Reign or Shine

by H J Welch

  Cas’s eyes widened in what was maybe shock. “I am Cas, and I am my own man,” he said. Then he frowned before a smile played on his lips. “I am my own man. Not my brothers’ keepers. I don’t belong to the state. I’m just…Cas.”

  Matty grinned. He probably looked crazy or punch drunk, but he didn’t care. Those words filled him with joy, turning the calmness in his bones to love and happiness. “We’re just Matty and Cas, and we’re amazing,” he said with a giggle.

  Cas kissed him passionately, rolling him on his back so he was pressing Matty into the mattress. Their cocks rubbed against one another as Cas held Matty’s jaw and Matty dug his fingers into Cas’s back. “We are,” Cas mumbled against Matty’s lips.

  Then he moved, kissing Matty’s neck, hard enough it was probably going to mark.

  Matty wanted Cas to claim him with a hickey so badly. “Yes,” he hissed. “I’m yours, Cas.”

  Cas hummed and he sucked and nipped at the tender skin. “You are,” he assured him.

  When he was apparently satisfied with his work, Cas took one of his hands and slipped it between their hot, damp bodies. Matty moaned as Cas wrapped his strong hand around both their members, helping them to glide together as they thrust. They kissed until they were gasping too much, and then Cas held his face just above Matty’s as their breaths mingled, their lips grazing against each other as they stared into each other’s eyes.

  Matty could feel himself coming undone as sweat poured from his burning skin. All his nerve endings were on fire in the best possible way as his orgasm built in him.

  “Cas,” he uttered in warning.

  Cas nodded. “Come for me, sweetheart. Make a mess of us both.”

  Matty nodded and clawed Cas’s back, trying to keep himself anchored as his orgasm rushed up to greet him. He was dimly aware that his fingernails were probably marking Cas just as much as the hickey on Matty’s neck.

  The next thing he knew, his back was arching as thick, hot cum spurted between their bodies. He quivered and panted for air, clinging to Cas like a life raft. Cas milked him for every last drop as Matty flopped boneless against the bed.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” Cas growled, kissing Matty’s lips and jaw. “You look incredible.”

  Matty managed to keep his eyes open just a crack, and looked at Cas sleepily through his lashes. “Now you,” he mumbled happily.

  “Oh, yeah?” said Cas. He braced one hand beside Matty’s head, then loomed over him as he stroked his hard, leaking cock luxuriously. “You’re bossy tonight. I love it. You like watching that? You like me touching myself?”

  Matty nodded, still grinning. “So hot,” he whispered. He traced his fingertips along Cas’s abs. “Want you to come on me.”

  Cas bit his lip and nodded. “Whatever you want, gorgeous.” He gasped and leaned his head back, exposing his neck and the ridge of his Adam’s apple. Matty touched it and the lines of Cas’s collarbones.

  In his sleepy, sated state, he was able to muster up one thought. The whole world could think they knew Prince Cassander of Rosavia. But not one other person alive had seen him like this. Of that, Matty was certain.

  With a shout, Cas came explosively, shooting all over Matty’s chest, even hitting his chin and hair. Matty giggled, enjoying the mess they’d made. Cas grunted and rested both elbows on either side of Matty’s head, kissing him leisurely as he slowly came down from his high.

  “We’re going to need another shower,” he said eventually, making Matty laugh.

  “Later,” Matty whispered when he recovered himself. He caressed the side of Cas’s face and gave him another sweet kiss. “I want to just stay like this for a while.”

  Cas nodded. “Me, too.”

  He did find some tissues by the bed, though, and carefully mopped up most of the cum. As much as Matty wanted to stay covered in it as proof of their special moment, he knew it would be uncomfortable once it dried. “Did I look good?” he asked, fishing for the compliments he knew Cas would want to give him.

  Sure enough, Cas grinned, and he gently ran a tissue over Matty’s hair. “You looked better than good,” he said. “You looked delectable.”

  Matty bit his lip. He was exhausted after a long, emotional day, and he couldn’t seem to stop the words spilling out. “Did I look like I was yours?”

  Cas paused, looking back down at Matty with a more serious expression. “Very much so.”

  Matty nodded. Thankfully, Cas was done with his cleanup, and he pulled Matty in for a cuddle. No matter what happened, Cas would always be able to remember Matty blissed out and covered in both their cum. Matty hoped he’d remember their walk in the rose gardens, and eating donuts, and making meals together in his apartment – all the good stuff.

  No matter what, no one could take those memories from them. That was the thought Matty clung on to as he fell asleep in Cas’s arms, safe and protected for just one more night.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cas

  Something wasn’t right. Something aside from the fact that Ida von Tarr had apparently decided to ramp up her hate campaign against not just Cas, but the entire royal family in the run up to the five-hundred-year celebration ball on Sunday. That was bad enough.

  But the palace’s response to Cas’s shocking scandal was causing him just as much worry.

  Because there hadn’t been one yet.

  From a quick internet search, almost every news publication in Rosavia was reporting on the story by Saturday morning. Even neighboring nations like Grechzen were putting it on their front pages. It seemed everybody had something to say about Cas’s illicit affair with a supposed gold digging commoner. But when he had woken up in the cabin expecting to have heard from Valentina regarding an official palace statement, there was still silence.

  It made Cas nervous. Not as nervous as he had been yesterday, when he’d cared more what other people had to say, but still. This was a public humiliation for the crown.

  Wasn’t it?

  Cas texted Valentina for an update before he urged Matty to wake up. Matty grumbled adorably as Cas cajoled him back into the shower to freshen up, then they dressed and Matty started making them breakfast from the supplies they’d received the day before. In all that time, Valentina just replied saying ‘things are still in motion’ and to ‘hang tight.’

  Cas would have expected to have been raked across the coals by yesterday afternoon. Why wasn’t the palace’s PR department already tearing him a new one? What was Cas missing here?

  Initially, his gut reaction was to hide his worries from Matty. But then he realized with a jolt that they’d promised not to do that anymore. Their future was uncertain, but after last night their present was clear.

  It was built on a solid foundation of honesty and truth.

  Cas had never felt like that with anyone before. Not even when he and Matty had been having sex for several days in his apartment. Cas had known Matty needed to say those personal truths out loud, as if declaring them to the whole universe, not just himself and Cas. The fact that Matty had done as Cas had asked, and that Matty clearly felt better for doing so, was heady. Even though they’d just frotted, it had felt like the best sex of Cas’s life.

  And he’d woken up expecting to have to get in front of the cameras and publicly denounce Matty, and then possibly stay away from him forever.

  But there was still nothing. Was it wrong of Cas to hope?

  So Cas told Matty all of this as Matty cooked for them. Cas divulged all the worries bouncing around his head, but also how good he felt after their night together. And Matty smiled and smiled until he abandoned their bacon and eggs for a minute to come sit in Cas’s lap on the sofa.

  Cas had worried Matty would look at him differently if he found out that Cas was a prince. And he did look at him differently today. But Cas suspected it wasn’t because he thought of Cas as having tons of money and power.

  It was because he saw Cas’s heart. And that was far more valuable than anything Cas go
t from being a prince.

  “I agree,” Matty said, playing with Cas’s T-shirt. “What we did last night felt right in a way I can’t even explain. Thank you.”

  Cas kissed the tip of his nose, his cheek, and then his lips. “You’re welcome,” he replied, flushed with pride and a sense of accomplishment. It seemed crazy that he’d initially thought he’d make Matty happy by paying for fancy stuff. This was the gift Cas had to give in taking care of his lover. His words and actions were far more valuable than any trinkets he could bestow on him.

  But as confident as he was with their relationship just between the two of them, there was still the palace and the country to consider. He’d never be allowed to be with Matty in peace, he was sure.

  “You’re worried that you haven’t heard from your family,” Matty prompted.

  Cas shook his head. “I’ve heard from my brothers. Some of them, anyway.” Leo, Jules, and Wren had been strangely sympathetic. Ben hadn’t said a thing, but there was a good chance he hadn’t seen the news in the past twenty-four hours, depending on where Aunt Geraldine had sent him off to. “But not my parents. And certainly not from the palace’s legal or PR departments. If I didn’t know better, I’d say my valet was stalling.”

  Matty frowned. “Is that something she usually does?”

  “Nope,” Cas shook his head. “Never. She’s blunt to a fault. It’s one of her best qualities. She never bullshits me.”

  “Maybe she’s protecting you?” Matty suggested.

  Cas raised his eyebrows. “By keeping me in the dark? Not a good plan.”

  “As we’ve discovered,” Matty agreed, poking Cas lightly on the chest. Damn, Cas felt lucky they were already able to tentatively joke about his fuckup. That went a long way to convincing Cas that Matty really had forgiven him. “Okay, well, there’s nothing we can do about it right now,” Matty said. “Come and eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”

  Matty hopped up to start dishing their food onto plates, but Cas followed and threw his arms around his waist and kissed his neck, making Matty squeal.

  “I wanted to do that the first time you cooked for me,” Cas growled, his cock stirring in his pants. “You’re so cute when you’re concentrating.”

  Matty hummed and turned slightly so they could kiss. “We have more eggs if you want something else for breakfast,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

  Cas thought that was a great idea. So of course his phone went off at that precise moment.

  “Ah, damn,” he said with a sigh. He would love to ignore it, but it was almost certainly an update on the situation, so he needed to grab it. “Sorry, babe.”

  Matty kissed his cheek. “I’ll keep your food warm.”

  Cas snatched up the cell before the call rang out. It was Valentina. “Hey. What’s the news?” he asked as he jogged outside. The summer sunshine was back, and everything smelled incredibly fresh from the night of rain.

  “Good morning, Your Highness,” Valentina said. “I hope you slept well.”

  There was a teasing note to her voice, which confused Cas. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t mind a little ribbing at all from her, but under the circumstances, he expected her to be more serious. Wasn’t he still fucked?

  “As well as to be expected,” he said neutrally. In fact, after he and Matty had reconciled, he’d gone out like a light. No doubt the great sex had helped him sleep, too. But that was more information than Valentina needed. “Is there a statement ready for me yet? Or is a representative going to speak on behalf of the family?”

  “Neither,” she replied.

  Cas wandered down the short jetty and looked out over the small lake with its usually soothing waterfall splashing away. Cas was a little too on edge to appreciate it now, though. He frowned. “Neither?”

  “Your father wants to speak to you,” Valentina said briskly. “I need you to take Matty back to your apartment, where we’re making arrangements for him to stay somewhere the press can’t reach him. I’ve gotten him a new phone and we can collect all his things from the hotel and the apartment.”

  Cas shook his head. “It’s Finley’s graduation tournament today. Matty will need to get to Elm Willows – if he’s allowed?” God, that would be awful if he had to miss her competition. But before a fresh wave of guilt could engulf him, Valentina responded.

  “Oh, of course. Right. Well, still bring him to the apartment, and I’ll work it out from there. Whether or not you’ll still be attending will most likely depend on what His Majesty has to say.”

  “Right,” Cas said faintly, still feeling like he was missing something.

  This wasn’t how he’d expected this to unfold at all. But he and Matty had already established that they couldn’t control what was happening in the outside world. They could only control their relationship, which was now in much better shape after last night. So perhaps he needed to stop worrying about what he’d expected to happen, and just roll with it.

  “Okay,” he said, exhaling. “We’ll pack up here and see you shortly at the apartment. If anything changes, let me know.”

  “Certainly, Your Highness. Say ‘hi’ to Matty for me,” she added playfully.

  Before he could respond, she hung up, leaving Cas staring at the now blank phone screen. He was less surprised that she’d guessed the two of them had made up, and more confused as to why she sounded so happy about it.

  What did she know that Cas didn’t?

  Matty had taken this development much better than Cas. He was eager to get back to some kind of normalcy, and he was thrilled that he’d be able to attend Finley’s graduation after all. Cas was supposed to be adjudicating that tournament, ironically, but that had been two weeks ago, when his whole vacation in the city had needed covering up. He wasn’t sure now what counted as official duty and what didn’t.

  He’d worry about that later, though. First, he and Matty quickly had breakfast, packed up all their things, made sure their phones were charged, and locked up the cabin once more. Cas wondered if they’d ever be back there. He had no way to know, but at least now he clung to a glimmer of hope.

  During the ride back into the city, Cas had the radio on and chatted about whatever popped into his head, extremely pleased when Matty joined in. They could almost pretend that everything was fine and the sword of Damocles wasn’t hanging above their heads, waiting to drop at any second. Because it might never fall.

  So when Cas parked outside of the apartment, he gave Matty a searing kiss goodbye, running his fingers through Matty’s black curls and touching the hickey mark just below Matty’s T-shirt collar. Cas looked into Matty’s wide, slightly dazed blue eyes as he cupped the side of his face.

  “I’ll see you later,” Cas promised, knowing he would do everything in his power to make sure that happened. He wasn’t going to let Matty just disappear back to New York. Cas would go and find out what the hell was going on, then he’d come back to the man he loved and make some sort of plan with him.

  This wasn’t the end.

  “O-okay,” Matty stammered, then he smiled. “Later. At the tournament?”

  Cas smiled and gave him one last kiss. “I’ll do my best.”

  He watched as Matty exited the car and retrieved his bags from the trunk. Then he was greeted by Cas’s security detail as he approached the apartment building. Cas couldn’t see any reporters lurking around, but it was difficult to tell with the long-range lenses they worked with. Either way, Matty nodded at something the guy in charge said, then turned and gave Cas a wave before disappearing inside.

  There was nothing left for Cas to do but turn his car around and head back to the palace.

  To face his father.

  Cas appreciated that he didn’t have the sort of relationship with his parents that most people would consider normal. But what was normal, anyway? Yes, the king and queen had been distant and painfully formal during most of his life – especially his childhood and teenage years – but they were loving in their own ways. Definitely not lik
e Matty’s asshole folks ,who had turned their backs on their kids just for their sexuality. That was impossible to even consider doing to a child, in Cas’s opinion.

  But even so, Cas tended to think of his own parents as the king and queen first, and mother and father second. So for King Alphonse to request an audience with Cas before releasing an official statement meant he wanted to discuss the matter in an official capacity, rather than a father-son chat.

  And Cas had no clue as to what he might have to say.

  Valentina was waiting for him in his suite and, after Cas taking a moment to pet Bella, his valet helped him quickly dress from his casual wear into a suit. He’d used the back entrance, but there were press camped outside the palace with their damn cameras, and it would be best if he were properly clothed if they caught a glimpse of him.

  “Is he angry?” Cas finally, asked when it became clear from Valentina’s silence that she wasn’t going to offer any information willingly.

  Sure enough, she arched an eyebrow as she ran a clothes brush over Cas’s limbs, catching any stray hairs from Bella. “I couldn’t possibly say,” was her reply.

  Cas sighed impatiently. “I mean-”

  “Look,” she interrupted, dropping the brush back in the drawer and closing it with a bang. She placed her hands on her hips and fixed him with a stern glare that she usually reserved for discussing Cas’s troublesome brothers. “You know how you feel about Matty, correct?”

  Cas blinked. “Yeah?” he said slowly.

  She nodded. “Then that’s all that matters. Not crown or country. You two and your hearts. Does he hate you?”

  Cas exhaled. “No. I’m pretty sure it’s the very opposite of hate, actually,” he said in relief.

  Valentina nodded again and pointed to his door. “Then you get out there and say what you need to say, okay? Stop living for everyone else and do what’s right for you, Your Highness.”