Chapter 6 #2
Romilly had nearly forgotten what he'd asked.
His mind was too deep in want for his boy, too enamored at the reactions he was getting.
Instead of responding with words, he eased Archer down slowly until the boy was standing on his foot.
"I want you to lean against the wall and hold on to me.
I need to clean myself quickly and then I will rinse us off and get you settled. "
Archer followed instruction perfectly, moving backward as Romilly eased him against the shower wall.
He hissed at the cold tile but didn't complain.
His good hand held tight to Romilly's bicep.
Romilly grabbed another clean cloth and washed himself as quickly as possible, reining in every urge that rose up in him.
Once he was finished soaping up, he lifted Archer again, placing the boy on his hip and moving under the water.
Archer giggled as Romilly shook his head under the stream, his short hair splashing Archer. It was just what the pair needed — a humorous moment to break up the tension between them.
Romilly made sure to dry Archer off thoroughly before taking care of himself.
Back in the bedroom, he kept a towel around his waist since he had no clothes there but went about dressing Archer in comfortable pajamas and easing him into bed.
He then unwrapped the plastic coverings from his boy's bandages before tucking him in.
Since they had brushed their teeth while getting dried off, Romilly knew both their breaths were fresh, and the temptation to kiss him was so strong Romilly couldn't resist anymore.
He leaned forward, his gaze moving from Archer's eyes to his lips and back.
The closer he got, the faster Archer's heart rate picked up.
Romilly couldn't tell if it was excitement or panic.
Instead of kissing his boy as he wanted, he decided not to take the risk and kissed Archer's forehead instead.
He lingered for a moment, then pulled away and said goodnight.
Archer whispered the word back, then wiggled under the blanket to get comfortable.
Romilly stepped out into the hall and pressed his forehead against the door as he worked to calm himself. He’d almost pushed too far. He’d almost taken what wasn't his to take.
It took him a long time to finally leave. His dragon wanted to stay close, wanted to camp out at the bedroom door until morning to make sure nothing and no one bothered his boy.
But there were other things to take care of.
Things Romilly had let go of. He left Archer sleeping, his heart rate steady and breath even, and stormed through the halls to Eden's room.
He shoved the door open without knocking and found his younger brother with his legs kicked up on the bed, flipping through some magazine.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your anger, brother?" Eden said, voice drawn out.
"You will be nice to my mate," Romilly growled. "No more teasing him, or else."
Eden stopped flipping the magazine and looked up. "Or else what? You'll put me in timeout?"
Romilly smirked. "Worse. I'll coordinate an arranged marriage for you. It's my right as king."
Eden sprung up to his knees on the bed, shaking his head quickly. "You wouldn't dare. That's cruel."
Romilly pointed at him. "You will do as I said, or else it will happen."
Eden rolled his eyes, ever the brat. "Fine, if you're that serious about it, I will behave. An arranged marriage would totally interrupt my plans."
Romilly didn't want to know what said plans were.
If Eden had his eyes set on someone, then far be it from him to interfere.
Especially if that someone turned out to be his mate.
Then again, people didn't usually know who their mate was until they caught their scent.
Given Eden's unique perspective on life, he had probably already guessed who it was, even without the scent part of it.
Romilly left his brother's room, only then realizing he was still in his towel — a fact he hadn't thought of before striding through the halls.
Back in his own room, he got dressed and sat down on the bed.
His mind was a mess, and while he should have been thinking about policy changes and meetings, he could only think of the little mate he had down the hall.
He sent a request through the family link to his mother to have her take the healer into Archer’s room one last time.
She responded instantly agreeing to take care of his boy.
While he would have loved to been there himself, he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist his little human a second time in one night.
As Romilly argued with his inner animal about right and wrong, the bond in his mind flickered. He sat up straight right as Soren spoke, voice clear through their bond. "Brother, I will be returning home in the next couple of days. I have news for you."
Romilly replied to them. "Yes, and I have news for you as well. My mate has arrived. I would like for you to meet them."
Soren had a bit of teasing to their tone when they replied. "Sounds like I missed a lot of fun. Can't wait to see who Fate has chosen. See you soon, brother."
"See you soon," Romilly replied, before closing his eyes and basking in the peace that came with knowing his family would soon all be together, as would his mate.
Things were going just as he wanted. Now he just had to continue to be patient.
There was so much still to be done. His mate needed to know about the dragons and their bond before anything went further.