Temptation ~ The second novelette from "Different Desire", a Gay Victorian Romance and Erotic novelette collection

Lord Henley anything about what was really going on.
    For Oliver, the summer days went by quickly. He spent most of his days with Winston and worked late at night with his history thesis. He slept very little, but on the other hand , his thesis was moving forwa rd in a very rewarding way, much thanks to the extensive reference literature in the old library. In addition, Oliver’s teaching was quite enjoyable too, although the main reason why his lessons went so surprisingly well was a result of Winston’s newfound dedication to his studies. Not only was Winston both intelligent and attentive, he was also very diligent and ambitious. His progress during such a short time was nothing but impressive , and it made Oliver start nursing a small, small hope that their foolish plan may even have a chance of succeeding. After all , for mysterious reasons higher deities often appear to whimsically protect children, drunkar ds , and fools.
    What was less rewarding , however , was Winston’s attitude towards Oliver. On one level he was respectful and friendly, the perfect model student, but on another level he was absolutely nothing of the kind.
    In fact, ever since that day in the parlour room when Oliver had first presented the wild solution to their problems, Winston had taken up the annoying habit of discreetly flirting with Oliver. Oliver was not entirely sure if Winston was completely serious or not , or if he was only teasing him ; however , it was quite maddening nonetheless.
    It was small gestures, mostly. For instance, sometimes when they were alone Winston would lean close and whisper in his ear. He would whisper the most immoral proposals , which had the most disturbing effect on both Oliver’s nerves and attention.
    Other times Winston would touch him casually, for example by friendl ily squeezing his shoulder. Or he would p ut his hand lightly on top of Oliver’s and slowly le t his fingertips follow the ridges of the knuckles or absentmindedly draw a complicated pattern on the back of Oliver’s hand. And even though Oliver knew he should withdraw his hand, he never managed to summon the strength of willpower to do so. Instead he just silently watched Winston’s fingers slowly glide over his tingly skin until he felt almost mesmerized.
    The gesture was not openly erotic; however , it was not entirely innocent either. And although he could never explain why, Oliver found it strangely suggestive and deeply exciting.
    Winston was never completely out of line, but he often balanced dangerously close to the edge , and he only stopped when he had managed to make Oliver thoroughly embarrassed or severely aroused or both. Then he would smile a small mischievou s and rather teasin g smile that left Oliver both pleased and somewhat concerned.
    However, regardless of how much Winston tried to tease him, Oliver stubbornly refused to surrender to temptation, a decision that unfortunately only had a further encouraging effect on Winston, who every day went just a little bit further. Oliver tried to talk sense to him and explained the risks and consequences; however , Winston only smiled at him, apparently pleased with himself for putting him off balance.
    Sometimes Oliver wondered if Winston somehow enjoyed tormenting him or if it was just an unnerving talent of his.
    He never came to any satisfying conclusions, although he did spend many nights in his bed, unable to sleep and annoyingly hard, while the thoughts of his attractive student refused to leave him alone.
     
    *
     
    It was not until the middle of July when Oliver finally received the letter that he had been waiting for most eagerly for the better part of the summer. The letter arrived with the afternoon post; however , he did not have time to open it until just before dinner. Since Oliver was a tutor , he did not eat with the Henley family or the servants , and he would ordinarily not meet Winston until the following day. But the news cannot wait that long! Oliver decided , and after a short mental debate with himself , he wrote a note to Winston and asked him to meet him later in his room and slipped it in under Winston’s door.
    It was well after eleven o’clock when Oliver heard quiet footsteps outside his bedchamber. Everyone at Wycliffe kept early hours , and at this hour the castle rested in heavy silence.
    “Come in, hurry!” Oliver said, a little bit anxious , and ushered Winston inside. He closed the door behind him and turned around, showing him