Chapter 10
Four staff members were leaving Hydris’s bed chamber when I arrived via his valet’s empty room.
One of them looked back, saw me, and gave me a big grin.
I didn’t know him, but it made me smile in return to have a little more approval.
Honestly, at this point, the only reason I came up the back stairs was because of Mannix’s decree.
I peeked into the enormous bathroom and smiled more to see Hydris waiting beside the large clawfoot tub full of steaming water. He wore a silky-looking pink robe that didn’t conceal much of his naked form at all.
“Your bath is ready,” he said before nibbling his bottom lip.
“Our bath.”
“You first.”
I chuckled at him, set my change of clothes down, and started getting undressed. He took each item and folded it like that mattered, and then he held my hand while I stepped into the tub.
The moan out of me as I sat was deep and appreciative because the water was the perfect temperature for the end of a long day. “I might have to soak for a while,” I muttered as I leaned back.
“Go ahead.”
A moment later, I felt something soft and sudsy slither down my arm. Hydris was out of his robe and bathing me. I sighed, closed my eyes, and let him.
Being bathed was the most sensuous thing anyone had ever done for me.
He was gentle but thorough, tracing every muscle in my arms, across my chest, and even lifting one foot and then the other.
He used soapy hands to wash my face and a damp cloth to rinse me.
After he washed my hair, he held my head tipped back while he rinsed every strand.
I was hard when he had me stand up, and he was, too. He certainly took his time making sure my cock was clean before getting every other square inch of skin. I was breathing heavy, wanting to grab him up, when he had me sit back down to rinse the soap away.
“Hydris…”
He giggled. “Just sit down.”
I sat, but I wasn’t relaxed anymore. “Aw, yeah,” I practically moaned when he stepped into the tub and straddled my thighs.
“I had a plan,” he said like it was crazy of me to doubt him.
I cupped his ass and pulled him in close, our cocks snuggled together. “What’s next?”
He didn’t answer, but he did start rolling his hips to rock us against each other. We were both moaning in no time, slip-sliding cocks and bumping balls, the water splashing over the rim of the tub like the waves of a hurricane.
I ran my hands all over him, spreading soapy water in a much lamer attempt to wash him in return.
Our kisses were sloppy, the two of us moaning into each other’s mouths as we clutched at warm and slippery muscles.
When I felt my release building, and his noises went high and urgent, I pulled him in tight to me, and we came almost at the same time.
Now I relaxed. With him lounging on top of me, I leaned back against the tub and sighed, warm and loose and sated. Hydris was completely limp on me, and I loved the weight and heat of him right there.
Could I really have this? The two of us, ending the day exactly like this? Every day? In that moment, I realized just how much I wanted exactly that.
Eventually, and only because the water cooled, we got out of the tub and dried ourselves with fluffy towels. Hydris gave me a robe that barely came to my knees and didn’t hide a single thing down the center of me, but I wore it for him as we went into the main room for dinner.
“Did you know Ottokar is seeing Sarosh, one of the stablehands?” I asked as I served the duck breasts onto our plates.
“Oh? No, I knew he was courting someone but not who.”
And Hydris didn’t seem at all scandalized, so I was right to think rank didn’t matter so much. But I still wanted to understand.
“The only reason they haven’t become official or public or whatever,” I continued, “is because Sarosh doesn’t want to get sent off to Ottokar’s estate. They want to stay together.”
“Well, yes, that makes sense.”
“So why would he be expected to leave?”
Hydris blinked at me and then a blush bloomed on his cheeks. “Um, I guess that’s my fault.”
“How so?”
“I, uh, wanted the full attention of my council members.”
I cocked my head at him and hoped my entire expression conveyed my disappointment.
“Things weren’t going well,” he tried to explain but stopped to sigh.
“Hydris, might that be a rule you could reverse?”
“Um, yes?”
“Yes, it is, Bridge, and I would be happy to do that right away.”
He frowned at me. “Yes, it is, Bridge, and I will speak to Lord Ottokar to be certain it is what he wishes before making such a declaration.”
“Oh, look at you! Very nice, Your Highness.”
He squinted at me so much that there was only a tiny sliver of blue eyes visible.
I chuckled and corrected my mistake. “Very nice, Hydris.”
He instantly relaxed. “Thank you.”
We ate for a few minutes, me wondering how many of his advisors had relationships they were separated from or hiding. Hydris seemed to have been considering something similar when he spoke.
“I suppose it is hypocritical of me to court you and have you right here and yet force them away from their partners.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I’ll fix it, then, before we make anything official. And I’ll apologize.”
I shrugged. “You can apologize, but also thank them for their dedication. They could’ve walked away, right? Fought back?”
“True. And it’s only been two years.” He paused and then shook his head. “No, that’s still bad. I don’t like going a few hours without you.”
The table was small enough that I could lean over it and steal a kiss. He blushed more and two new flowers bloomed on top of his head. I had a feeling he had no idea that had happened.
“I just worry…” Hydris said before clearing his throat.
“Worry about what?”
He sighed. “Mannix. It was actually his suggestion, and one of the last, um, proclamations I made.” His shrug looked full of self-doubt.
I took a deep breath and nodded as I set down my fork. “Okay, so, I think maybe you need to practice.”
“Practice?”
“Pretend I’m Mannix. Tell me what you want.”
His blue gaze flicked all over me, and I could see that he was struggling. “But you’re not…scary.”
Ugh! He was breaking my heart.
I reached over and held his hand. “I want you to succeed. I want my friends to be happy. But if you’re not ready, or this is too much, we can just ease into it all. Literally just practice the words. It’s not like you’ll have to say them tomorrow, okay?”
He squeezed my hand and sat up a little straighter. “Okay. Practice.” He nodded and looked me square in the eyes. “Mannix, I want… I want to reverse the proclamation requiring council member spouses to reside on their estates.”
For just a second, I toyed with the idea of pushing back, of being Mannix, but maybe that would be better saved for later in the process.
“That was great!” I said with a big smile.
Hydris smiled back, but when I held my hand up, he just blinked at me.
“Smack your hand against mine.”
He did, clearly not understanding why.
“That’s a high five. You just celebrated like a human.” I chuckled at the fact that that was my contribution to the fae world.
He snickered and rolled his eyes. But then he wiggled in his seat, narrowed his eyes, and said, “Mannix, you’re also going to be an advisor again, not the leader.”
“You tell him!”
“I’m the prince. Not you.”
“That’s right!”
“I want to lead my people from now on.”
“Yes, you do!”
Hydris held up his hand, and I smacked it.
“Ow!” he said and shook out his hand. “I just meant to pause our practice because I’m hungry.”
I laughed. “Oops…”
Hopefully, when the time came for Hydris to confront Mannix, I could be there with him.
To hype him up, to be his bodyguard, to threaten them all if they didn’t listen to him.
He could be strong and confident—I recognized how he’d already changed since I first met him—but he needed more time to believe that of himself.
We finished our meals, and I was just realizing that I, the help, must get the leftovers from the royal meals because everything I’d had was something I’d had before. Just as good, just as filling, and not at all different for the lower class. I looked up to tell Hydris this, but he was gone.
“Hydris?”
I gasped right after I said that because a set of hands pushed my knees apart under the table. Chuckling, I leaned over to peek at him. He was on his knees with a bowl of what looked like whipped cream.
“Are you ready for dessert?” I asked on a laugh.
He only giggled as he literally spooned the whipped cream onto my inner thighs and all over my groin. I kept gasping at the chilly sensation in between the way he was practically sculpting with the cream on me. And the more he played, the more I gave him to work with.
“You might want to consider eating your dessert soon,” I warned him, my cock throbbing.
Hydris smiled like a little imp down there just before he shoved my knees wide open and dove in.
He didn’t go right for his prize, no, he went for my thigh first. Licking and slurping, he worked his way up one leg and then down the other, completely ignoring the way the cool whipped cream was melting down my hot dick.
“Babe? Hydris?”
“Mmm,” he hummed as he finally set his tongue to the base of my cock and licked all the way up to the tip.
Fuck, that was a sight! He already looked like I’d come all over his pretty face.
I tried to control my breathing as I gripped the chair under my ass and watched him lick and suck the whipped cream off of me. It took ages. He was down there for an era with his little tongue trying to kill me in the wickedest way and so very slowly.
When he finally took my whole dick into his mouth, I lost it completely and came in a rush of heat and hollering. I was panting, absolutely wrecked, as he climbed out from under the table to sit on my lap. Grinning like a devil.
“You’re…evil.”
He giggled even as he reached down to stroke himself.
“Oh, no.” I stopped him. “Mine.”
He bit his bottom lip, big anime eyes begging, and I did my best to hold onto him as I got to my feet. I massaged his little ass while I walked over to the bed, and then set him down gently so as not to mess with his wings.
Now if was my turn to spread his legs apart, take a moment to admire the desperate pink of his dick, before gobbling him right up.
Hydris was pulling my hair and wailing his pleasure, letting me know he wasn’t going to last long at all.
I loved knowing that he’d nearly gotten himself off just from making me come in his wicked mouth. And then he was coming in mine.
I sucked the cum out of him until he whimpered, and then I pulled away. While he panted and relaxed into the bedding, I noticed that there was a new yellow flower just to the left of his cock. I smiled at it, gave it a kiss, and rested my head on his thigh.
“You keep making me flower.”
I chuckled and spent some time kissing the other ones down there before moving up to kiss the ones ringing his pretty head. “You make them, I’ll love them.”
As Hydris looked up at me, I felt a little hitch in my heartbeat. I was falling for him, and I thought maybe in that moment, he was falling for me, too.