by J. M. Snyder
Then Tovin shifted in his seat and pressed Amery back against the table behind him. Their lips met in a velvet crush. This was what they’d both been waiting for, this…since the last time Tovin had been at the castle, Amery had ached for this touch, these lips, this mouth on his, this sweetness he tasted in his sleep and yearned for throughout the day.
When Tovin tried to pull away, Amery’s hands fisted in his hair, keeping him close. It took a dozen little kisses before the regent would release him. Breathless, the knight teased, “So you’d risk the kingdom’s safety because you don’t want to be lonely?”
“I’d miss you.” Amery pulled Tovin to him again, mouth covering the knight’s to claim another kiss. Against his lips, Amery whispered, “I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned making you castellan. You’d command the castle guard. We’d never have to sleep apart.”
“And the servants would talk,” Tovin reminded him.
Amery sighed, exasperated. “Let them,” he snapped. “I’m the regent. Do they not want me to be happy?”
Tovin smoothed down Amery’s sleek hair and didn’t reply. Amery knew his lover had heard it before—whenever they managed to get together, he always started in on how unfair it was they had to keep their love a secret, how they had to fight to dissuade rumors, how he would be so much happier if they could just stay together forever and the rest of the kingdom, the rest of the world, be damned. The mock feud between the regent and his knight had begun when King Adin still ruled the land, but that man was gone. Could laws not be changed? Why did Amery have to abide by his father’s word?
But though he was loathe to admit it, there was some sense of duty in him that held his tongue. He had been raised for the throne, and trained to keep the kingdom in mind at all times. Much as he wanted to be nothing more than a man in love, he knew in his heart that as long as the threat of the crown hovered above him like a halo just beyond his reach, he would never be free. Or happy…
Amery closed his eyes in frustration and pressed his lips to Tovin’s. “You make me happy,” he whispered. “Don’t fight with the others. Gods, if Giles was half the swordsman you are, if his sword had dug a mite deeper…”
“Don’t think that,” Tovin told him. “I’m fine.” Cradling Amery’s face in his hands, he stared into his eyes and smiled. “I am fine, really. More so now that you’re here with me—”
Behind them the door scraped open. Amery stumbled backwards in his haste to pull away from Tovin and cracked his head against the table behind him. “Fuck,” he muttered as he stood.
Tugging his coverlet into place, he glared at the young page who entered the room. “Do you not knock?” he demanded, his voice sharper than it needed to be. But they’d almost been caught—why had he not locked the door behind him when he entered? What had the boy seen? Almost…
The page looked at Tovin’s bare chest and frowned. “Your Highness,” he gasped. “Sir Tovin. I did not know…”
Tovin sighed, weary. “What is it?” Amery snapped again.
As the page’s gaze flickered over him, Amery raised a hand to smooth down his hair and hoped the heat in his cheeks didn’t give him away. “Sir Lohden is looking for you,” the boy said. “Your Highness, is everything—”
“Fine,” Amery said, thinking quickly. “Sir Tovin was wounded earlier.”
“I’m not—” Tovin started.
Amery ignored him. “I want a physician in here at once.”
Taking another step away from Tovin, the regent toyed absently with the knight’s surcoat, discarded on the table. He seemed unable to raise his eyes to look at the page—all he saw was Tovin’s naked chest, and the knight’s taste was still sharp in his mouth. But when he realized the page was still in the room, he pushed the surcoat out of reach with a scowl. “Well?” he asked, impatient to be alone again. “He shall bleed to death while you stand there gawking. What are you waiting for? A royal decree?”
The boy scurried from the room. “Wait!” Tovin cried out, rising to his feet, but the page was already gone. Turning to show Amery the sword’s scratch, he added, “I’m not bleeding. I don’t need a physician and you know it.”
Amery shrugged. “What else was I supposed to say?” he wanted to know. “You’re half dressed. You said yourself the servants talk.”
Glancing at the open door, he sighed. He wanted to touch Tovin again, to kiss him and feel his strong hands on his body, but he couldn’t chance it, not now. “I love you,” he whispered. His lips barely moved as he said the words.
Tovin smiled and leaned in close, until Amery’s coverlet brushed against his bare chest with each trembling breath. Amery’s whole body ached to span the inch that separated them, to take his lover into his arms and never let him go, but he couldn’t do that, he just couldn’t.
Then Tovin whispered into his ear, his deep voice like that of a breathless ghost. “One hour,” he promised.
Outside the room, footsteps rang in the stone hall, and Amery knew he should move away, they shouldn’t be seen like this, but his body wouldn’t obey and he let Tovin’s hot breath curl through him, warming a path from his ear to his groin. “I’ll meet you in your chambers then. Tell the servants you don’t wish to be disturbed.”
As the page entered the room again, Tovin turned from Amery and gathered up his armor and surcoat from the table. “I don’t need medical attention,” Tovin told the boy. “The regent here is just over-reacting.”
Amery’s face flushed from the memory of Tovin’s closeness. To cover his emotions, he replied hotly, “I am not over-reacting!”
The physician entered the room behind the page. A young woman a few years Tovin’s senior, she flashed them a bright but harried smile. “You’re wounded?” she asked, as if the thought made her day.
Tovin shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said again. “Just a flesh wound. Nothing more.”
Without looking at Amery, he strode from the room, brushing between the page and the physician. After a moment’s hesitation, the physician dropped a quick curtsey at the regent, then scurried after the knight.
Amery smirked when he heard her call after Tovin to slow down, let her take a look. Then he noticed his page, waiting to be addressed, and he remembered the boy’s reason for interrupting them. Scowling, he prompted, “Sir Lohden?”
One hour, he thought. Then he’ll be mine. Finally. He didn’t know if he could wait that much longer.
Chapter 5
An hour later, Tovin slipped through the castle halls to the regent’s chambers. The castle guard recognized the knight and didn’t question him. The commander of the kingdom’s southern troops, Tovin was well known among the guard, who had heard of his being stationed at the castle. Those who saw him pass on his way to Amery’s rooms assumed he was going to argue that command with the regent yet again. With Sir Tovin in residence, the regent’s mood had steadily deteriorated throughout the evening, until servants and guards alike began to hurry out of the way whenever Amery approached, glowering. They avoided Tovin altogether, which suited the knight just fine.
At Amery’s door, he didn’t even knock. The door opened easily, as he knew it would, and he closed it quietly behind him when he entered. I’ve been waiting too long, he thought as he crossed the sitting room on the way to the bed chamber. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I should let him reassign me here, where I can see him every day, and love him every night.
In the bedroom he stopped at the doorway, speechless. The regent’s oversized bed stood on a dais, commanding most of the room, and was covered in rich teal sheets, its pillows and comforter crafted from a shimmering fabric that alternated between teal and a deep bronze depending on the light. The regent’s crest was embroidered in a golden brocade on the pillows, but the fall of dark auburn hair spread across the pillows obscured much of their design. Amery lay on his back above the covers, his long hair fanned out around him, his slim body nude.
Candles flickered around the room, casting a golden glow on the regent’s skin, burni
shing the knot of red hair curled at his groin, igniting a fire deep within his light green eyes. His slim body still retained much of its boyish characteristics—the hairless chest, the clusters of freckles that dotted his pale flesh, the narrow hips, the lithe legs. But the thick, uncut length that hung between those legs was a man’s cock, and Tovin’s own dick stirred in his breeches at the sight of Amery’s glorious shaft.
As he watched, the regent’s long fingers strummed over his flat stomach, over the slight mound of his pubic bone, then down along his cock. Beneath the feathery touch, his dick stirred like a beast roused from slumber; Tovin saw it twitch and could feel the shudder that ran through Amery at his own touch. Then the plum-colored knob poked from under the foreskin, pre-cum already beading on its tip.
“Well?” The regent’s voice was low, intimate between them, but Tovin jumped at the suddenness of it. “Will you join me?” Amery asked, “or would you rather watch?”
Without reply, Tovin shed his armor covering and swallowed against the lust rising in him as he approached the bed. Amery watched him with hooded bedroom eyes that smoldered like coals, his lips curved into a sexy half-smile. One thought flittered through Tovin’s mind…Did I lock the door?
Almost immediately, he answered, Who cares? There was no way he was going back, not now. Let the kingdom fall during the night, let the castle walls tumble down around them, let King Adin himself come back from the dead and tear through the door to the regent’s chambers, Tovin didn’t care. All that mattered at the moment was taking the man before him into his arms, pressing as much of his bare skin to Amery’s as he could, and diving so deep within the regent that he never surfaced again.
“Gods,” he breathed as he crawled onto Amery.
The regent started to speak, but Tovin covered his mouth with his own, silencing him with a hungry kiss as his hands roamed the smooth body beneath him. His fingers plucked Amery’s nipples erect, eliciting gasps of delight from his lover. Moving lower, he brushed away the hand at Amery’s crotch and grasped the thick length, massaging it in his fist, working it hard.
“Tovin,” Amery managed to murmur between kisses. When Tovin cupped his balls and tickled one forefinger along the tender skin behind them, the regent arched into the knight’s body and moaned. “It’s been too long.”
Straddling Amery’s hips, Tovin sat back and pulled off his surcoat. “It has,” he agreed with a grin.
The regent reached for him, hands tugging at the scant hair on his chest, then thumbing over his nipples. Each touch sent a sliver of pleasure spiking through Tovin like lightning, striking his overly sensitive nipples and shooting down to stir the blood already thickening in his dick. He could come from such play—one of the first times he and Amery had been together, when they were still teenagers and kissing was the extent of their lovemaking, Amery had been amused to find that a few minutes’ suckling on Tovin’s teats was more than enough to get him off.
Catching Amery’s hands in his, Tovin raised them to his mouth and kissed each fingertip. “Stop that,” he admonished, “or I won’t be able to pierce that sexy ass of yours with my sword.”
Amery laughed and, twisting one hand free from Tovin’s grip, poked at the bulge in the front of the knight’s breeches. “Your sword? Is that what this is? Unsheathe it, knight, and wield it for me. Let me test its breadth and heft. Let me feel its blade.”
Tovin rocked back, his buttocks pressing Amery’s hard cock under them. The regent’s mocking words dissolved in a gasp of delight as his eyes shut against the sensations caused by Tovin’s body against his. The hand at Tovin’s crotch bunched in the fabric covering his erection with a gentle squeeze that made him moan.
Catching that hand again, Tovin raised it to the other and held both of Amery’s wrists to his chest. “I have an idea,” he announced.
“What’s that?” Amery wiggled his hips beneath Tovin to remind him that he was waiting for something more. “Can you tell me later?”
Tovin laughed. “I can tell you now,” he replied. “I’m still mostly dressed. These pants aren’t coming off until I’m ready.”
Amery pouted and tried to twist his wrists free from Tovin’s grip. “I think you’re ready now,” he declared. “I’m the regent. My word is law. I say you’re ready.”
Laughing again, Tovin leaned down over the regent, stretching his lover’s hands above his head to keep them out of reach. Amery’s nipples brushed Tovin’s; he had to close his eyes against the thrill sparked by that touch. Between them, his cock throbbed in his pants, aching for release.
“I think you’re in no position to argue with me now,” he whispered, touching the tip of Amery’s nose with his own. Amery leaned up for a kiss but Tovin pulled away slightly. “Not yet.”
Amery sighed, frustrated. “Kiss me now. I demand it.”
“You can’t make demands here,” Tovin told him. Squeezing his wrists gently, he kissed Amery’s cheek, just a flutter of his lips against the soft skin. When Amery turned to catch the kiss on his mouth, however, Tovin pulled away again. “You’re not doing this right.”
Exasperated, Amery said, “Then tell me your idea already, will you? Tell me so we can get on with this. Please?” When Tovin didn’t reply, he added, “I’ll beg if you want me to.”
Tovin thought it over. The image of Amery on his knees, naked and begging to be loved, was almost too much to bear. “Much as I like the way that sounds,” Tovin said, kissing Amery’s chin as his lover whimpered, “I’ll not make you beg. Not tonight.”
Amery tried to kiss Tovin, but the knight pulled away as his lover’s lips brushed against his jaw. “Tovin,” Amery whined, and Tovin laughed. “This isn’t fun.”
“This is a lot of fun,” Tovin argued. He slid down a little, grinding his hips into Amery’s, until their erections pressed together with a sweet ache. “Don’t you want to hear my idea?”
“Will you love me after you tell me?” Amery wanted to know.
Without warning, Tovin kissed Amery greedily, his lips parting Amery’s own as his tongue eased into his lover’s waiting mouth. Amery moaned, breathless, and arched into Tovin again, trying to twist out of his grip without success. “I love you now,” Tovin whispered, trailing tiny kisses down Amery’s jaw. He caught Amery’s earlobe between his teeth and nipped gently. “Here’s my idea.”
“What is it?” Amery sighed, his breath a soft rush in Tovin’s ear.
Grinning, Tovin whispered, “I think you should reassign me to the castle guard.” Then he sat back and winked at Amery. “What do you think? Isn’t that brilliant?”
For a moment, the regent stared at him, flabbergasted. Then he struggled against Tovin’s tight grip. “Hey! That was my idea.”
“Yours?” Tovin asked, frowning. “Are you sure?”
The look of consternation that crossed Amery’s face made him laugh. Being with the regent allowed him to forget the rest of the world, the northern invaders and the men under his command—every worry he had disappeared when he was with Amery. He kissed the regent’s furrowed brow to smooth it out, and Amery kissed his chin, a small peck because he had to strain to reach Tovin. Against Amery’s skin, Tovin murmured, “I was so certain it was my idea.”
“Tovin,” Amery whined again. “This is torture, you know that, right? Pure—”
Tovin cut off the rest of Amery’s words with another kiss. Releasing his hands, he caught Amery’s cheeks between his palms. Now he was ready. The teasing had made them both hard and hungry for each other, and as much as he loved to play, he wanted his man now. Amery fumbled with the drawstring at Tovin’s waist in his own eagerness to get them both undressed. “I love you,” Amery whispered between kisses, his hands squeezing Tovin’s erection through his pants.
Out in the sitting room, a knock sounded on the chamber door.
“Fuck,” Tovin whispered. Not now, he thought, struggling to unknot the drawstring. “I thought you told them to leave you alone.”
“I did.” Anger flashed
in Amery’s light eyes as Tovin sat up. “I told them—”
The knock came again, louder this time, more insistent. Rolling off Amery, Tovin sighed. “Go see what they want. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“We can ignore—” Amery started.
Tovin shook his head. “Go,” he said. “I’ll not be interrupted again. Get rid of them.”
* * * *
With a sigh, Amery pushed himself up from the bed. Beneath his breath, he muttered, “I’ll whip whoever it is.” The knocking continued, and Amery flounced for the door between his chambers, angry at the interruption. Just when he finally had Tovin where he wanted him… I’ll have this servant drawn and quartered for bothering us. Whipping would be too lenient.
When he reached the doorway, Tovin called out, “You may want to cover yourself, Your Highness. Wouldn’t want to terrify the servants.”
Amery threw a wicked glare back at his lover, now stretched out on the bed with a smile on his face. “Shut up,” he muttered.
But in his sitting room, he paused to grab his dressing robe from where it lay draped over the chaise lounge. As he headed for the door, he cinched the robe about his waist to hide his nakedness. Then he tore open the door, scowling. “What is it?”
His page cowered in the hall, one hand raised as if to knock again. Amery glowered down at the boy, who seemed to shrink beneath the weight of his stare. “I told you not to disturb me.”
The boy blanched. “It’s Sir Giles,” he whispered, the words tumbling from his lips in a rush. “He wishes to speak with you—”
Giles. As if anything he had to say couldn’t wait. Through clenched teeth, Amery growled, “I shall speak with him in the morning.”
“But, Your Highness, Sir Giles sent me to fetch you—”
Indignation rose in Amery. He could easily picture the scene—Giles stern as he mimicked the regent, his two friends snickering into their hands. Fetch me the prince. That man had never showed the first scrap of respect for Amery’s position. “I am not a dog,” the regent spat. “Tell Sir Giles I do not come when called.”