm fine, sir," I say, slipping into it even without the collar on. "Thank you."

Arlon grins. "I'm glad."

I try to shake it off. No good slipping into the wrong headspace now. My nerves are already squirming. "I'm casting an evocation spell with Olbric today."

Arlon's grin widens, and he squeezes my shoulders. "Then I won't distract you." He kisses the top of my head before heading off down the hall. "Have a good time."

I flush red, but before I reach Alix's door, he comes out of it. He pulls his robe on, displaying all five of his masteries on his sleeves. "I assume you're looking for a monitor, yeah? I'm in," he says and flashes me a white-toothed smile. Whatever conversation he and Arlon had seems to have put him in a good mood.

Well that's one worry erased. I was afraid I was springing it on him too quick. "Thank you."

Alix falls into step beside me as we head for the stairs. "What do you have in mind for a spell?"

I tell him, and he grins with obvious approval. "Ambitious, but I think you can do it," Alix says. "You're not planning on using beeswax, are you?"

"Gods no, it burns way too hot," I say. "I found some in the market with Galiva a few months ago. Haven't had a chance to use them, though I tested them on myself awhile ago."

"Good," Alix says. "It sounds like you're ready. Do you feel ready?"

I give a small laugh and run my hand through my hair. "Not really," I admit. I can't shake the feeling that I could seriously hurt someone with evocation. "Casting evocation scares the hell out of me."

"Well, you couldn't have a better conduit," Alix says. "Olbric likes pain more than your average evoker, and he's not afraid to use a stop if he has to. Though if you can push his limit, I'll be impressed." He shoots me a wry grin, and I realize that he's probably cast with Olbric before too. Can't deny that that's a pretty image in my head. "You'll do fine."

I return the grin and hope he's right. We make it to Olbric's usual casting room and find him already waiting for us. He's even got a fire started in the hearth to chase the cold from the room. He beams at me as we enter, and I feel the knot of anxiety release a little. Alix comes in behind us and closes the door before taking a seat in the spare chair.

"You're alright with Alix monitoring?" I ask.

Olbric grins and winks at the man. "And more, if you want."

Alix chuckles and leans back comfortably. "Nope. You're all Dom's today. I think you'll have more than enough fun without me."

I drape my arms over Olbric's shoulders. "Anything you don't want me doing?" I ask. In the past, he's asked me to avoid certain areas - whether they're sore, or he's saving the spot for a higher caliber spell.

"One small limit today," he says and rubs the back of his neck. "Don't cinch my arms up over my head. Cancassi tried it for an illusion spell a couple of days ago and it, ah, dredged up some bad memories."

I immediately understand why. It's how Virico dislocated his shoulder. I pull him into a kiss, and it's enough to chase the shadows from behind his eyes. "Got it."

Olbric smiles against my lips before I let go and head to the cabinet. I grab two coils of rope that I store in the pocket of my robe for now. Next, I grab the bedroll from the bottom drawer and lay it out on the stone floor. I'm all too aware of Olbric and Alix watching me, and I try not to feel foolish as I get everything set up. I scrape my fingers through my hair, trying to stamp out my nerves.

"Go ahead and strip for me."

"Oh, you want me to strip." Olbric turns his back to me before pulling his shirt off slow. He gives me a lewd look over his shoulder, and I can't help but chuckle.

"You're ridiculous."

"And you love it." He kicks his slippers off before shimmying his pants down, waggling his hips at me as he does. I press a hand over my grin as I watch him, trying not to laugh. He kicks his clothes aside before looking at me over his shoulder. I walk over and can't help but give his ass a little swat before I grab his arm. He melts against me as I stroke over his bare skin.

He shivers in anticipation, and it's a thrill to have him naked and exposed while I'm still fully clothed. My cock stirs even as I reach down to toy with his. His request not to have his arms tied up over him changes my plans a little, but I can adapt. I put my hands on his hips and walk him over to bedroll, fondling him all the way.

With a gentle nudge, he goes to his knees. I smile down at him, seeing the naked anticipation on his face.

After feeling so helpless last night, this is exactly what I need. For the first time, I feel ready to cast. To be in control. It's a heady, powerful feeling to have Olbric naked and kneeling in front of me. I tilt his chin up, my thumb brushing his lips. "Lay on your front."

Olbric does, and I can't resist giving his perky ass another little swat. I'm rewarded with a little yelp. "I have good news for you," I say as I pull the two candles from my pocket and set them on the ground out of his sight. "You get to stay untied for now."

"Oh really?" he says curiously, and I can see him trying to figure out what spell I'm weaving. I walk over to the fireplace and light both of my candles, one white and one black. I set the black one on the ground, but keep the white one in hand as I let the wax melt and pool around the wick. Then, I walk up behind Olbric before I drip the wax onto his back.

He yelps in surprise, arching a little on the bedroll before sinking back down with a groan. "Oh I see," he says.

I can't stop a grin. "Too hot?"

"No, not at all." He relaxes back against the mat, resting his head on his hands and closing his eyes. I kneel by him and hold the candle on it's side, letting the wax drip steadily over him. The closer I bring the candle, the hotter the wax is when it hits his skin, but Olbric just moans and curls his hands into fists. I kneel beside him and put my hand on his lower back to pin him as I bring the candle a little closer, dripping it onto his ass. He chuckles and kicks his feet against the ground, grinning from ear to ear.

His enjoyment is obvious, and for an evocation wizard like him, this amount of pain is probably just a warm up. Good thing this is just the warm up. After his back gets a good sprinkling of white, I grab the black candle. It's got a good puddle of melted wax built up, and I hold it about a foot over Olbric before I drip it onto the back of his shoulders. He gasps, arching a little off of the mat.

"I tested these, and turns out, the black burns hotter," I say with a grin.

"No shit," Olbric says and buries his face against his arm. I see him tense when more drips onto his back, making a pattern around the white. I aim for the spots I haven't hit yet and am rewarding with his endearing little twitches and gasps.

"Good thing you don't have a lot of hair or this would be terrible to get off," I tease and deliberately let a few drops fall onto the back of his thighs, where there definitely is some hair. Olbric chuckles into his arm and squirms as I get the soft underside of his ass.

I don't stop until he has a good coating covering his back and ass. I pick one cooled drop off of his side, and smile as he sucks in a breath. Underneath it, his russet skin is reddened even further. I grin as I peel another piece off before kissing the sensitive flesh. Olbric's groan is like music, and I blow what little remains of the candles out.

I stroke down his back, flaking off pieces of wax that I know I'll have to clean up later. The servants would do it, but I'm not about to make them sweep up all this. Ah well, it's worth it. I'm rather impressed with the picture I've made on his skin.

Olbric shivers as I pull away, and when he looks up at me, his eyes are glazed with pleasure. I grin and offer him a hand up. "Ready to keep going?"

Olbric raises an eyebrow but he takes my hand. He sheds more wax as he gets up, and I can't help but chuckle. "Some of it's being stubborn." I pick off a large chunk at the base of his spin and am rewarded with his quiet groan. "Guess we better find out a way to get it off."

"I bet you'll figure out something," Olbric teases, and I chuckle as I guide him over to the wall. I take one of the coils of rope from my pocket and tie it around his wrists. It's a simple abjuration bond, but it should suffice for the spell. If all goes well, I should get an evocation with a fire burst element to it.

As he asked, I don't cinch his arms up over his head. Instead, I turn him to face the wall and tie the rope through the little ring that's drilled into the wall at neck height. Once he's secured to the spot, I press against his back to pin him against the cold stone. He gives a breathy gasp as I grind against him, letting him feel my erection through my trousers. "Comfortable?" I ask.

"Very," he purrs.

I kiss his cheek, and in a moment of self indulgence, I pull the tie of out his hair, letting it fall loose. I'll be picking wax out of it later, but I don't care. I like how he looks with it down, and I'm the caster here, so I get to do what I like, right? I take a small step back and pull his hips away from the wall. My hands glide over his skin before I reach around and tease his half-hard cock.

Olbric moans and pushes back against me, angling his hips out in invitation. I chuckle and continue to stroke him until he's fully hard. Only then do I reach into my pocket and slide four focuses down his length. Olbric gasps as they spark, and I'm pleased that he's riled up enough to start charging them already.

"So eager," I tease.

"It's been some time since I've done wax," he says. "It's better now than I remember."

I chuckle and nip a clean spot on his shoulder before I step back to appreciate the view. The black and white wax makes a pretty pattern over his skin. "Godsdamn but you're beautiful," I murmur.

He rests his cheek against the stone and smiles at me over his shoulder. His hair has gotten longer, hanging nearly halfway down his back now. With it loose, it softens all of his angles. His limbs look slender, the curve of his ass pronounced. With his back to me, he could almost be a woman.

Heat shoots straight to my cock, but I shake off my distraction. I go back to the cabinet to grab Olbric's favorite flogger. It's heavy, with thick leather tresses that thud rather than sting. It should be good for getting the wax off of him and even better on the sensitive skin underneath. I let the tresses drag down his back and watch him shiver as his hands clench under the ropes.

I pull his hair over his shoulder before I press a kiss against his neck. My heart beats heavy in my chest. This is the part that scares me, but it's like he reads my mind. He opens his eyes and smiles at me over his shoulder. "You won't hurt me. I mean - you will, but I promise I'll forgive you."

I kiss his neck again before I take a couple steps back. I test the weight of the flogger and draw in a breath. It feels heavy as I lift it up and bring it down on Olbric's back. He gasps as wax cracks and flakes off of him. It feels like too much, too hard so when I bring it down again, I'm a little gentler.

"Unclench your jaw, Dom," Alix says, sounding a little amused. "It's supposed to be fun for you, too."

I give a small laugh and roll my shoulders, opening my mouth to stretch my jaw out. I'm probably grimacing like I'm the one being beat. Then I hear Alix behind me. "Just relax," he says. "I get it - you're an empathetic person. Hurting someone you care about doesn't exactly come natural, but I promise that you're not going to hurt him in a way he doesn't love."

I draw in a deep breath. "Right."

Alix pats my shoulder. "Try it again."

He steps back, and I draw in one more breath. I crack the flogger down hard. Olbric throws his head back with a shout of bliss as more wax chips off. "Harder," Alix says, and I bring it down again. "C'mon Dom, I know you got more in you than that." I swear and bring it down again, and Olbric's shout sends chills through me.