When Sagon woke up, Lio had already left the bed and was across the room in one of the chairs by the table. Sagon rose and joined him. He did not even think it strange that they were both naked. As he approached the table, he saw Lio start to slide off the chair to the floor. Then, with a small smile, the slave stopped himself. Sagon smiled in approval.

"Good afternoon. How do you feel?" Lio asked.

Sagon sat in the other chair and looked at the tray on the table. "Much better. What do we have here?"

"Chilled noodle salad. I thought you might like something cool and light." Lio's eyes were fastened on Sagon. The older man felt a vague stir of unease. There was a look in Lio's eyes much like that of the young men he had trained in his patrols, something between respect and love. While Sagon had traded on that devotion more than once, gaining some measure of comfort from the boys, he regretted seeing the same expression in Lio's eyes. Because, sooner or later, he would have to leave the slave.

Sagon frowned at the pang of sorrow he felt at that thought. Better watch yourself, old man, he thought, before you fall in love with the boy.

"Mas… Sagon? Is there something wrong? Would you prefer something else to eat?" Lio, ever sensitive to his Master's needs, had detected the change in Sagon's mood.

"No, Lio, no. Nothing's wrong. This looks very good. I was just thinking." Sagon tried to reassure Lio, but he could tell that the effort was wasted. Lio remained quiet and attentive, but his face bore a trace of sadness now.

Sagon ate more than he thought he would, complimenting Lio on his choice of the salad. His returning appetite and the praise did much to lift Lio's spirits, and he was soon chatting to Sagon again. After they had finished the salad, they sat in comfortable silence for a while.

"Lio? Would you show me some Tai Chi now?" Sagon asked.

Lio eyes lit up and he jumped up immediately. "Of course! You'll love it, I just know."

Lio brought Sagon some black silk pants, tight at the waist and ankles but otherwise loose enough for free movement. He put on some white pants of the same style and pulled his exercise mat from the bathing room.

"First, we have to warm up, and I want to stretch your leg again. Is it sore?" Confirming that Sagon felt no pain from the previous exercises or their walk that morning, Lio began. Many of the stretches were the same ones Sagon was familiar with from his own training but had been neglecting since his injury.

Once Lio was satisfied, he led Sagon through a series of steps. After several minutes, Sagon stopped. "This seems like a lot of the similar moves we make in our hand-to-hand combat training," he commented, "only slower."

Sagon then demonstrated a portion of his favorite kata. Lio watched, nodding. "I have heard that these movements, when performed much more quickly and with force, can be used for protection." Lio paled, adding very quickly, "Of course, as a slave, I would never do such a thing. Never, Master."

Sagon stared at him. Again he was reminded abruptly that Lio was a slave, his body was not his own, even to defend. If Sagon wanted to hurt him, Lio was bound by law and training to simply accept whatever pain or damage was done to him. His eyes were drawn to Lio's scarred hand and arm, wondering once more what had happened to cause the injuries.

"Lio…" Sagon began, then cut himself off. What could he say that would change the situation? Nothing. Sagon did not like being powerless. Well, he would see about that. Later.

"Yes, M… Sagon?" Lio lifted his head, eyes solemn.

Sagon abruptly changed his mind about saying anything. But Lio was still looking at him, and he had to say something. "As you can tell," Sagon began, very matter-of-factly, "I am very out of shape. Do you think you could help me practice?" He soon had Lio sparring with him, adapting his slow, steady moves to the sharper, more precise forms of self-defense. He hoped he was not doing his slave a disservice.

Later, hot and sweaty, they climbed into the large bathing tub. When they got out, Lio gave Sagon a thorough massage to keep him from stiffening up after the unaccustomed work out. Again, he manipulated Sagon's right leg, commenting on how much higher he was able to lift it already. "See, your muscle had just tightened up after the injury. In a few more days you'll be almost as good as new," Lio assured him.

After the usual massage, Lio returned his attention to Sagon's chest. He tenderly tweaked and teased the dark nipples to hardness, leaning over to lick and suck on the small buds. Sagon groaned, grabbing the edges of the table to keep from squirming. Lio continued down his stomach, tonguing and nipping his way to his Master's navel. Finding the small indentation, he thrust his tongue in lightly, then sucked on the sensitive skin.

Moving even lower, Lio began to nuzzle the flesh between Sagon's legs. Under his tender lips the cock began to stir. Lio easily took the still soft member completely into his mouth, letting his fingers play lightly on the balls nestled beneath.

"Lio," Sagon groaned. Lio ignored him and continued to pull gently, feeling the heat begin to mount. He lifted his head.

"Only if you want it, Sagon," Lio said, his eyes dark with desire.

"Yes, oh yes. I want to feel again, Lio. I want to feel alive again."

Lio didn't answer, just lowered his head and resumed his gentle sucking. When he had Sagon half hard he stopped and pulled the other man up from the table. Willingly, Sagon followed him to the bed.

Sagon lay back on the green velvet cover and Lio settled down between his legs. Again, Lio began kissing and licking the swelling shaft, paying close attention to the sensitive head. Soon, Sagon was fully hard, for the first time since his injury so many months ago.

Groaning, Sagon watched as Lio lifted his head for a moment. Lio's lips were swollen, his face flushed with his exertions. He reached for the small jar beside the bed and scooped some oil into his fingers. Then Sagon gasped as Lio's hot wet mouth descended on his sex again. Lio rubbed the oil across Sagon's balls, full and heavy, and then down across his scrotum into the cleft of his ass.

Sagon jerked as Lio's finger found the puckered opening to the center of his being. Lio kept kissing, nibbling and sucking on Sagon's cock as he pressed lightly against the sensitive flesh. Suddenly, Lio's mouth engulfed Sagon completely as his probing finger slid home. Sagon shouted and began bucking wildly, desperate to sink his shaft as deeply into Lio's throat as he could. But he was equally desperate to hold on to the feeling of being filled, if even with only one finger.

As if reading his mind, which Lio might be doing, Sagon felt another finger slip within, pressing and probing for that special spot that brought such pleasure. Sagon was writhing in ecstasy; it had been so long, so long. As Lio found and stroked his Master's prostate, his mouth plunged to the very root of Sagon's cock and the warrior exploded with a howl of rapture then fell limply back to the bed.

Sagon opened his eyes to find Lio bending over him, wiping his body clean with a warm cloth. Sagon reached out and grabbed Lio by the neck, pulling the slave in for a deep kiss. As his tongue slipped into the boy's mouth, he realized that this was first time he had really kissed Lio, and wondered why he had waited so long.

Lio pulled back, laughing, and threw the cloth toward the bathing room. He climbed over Sagon and snuggled down against the sated man. Lio dozed as the afternoon lengthened. Sagon lay in the bed, holding the warm body next to his, wondering at the strange twist of fate that had brought him to this room.

Sagon's father had been a moderately well off merchant, although not of noble blood. He was able to buy Sagon, his only child, entry into the rank of officers and provide a small house for Sagon and his young wife just outside of town. But a series of bad investments had left him a broken man, and he had died shortly before the birth of Sagon's daughter. His wife followed soon after, leaving Sagon the sole heir to a faltering business.

Sagon had sold the business for enough to keep his wife and child in comfort while he was off on campaigns, allowing him to save the meager salary offered by the military. But after the death of his daughter, followed quickly by his wife, Sagon had sold the house and land as well and simply put his money away for the past few years. Aside from buying his warhorse, Beast, he spent very little on himself. What could he buy that would replace all he had lost?

He had begun to think about retirement before that last battle with the strange, savage people from the east. But since then, he had just not had the energy or interest to make any decisions. He had felt tired and sick, aching from the wound in his leg, and angry at all the people around him for anything or no reason at all. Especially when the queen had given him the Key. He felt as if she were trying to manipulate him into living again, into feeling something he no longer wished to feel.

But Lio! Oh, Lio had reached right past all that and touched him in a way he didn't think he had ever been touched before. His wife had been a sturdy, practical woman, well suited to running the household and taking care of his daughter while he was away. He had been very fond of her, but he wasn't sure he was ever in love with her. And the lovers he had on campaign had all been warriors as he was, hard, tough men that took as much as they gave. With them, there was never this total devotion solely to his needs and wants.

He felt as if Lio had, in some way, healed him. His appetite was back, his leg felt better than it had since the injury, and he finally felt as if he was living once again. All because of this strange young man, who never seemed to age by his account, nestled up beside him. A surge of tenderness prompted Sagon to tighten his arm around the sleeping boy and kiss the top of his head gently.

Lio stirred at the caress and kissed Sagon's shoulder. His striped blue eyes fluttered open to meet Sagon's gray ones. Lio's hand feathered down Sagon's belly to find the hard flesh rising between his legs. "Mm, feeling better, are we? See, I told you, you're not old at all."

Lio felt his own erection as he rubbed himself against Sagon's leg, lightly pulling at Sagon's rigid member. This was what Lio knew, how to understand what the men with him needed, and how to provide an outlet for that need. He squirmed until he was on top of Sagon, rubbing his weeping cock against Sagon's beneath him, and reached over to the jar on the table. Coating his fingers with oil, he reached between their bodies, spreading the oil around liberally as they ground together.

Suddenly Lio felt Sagon grip his shoulders and roll him over so that Sagon was straddling his lean body. Lio lay panting on the bed as Sagon bent to kiss and nip his lips, his jaw, and his neck. Lio arched into the light bites as Sagon worked his way down Lio's chest and from one nipple to the other. He felt Sagon moving over him, gasping as oil slick fingers rubbed back and forth across his entrance. "Yes," Lio hissed, pushing toward those fingers that remained just maddenly outside him.

The pressure increased and Lio groaned as two fingers breached the ring of muscle, probing deeply within. Lio squirmed, pressing himself down on the hard digits. Sagon chuckled, and Lio felt a third finger stretching him. Rolling his hips, Lio reached for that sudden burst of pleasure that only a man can feel, and Sagon obliged him.

Lio threw back his head, gasping as Sagon stoked the small bud within over and over again. The fingers disappeared and Lio moaned in frustration. But his disappointment was short lived as Sagon lifted Lio's knees high in the air and place his hard, throbbing member at the entrance to Lio's body.

Time stilled, the pressure on his anus steady but not quite enough for penetration. Lio opened his eyes in confusion. Sagon was staring down at him, his gray eyes almost black, burning with lust.

"Keep your eyes open," he commanded. "I want to see you." Lio nodded weakly, desperately.

"Please, Sagon. I want to feel you in me. Please," Lio pleaded breathlessly. He saw Sagon's eyes darken even more, then all but screamed as Sagon plunged fully into him, impaling him completely with one long, hard thrust. It was all Lio could do to keep his eyes open. He felt completely possessed, filled to overflowing as the powerful warrior in Sagon took over and thrust into him mercilessly.