Page 27 of The King's Delight
Leo hesitated before amending his statement. “Well, before she told me she wasn’t interested in marrying, I was trying to let her down gently. I told her I have someone I care for, and she figured out that it was you. She’s very observant.”
Someone I care for.
On hearing that, warmth spread through Felix’s chest and relief flooded his veins. Leocaredfor him. It was as much as he could hope for, given their respective positions.
He felt the smile spreading across his face and he leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. “I…care for you too.”
Leo rewarded him with a soft kiss, the barest brush of lips, before burying his face in the curve of Felix’s neck. “I’m glad to hear it,” he murmured, his warm breath ghosting against Felix’s skin. He pulled back and, with that wicked smile that Felix had come to know so well, said, “So, how about it, sweetheart? Shall we take the princess’s advice?”
Leo gave Felix’s arse a light squeeze and his breath hitched as arousal ran through him, liquid heat beneath his skin. He’d thought he might not get to have this anymore, but here they were, and it didn’t seem like anything had changed after all. He steered Leo backward towards his bed—the one that squeaked, the one that wasn’t anywherenearfit for a king, except just for tonight, maybe it was—and, in the absence of anything clever to say, settled for a simple, heartfelt, “Please.”
ChapterTen
Leo lay in Felix’s narrow bed sometime in the early hours of the morning with Felix’s arm slung over his waist. He was naked, sweaty, and loose-limbed after a spectacular orgasm, and sleep was threatening to drag him under. He knew without a doubt that he had to leave, before he succumbed to the temptation to stay the night and bask in Felix’s closeness.
He attempted to move, but Felix let out a sleepy whine and tightened his grip, pulling Leo back into his embrace. “Stay,” he mumbled against Leo’s hair.
There was nothing Leo would have liked more, but he knew better than to think it was possible. Sneaking out at night and coming back early? That was acceptable—barely. Not being in his bed when his valet came to wake him, though? Tongues would wag, word would spread, and there was every possibility it would be seen as a slight against his supposed intended, and he had no desire to create a diplomatic incident just because he’d fucked his lover so thoroughly that they’d both fallen asleep.
He pulled Felix’s arm away and swung his legs over the side of the bed, stretching his arms over his head and resolutely not lying back down, no matter how much he wanted to. “I have to go, darling. Discretion means not being here in the morning.”
Felix scrunched up his nose and opened one eye, then propped himself on his elbow. “I suppose it does. But can I—” He leaned across and fumbled with something, and a moment later soft lamplight flooded the cottage. Felix bit his lip. “That’s better. I just—I wanted to see you,” he said quietly. “To remember how good you look in my bed.”
An unexpected wave of affection bubbled up in Leo’s chest at that. “I can always come back.”
Felix tilted his head to one side and gave an uncertain smile. “You’d come back? I mean, the bed’s far too small, and it squeaks.”
“Yes, but I don’t mind a squeaky bed, not if you’re in it.” Leo was surprised to find it was the truth. He’d put up with a wobbly frame and thin mattress if he got to spend time with Felix.
Felix’s smile blossomed into something more genuine, and he reached out and traced a hand across the small of Leo’s back. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”
Leo stood, dragging on his clothing and his boots. “I wish I could, but you know how this works.” He leaned across the bed and cupped Felix’s face in one hand, kissing him gently before straightening up. “As it is, I don’t know when I can see you again. The next few days are busy. Talks, treaties, entertaining our guests, the banquet…” He sighed.
“You have your job to do, and I have mine,” Felix said, his voice soft. “It’s fine, Leo. I am grateful you came to see me tonight, though.”
“Pure selfishness on my part, I assure you,” Leo said lightly. “I’m far too impatient to wait an entire week to get my hands on that delightful arse.”
The corners of Felix’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “Of course. You always were entitled.”
Leo huffed out a laugh, then kissed Felix once more before walking out the door and into the darkness. Leaving was harder than he’d thought, and he wondered how Felix was able to do it night after night. As he made his way through the shadows back to the castle, he let out a jaw-creaking yawn and was reminded that he was expected to rise early tomorrow for the official welcome breakfast for his guests.
Still, he reflected, at least he’d managed to steal this one night in the middle of the organisational chaos of the visit. He’dmissedFelix, more than he’d thought he would.
It had almost been a relief when partway into their ride, Sophia had pointed out, eyes bright and knowing, that his groom was jealous. Then she’d suggested Leo should probably do something about that.
He’d been more than happy to take her advice.
By the time he made it back to the castle and up to his rooms, stripped out of his clothes, and rolled into his bed, he could barely keep his eyes open, but there was a well-sated heaviness to his limbs, and the restlessness that had buzzed under his skin over the last few days had all but disappeared. He felt more settled than he had for days, and he didn’t think it was just the sex, as good as that had been.
No, it was being with Felix that had unwound all his tension, the boy seemingly able to smooth out the hitches and wrinkles in his knotted-up nerves as easily as he brushed the tangles from Blackbird’s mane.
And maybe he’d feel the lack of sleep later, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret staying awake, not with the taste of his boy’s spend lingering in his mouth, and not while the memory of Felix laughing as he lavished kisses on Leo’s birthmark, teasing him about having an arse blessed by the angels, was still so fresh.
His last waking thought was that his boy was utterly disrespectful—and Leo adored him for it.
* * *
“Thank the gods this visit is almost over.” Leo tugged at the sleeves of the long, fur-trimmed crimson robe that he was wearing. It was heavy and uncomfortable and he couldn’t wait to get out of it, and the banquet hadn’t even started yet. “I’ve almost run out of good manners and patience.”
