Page 12 of The King's Delight
Felix hummed, his senses filled with the taste and feel of Leo. It was a heady, addictive mix. He bobbed his head, sucking and licking, soaking up the hungry, desperate noises Leo was making as his hips rocked forward with more purpose. It wasn’t long until, after a particularly urgent thrust, Leo let out a deep, guttural groan and pulled Felix’s head forward with both hands, holding him in place as he spilled down Felix’s throat. Felix swallowed every drop.
Leo’s grip loosened and he ran his fingers through Felix’s tousled hair. Felix let Leo’s softening cock slip from his mouth, turning his head so he was resting his cheek against Leo’s thigh, the thick muscle solid and comforting as he drew in several deep breaths. The tang of Leo’s spend was fresh in his mouth and he licked his lips, chasing more of the taste.
Leo gave a guiding pull on his locks, causing him to tilt his head back, and placed a hand in the middle of his chest, shoving gently at him until Felix found himself sprawled on his back on the rug. Leo raised an eyebrow and dropped to his knees between Felix’s legs, and before Felix could ask what he was doing, Leo had undone Felix’s trousers, licked his palm, and wrapped his now-damp hand around Felix’s straining cock. He started to jerk Felix off with short, urgent movements that were just this side of too rough and absolutely perfect. Felix wanted it to last forever but his treacherous body had other ideas, and it took less than a minute before heat raced through Felix’s veins and gathered in his groin, his cock throbbing like a second heartbeat. Leo smirked and gave a clever twist of his wrist on the upstroke, and Felix’s spine arched like a longbow as he panted and came in hot spurts over Leo’s hand.
Felix shivered and gasped while Leo worked him through it in slow, steady movements until he couldn’t take it anymore and batted Leo’s hand away, mumbling, “S’too much.”
Felix’s body tingled with warmth and satisfaction. He sprawled on the rug, boneless and content, and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure how long he lay there for, but he might have dozed off. It was only when he felt a hand carding through his hair that he opened his eyes again.
Leo was gazing down at him like…well. Like a king about to bestow a benediction on his subject.
Felix waited for him to say something—anything—and the silence stretched long enough that he was just beginning to worry he’d fallen asleep for too long and breached some mysterious royal protocol when Leo finally spoke. “Come and work for me.”
Felix struggled into a sitting position. “I already work for you.”
Leo let out a soft sigh. “You work for the castle. I want you to work forme.As part of my personal retinue. I have the perfect position for you.”
His smile was wicked as he said it, and something twisted in Felix’s gut as what the king was suggesting made itself clear.
Leo wanted him as hiswhore.
He felt a tiny flicker of annoyance, and before he knew it, that flicker had become a blaze. He gestured angrily, his mouth running away with him. “I trained forfour yearsto be a groom, and then it was another two years of late nights and early mornings and mucking out stalls, learning my trade and gaining a skill to do a job that I love. And now that you’ve decided you’d like me as a bedmate, I’m meant to throw it all away to be your fuckingpet,is that it?”
Leo’s mouth dropped open and his brow furrowed. “No? Why would you think that?”
Felix scrambled to his feet and tucked his still-damp cock into his trousers in an effort to retain at least a shred of dignity, then raised an eyebrow in a mirror image of the look his father gave to particularly stupid recruits. “You tell me to follow you without a word of explanation, take me to the royal bedroom, and after you’ve sampled the wares, you tell me you want me to work for youpersonally.What am I meant to think?”
Leo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he stood, rubbing a hand down the side of his face and shaking his head. “You misunderstand me, Felix. I find you an attractive, intelligent, and frankly fuckable young man who isn’t afraid to tell me what he thinks—which, believe me, is a rarity in my world—and for those reasons alone, I want you in my bed. But that’s not the position I’d like to offer you.”
Felix frowned in confusion, even as his insides churned in a mix of hope and a lingering trace of hurt that Leo thought so little of him. He desperately wanted to be wrong, because he’d thought he liked Leo, and hedidwant to grace his bed—but not at the cost of everything he’d worked for. “So, the new position isn’t on my knees?”
Leo’s mouth twisted with the hint of a suppressed smile. “I’d like you to be mybodyguard,Felix. In addition to your position as my groom, of course.”
Oh.
The hope in Felix’s belly flared. “What,exactly,would that entail?”
“You’d accompany me when I take Blackbird out and keep me safe. It would mean I could ride most days while freeing the guards or Mattias from having to trail along behind me when I want to leave the castle. Believe me, he’ll be thrilled with the idea.”
Felix allowed himself to relax, his shoulders creeping down from where he’d pulled them up around his ears. “So the sex wouldn’t be part of my employment? That’s just because we want to?”
“Absolutely,” Leo assured him, eyes gleaming—with amusement or anticipation, Felix couldn’t quite tell. “It would have no bearing on your other duties.”
Felix thought about it. It sounded like an ideal arrangement, but part of him wanted to make Leo squirm before he agreed to anything. “And what if I don’twantto be your bodyguard?”
Leo rolled his eyes and stood, pulling Felix close and kissing him. Felix responded eagerly, and by the time Leo pulled back they were both grinning. Felix let out a soft laugh, happiness bubbling up in his chest at the thought that maybe he could have this. “If you’re going to kiss me like that every time I disagree with you, I might never shut up.”
“Oh, I have other methods for taking care of mouthy brats,” Leo said. Then his mouth snapped shut and his cheeks flushed dark red, and Felix got the feeling the king hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He wasn’t going to let something like that go unremarked, though, not if it meant what hehopedit meant.
“Oh?” He leaned in close and whispered, “Would those methods involve your hand, my bare arse, and being put across your lap?” He tried to hide the excitement in his voice, but he wasn’t quite sure he managed it.
Leo’s eyes widened before he let out a low, filthy chuckle, and the smile he gave promised nothing but trouble of the most enjoyable kind. “I should warn you, Felix, I like nothing better than a good, obedient lad who does as he’s told—unless it’s a naughty boy who knows how to take a spanking.”
Despite having just come, Felix’s cock twitched.
“Tell me. Tell me what you’d do,” he demanded, hardly able to believe his good fortune.
Leo’s voice was barely a breath in Felix’s ear. “I promise, sweetheart, that if you misbehave, I won’t hesitate to put you over my knee and spank you till your arse is pink and tender. And if you’re a very good boy, I’ll fuck you afterwards and make you feel it.” Felix couldn’t hold back a groan. Leo tipped Felix’s chin up with a fingertip, holding his gaze. “I need a yes or a no, sweetheart.”
