Chapter Text
Numair stood at the side of the palace ballroom watching Daine twirl about with a young man that could easily have been him fifteen years ago: tall, lanky with black hair and brown eyes. The mage hated the young man instantly. He knew nothing about him: where he worked, family connections or his reputation but Numair hated him because that boy was dancing – and clearly flirting – with his beloved Wildmage while all he could do was watch. Although from the bored expression on her face the young man’s efforts seemed to be falling on deaf ears which made Numair feel marginally better.
When the mage had turned forty at the beginning of the year it had felt more like a death sentence than meeting a milestone. When he’d first discovered his attraction for his young friend at thirty, he’d felt like a lecherous old man. Now a decade on, Numair was still as in love with Daine if not more so and no amount of distance or work could keep his thoughts from her. As the saying went: absence made the heart grow fonder. The lines on his face and white hairs seemed to keep multiplying every year reminding him of how much older he was getting while Daine was growing more gorgeous every day. The idea of trying to court anyone now, let alone the love of his life, felt utterly ridiculous.
The last woman Numair had taken to his bed had been lady Jehannette. She’d possessed the same build and wild curls as his Wildmage and had been very accommodating. What was worse, was that after their first time the lady had known he'd bedded her and thought of another women. While the mage didn't think he’d cried out Daine’s name it had been utterly mortifying because lady Jehannette had been perfectly happy with the arrangement, having wanted someone skilled to warm her bed without any romantic entanglements.
For two weeks Numair had lost himself in the fantasy being with his Wildmage until the lady returned home and the inevitable guilt had nearly swallowed him whole. He’d sworn to never do that again and tried to ruthlessly bury himself in his work, ignoring anything his body desired which unfortunately included food, rest and exercise more often than not. Numair was trying to resign himself to the life of an elderly scholar, as worn and aging as some of his most precious books. One day soon Daine was going to marry and start a family and the mage hadn’t quite figured out how to survive that eventuality. It could well take him another decade to recover from the heartache before he began mentoring her children.
The dance ended and Numair fidgeted trying to decide if it would be considered appropriate for a teacher to request a dance with his former student. He and Daine had danced on several occasions in the past but the mage no longer trusted himself to respect the boundaries of their friendship while he held her. The decision was made for him when another young man approached the Wildmage and swept her back onto the dancefloor. Numair bit the inside of his cheek drawing blood having heard that young man bragging to his friends earlier that he could get into her loincloth tonight. The mage wondered if he could get away with orchestrating some sort of accident for the young man and instantly dismissed the idea. He really should stop torturing himself and just return to his rooms and lose himself in a good book before Numair found himself heading towards the cellars to drown his sorrows. The weight of the gold locket on his left wrist was a very uncomfortable reminder of his unrequited love.
When the dance ended a page approached Daine and handed her an unsealed note. The mage frowned in concern when her face turned deathly pale while she read it. He was a heartbeat from going to her side when she looked up at him with an unreadable expression on her beautiful face. Numair swallowed hard wondering what terrible news the note contained when she shot a glare towards their friends before storming across the dancefloor in his direction.
“You dolt!” the Wildmage snapped.
The mage blinked in surprise but before he had a chance to ask what he’d done to deserve her ire; Daine grabbed a fistful of his shirt and kissed him full force.
Numair’s brain shut off.
It took him far too long to register what was happening before his heart and body took control and he was kissing her back fervently. The mage’s mind was still floundering, his awareness centred on the feel of Daine’s lips, the taste of her warm breath and all the places their bodies connected. Eventually they had to break for air although breathing wasn’t high on Numair’s list of priorities.
“You should have done that years ago.” The Wildmage clung to him with flushed cheeks and bruised lips.
“Daine, I...” His mind screamed at him as a shattering realisation of what he’d just done hit him hard. “How did...?”
“I got a note from Alanna saying I should kiss you and put you out of your misery,” Daine informed him practically. “Just how long have you held a torch for me and said nothing?”
Numair felt the heat rush to his face while his mouth worked silently not knowing how to respond. He was horrified Alanna would reveal his feelings for Daine so tactlessly but overriding that was the sheer terror of how the Wildmage would react to the depth and duration of his feelings for her. Did she understand he desired more than just sex?
“If it's half as long as I have then we're both idiots!” Daine scowled at him.
The mage stared at her wide-eyed unable to connect the dots on that last sentence. The words ricocheted around his skull and he was grateful his jaw wasn’t hanging open. Daine loved him?
“If you don't take me to bed right this second then I'm going back to my room to find my own relief and cry out your name half the night”
Numair’s mind went sideways not sure if the world had shifted on its axis or if someone had just broken reality while he imagined her doing just that, and any rational or honourable part of his brain died as pure lust took over.
“Right,” he choked out.
The mage looked up catching sight of his friends’ reactions before meeting Alanna’s gaze as she held up her goblet in salute, purple eye’s sparkling with mirth. Numair was uncertain whether he should be furious with her or owe her some sort of life debt. He settled on temporary gratitude and nodded his head before allowing Daine to drag him away, realising belatedly they were headed towards his rooms. His bed was certainly bigger than the one in the stables but Numair really thought he and Daine should discuss the full extent of “holding a torch” before this went much further. The mage’s heart couldn’t survive a quick tumble between the sheets for Daine to move onto someone else the next day.
The pair had barely entered his chambers when the Wildmage was on him, kissing and ripping open his shirt. Numair made the obligatory muffled protest but couldn’t care less about the ruined shirt in favour of the feel of Daine’s fingers and nails on his bare chest including her appreciative noises.
“Daine, we should talk,” he tried to dredge up some semblance of honour and propriety.
“Later,” she growled before burying her nose into his chest hair and raining kisses over every available inch of skin.
It was getting harder to argue with her tenacity. Never had Numair believed that anyone, let alone his Wildmage, could want him so much especially when she had far better prospects. Daine’s hands had reached his far too tight breeches when he made one last bid at sensibility.
“We need to slow down,” the mage rasped.
“We've gone slow enough! I'm not waiting any longer,” she argued.
Numair’s hands were already removing her dress when Daine finished unlacing his breeches and dragged them down before pressing herself bodily against him. The mage stopped arguing as his body and heart screamed finally and took full control of his faculties.
The pair staggered and fought to remove each other’s clothing until they hit the bed and the mage fell on top of Daine. He was about to apologise when her mouth found his and she wrapped long naked legs around his waist. Numair almost disgraced himself entirely when she bucked beneath him.
“There are things that need to be said,” the mage mumbled against her lips. Most notably how much he ardently respected and loved her as devoted himself to her pleasure, trailing delicate kisses along her jaw.
“Later,” she gasped and writhed.
Numair nibbled and licked his way down her neck enjoying the incredible sounds she was making.
“Tomorrow,” Daine whimpered.
He sucked on her neck delighted when she cried out, “Definitely tomorrow!”
The mage agreed wholeheartedly as he explored her body leaving no part untouched. He needed time to gather his wits and frayed self-control so Numair decided to indulge in one of his own fantasies as he settled comfortably between her thighs. He stayed there for quite some time marvelling at just how quickly she came undone for him. The mage took Daine from one orgasm to the next burning the image of her into his mind. One day, he might like to watch while she touched herself, but tonight, Numair needed to be the one doing this, although he had yet to hear her cry out his name as she had promised earlier.
She was limp and languid when the mage entered her, hearing Daine practically purr with pleasure. Numair lost himself in pure sensation while his heart unburdened itself and the mage prayed he wasn’t saying any of it out loud as drowned in her. Death had never felt so good! His orgasm when it came was so powerful the mage swore he passed out for a few seconds.
Numair surprised himself with how quickly he was hot and hard for her again after only a brief re-exploration of all the places that made his Wildmage beg and plead. His heart and soul already belonged to Daine, it always had, but now he worshipped her with his body like the goddess she was. Eventually the pair passed out from sheer exhaustion and the mage had just enough presence of mind to cover them in a blanket and light a fire in the grate with his Gift before oblivion welcomed him.
A warm naked body and the feel of fur at his back woke the mage from his deep slumber. Bright sunlight shone through the windows making Numair guess he had long since missed breakfast. He shifted slightly trying to get comfortable when he felt the Wildmage tighten her arms.
“Daine?”
She looked up at him with those enchanting blue-grey eyes framed with extravagantly long lashes and the mage’s heart skipped a beat – maybe two.
“You're still here,” Numair whispered more for his own confirmation.
“I should hope so. Why? Are you wanting me to go someplace?” Daine asked tartly.
There was really no appropriate response to that other than to ease his lips over hers and kiss her until she was limp and trembling in the circle of his arms.
A series of curious chirps and whistles interrupted the pair as the mage turned to find Zek and his family climbing up the bed which was almost completely occupied with palace animals. Numair had almost expected to find Kitten curled up at the bottom and was disappointed to discover that wasn’t the case. Where was the dragonet this morning?
“Hello, Zek,” he chuckled. “I believe there are still some pomegranates and satsumas in the fruit bowl if you and your family want to help yourselves.”
“You don't mind...” the Wildmage breathed in disbelief beside him.
Numair frowned hard, “Darling, I am well aware of what loving you entails.”
The mage smiled reassuringly until he realised what he had just unwittingly revealed. He wasn’t prepared when Daine pounced on him and made a good attempt at trying to merge their bodies into one.
“Dearest, we said we would talk,” Numair laughed happily while his hands roamed the available skin.
“We can,” she kissed him desperately. “As soon as I've made it clear how much I love you.”
Those words said with such certainty shocked the mage to his core. The best he’d ever hoped for was deep affection. Numair had never wanted to deceive himself that Daine could possibly love him. How many years had they wasted when they could have been doing this on a regular basis?
“Don't be a dolt,” she scolded him as the animals quickly exited his bedchamber. “I wouldn't have done what we did last night if I didn't love you half as much as I think you love me.”
The mage’s thoughts spiralled until Daine straddled him and he found himself engulfed in liquid heat wrenching a visceral moan from his throat.
“How long?” Numair asked unable to deny his curiosity.
“Somewhere around the time the gods asked me to choose between being a mortal or a minor goddess.” The Wildmage set a frantic pace, panting heavily. “I couldn't bear the thought of being in the Divine Realms without you explaining all the theories behind each and every landscape. Or getting excited over every leaf, rock and tree.”
“Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith,” the mage cried out in elation grabbing her hips to bring her closer.
She loved him. Daine loved him. Not just tolerated his academic enthusiasm but needed it in her life. Numair captured her lips never wanting to stop kissing her and only breaking apart to gulp a lungful of air before kissing her again. Their screams echoed off the walls as the Wildmage brought them to an earth-shattering climax. Daine collapsed on his chest while the mage held her trying to gather the shreds of his sanity.
“How long have you known?” she murmured.
“That I loved you? Forever,” Numair admitted softly, his hands idly caressing up and down her back. “I realised the full extent of my feelings several months after Carthak when the barrier fell. Had I known you felt favourable to a union in any way, I would have –”
Daine captured his lips in a passionate kiss, effectively cutting him off. “What do you want?”
Everything. “Marriage – and to convince you to run away with me to the tower where we can raise a small brood of Wildmages,” he answered honestly. “In lieu of that then a monogamous arrangement where we remain permanent lovers and never see anyone else again – ever.”
“I was being serious,” she pouted, folding her arms under her breasts in a very distracting and provocative way.
“So am I,” the mage answered putting as much heat into his voice as he could manage.
Daine shivered and chewed on her lower lip while her fingers drew maddening circles in his chest hair. “Well, I don't know about marriage. You might have to convince on that one, but I like the sound of the rest.”
It was all Numair needed to hear. He would happily spend every single day of his life convincing Daine to become his wife.
The pair didn’t exit the mage’s chambers until sundown when they both agreed they needed to eat before either of them could continue their amorous activities. Numair’s grin lasted all the way to the dining room until they were met with riotous applause and he turned an impressive shade of crimson.