“Yes,” she said, her hands still over her eyes.
“A moment, sister, and we will be there,” Eamon said.
Without another word, Avelina spun away and hastily made her way back up the path.
Alik risked a look back at Eamon. He didn’t know why his heart tripped when he did so, like he would be in trouble, or perhaps Eamon would say that it was a fleeting thing.
Instead, Eamon kissed him again, sweeter this time.
“My Prince, would you care to finish this later?” Eamon whispered in his ear.
Alik closed his eyes and smiled. “I would like to finish this now, my King. But I will certainly make myself ready and available at your leisure.”
“You are a menace,” Eamon swore and backed away from him.
“I am. But I am your menace to do what you will.”
Eamon huffed and turned back to the path that Avelina had disappeared down. “If this is not a matter of life or death, someone will be in the sparring ring with me before the day ends.”
“But not tonight!” Alik called to him.
Eamon paused and turned. He looked at Alik from head to toe and there was that shiver down Alik’s spine again. “No, not tonight. I am previously engaged.” And then he was gone.
THE PRESSING MATTER concerned wedding attire and which sword Eamon would wear for the ceremony.
It had been Edmond and Willhelm’s suggestion to consult with Eamon immediately, instead of waiting like the tailor wished.
They paid for their trickery dearly, just like Eamon swore they would.
Chapter 9
That night at dinner, it seemed like the rest of his knights were prepared to give Eamon an equally hard time and Alik watched on, eager to see how else they could get themselves in trouble. Until Edmond and Willhelm limped in, far behind the others, exhausted. They were freshly bathed, as they were covered in dirt and mud and sweat when Eamon let them leave the sparring ring.
Alik saw the words die on the other knights lips as they saw one of their captains and a Prince so put down.
When Eamon walked in, after Edmond and Willhelm, he looked to his knights and raised an eyebrow at them. “It seems like you all are full of good cheer,” he stated breezily.
His tone made them all stand up a little straighter and their eyes were forward.
“Nicolin?” Eamon said.
Nicolin stepped forward and his usual tan was slightly more pale than usual. “We only wish for our Crown Prince’s greatest happiness in all things and know that where he succeeds, so go we all.”
“And you had no hand in today’s earlier plot?” Eamon asked and stepped in front of him. The men were lined up against a wall, perfect formation, weapons gleaming and uniforms perfect. As always.
“Of course not, Your Highness. I am fond of all my parts in their current arrangement and have no wish in angering you, whether it be in jest or good humor,” Nicolin said.
Eamon stared at Nicolin for a moment before gesturing for him to return to his place in formation. “I suggest you follow Sir Nicolin’s words and remember what my brother and Sir Willhelm look like right now.”
There was a cheer of agreement and then Eamon was sliding into the chair next Alik.
“You beast,” Lissandra said fondly. Edmond slumped in his chair.
“Hm,” Eamon said and took Alik’s hand in his own and kissed his knuckles in a remarkably casual move. He didn’t even seem to register the affection as unusual but Alik’s breath caught.
“Where are our parents tonight?” Eamon asked and looked around.
“Night sailing with entertainers from the village. I believe they even asked the oracle to go with them so that she might tell them the future,” Avelina said.
After that, the conversation drifted to other, more mundane things and Issat kept having to nudge Alik when someone would ask him something specifically. There was merriment in her eyes though and Alik could see that she was glad to perform this small duty.
Eamon was attentive to him and kept a hand on him at all times, possessively. Sometimes it was just on his hand or his wrist but at some point, his hand was on Alik’s leg and Alik was fairly certain he was going to end up dragging Eamon from the table before dinner was over.
It was such a different affair from their first dinner. The entire room, filled with visitors, nobles, and knights was joyful and the conversation at their own table was loud and filled with more than a few overlapping conversations.
One by one, groups began to leave and when half of them were gone, Alik leaned over to Eamon. “I will see you in your room. I have some things to take care of before I join you.”
“Of course,” Eamon said and as Alik stood, so did the rest of the hall.
Alik blinked around at everyone, startled. Then he looked down at Eamon, the only one who remained seated.
“They honor you,” Eamon said softly.
“Oh,” Alik muttered.
Then Eamon stood, kissed his hand once more, then his cheek, before letting him go.
A cheer went up around the room and followed Alik and Issat out into the hall.
“I don’t want to sound presumptuous but-” Issat began.
Alik braced himself for questions that would probably be far too personal in nature.
“Can we live the rest of our lives here?” She asked.
Alik let out a laugh and relaxed. “Yes. Yes, that is the plan.”
Issat left him at his room with a knowing look and then went to her own rooms. Inside his room, there were several servants filling a tub for him and clean clothes laid out for him on the bed that looked like they could pass for something he might sleep in but they seemed to be finer, better made. The loose tunic laced up at the throat and the britches seemed to be held up by a drawstring. Other than that, and the fact that they were white, they seemed unremarkable.
A servant dumped in a bowl filled with flower petals and a few drops of oil before she left and Alik had to wonder who was behind all of this.
But instead of thinking on it too hard, Alik stripped and got into the warm water, and washed. He felt giddy, like the first time he was courted by a nobleman back home.
This was different, though. His first time, he knew that it would only be once, just a brief dalliance, but something to add to his experience. It had been a pleasant enough time and the nobleman made sure that Alik was satisfied before he took his leave, but he did leave.
With Eamon, neither one of them would have to leave. Or hide. This was something that Alik could have, for as long as Eamon would have him.
Eager to get to Eamon’s side, and with a few more things to prepare, Alik got out of his bath and dried off before he dug through his own personal supplies and found a vial of oil. It was several more minutes of him laying naked on his bed before he deemed himself ready. He slipped into the clothes that were left for him. They were indeed very fine but when Alik looked down, he noted with some horror, that it was possible to see through them.
“I can’t wear this,” Alik whispered out loud. He was about to open his own wardrobe when there was a knock at his door.
A servant opened the door and Alik froze.
“Prince Eamon bid me to tell you he is in his rooms,” he murmured.
“Yes, of course, thank you,” Alik said.
He left.
Alik stood in the middle of his room in the loose white tunic and the matching britches. What if Eamon had sent these clothes? Would he be insulted if Alik wasn’t wearing them? What if he hadn’t sent the clothes? Would he be insulted that Alik was wearing them?
There were far too many factors to consider and Alik felt like he could drown in them.
Finally, he looked to the door. He could be in here all night trying to decide on something that Eamon might like or he could just go as he was.
Alik decided to go. He did not want to keep either one of them waiting.
He opened the door, expecting to see a two guards there and to feel their eyes on him.
&n
bsp; There was no one.
Instead, when he looked down to the entrance of the wing, the guards stood there, with their backs to the rooms. No one was there to see him as he was, as he slipped from his own rooms to Eamon’s.
Perhaps it was Eamon who planned and plotted this whole thing. Then Alik was at his door, his hand on the carved wolves, and he pushed it open.
Eamon was standing in front of the fireplace, a goblet in his hand, still in his chiton. His hair was loose around his shoulders and he was gazing out the window.
“It’s a beautiful night, my King,” Alik said and leaned back against the door and locked it.
Eamon turned and caught sight of Alik and there was that gaze again; heated, full of want, and this time, eager for more than just kisses.
“It is. The sea and the moon bless us,” Eamon said and put the goblet down on the mantle above the fireplace.
“Was this your gift?” Alik asked and gestured to the clothes he wore.
“It was. Do you like it?”
“I do. But more importantly, do you?”
Eamon paced forward and if Alik were not already pressed against the door, he probably would have ended up there.
Eamon caged him in with his arms on either side of his head and Alik slipped his hands into the belt of his chiton. Eamon nudged his nose against Alik’s and kissed the corner of his mouth and then dipped down lower, licked the line of his jaw.
“I believe it suits you very well, my Prince.”
Alik shivered and then Eamon was pressing kisses to his neck and Alik raised his arms to Eamon’s neck once more, let his fingers tug on the silky tresses.
“Do you want this?” Alik whispered. He didn’t even know what he referred to himself, but that it was a question he needed answering.
“I do. I want you, I want this, for as long as you’ll have me,” Eamon whispered. He wrapped his arms around Alik and pulled him close, then leaned down and picked Alik up. Alik wrapped his legs around Eamon’s waist and for a moment, Eamon just held him there, looked up at Alik as Alik traced the lines of his face. “Do you want this?”
“More than I thought I could ever want someone,” Alik murmured. He cupped Eamon’s face in his hand and leaned down. The kiss was sweet, chaste, but the intent behind it was not. Eamon moaned into Alik’s mouth and it was sweeter than spring berries.
Eamon walked him over to the bed and laid him down gently and loomed over him. Alik traced his hands over his tattoos and then Eamon was pulling his tunic off and kissing his chest. Alik couldn’t remember a time when he felt safer and more wanted in his life than he did with Eamon memorizing the lines of his body his lips and tongue. When Eamon reached the edge of the loose britches, he made his way back up to where Alik was laying.
“I do not do this often,” Eamon whispered. He tugged at the drawstring of Alik’s britches until it came loose.
“Nor do I, but I remember much,” Alik said with a wink. He found the pins that kept Eamon’s chiton closed and quickly undid them. The only item of clothing that he wore fell quickly and Alik tossed it off the bed. “Lay down.”
Eamon raised an eyebrow but did as Alik told him, stretched out on the bed, atop the many pillows that were at the head.
Alik’s own trousers were barely hanging onto his hips, but he ignored that for now, instead fascinated by Eamon’s body, so unlike his own.
The snakes that were around his hips that Alik wondered about many times were on full display now, and Alik traced their path from the cut of Eamon’s hips down to his upper thighs. There were so many tattoos that Alik wanted to learn the nature of, but he was far more concerned with other things at the moment.
Eamon’s cock was hard and Alik did not deny himself a single moment of wondering. He laid down beside Eamon and propped his head up on Eamon’s chest and wrapped his hand around Eamon’s hard length and began to stroke him.
Eamon’s breath caught and Alik could hear his heart speed up. “I have wondered about this from the first time I saw you in Cerith.”
“Did you? What are your thoughts?” Eamon’s voice was breathy in a way that Alik had never heard before.
“So far, you live up to every thought,” Alik said.
“So far?”
Alik took his hand off Eamon and slipped his britches off easily. Then he slid between Eamon’s thighs and looked up at Eamon and winked once more. Then he licked the long length of him, before slowly swallowing him down.
There was a choked exclamation above him but Alik had more important things to focus on. Alik used his tongue to trace every ridge of Eamon’s cock in his mouth before he pulled off.
Eamon was more flushed than Alik had ever seen him.
“Yes, so far, you are magnificent, my King,” Alik said before he pushed Eamon’s thighs together and crawled up the length of him. He leaned over, kissed him, and reached for the vial he had spied when he walked into the room. It was on the small table next to the bed and Alik poured a generous amount on his palm before massaging it into Eamon’s cock.
Eamon grasped his hips and one warm hand went to Alik’s own length, stroked him, and Eamon seemed so lost in the kisses and Alik’s hands that we almost wasn’t prepared for Alik sitting up and leaning back.
“Wait-” Eamon said and grasped Alik’s hips. Alik paused and looked down at Eamon. “You are not prepared.”
Alik did not think he could hold anymore affection for this man, but he was wrong.
“Fret not, my King. I have done the work for you,” Alik murmured and waited for Eamon’s hands to loosen when the words finally made sense to Eamon before Alik leaned back and slid slowly down onto Eamon’s cock.
Alik was never so thankful for his own forethought. He could feel the girth of Eamon stretching him wider and he groaned. It was the most delightful burn as Eamon filled him and kept filling him. When he was seated, he threw his head back, clutched at Eamon, and moaned out loud once again. He was suddenly grateful that Eamon sent the guards down the hall.
Eamon took the vial in his own hands and as Alik ground down on his cock, he filled his own palm with the oil before wrapping a hand around Alik’s length. He gave a full body shudder as Eamon did and began to roll his hips.
“I have never-” Alik whispered and cut himself off when he found that spot inside himself and gasped out loud. Eamon seemed to know what he meant either way and continued his long, fluid strokes. Alik began to slowly fuck himself on Eamon’s cock, pulling himself up and slowly sliding back down.
Then Eamon’s hand was gone and he was flipping them over so that Alik was on his back and Eamon was on top. He used one arm to keep his weight off of Alik and the other to continue to stroke him in time with own thrusts. Once more, Alik wrapped his legs around Eamon’s waist and encouraged him to go faster and harder.
Alik came first, much to his surprise. But it didn’t take long before Eamon was fucking into him hard and then Alik could feel him pulse deep inside of him and Eamon pulled him close, tucked his face into Alik’s neck, until finally he was soft enough to pull out.
Eamon fell to the side of Alik and kissed his hand and shoulder and neck and face.
“Next time, I would prefer to do the work,” Eamon whispered.
Alik smiled though his eyes were closing. “I will remember that, my King.”
ALIK WAS HAVING THE most beautiful dream. He was laid out on a bed of the softest grass, naked, below Eamon. His legs were spread and Eamon was stroking him gently and his legs were over Eamon’s shoulders and he was exposed in a way he had never been before.
Not only that, Eamon’s tongue was deep inside of him and it sounded like he was enjoying it as much as Alik.
Then Alik opened his eyes and he realized that it wasn’t a dream. Eamon was doing the very thing that Alik had dreamt about and Alik couldn’t do anything about it but spread his legs wider for him.
“Eamon, Eamon, please-” Alik whispered. He felt like he was still caught somewhere in his dream but Eamon knew what he wa
nted, waking or dreaming. There was another vial and Eamon slicked himself up and then he was inside Alik once more.
The fire was but embers and Alik couldn’t see much in the room but he already knew the feel of Eamon, knew that he would remember it forever.
Alik felt feverish for him and Eamon could tell. He fucked Alik hard and fast and the temperature rose in the room.
“Wait-” Alik whispered and Eamon pulled away. Alik turned over so that he was on all fours and Eamon groaned.
Then he was pushing back inside Alik, draping himself over Alik, his mouth right by Alik’s ear.
“This is where you belong-” Eamon whispered in his ear.
“Yes,” Alik murmured, both to Eamon’s thrusts and his statement.
“In my bed, naked, hard, waiting for me to fill you-”
“My King-” Alik said, a prayer and a command all at once.
“With my cock inside you-”
“Please-”
“Are you hard for me? Can you come without a touch?”
Alik knew he could, with Eamon’s thrusting hitting the exact spot he needed, over and over again.
With a cry, Alik came, and behind him, Eamon chuckled. “That’s my good Prince.”
Then Eamon leaned back and grasped Alik with rough hands and truly began to fuck into him. Alik felt a kind of peace descend over him that he had never experienced before and relished the feeling of Eamon filling his hole over and over again.
“Yours, I am yours, my King,” he whispered.
It was Eamon’s turn to cry out and that feeling of being filled was deep inside of Alik again.
Once more, Eamon fell to the side and this time, he brought Alik to his chest. “I was not prepared for this,” Eamon whispered.
“Nor was I,” Alik confessed.
Once again, they slept.
Chapter 10
Alik woke to a kiss on his chest.
“What-”
“I must go,” Eamon said.
For a moment, while still sleep muddled, Alik panicked. “Why? Where?”
“Only morning drills, my Prince. Sleep. Your meetings aren’t till mid-morning,” Eamon said.
A Prince's Duty (The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow, #1) Page 14