Volle (25 page)

“About a month now.” Volle closed the door behind him. “My name is Volle, by the way. Volle of Vinton.”

“I guessed you were a Lord.” The cougar shook the proffered paw and grinned. “I’m Xiller.”

“Ziller?”

“Close enough. It’s an ‘X,’ so you actually pronounce it ‘ch-ziller’.” He aspirated the ‘ch’ sound so that it sounded almost like a purr. “Non-felines have trouble with it though, so ‘Ziller’ works too. I’m used to both.”

“Ziller. K-ziller.” Volle tried a couple times and couldn’t the aspirated sound to work. “Oh, well. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same here. So, did you mean it about sharing the bed?”

Volle flicked his ears. “Well…”

“If you don’t, it’s okay, but I’d be okay with it. I mean, I wasn’t going to do the scaring thing, but when he pointed you two out to me, I thought you were pretty cute. And I guessed you probably liked males, ‘cause he said you and the weasel were sleeping together. So I thought, what the heck? Maybe I could meet a couple other people. And honestly, if I slept another night with that rat I think I might tear his throat out.”

Volle watched his claws flex as he said that, curved lethal daggers springing from those soft paws, and shivered. “I’m not sure that would be a huge loss.”

“Maybe not, but I think it’s bad form to kill your host.”

“I sure hope so!”

Xiller grinned. “You don’t have anything to worry about, unless you suddenly become about five times pushier.”

“Tell me about it. How did you end up with him anyway?” Volle leaned against the bed.

The cougar shrugged. “I showed up day before yesterday, stayed in an inn that night, then they moved me in here once I got my paperwork. I shouldn’t have said anything about being gay, but he started talking about it and …I dunno, I’m not that clever. Just said whatever came to mind.”

“Well, you’re welcome to sleep here, in the bed or on the loveseat, or wherever. I promise I won’t touch you unless you ask.”

The cougar gave him a searching look, then walked slowly over to him and placed both his paws on the towel. His muzzle lowered until it brushed the top of Volle’s and his feline scent filled Volle’s nostrils. Hazel eyes met amber, and feline lips pulled back in a slow smile. The towel fell away from Volle’s hips as if of its own accord. The cat purred. “What if I touch you first?”

Volle slid his paws around the supple midsection, between the leather shorts and the hard leather chest plate. He brushed his nose against the collarbone, inhaling the scent of leather, cat, exertion, and desire. The paws on his hips pulled him close, pressing his body to the hard leather and hard muscles, and when he felt a warm breath and the brush of a tongue in his ear, his knees buckled and he felt exactly like a character in a P. Zinsky book.

Xiller chuckled, softly and deeply, and supported him. “You can touch me whenever you want,” he whispered into Volle’s ear.

Volle exhaled slowly into the tawny fur. “You’re nice to touch,” he murmured, and then mentally kicked himself. Could he have been less original? But Xiller didn’t seem to mind.

“You too.” He pushed his fingers through Volle’s thick fur. “Not many foxes where I come from. No gay ones.”

“Pity.” He drew his claws through the exposed fur on Xiller’s back, and rubbed the base of his tail.

“Mmm. I didn’t know what I was missing.”

Volle laughed, and gave the top of the cougar’s broad chest a lick. He tried to step back, and the big paws parted slightly to allow him to. Their eyes met again, both muzzles smiling, and Volle said, “Mmm. I should really get dressed so we can go to lunch.”

“What’s the hurry?” One paw slid smoothly around to cover Volle’s sheath and erection, which was quite full again.

“Ooh. But I’m hungry.”

The paw kneaded slowly. “I can give you something to eat.”

Volle grinned, pressing slightly into the paw. “With a cream sauce?”

“Oh, I think so.” The paw rubbed more firmly up and down, and Volle let his tongue hang out.

“Okay, okay. If you insist…”

Xiller chuckled. “Hey, you got done once today already. I just got worked up.”

Volle managed to get the armor unbuckled from the cougar’s hips. It dropped to the floor with a thud, revealing a pair of linen undershorts that were stained with sweat and musk. They did little to hide the large bulge of the cougar’s arousal, which jutted up through the thin cloth. Volle grinned and slid the shorts carefully down, remaining on his knees, at eye level with the sheath and protruding member.

He looked up and saw the cougar’s warm hazel eyes and soft smile. Gently, he reached up with a black paw and brushed his fingertips down the long pink member, the soft white sheath, and the compact white-furred sac that hung below it. One of Xiller’s paws came to rest between his ears, pushing the soft fur back and forth, as the cougar purred in reaction.

Volle reached up again; even kneeling up, he had to pull the long shaft down slightly to angle it for his muzzle. His paw closed around it, feeling the thickness—unusual for a cougar—and the warm softness of the skin. The tip was already dripping with the cougar’s excitement, but Volle took his time licking it clean, with little darts and licks of his tongue. Xiller squirmed and moaned, and the lashing of his tail quickened.

When the tip was clean and glistening with nothing but Volle’s saliva, the fox took pity on the moaning cougar and gave the long shaft several long, slow licks. The paw atop his head relaxed somewhat and the moans became deeper, then louder as he held the cougar’s erection still and slipped his muzzle over the tip. It was the first time he’d felt a cougar’s penis with his tongue, and feeling the ridges around the tip that he knew from previous matings was an interesting sensation. He explored them with his tongue for a bit, and judging from the sounds he made, Xiller didn’t mind his interest.

The whole length was too long to fit entirely in his muzzle, but he could stroke up and down with his paw as he moved his muzzle up and down. With his other paw, he held one of Xiller’s thighs, which was so large he couldn’t get his paw even halfway around it. He felt the muscles shift and twitch as the cougar’s arousal grew, and the paw on his head clenched tighter, pushing his head up and down with the rhythm he’d started.

Volle didn’t know if Xiller was naturally quick to come, as many felines were, or if he’d just gotten himself very worked up this morning, but he felt the contractions in the cougar’s legs and shaft and only had a moment to prepare himself before his muzzle was pressed down hard on the cougar’s spasming length and salty fluid coated the back of his tongue. He swallowed and licked for more, using his paw to brace his muzzle so that he didn’t get the whole shaft pushed back into his throat. Xiller was moaning and pressing hard on his head now, convulsively, and the cougar’s legs were spread far apart for balance.

Volle kept stroking and licking until he felt the cougar’s body sag and relax. “Oh, oh, fox,” he was panting, “I needed that. Wow.”

Volle slid his muzzle off the dripping shaft and licked his lips. “Mm. I enjoyed it.”

“Oh, me too.” He dropped to his knees and pulled Volle into a tight embrace, nuzzling him hard.

“Oof. Careful with the squeezing there.”

“Sorry.” Xiller grinned and gave Volle’s nose a lick.

“So, want to grab some lunch in the dining room? I could make all the women and gay nobles jealous.”

Xiller laughed. “Sorry. I’m not supposed to be in busy public places. And I have briefings all afternoon and dinner after that. But I’ll be back this evening.”

Volle flicked his ears. “Okay, I’ll be here. What exactly are you doing here?”

The cougar’s smile wavered a bit. “I can’t really tell you. I’m doing secret work and I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

“All right, all right.” Volle smiled. “Get your armor on and go ahead.”

Xiller kissed him and stood up, stretching so Volle could get a good look at him, and Volle took advantage. The cougar’s tawny fur came down his back and around his hips, covering his legs below a ‘V’ of white fur on either inner thigh. The white rose up around the area Volle had just become familiar with, over his tight stomach, and disappeared below the protective chest plate. He wore leather pads on his knees and elbows as well, and a pad around his foot that protected the top of it, leaving the bottom free for better mobility.

The rear was just as nice, Volle saw when he turned. Xiller’s black-tipped tawny tail waved back and forth, more expressive than Volle’s was. Below it, his nicely shaped rump tightened up when he bent over to retrieve his shorts. Volle whistled appreciatively, and Xiller turned to glance at him with a grin as he stepped into his shorts. He made a show of wiggling his rump, tail held high, as he pulled his shorts up.

Volle went to his wardrobe to get some clothes of his own. His selection was the largest it had ever been, thanks to a visit to Helfer’s tailor as well as the palace tailor dropping off more clothes every now and then. He selected a silk shirt and trousers that were among his more expensive clothes, just because he felt like dressing up.

“That looks really nice.” He turned to see Xiller watching him, armor back in place.

“Thanks.” It seemed at that moment as though he’d known the cougar for ages, and they were just starting another day in their life. The next moment, the sensation passed and he remembered that he’d known Xiller for an hour or two at most.

“So…I can just come back here, right?”

“Sure.” Volle smiled. “Welcis sleeps in the sitting room. If I’m not here I’ll be out with Helfer, but I’ll be back before too late.” He was already thinking that he might limit his pub visit to one drink or skip it altogether.

“Okay.” The cougar stood indecisively for a second, then padded quickly over to Volle and licked his nose. “Bye.”

And as quickly as that, he was gone.

Chapter 11

After a short rest, Volle brushed himself off and walked down to the dining hall for lunch. The group of lords that usually took lunch in the hall was more familiar to him now, and he sat down and talked comfortably with some of them about palace politics and the upcoming events. If they noticed his slightly dazed manner and occasional inability to follow the conversation, they didn’t remark upon it.

He’d scheduled a meeting with the Secretary the previous week to discuss sitting in on some of the councils, but it was only with Welcis’ help that he remembered it. He found his way to the Secretary’s office easily and sat in the anteroom for a while, thinking about Xiller. It wasn’t until one of the assistants cleared his throat that Volle realized he’d been sitting for about half an hour.

“I’m sorry, but the Secretary is very busy today. He should be back any minute.”

Volle nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll wait.” It was odd, though. He’d met with some of the ministers and functionaries half a dozen times or so, and even the hyper-busy Alister had never kept him waiting more than ten minutes.

He was more than willing to lose himself in thoughts of the cougar, but the thought of Alister reminded him of Arrin. He chewed his lip thoughtfully, wondering whether it wouldn’t be best just to avoid the fox for this time. After all, Xiller would be gone in a few days, and it wasn’t going to be anything long-term. Arrin might be worried about him if he knew, but Xiller himself was apparently trying to keep a low profile, so the chances of anyone finding out he was staying with Volle were pretty small.

Dereath would know, though. And he wasn’t above telling Arrin, Volle knew that already. If he’d been angry at Xiller for how his childish attempt to get at Volle and Helfer had turned out, Volle could only imagine how he felt towards the two of them now. So he had to expect that Arrin would find out somehow. He sighed. Maybe he should just send Xiller to stay somewhere else. Helfer’s wardrobe would probably do. That would be the safest solution, to keep things right with Arrin.

Except…except Arrin had never made his knees feel weak.

Xiller’s energy and simple joy in life (yes, and his libido, which seemed a match for his powerful muscles) were refreshing and delightful, and a stark contrast to Arrin and Ilyana’s seemingly endless courtship rules and protocol lessons and etiquette guidelines. Volle was extremely reluctant to give that up. He felt that after dealing with the other two, he deserved a bit of liberty, some fresh air, and a little freedom. After all, he hadn’t made any commitments to anyone yet.

And there was also the fact that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the cougar. Even the impressions of him from the attack in the garden had been leached of the fear they’d initially contained, and now all Volle could think of when he brought the incident to mind was the warm press of muscles against him, the paw creeping up his leg and grasping him gently, the tail like something alive and independent, tugging at his paw.

Maybe he’d talk to Helfer tonight and see if he had any advice, then just wait and see how the situations played out.

”Lord Vinton?”

He looked up from his reverie to see the golden fur of the Secretary. “Oh. Mr. Secretary.”

“Please, I told you, it’s Prewitt. I can’t stand those titles.” He smiled and extended a paw. “So sorry for the delay. Come into the office?”

Volle nodded and shook his large paw, then followed him into his office. Prewitt sat down behind his desk and waved Volle to his seat. “Now, you wanted to talk about sitting in on some councils. You’ve been here about a month?” He shuffled a few papers as he talked, sliding a couple out of sight very discreetly, but Volle noticed.

“Yes. I’m starting to pick up on what’s going on, and I’d like to get more involved. I think I could follow the Taxation council well enough, and I’d like to sit in on Defense.”

“Hm.” Prewitt scratched his muzzle. “I’d have thought Agriculture would be more natural, given your background. I think you’re in a unique position to offer some insights into the farming community, since you grew up on a farm. Not many nobles have that pedigree.” He laughed. “In fact, I can’t think of one.”

Volle joined his laugh. “I’d be happy to help there. I was interested in Defense, though.”

“Why is that?” The bear was still smiling, but his eyes were more serious as he examined Volle.

“My father died fighting the Ferrenians, and they as good as killed my mother, too. I’ve picked up a bit of the history of Tephos, and I know they took the Reysfields from us. I want to help make sure they don’t take any more.”

He’d used variations on that speech enough that he could put his heart into it. Prewitt leaned back and nodded. “Very interesting. Yes, I think we could arrange for something. I’ll have to talk to Lord Fardew, of course; it’s his council. You don’t have a lot of experience, but experience can be acquired. Enthusiasm is more rare and precious. Yes, I think that will work out fine.”

“Thank you, Prewitt.” Volle wouldn’t allow himself a smile of relief.

“It’s interesting you should mention that. I learned just now that you have a guest in your chambers. I was debating whether to ask your guest to move to a more discreet location. But I think it will be fine. I do want to ask you not to discuss your guest with anyone at the palace.”

“How did you hear about that?” Volle’s eyes had widened, and his ears had perked straight up.

“Dereath, of course. Very clever rat, but if he’s not careful, he’s going to cripple himself with his emotional problems. That’s just between you and me. He couldn’t find Fardew, so he came and told me.” Prewitt laughed. “I told him that there wasn’t much I’d be able to do about it. I think he wanted me to bodily remove your guest back to his chambers. I told him that Fardew was in charge of that, and that Fardew wasn’t going to be too happy that Dereath had exposed…well, that you and Lord Ikling had seen him.”

“What’s he doing here?”

The bear shrugged his large shoulders. “Search me. Fardew has him in, but he just filed the paperwork with me because it’s his department. Anyone in there could have sent for him.”

“Could Dereath?”

Prewitt laughed. “Not likely. Dereath’s just an assistant. I’m sure he volunteered to host when he met the guest.”

Volle chuckled. “Probably. Knowing him.”

“Do be careful of him, though, Lord Vinton.”

“Please, call me Volle.”

“Volle, then. Be careful. He is clever, as I said, though as you noticed today, somewhat immature and prone to impulsive acts. He could easily do some harm.”

Volle nodded. “I’m trying, but I think we got off on the wrong foot, and I don’t really know how to mend that.”

“I’m not saying you have to mend fences. Just watch your step. Hopefully he’ll forget and get caught up in some other new thing that gets in his fur.”

“I hope so. I don’t think he was very happy that his…guest moved out.”

Prewitt shrugged his massive shoulders. “Brought it on himself, no doubt. I don’t know what happened,” he held up a paw, “and I don’t want to. Just be discreet, like I said.”

“Okay. He doesn’t seem to have much inclination to go outside anyway.” Volle’s ears flicked as he realized that that could refer not only to Xiller’s being discreet, but also to him being happily occupied in Volle’s chambers.

Prewitt either didn’t get the second meaning, or didn’t care. “Good. He’s supposed to be discreet; I just didn’t know about you. Nice to know we can count on you.”

“You can.” Volle felt good about building his reputation as someone trustworthy. And he was apparently involved in an intelligence operation, if only peripherally, so that could only help his standing. Maybe in the future he’d be let in on more secrets.

“Is that all? I do have some things to get back to.”

“Yes, I think so. I appreciate the time, Prewitt.”

“My pleasure, Volle.” They shook paws, and Volle left the office.

He wandered slowly through the palace, having a few hours to kill before dinner with Helfer and nothing in particular to do. In the wing by the Goat stair, he found an open door to a large room that proved to be a library.

For a while, he perused the books, and skimmed one on the history of Tephos. By and large, it gibed with what he’d been taught, though he was amused at the depiction of the Ferrenians as the villains in all the confrontations. Two nobles came in while he was reading and set up a game of chess, which he soon put down the book to watch, as they didn’t seem to mind his attention. He’d played it occasionally in the academy, but wasn’t sure whether as a farmer’s cub, he would be expected to know how, so he didn’t comment on their play, which he judged mediocre. He would have to get Tish to ‘teach’ him so he could legitimately play later on.

When his stomach started rumbling, they were deeply engrossed in their third game. He excused himself and returned to his chambers to see if Welcis had any messages for him.

“Nothing today, sir. May I inquire whether his lordship has come to a decision on the disposition of tomorrow’s dinner?”

“Not yet. I need to think about it a bit more.”

“Very good, sir.” Welcis’s tone seemed a bit stiffer than usual. “Will his lordship’s guest be requiring any special amenities?”

“No, thank you.”

“Then, with his lordship’s permission, I would like to retire for the night.”

“Yes, certainly.” Volle waved a paw. “I’ll be back after dinner, but I’ll be okay.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Volle stood for a moment watching the skunk. It was clear that he didn’t approve of Xiller staying in the bedroom, but Volle wasn’t sure whether to ask him directly about it or just let it go. He decided that he had enough to worry about without getting into a discussion about it. If it persisted, he would ask Welcis about it later.

Helfer was in good spirits when Caresh let him into the weasel’s parlor. “Hey, Volle! Come and have a seat. My good man Burren just sent up a case of mead, and I’m keeping it here, not in the palace cellars. It’s smoother than last year’s even. You must try it.”

Volle grinned, sat, and obligingly took the cup that Caresh handed to him. He lapped it tentatively, then took a sip. “Nice. Apricot?”

Helfer nodded and sighed. “My favorite.” He took another drink and looked at the cup tenderly. “I may not get out to the pub tonight.”

“Yeah. Me neither.”

Helfer’s ears snapped up. “Really? I was kidding.”

“Well, see, I’ve got sort of a guest…”

“You sly fox. How’d you sneak him in?”

Volle blinked.
Sneak him in?
Could Helfer know about the secret passages? And then he remembered the weasel’s sudden disappearance. He hadn’t known about the other passages then, and now it seemed very likely that Helfer knew about one, maybe even had one in the room.

“I didn’t,” he said casually, watching the weasel. “I’d need some sort of secret passageway for that, wouldn’t I?”

Helfer just stared at him for a moment, then sat back. “No,” he said, taking another drink of mead. “You could bring him in in a carriage or something.”

“And is that how you do it?”

Helfer got a quirky smile on his muzzle, and tapped a claw on his cup. “All right, look. I’m going to share a secret with you. Even my parents didn’t know about it. I think. Caresh knows, but nobody else but me does. Come on.”

Volle followed him into the laying room and then into the wardrobe, where the weasel shut the door and dropped a bar across it. “It’s here in the back. Close your eyes, would you please?”

Volle saw him set down his cup on a chest, then closed his eyes. He heard a click and a soft creak, and then smelled mildew and felt a cool breeze across his whiskers. Helfer said, “You can open ‘em.”

The back corner of Helfer’s wardrobe had swung out to reveal a passageway. It was dark and dank, and from what Volle could tell, it dropped down immediately. Helfer was watching him nervously. “You can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”

Volle nodded. “Sure. How did you find it?”

“Messing around as a kid. I don’t think it was anything but a storage room before my parents put me in here. I never told them about it. I did sneak out a bunch, though.” He grinned sheepishly, but with pride as well. “They wouldn’t ever take me out to the town, so I had to explore by myself.”

“Wouldn’t buy you any Zinsky books, either, would they?”

Helfer grinned. “By luck, there’s a book merchant three doors down from where this comes out.” He swung the door closed. “So I still use this to go out sometimes, when I don’t feel like being bothered with guards and papers. And when I might want to bring people back.” He leaned against the door. “So how did you get your guest in? Is there another passage?”

Volle shook his head, feeling slightly guilty that he wasn’t returning Helfer’s confidence. “No, he was already in the palace. It’s, well…it’s the cougar.”

“The one that attacked us?”

“Yeah.” Volle flicked his ears. “He came back to my rooms…he’d been staying with Dereath and wanted out, and so I offered him my bed. I mean, my rooms. Well, it ended up being my bed, too.” He grinned.

Helfer’s expression was half a grin. “Are you sure it’s safe? And what about Arrin?”