He could almost sense the bit of pause given, but very few things mattered. Even the thought that he would have to stop, to maintain the tease, seemed rather heretical. Nostrils flaring in a voiceless chuckle, Walter didn't speak any more. For now.
He turned. Fingers rose to Laric's face, outlined the cheekbone, tucked the blonde mane behind the ear, where it escaped moments later. He kissed the corner of the lover's mouth while the hand wrapped around the pulsing shaft tightened the grip. Lips traced the outline of the chin, teased a caress at the lower lip.
Guided Laric one, two steps behind, until the back of the man's hips met the tabletop. There have been many specimen on it once on these sturdy, slightly dusty tables, though more often notes and array models. Walter had run out of experiments that needed not include an aid, and he had no one in Thornhall to trust with those. The less they knew, the better.
Now, he was putting a subject of affection against that surface. A distraction, certainly. From so many worries.
He wouldn't know if the Huntsmen lived, and did not want to put pressure on the healer to hurry up or be worried over her future. A dreadful situation best not thought about, especially because now, thanks to his push, it had all chances to improve.
The drake pens would report back in the afternoon, as well - Seetang was about to give birth to the third generation of her patina-green lineage. Walter figured Garrick could handle that one. He'd visit with the wounded by evenfall. If Laric wanted a bit of time to himself, he could work the accounts and accounting reports from the elder of the sourwisp-growing village.
Those thoughts glimmered at the bottom of his mind, but did not overtake. Hands dove under Laric's soft black shirt, gathered folds of it at the waistline so Walter could continue the touch at the level that Laric's had stopped earlier - cold air touched to the sun-kissed skin by the navel, then Walter's mouth graced it with heated kisses, moving down. His knees would get a bit dusty, more than a bit achey, too - but Laric might have cared about him more in the moment than Walter himself.
As his knees came to meet the hardwood floor with a thud, he realized, he needed to recover from that weakness. He needed, viscerally, to prove to himself that he was not some bed-ridden weakling. That he had his life under control, that he could seek and gift pleasure as he saw fit.
Because nobody was coming to save him.
He needed to feel Laric's lust, warmth, need, because he could not bear that heavy thought, no more than those episodes of agony, short but disruptive in the worse way, slowly driving him to despair. He was not a cripple. Because if he was...
His fingers moved around the shaft, pulled back the skin, and tongue rolled around the tip, flicking and probing, before his mouth wrapped it, taking Laric in. He could feel the pulse, the slight involuntary twitch while he worked down the length, the sliding tongue, the care of his own fangs. Hands moved the fabric down from Laric's buttocks and thighs some more, to free him up, only to return and dig fingertips into the firm flesh. His head moving back for some reprieve, dark eyes glimmered as they turned upward, to glance at Laric. The grip renewed around the cock, guiding its parting with the mouth, the rose tip against the lapping tongue and parted lips.
No weight of power on that man, in the moment, no invisible mantle.
Laric's eyes above could easily track his every move, his back's curve in the restraint of his own clothes, the parted knees. No stars in the eyes. Just musk and salt on the tongue, panting breath.
Walter didn't speak, lavishing affection on the other down the length, teasing the hard twin shapes with a dexterous tongue. Wanted that grabbing hand in his hair, to lose himself just a little in the simple, spontaneous carnality. Wanted to hear Laric's breath shiver, feel him relax against the added support, and just let himself be pleasured.
Walter moaned softly when he took the length in again, it just nearly at his throat, and pushed deeper against it, the confines tight even as they relaxed, eyes glistening with involuntary moisture, the tip of his nose meeting the coarse darker blond hairs at the base of the shaft. Released himself, moved slightly back, sharp puffs of breath through the nose breaking against the lover's skin. More. Quieter.