#apprentice reader

"What happened to you?" he questioned, rushing to your side. He placed a hand on your lower back to guide you to your shared bedroom after he flipped the sign and locked the door.

"Oh, nothing much..." you trailed off. It was a little embarrassing, really.

"You're bleeding. That doesn't look like 'Nothing much.'" He raised a brow and made you sit on the bed.

"...Would you believe me if I said that a... plant attacked me?"

He blinked incredulously, halting in place. It took him a few moments to process what you just said, trying futilely to figure out how in the world that could've occurred.

"What," he managed to utter, leaning back to stare at you.

"I tripped and spilled a lot of the stuff in my bag. It got over a plant and... here I am," you bashfully explained, incapable of maintaining eye contact any longer.

"What did you have in the bag?"

"Herbs, medicinal powders, items of the like. Now I know not to mix them, I guess."

Asra sighed and shook his head in fond exasperation, but an uneasy expression still managed to cross his face. "It's good that you're okay, but you need to be more careful next time. I was already on edge when I found out that Nadia didn't know where you were."

"Right. Sorry." You furrowed your eyebrows at his apprehension, guilt settling in your chest.

"Well, it doesn't help to dwell in the past." He leaned closer to you. Pressing a hand against your torso, he guided you down so that you lay on your back. "I'd better heal you."

You nodded and relaxed against the plush and comforting covers, shivering at his touch. Your eyes widened in surprise when he did not trace your injury with his fingers like he normally would, but instead placed his lips over the top of your cut. He peered up at you through his eyelashes and smiled innocently.

With gentle glints of light, he mended the skin with his soothing kisses, beginning from your chest. He softly caressed your hips as he moved lower and lower. You swallowed hard and found yourself unable to tear your gaze away from him.

You covered your mouth with the back of your hand, your face feeling incredibly hot. You tensed when he lingered dangerously close to the waistband of your pants but had to hold back a noise when he abruptly rose from his position.

"You look awfully flustered." His eyes were alight with mischief, body towering over yours. "I wonder what's gotten you so worked up?"

"Don't tease..." You looked away bashfully, feebly squirming under his gaze. He noticed the slightest opening of your legs and couldn't help the smile that appeared. He shifted himself back between your thighs, running his hand over your bare stomach.

He glanced up at you. "Are you sure? You just returned. Do you want to rest first?"

"No, I'm okay. K-keep going," you replied. He nodded, tucked his fingers under the band of your pants, and gently tugged them down alongside your underwear. You sucked in a sharp breath at the contrast between your heated skin and the cooler air of the bedroom, though Asra's body heat very quickly warmed you up again.

He sighed over your semi-hard cock, mouth slightly ajar, and averted his focus onto your thighs instead. He kissed random spots, some closer to where you wanted him and others farther away.

You lightly pulled on his hair to gain his attention and shot him a tense look, to which he chuckled out an apology.

"Sorry. I just missed you." He hovered over your dick once more before finally taking it in his mouth with the aid of his hand. The other one reached for yours, interlocking your fingers as he pushed himself until you could feel the beginning of his throat. He didn't prefer going all the way — not that you minded.

He used the saliva that escaped through the corners of his lips to help him jerk off what he didn't get. You moaned softly, tightening your grip around his hand, digging your free one into the bedsheets. You weren't sure if it was because you were gone for so long, but how he handled you with such practiced ease had you resisting the impulse to thrust your hips upwards.

He hummed contentedly, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled affectionately, unable to tear his gaze away from your face. He was rendered utterly entranced for a few moments, captivated with your scent, your taste, your voice. With you.

He worked to please, watching every twitch of your body, listening to every sound that passed your lips. He couldn't help but grind against the mattress: impatience and desire steadily rising, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could subdue them.

With a great deal of reluctance, he pulled himself away from you, already missing the weight of your weeping cock on his tongue. You reopened your eyes — when had you closed them? — and observed him with bated breath. He reached towards the cluttered nightstand and retrieved a bottle of lube, pouring some of the contents on his fingers.

His dick strained against the cloth of his pants, aching to be touched. But he ignored his own needs for the moment, directing his focus solely on you. He inserted one finger inside you before adding a second one, deciding on taking his time to prepare you. He could feel you shudder when he began to move them in a scissoring motion, curling them every so often to bring forth moans.

He leaned down to shower your neck in kisses, heat traveling up and down his spine in powerful surges.

"I'm ready," you murmur breathlessly.

"I just started." Asra raised an eyebrow. You weren't typically this urgent, this needy, but he understands. He's barely stopping himself from acting the same.

"I-It's fine," you stammered, widening your legs in want. "Please..."

He swallowed hard. He longed to finally bury himself inside you, but the concern of hurting you fought valiantly within his mind. His hand slowed in contemplation as he stared into your eyes. They were wide, pupils blown and filled with lust.

"Oh, how could I ever say no to you?" He removed his fingers with a gentle smile before it morphed into something akin to worry. "But please tell me if it hurts, okay?"

You nodded and offered him a meek grin of your own. "I will."

He turned to grab the bottle of lube once more and poured an ample amount (a tad more than usual) on his cock that he freed from his pants a few moments prior. He slightly winced before he pressed the tip against your hole and began to push himself inside.

He groaned, stilling when his pelvis met your ass. The burn was a bit more prominent compared to the previous times you'd done this, but it wasn't something you couldn't tolerate. In fact, you would say that it felt good.

You wordlessly signaled him with a bob of your head to get him to move, to which he sighed pleasurably in return. He trailed his hands up from your hips to your waist, caressing the flesh as he began leisurely thrusting, his pace increasing with every passing moment.

Your breaths were shallow as you gazed at him with loving eyes, enamored with the sight before you. You couldn't resist the urge to raise your arms toward him, wanting to feel his body close to yours - despite knowing he's already as close as he can be. But he couldn't disregard how you were so beautifully splayed out in front of him and entertained your wish by curling his arms around your upper body as you wrapped your own over his back.

There was nothing to conceal each other's noises, creating a melody only the two of you could hear. He could feel you tighten when he whispered breathless praises in your ear, nothing but honesty spilling from his lips.

You turned your head to kiss the side of his neck, offering wordless replies. You were caught up in hazy bliss, arching your back as the heat within your abdomen strengthened each second. Your moans grew louder as you urged him to move a bit faster, desperate to reach your climax.

The bed creaked alongside the headboard that softly struck the wall, mixing in with the harmony that was your moans and his labored breaths, but neither of you paid it any heed.

"I love you. I love you..." he chanted, seemingly lost in the mantra as he neared his orgasm.

You tensed when the spark of ecstasy finally washed over you in surges, rolling over your skin pleasantly. Your cock spurted cum over your bare stomach, tended to by one of your hands. You could feel his breath hitch beside your ear, and instinctively pulled him closer with your legs just as he came.

You shuddered, relaxing as he buried his face in the junction between your neck and shoulder. You combed your fingers through his curly white hair, patiently waiting for him to settle, basking in the afterglow.

It wasn't until a minute or so when he finally decided to pull away and place most of his weight on his knees to look at you. The two of you remained silent for a few moments longer until he spoke, "We should take a bath."

You nodded with a chuckle. "Also, where's Faust? I haven't seen her in a while."

"Here..." Faust's faint voice was even quieter than before, and both of your heads swerved towards the windowsill, where the curtains rustled. You were mortified to see a familiar purple snout poke out from underneath.

"How did you not...?!" you exclaimed at Asra. Your face felt so hot it felt like you could cook an egg on it.

"I don't know!" He looked away in shame. "I was caught in the moment?"

He didn't seem sure of himself, and you groaned with your hands over your eyes.

"With you missing from the Palace, coming home injured," he tried to explain, "and with me missing you after just coming home from a recent journey, I completely forgot she was sleeping on the window."

Your expression softened. "I'm sorry."

He smiled. "It's okay. Now, let's hurry and clean up."