Chapter 30
Thirty
Alow groan slipped past Hugo’s parted lips, and he stretched his legs, his feet sliding along the silken sheets.
He was exhausted. Sleep should have claimed him the second his head had hit the pillow.
The past twenty-four hours had been draining.
Night had been falling around them as they’d stumbled into the tiny town of Bluebell.
They’d sent an urgent message to the palace announcing that Prince Everand was free and working his way home.
Since they’d decided it was too late to start for Frostbourne, they’d traded some exquisitely made wineglasses for a room and food at a local inn.
However, they’d barely finished eating and bathing when a carriage and fifty guards sent by the governor of Bluebell had arrived at the front door of the inn.
King Hubert had issued a royal edict that Prince Everand and his companion were to leave that night for Frostbourne with at least fifty guards on horseback.
They’d traveled through the night, getting little sleep in the bouncing carriage.
Of course, upon arriving at the palace, endless meetings had taken place with ministers of war, trade, and other departments wanting to know every shred of information they could about King Victor and Wulia.
At the end of the meetings, Everand was escorted off to a private dinner with his parents, leaving Hugo alone in his room.
While Hugo had missed the prince, he was grateful that he was not dragged off to the dinner as well, too tired to even think about pasting a smile on his face and making pleasant chitchat with the king and queen.
Amidst all the meetings and chaos, the one thing he had done was send a quick letter to his family informing them he was safe and well.
With any luck, he would be returning home to them tomorrow.
That night he’d enjoyed a quiet meal alone in his room and a long, hot bath. He’d fallen into bed, expecting to fall asleep instantly. But he was awake now and missing Everand.
Would it be wrong of him to knock on Everand’s door? They’d placed Hugo in the room right next to Everand’s yet again. No one would notice if he sneaked out for a visit.
No, he couldn’t. Everand had to be just as tired, if not more so. He was probably unconscious already, happy to be in his own bed.
He’d shoved the thought from his mind when there came a soft tapping on his door.
Hugo instantly threw off his covers and snatched up the robe neatly folded on the back of a nearby chair.
He finished tying the sash and ripped open the door to find Everand standing on the other side, looking anxious and unsure.
Hugo’s heart flipped. It was a struggle not to reach out and pull Everand into him.
“Did I wake you?”
Hugo shook his head. “No.”
“I was thinking…”
To hell with restraint.
Hugo’s hand shot out and grabbed Everand’s arm.
He pulled the prince inside his room and slammed the door shut behind him.
As he turned his head toward Everand, soft, smiling lips found his in an urgent kiss that lit Hugo up.
Days apart. Hours apart. Minutes, even. It was all too long.
Their bodies came together, and they stumbled until Everand was pushed against the wall.
Hard muscles, soft kisses, eager hands grasping and caressing.
Hugo tumbled into this needy love, never wanting to be parted from him.
“Sorry. You were thinking?” Hugo said between kisses.
Everand huffed a laugh. “My brain may never work again.”
“How about we pick up where we left off at the ball?” Hugo suggested.
“Yes! That’s what I was thinking.”
Hugo pulled his mouth from Everand’s and licked his way along the prince’s throat. A shiver passed through Everand’s frame, and his fingers dug into Hugo’s hips. “I believe you had a request.” Hugo exhaled, sending his hot breath across damp skin. Goose bumps followed.
“Yes,” Everand hissed. “Fuck me. I want you to fuck me.”
Heat and hunger raged through Hugo in a flash. He jerked away enough to grab Everand, spin him around, and press his chest to the wall. Hugo snatched up his hands and lifted them above his head, pinning the prince in place.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” As he spoke, Hugo’s lips brushed the shell of Everand’s ear. He rolled his hips, pushing his hardened cock into his firm ass. “Do you want me inside you?”
“Yes.” Everand’s voice wobbled and shattered under the weight of so much need. He thrust his ass back, seeking more contact with Hugo. “So much.”
Hugo understood that basic desperation. To be taken and filled.
To have the freedom to hand himself over and trust that person to take care of him.
Hugo’s general preference was to bottom, but he’d topped more than once at the request of his partners.
He could imagine that such an opportunity wasn’t available to Everand.
As the crown prince of Branem, his every action was scrutinized and became fodder for gossip.
Not to mention being the prince came with certain expectations.
Everyone would expect him to be dominant, to never cede control to anyone under any circumstances.
Why wouldn’t Everand want to hand Hugo control after having the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders all day?
Hugo wanted this as badly as Everand. He craved it like air. To be the one person the prince trusted with his precious body. To give him a type of soul-deep pleasure he’d found with no one else.
“I have you, my love.”
Another shudder ran through Everand, and it felt like relief.
Hugo loosened his grip on Everand’s wrists and slid his hands down his arms while placing soft kisses along his jaw.
The lingering notes of Everand’s cologne teased Hugo’s nose, and he nuzzled his neck, chasing that haunting scent.
He drew his arms across the prince’s chest as he continued to thrust against him.
“I’m going to make love to you. Take you apart and leave behind a bit of myself so you’re never free of me.”
Hugo pulled Everand away from the wall and led him into the bedroom. All his life, he’d felt unsure of himself and his decisions, but right at that moment, he had no doubts. This was exactly where he needed to be and who he needed to be with.
Beside the bed, they kissed slowly, savoring each other as they removed layers of clothes to find the warm, soft skin hidden below. They paused only long enough for Everand to dig a small bottle of oil out of his pocket and set it on the nightstand.
With a nervous giggle, Everand pulled them onto the rumpled sheets. They rolled together until Hugo had the prince trapped under him. His dark hair was beautifully disheveled, and his eyes sparkled with laughter in the flickering lamplight. He was a sexy, breathtaking dream.
“I’m nervous,” Everand blurted out, and his eyes immediately darted away. Hugo waited for them to wander to his face before he spoke.
“I promise to take good care of you.”
“That’s what has me nervous. What if I come apart and can never put myself back together again?”
Hugo leaned close, brushing his lips across Everand’s, sending tingles through his body. “No matter what happens between us in this bed, you will always be Everand. Nothing can change that.”
Everand tipped his face up, crushing their mouths together in a searing kiss.
Hugo worked his way lower, dragging long, wet, openmouthed kisses along Everand’s neck and across his chest. He paused over his heart, savoring the rapid beating with his lips.
He licked one nipple and worried it lightly with his teeth until it pebbled into a hard nub.
A gasp broke from Everand’s throat, making Hugo’s pulse skip.
Everything about Everand was an erotic treat, from the feel of his skin to the catch in his breathing, to the way his fists tightened in the bedsheets the lower Hugo moved on his body.
Everand’s stomach dipped as Hugo licked across it to the soft, tender flesh on the inside of his hip bone. Hugo exhaled on the damp skin, wringing another hiss of pleasure from Everand.
“Gods, Hugo! Have I ever told you that your mouth is a national treasure?”
“Does that mean it should be shared with the entire kingdom?” As he spoke, he turned his face to nuzzle the side of Everand’s cock.
“Fuck. Hell, no. Fuck, what?”
Hugo choked on a laugh. It was as if he’d broken what remained of the prince’s brain.
Hugo took mercy on Everand and slipped his dick into his mouth.
He ran his tongue around the spongy head, sliding along the slit in a teasing caress.
Little noises tumbled from Everand’s mouth, and he shifted, hips lifting slightly as if fighting the urge to thrust deeper into his mouth.
Hugo took more of him, bit by bit, sliding his tongue across his hot length.
He sucked him hard, bobbing until Everand grunted and thrust, giving in to the burning need.
Fingers tangled in Hugo’s hair, twisting and sending pinpricks of pain dancing over his scalp.
His dick swelled and ached, begging for his hand to give him some relief.
“Treasure,” Everand gasped. “Love? Please, I can’t…
can’t hold out much longer. I’m so close.
” The pleading and desperation in Everand’s voice only made him speed up.
He slid his hands down the prince’s inner thighs, reveling in the feel of those rough hairs as he sucked Everand off.
Muscles jumped under his palms. Everand pulled his hair as a last warning before hot cum splashed on his tongue and hit the back of his throat.
Hugo savored the salty taste for a heartbeat and swallowed him down.