Chapter Fifteen
C ador was jealous of a candle.
In the flickering light of a small oil lamp beside the bed, Jem stared at him in the doorway, one hand at his throat. They stared at each other across the plush rug. Cador wanted to snatch up the candle and snap it in two.
It should have been his cock Jem wanted inside him. They should have been sharing a bed, warm and safe together under a mountain of furs in their cottage. He hated himself for destroying the precious bond between them.
He’d vowed to keep Jem safe and make him happy—and now Jem was clearly in need of pleasure.
Beside the candle, a green glass vial rested on the pink silk.
Jem’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he swallowed with a gulp.
In that moment, he looked so much like an innocent that Cador was flooded with tenderness.
Heart in his throat, he asked, “Who do we have here? A virgin prince all alone.”
Jem’s brows met before understanding rippled over him, his breath hitching, fingers clutching at the gaping neck of his nightshirt. Cador could see the war within playing out, ending in another gulp.
He held his breath. Would Jem deny him? The seconds stretched out, and dread rose. Then came a whisper.
“Yes. I’m…Kitto.”
Cador’s heart thudded again, his prick swelling against the tight black trousers. Were they actually doing this? In a blink, the air felt like a flint had been struck, fire licking at his spine.
Perhaps it was unwise to play act, but the temptation to escape was too strong. Why the fuck not? Why couldn’t they let go of the bitterness and responsibility until morning?
Why couldn’t they escape themselves?
His voice was rough, scraping his dry throat. “And who am I?” Deceiver. Barbarian. Betrayer. Husband. Lover?
That was the question, wasn’t it? He could see Jem wrestling with it, uncertainty creasing his beautiful face, the doubt clearly rushing back.
Strangely, Cador thought of the tiny spring buds that barely breached the thawing soil on Ergh.
He craved Jem more deeply than he’d known possible.
If Jem turned him away, that reckless bloom of hope would be crushed into the mud.
Silence stretched thin and taut.
“You look like a marauding woodsman come to ravish me,” Jem blurted, eyes widening at his own bold words. The way he licked his lips, breath shallow—his desire was unmistakable.
The game was on.
Eyes locked with Jem’s, Cador kicked shut the door behind him with a thud.
He felt behind him for the bolt, turning it with a scrape of iron that filled the air.
“I’ve broken into the castle to slake my lust. Now what do I find here?
A young prince. I’ve spied you by the lake with your birds.
” He rubbed himself through the straining fabric. “Watched you swim naked.”
He strode across the plush carpet to stand at the foot of the bed. He stared down at Jem, who remained sitting straight upright with bent knees. His cock was clearly hard beneath the thin nightshirt that exposed his lean thighs, the shadow of his bollocks tempting.
“I’ve watched you,” Cador repeated. “And now I’m going to fuck you whether you like it or not.”
Jem sucked in a breath. His gaze dropped to Cador’s bulging prick. He was silent for a few heartbeats, brow furrowed once more. Cador hesitated. This was unwise. He should back away and call off the game. There was too much tension and suspicion between them, and after what Jem had suffered…
He stepped back. Even if Jem had fantasized about this kind of play in the past, this was too much. Too much for Cador to hope that the passion they’d shared on Ergh could be within grasp.
“Wait.” Jem nodded resolutely. His gaze raked up Cador’s body, meeting his eyes once more. “Please, sir. I’m an innocent.”
Relief sweeter than any fancy butterfly cake flooded Cador. Jem still trusted him at least in this. He’d given himself so openly when they were on Ergh, and now Cador would give him the release he clearly needed. Release they both craved. For tonight, they could be Kitto and the nameless woodsman.
He raised an eyebrow, looking to the candle. “An innocent? I think not. Innocents don’t fuck themselves.”
Jem bit his lip. “But I’ve never even kissed a man. I’m too shy.” His gaze dropped to Cador’s bare chest, then to the bulge in his trousers.
“Mmm.” He ran his hand over his chest, scratching his own nipples as Jem watched eagerly. If the tattooed tusks were too much of a reminder of who Cador really was, Jem didn’t show it. “You want my cock, young prince?”
He nodded jerkily. “Yet I’m afraid. I’m—I’m going to scream for help.”
In a flash, Cador was on top of him, hand clapped over Jem’s mouth. “Shh.” He yanked the nightshirt over Jem’s head, the whisper-thin material ripping. Jem gasped, a damp gust against Cador’s palm. “What shall I do with you?” Cador murmured.
Jem tried to reply, and Cador lifted his hand so Jem could say, “You’ll have to gag me.” His eyes glittered with excitement.
“I suppose I must.” Cador twisted the silk nightshirt and shoved it between Jem’s lips, knotting the gag behind his head.
Sitting back on his heels, Cador said, “That’s better.”
Breathing hard, Jem sat naked, his prick rigid. Waiting. His hands were free. He could have reached up and removed the gag, but he only stared at Cador.
He trusts me.
Cador shouldn’t have been thinking of him as Jem at all—he should have called him Kitto in his head as well, but his mind refused. This trust was a precious gift, and he was grateful this connection between them hadn’t died.
He ached to mount Jem and take him fiercely, mercilessly, until they both cried out for surrender. In his mind, he could hear how their flesh would slap as they grunted, Jem taking every inch of him. So willing and eager and strong despite his small size.
Yet in the next breath, he longed to press Jem back into the pillows and kiss him slowly, deeply, tasting him again for the first time in what felt like forever.
He could have kissed him all night, swallowing his little gasps and moans, rubbing against him, both of them hard but stretching out the moment of sweet release.
The wild woodsman would do no such thing, sadly.
Jem still waited, breathing shallowly, the tip of his slender shaft glistening. As eager as Cador was to plunge into Jem and play his role, it had been too long for rushing. He refused to hurt him, even if the woodsman would have no such concern for Kitto.
He freed his prick, biting back a moan as he stroked himself. He was about to strip off the trousers, but the woodsman surely would not.
He commanded in a growl, “Turn over.”
Jem obeyed perfectly, stretching out on his belly, gripping one of the bright pillows in his hands. His legs were locked together. He cried out—muffled through the gag—as Cador grabbed his ankles and forced them wide, careful not to disturb the bandage on Jem’s foot.
He spread his hand over one cheek of that beautiful arse, his own skin pinkly pale on the lovely dusky brown. With his thumb, he caressed Jem’s crease, the puckered flesh quivering.
“Can’t have you running away, can I?” Cador murmured. “Not before I fuck your virgin hole. Not before I fill you with my cum.” He leaned over so his lips were at Jem’s ear. “I have to bind you, don’t I, Kitto? Or else you’ll try to escape with your innocence.”
Jem’s answer was a moan and vigorous nod. Such generous trust, and Cador was hungry for it—greedy and undeserving, but helpless to resist. He’d work to deserve it for the rest of his life. He’d be worthy.
“Don’t move. Or you’ll regret it.”
In Jem’s closet of ridiculously fine, soft, and bright clothes, Cador discovered enough sashes to do the trick. It was beyond him how one man could have a need for more than one silk sash, but he was glad of them as he went to work restraining Jem to the bedposts.
He straddled Jem’s waist, leaning over him. As he shifted, his knee pressed onto the open book, and he picked it up.
Jem inhaled sharply, going rigid beneath him. “Don’t!” The plea was clear even through the gag.
Did he truly think Cador would rip the pages? The pulse of hurt was foolish yet undeniable. The spine was loose and edges worn, and he certainly could have torn the book apart easily.
He carefully closed the cover and laid Morvoren’s adventures on the small round table. Cador grasped one of Jem’s arms out to bind him to the post, and Jem hummed contentedly.
Up close, Cador could see that the cherry wood of the posts was carved not with meaningless swirls, but the curving wings of birds. He ran a fingertip over the design, smiling at how perfect it was.
His heart swelled as he stood back and looked at his Jem, arms outstretched to the corners of the bed, his wrists bound to the posts. His stomach rested on pillows, arse up in the air and knees beneath him.
Mine .
Jem pressed a cheek to the mattress, whimpering when Cador spread his arse wide, exposing him completely. Cador couldn’t resist burying his face in that tender flesh, licking and kissing, Jem pushing back against him. Again, the urge to abandon his plans and plunge inside burned. He resisted.
First, he surrendered to the need to run his hands all over Jem’s back and legs and arse, his face following. He inhaled his scent, rubbing his face against Jem’s skin. He’d missed having him close more than he’d even known, a strange relief surging just to smell him freely before going further.
Oiling the candle took but a few moments. Cador pressed it to Jem’s hole. “Is this what you crave?”
Jem craned his neck to see, his brows knit. As Cador worked it inside, Jem moaned. His fingers grasped the air above the secure bindings on his wrists.
“It’s your favorite toy. Though this candle seems unused. Is it harder than your other one?”
Jem nodded, moaning as Cador twisted the wax.
“You’re not in control this time, Prince Kitto. I could do anything to you. But you like that, don’t you?”