19

In the cottage in the woods once again, Ianto felt stronger than he had in a very long time.

They'd freed Toshiko, a very sour and ungrateful Janet, and even Doc, with his lofty attitude. Ianto had to admit, he was one wise familiar, and it might be alright if he stuck around.

Of course, Ianto hated to leave his brother behind. he had wanted him to come with them, but Doc had said it would be a bad idea. They needed him inside the castle to let them in tomorrow. Plus, Captain Narcus would be alerted if the crown prince was missing.

But Ianto vowed that as soon as everything was back to the way it was supposed to be, he was going to spend so much time just getting to know his little brother.

"Are you ready for tomorrow? You know, if you want to run, I understand. I wouldn't blame you at all." Toshiko hugged Ianto, and Ianto surprised himself by not wanting his friend to let her go too soon.

"I can't run from my problems. A very wise person once told me that."

Toshiko flounced her hair back off her face "Gee, who would that have been?"

"Thank you."

"For what? Great advice?"

Ianto laughed, liking the feel of the human behaviour. "That, and for being here with me. You really are a great friend. I've never known a true friend. All the other people I called friend would have gladly stabbed me in the back to make themselves look good. Literally, stabbed me in the back. We were all training to be assassins."

Now Toshiko laughed, and Ianto liked the feeling of bringing a little joy to another. It was actually a better feeling than receiving joy for oneself. he liked making others happy.

"Ianto, can I speak with you privately?"

Speaking of joy, Ianto couldn't erase the smile from his face when he heard Jack's voice behind him. He swivelled to face him.

"I think I'll go inside now." Toshiko said with amusement.

Ianto didn't even take his gaze off Jackson when the door slammed behind Toshiko. "What did you want to talk about?"

He read the passion in Jack's eyes and was pretty sure he wasn't really interested in conversation. "Will you go check the protective wards around the property with me?"

Not exactly what he expected, but he nodded. It might be nice to clear his mind before he had to go to battle tomorrow.

Dusk surrounded them, still giving enough light for Ianto to watch Jack out of the corner of his eye. He seemed unsettled, like he didn't quite know how to say something. Then, it occurred to him why he was finding it difficult to say. He was telling him he was leaving.

"Where will you go?" Ianto asked softly.

"What?"

"That's what you want to tell me, isn't it? That this has been too much, and you don't want to deal with it anymore. I don't blame you."

"What are you talking about?"

"It was never your problem. You are free to go anywhere you want to go, to be anything you want to be. You don't have to be a hunter any longer."

Jack stopped pacing and gently tugged Ianto toward him. He put his hands on Ianto's upper arms, and he could feel Jack's gaze on him, but Ianto refused to look at him. Ianto was afraid he'd cry again. Now that the floodgates had been opened, he was finding his emotions came naturally...and often.

"I'm not leaving. That was not why I asked you out here with me."

Ianto looked up at him. "It's not?"

"No, it's not. I wanted to be alone with you. I was hoping you might kiss me again. I mean, if tomorrow is my final day alive, I want to go knowing that I lived my best life before it happened."

"A kiss? That's all you want." Ianto leaned in and brushed his lips across Jack's. With what he hoped was a mischievous glint in his eye, he stepped back and said, "Well, there you go. A kiss. Happy?"

With a growl, Jack cupped the back of Ianto's head and pulled him in, taking his mouth with a demanding caress of his tongue. Ianto hungrily returned his kiss as warm sensations radiated through them.

Ianto couldn't get enough of his mouth. Jack's other hand gripped Ianto's thigh and lifted it over his own hip as he bucked his pelvis into his. Ianto felt his arousal and moaned at the undeniable sign of his desire.

Jack pulled away and reached for his hand. "Come on. I know somewhere we could go."

Ianto ran with him through the forest until they came to a stone circle with a flat stone in the center. From his backpack, Jack pulled some blankets and laid them over the stone. He sat on it and patted the spot beside him. Ianto slid right up next to him. His mouth found him again. The kiss was carnal and sent tendrils of electricity spinning through their body.

By the time, Jack pulled free of Ianto's mouth and began kissing his jaw and neck and collarbone, Ianto was breathless with need. he couldn't believe how much his heart raced with a mere brush of Jack's fingers over his skin. His mind reeled as Jack pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the ground.

Ianto's hands automatically flew to the corded muscles of his chest. He traced his skin, hot to the touch, including the raised red circular mark burned right below his collarbone, above his heart.

The brand of a hunter.

It looked like it had been painful to receive, and Ianto had an intense desire to soothe his long-forgotten pain with his mouth. Before he could lean in, though, Jack reached for Ianto's shirt and with a few tugs pulled it from his body, dropping it to the ground next to his. His hands slid across Ianto's belly and energy whirled there, following his light touch.

"You are a fantasy. I've been thinking about this from that first night in the cave." Jack lifted his gaze to Ianto's. "I need you right now."

"I'm yours. Take me, Jackson."

They made quick work of their pants, and Ianto removed his undies. Jack wasn't wearing any underwear, and the minute he removed his pants, his arousal sprang free, wetness glistened on the tip.

Ianto couldn't take his gaze from the engorged prick. Jack eased down to the stone table, and Ianto laid down next to him, letting his fingers explore his chest once more. Ianto's hands traveled low, running along his mid-section and lower. His hand wrapped around Jack's erection and stroked up and down the shaft a few times before he growled and turned Ianto to his back, hovering above him.

He lowered his head for a series of slow, deep kisses and a sweet ache began in Ianto's gut, keeping time with his pounding heart. Ianto's hardened nipples slipped against Jack's chest as he squirmed beneath him, shooting the feeling of hot fiery energy straight to his dick.

Jack's mouth searched down Ianto's neck and chest, enclosing his lips around a nipple with stomach-clenching possessiveness. He sucked hard and when Ianto cried out at the pleasure, he moved to the other one while his hand slid down to touch Ianto's throbbing dick. Jack then slid finger inside Ianto, and he moaned as the sensations took over.

"You're ready for me. So ready."

Jack's cock throbbed with need as he slicked Ianto for readiness. He rubbed his palm against Ianto's dick, wanting to see his pleasure as it filled the expression on his face. Jack couldn't wait any longer. Jack repositioned himself over Ianto, staring down at his fuzzy glistening body. he was so beautiful, laid out before him, and he could barely breathe at the sight of him. The head of his cock slipped against the slick arse cheeks. Jack groaned in pleasure as desire overtook him. He felt himself losing control, and he shuddered with need. "What are you doing to me?"

"Please, Jack. I need to feel you now." The desire in Ianto's voice was his undoing. He positioned himself at his entrance, feeling the sweet ache as he began to pump his hips slowly. He worked his way through, seating himself inside and stopping. He rose up over him, concerned that he was in pain.

"You were a...virgin."

Ianto nodded. "Assassins don't do close."

But, in the next instant, Ianto rocked his hips into him, and his warmth beckoned. "I'm good, Jack. Really good. Take me over the edge."

Jack lowered his mouth to Ianto's for an electrifying kiss as he pulled out and pushed back inside him. So good! He raised himself up on his arms and watched each stroke of his body play across his face. He began to saw in and out slowly, as he braced himself on his left arm and reached between them. He rolled his thumb over Ianto's dick helmet, making small circular motions as he pumped his hips back and forth.

Ianto wrapped his legs around him as his hands traced the hollows of Jack's back. he began to meet each thrust with one of his own. The rhythm of their bodies worked in sync, and Jack felt a tingle start in his lower back. He was getting close. Slowing his movement, he concentrated on Ianto's dick, watching his face as his pleasure built. He became deliberate in his thrusts, adjusting as Ianto's breathing became irregular and his moans began to build.

As he felt the first tightening around his cock, Jack went mindless.

Ianto threw back his head and called out his name as he orgasmed. Over and over, and it was enough to push Jack over the edge. His thrusts grew erratic as he pumped hard against him. Ecstasy exploded in his brain as his orgasm raced through him in waves of uncontrollable pleasure. He buried his face in Ianto's neck as he rode the wave to completion,

The cool night air blew over Jack's too-sensitive skin, and he pushed up onto his arms, looking down at the incredible fantasy come to life that was Ianto. He marveled at how his flushed skin glowed and his hair spiked up into little curls. Ianto was his. All his, and he knew in that moment that he loved him.

Yet, doubts began to creep in.

He was a Prince, and he had taken him for the first time on a stone slab in the middle of the forest. He wasn't worthy of him or of this. He looked away and rolled to the side, covering his face with his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a virgin. I would have been gentler, and I would have made sure we weren't in some time-forgotten fairy circle."

Ianto rose up to his elbow and touched his arm. He lowered his hands and met his gaze. "It was perfect. This is exactly how a Mage wants his first time to be."

"In the middle of the woods?"

Ianto laughed lightly. "With the right person. I wanted it to be you."

Jack's confusion was surely written all over his face. "Why would you want it to be me? I'm just an orphan turned Royal Guard. I'm nobody."

Ianto looked at the inky sky, broken only by a few stars and tree branches reaching for them.

"I...I don't exactly know why, Jack. What I do know is that it felt right, and I don't want to overanalyze it." Ianto looked at him again. "Tomorrow could be the end. I didn't want to die without feeling this...with you."

Jack's heart broke hearing Ianto's heavy thoughts.

Hadn't he considered the very same thing?

His mind was at rest with the thought that he hadn't taken advantage of him. he had wanted to be with him, if for no other reason than he was the best option in the moment. He'd take it.

"Besides, you're somebody to me."Ianto whispered.

The breath left Jack's lungs in a rush. His chest tightened. He couldn't believe how much those words meant to him...how much, all his life, he'd wanted someone to say that very thing to him. He didn't want this to be the end. How disappointing if this was all the time they ever got together. He couldn't let that happen. A strong determination fell over him like a red haze. "Tomorrow is only going to end one way. Your father will be alive, and we will be free. I refuse to accept anything else as a possibility."

"Goddess, I hope you're right." Yet, not for the first time, Ianto's eyes shone with doubt.

He'd have to watch him. This was exactly the thing that, in the past, would have made Ianto run, but Ianto had to know that he didn't have to face the danger alone. Not anymore.

None of them would ever be alone again