Chapter 15
Fifteen
RODIAN
In the two weeks since the ill-fated assassination attempt, Rodian had seen his days filled with politics and his nights uncharacteristically alone.
Some of that was his own doing, having needed to travel beyond Matriskav to other cities in Urova to press upon the ivoryanin families in person that he was not to be seen as weak.
The weather still leaned toward winter storms despite the calendar saying it was spring, so Rodian stuck to the steam trains rather than an airship. Returning to Matriskav was a whole ordeal, necessitating a motorcade through the city and an afternoon royal court session to further cement his rule.
At least there in the capital, he had Arkadi by his side again. It was difficult for Rodian to keep his gaze from the younger man as he addressed the royal court, but he managed.
Somehow.
In the end, there was still more to do—there would always be more to do—but Rodian knew that if he wanted time for himself, he needed to take it.
“Walk with me,” Rodian said to Arkadi when it was only the two of them in the throne room. He drank in the sight of the younger man, having missed him desperately every day Rodian didn’t have him close by.
“Of course,” Arkadi said, probably thinking Rodian wanted an update on everything that had happened in the capital in his absence.
Except Sakka had done that during their nightly telephone calls together, and Rodian wanted nothing so much as to get Arkadi alone, both of them hidden away from the prying eyes of the world.
And the only place that could truly happen was in Rodian’s bedchambers.
If Arkadi thought it unusual for Rodian to lead him there, he said nothing.
Rodian walked with him in silence, finding that the servants had left the fire banked and the windows open to air out the room, letting in a crisp, late afternoon breeze.
The sun was low on the horizon still, sunlight golden on the carpet.
Arkadi’s gaze was dark and heavy with unspoken want when Rodian turned to face him after closing and locking the bedchamber door.
His long hair was done up in its usual knot, held in place by stilettos disguised as hair sticks.
His long-vest and trousers were a pale blue and light gray, perfectly tailored to his lean body, and the height of courtly fashion.
Rodian thought they would look better on his bedchamber’s floor.
“I’ve missed you,” Rodian said roughly.
“I’ve missed you as well,” Arkadi confessed. “I hated not being with you.”
Rodian closed the scant distance between them, hauling Arkadi close and capturing his mouth.
Those plush lips opened without restraint, letting Rodian slip his tongue past teeth to kiss the other man with a fierceness that burned.
He kissed Arkadi again and again, drowning in the taste of the younger man, pleased to feel the same desperate fervor in the body pressed against his.
When Rodian finally tore his mouth free, panting harshly, he reached up and grasped Arkadi’s chin, pressing his thumb to that swollen bottom lip. “I am going to lay out on my bed and spend the rest of my day making you scream my name.”
Arkadi’s eyelids fluttered closed, his tongue flicking out to lick at Rodian’s thumb. “I would like that very much, Rodya.”
“My beautiful gilded Blade,” Rodian rumbled. “Get undressed for me so that I may give you your first courting gift, but do not take down your hair. I will do that for you.”
The way Arkadi shuddered was absolutely delightful, Rodian’s cock twitching hard in his own trousers. He’d spent many a night away fisting his own cock while picturing Arkadi taking it, but he knew dreams were nothing compared to the press of another body against his own.
While Arkadi obeyed Rodian’s order, he went to the table with its hutch of drawers, pulling open one to retrieve the small box with the ring he’d asked Sakka to procure for him in his absence.
He flicked the top open for a brief second to study the ring, satisfied with the result, before closing it again.
When he turned around, he had to pause and reach down to adjust himself, for the sight of Arkadi standing naked in his bedchambers was a beautiful sight indeed.
Arkadi was all long limbs and a lean torso, with pale skin that Rodian ached to bruise up with his mouth, and a hardening cock that spoke of his desire.
Better than a dream, and Arkadi was his.
Rodian approached slowly, letting his gaze drag up and down Arkadi’s body, watching as the younger man shivered, his cock twitching. Rodian came to a stop before him, not touching him, and held out the small box for Arkadi to see.
“Open it,” Rodian said.
Arkadi took the box with steady hands, thumbing it open. He stared down at the ring nestled there with wide eyes. “Rodya…”
“In my old town, we always give such a gift to show our intent to court. I know it is not the ring everyone would expect me to give you, but consider this a promise that when our courtship is finished, I will take you as my husband.”
Arkadi drew in a shuddering breath, gaze flicking upward, staring at Rodian through thick lashes. “And how long do you wish to court me?”
“I would marry you tomorrow if it wouldn’t scandalize the court, but I promised Sakka she would get to handle the wedding planning. I am not brave enough to go back on that promise.”
Arkadi laughed, bright and happy. “Nor would I.”
“Will you accept my gift, Arkadi?” Rodian asked.
“I will wear it proudly.”
Rodian took the box back and withdrew the ring, the bright gold inlaid with reyndeer horn polished to a high shine.
It was simple, and Rodian would never apologize for that, but he was giving it to a man who understood that.
Who understood him and where he came from.
Slipping it onto Arkadi’s ring finger settled something in Rodian he hadn’t known was knocked out of place, like a misaligned gear.
He drew Arkadi’s hand to his mouth, kissing the ring, staring into pale blue eyes full of want.
Rodian let his hand go and reached up to slowly pull free the pair of stilettos from Arkadi’s hair, watching as the thick mass unfurled and fell down his back.
He carded his fingers through it, drawing some over Arkadi’s shoulders, the length of it reaching his waist. Arkadi twitched beneath his hands, pressing into his touch.
“I want to lay you across the bed and spread you out beneath me,” Rodian said, leaning in to steal a kiss. “I thought about you that way every night I was gone.”
“I’m here,” Arkadi murmured against his mouth. “You can have me any way you want me. I’m yours, Rodya.”
When faced with such devotion, there wasn’t a man or woman Rodian knew who could say no to what was on offer.
With a groan, he picked Arkadi up by his thighs, hauling him easily up into his arms. Those long legs wrapped around his waist, arms going around his shoulders as Arkadi drew him into a biting kiss.
Rodian carried him over to the bed and leaned over to place him on it before reluctantly pulling free.
He hurriedly divested himself of his clothes, but when he would have removed his crown, Arkadi sat up and snagged Rodian’s wrist, expression heated. “No.”
Rodian arched an eyebrow. “No?”
Arkadi drew his hand away, pulling Rodian down on top of him. “No. Keep it on.”
Rodian took his mouth in a deep, lingering kiss. “Very well.”
As if Rodian would ever tell Arkadi no.
He settled his weight more firmly in the cradle of Arkadi’s hips, taking his time mapping out the shape of Arkadi’s mouth.
He could feel Arkadi’s cock growing harder against his stomach, hips trying to move against him, but Rodian’s weight kept him pinned.
Only when Arkadi yanked desperately at his hair did Rodian finally give in and pull away.
“Stay there,” he ordered.
Arkadi pouted at him, lips swollen from their kisses, skin reddened slightly from the scrape of Rodian’s beard.
Rodian managed to slip away, but he didn’t go far, reaching for the drawer for a vial of oil kept there.
He pulled it out, uncapping it to pour some oil over his fingers.
Then he settled himself back between Arkadi’s legs, using his own thighs to keep them spread.
Arkadi slid his arms up the bed and over his head, hands fisting at the covers beneath him.
He stared up at Rodian with half-lidded eyes, the flush on his cheeks beginning to spread down his throat.
His cock was curved toward his stomach, but Rodian ignored it in favor of sliding his fingers behind Arkadi’s balls and rubbing them over his entrance.
“The curtains and window are still open,” Arkadi said, voice hitching in his throat when Rodian pressed one thick finger inside him.
“No one can see inside here, but I do hope they hear you,” Rodian said. He pressed his thumb on the soft skin behind Arkadi’s balls, keeping it there even as Arkadi began to squirm.
“So you don’t want anyone to watch, but you don’t mind them listening?”
Rodian allowed himself an indulgent smile. “I don’t mind people knowing I can make you scream my name.”
The flush on Arkadi’s face deepened, and he opened his mouth for a retort that never came, instead choking on a gasp when Rodian’s finger found that sensitive spot inside him and pressed against it hard.
Arkadi arched his body up into the touch, crying out when Rodian didn’t let up on the pressure both inside and outside his body, finger and thumb relentless in their touch.
Rodian kept up the pressure for a few minutes, enjoying the way Arkadi thrashed beneath him out of pleasure.