Feeling Yussa's body react, the subtle way he tightens and tremors, is heady. These are signs of pleasure he cannot help or control, his honest response to what Caleb is doing to him. Cupping his breasts and tugging at his nipples, he looks on with hunger at the lovely, debauched display of his resting lover. He rolls his hips, withdrawing far enough to give them both a taste of hot, slick friction when he pushes back in.

"I should have come sooner," he says tightly. "I wanted to. You were so beautiful that day, standing above me draped in gold like a single ray of sun against the grey sky." There is a soft huff, a sharp exhale, as he nearly laughs at himself. "Maybe that is too close to bad poetry. But I did not know what would happen, and seeing you--I was reminded again why I wade into the flames."

Yussa doesn't need anyone to protect him. He is very capable of defending himself. But he'd sounded so worried--perhaps even frightened--when his voice came into Caleb's mind that day. It has probably been a long time, Caleb would guess, since a threat so powerful and imminent made itself known so close to home. There was plenty of reason for anyone to be scared.

But they are both alive and safe, and Caleb feels more free to confess what is on his heart during this tender, one-sided lovemaking than he might otherwise.