Page 102 of The Moon Blessed King
‘That’s their choice, not yours. How doyoufeel?’
‘The same, but more tired.’
‘That’s the monarchy talking.’
‘I don’t want to be a king.’
Elician shifts, sliding to the side of Alest’s chair and crouching so they are almost at eye level. Still holding Alest’s hand, tenderly stroking his skin with a slow swipe of his thumb.
‘There are too many decisions to make,’ Alest continues, ‘and I don’t know the answers to anything. It feels like it’s too much and I’m so tired all the time.’
‘I know. We need to talk about how all of this is going to work.
And if wecanfind a way to make it work, then not all of this will be on your head alone.’
‘Your head too.’
‘Yeah,’ Elician sighs, ‘I’d like a chance to breathe once in a while. And we’ll get there. We will. We’ll have council members and advisers. And there will be people we can trust. We’ll get our chance to take a break and then…one day, leave.’
‘Adalei will be queen.’
‘She will, and you’ll find your successor. A little girl.’ Elician huffs a laugh. ‘Someone that all of Alelune will love without complaint. And on that day…we’ll be free.’
Alest tips forward. Their brows touch. He cups Elician’s cheek with his free hand and Elician leans into the warm, tingling feeling that still makes his stomach whoop as every part of his body registers the sensation. Magnets, he has always thought. Two magnets pulling towards each other, never meant to be apart.
Slowly, gently, he turns his head. He meets Alest’s lips with his own, the touch light and sweet.We’re getting better at this, Elician thinks, cherishing the pleasure of every fluttering sensation. Alest slides forward and Elician is there to guide him down. Down from his chair, down to Elician’s lap. Straddling his hips and cupping his cheeks, holding Elician to him even as Elician ensures that Alest’s body is safe and secure. He will always make sure that Alest is safe and secure.
Alest’s eyes are closed. His face a picture of beauty. Absent is the flush of embarrassment or shame that crossed his cheeks the last few times they kissed for so long. He seems, just for a moment, utterly uncaring. As if finally, for the first time, his mind is still, and all he is focusing on is Elician willingly supple in his grasp. One of Elician’s hands goes to Alest’s waist, the other to the back of his neck. Their mouths move, lips opening in tantalizing possibility.
Elician slides his tongue between their sweet parting. Alest’s breath hitches, his voice hums a sound. A perfect, flawless sound thatspears Elician through his very soul. He wants to hear it again. Wants to relish the vibrations on his tongue. He delves deeper, holding Alest’s hip steady against his lap as he kisses. Just kisses. Whole nations could fall and Elician would still mourn the very second Alest’s lips were pulled from his. He never wants this to end.
Alest’s hands are warm at his cheeks. His fingertips slip into the nascent curls still trying their best to grow back into place. A subtle prickle of sensation burns at Elician’s scalp, and he wants. He wants everything. He wants to be touched. Wants to press his body against Alest’s and feel his heart beating in tandem with his own. He wants to taste Alest’s skin. He wants to taste everything he knows, and everything he doesn’t know.
He pulls back, and Alest whines, a heartbreaking cry echoed by such an expression of hurt.Why?is breathed between them in wordless misery. ‘I want to touch you,’ Elician says.
‘We were touching,’ Alest complains, trying to pull Elician’s face closer. But Elician holds strong. He leans his head back as far as he can, pushing Alest ever so slightly.
‘Wait. Wait.’
Alest waits, confusion overriding frustrated annoyance. Elician yearns to kiss his lips. To make it better.
‘I want totouchyou,’ Elician repeats. He glances back towards the bed behind them. Undisturbed. Clean. Waiting for their use. Alest frowns, then, comprehension dawns. The flush returns, embarrassment and shame and discomfort perhaps at the suggestion. He squirms, dropping his hands from Elician’s face, and seems to realize just how veryperfectlyhe is straddling Elician’s lap. He shifts, gasps as their bodies align in an all too delightful way, then holds still.
‘I don’t know how,’ Alest says, looking at the bed like it might hold some secret mysteries within.
‘I don’t know either,’ Elician confesses.
‘You don’t have the same excuse as me,’ Alest murmurs.
‘I didn’t want to lie with anyone I didn’t love. And I swore I wouldnever love anyone. I couldn’t bear to see one more person in my life die. And then…then I had you, and I would trade all the experience in the world in aheartbeatif it means that I will always have you.’
‘Well it seems that’s exactly what you’ve ended up with, husband. So…’ Alest shimmies back, standing before Elician even as his cheeks burn an ever more glorious shade of red. He holds out his hand and says, ‘Have me.’
‘Are you sure?’ Elician asks, taking his lethal healing hand in his. He stands.
‘I’m sure.’ Alest leads him to the bed. He bites his bottom lip. He glances shyly at Elician’s face, and Elician pulls him close once more. He kisses him.
Tension fades from Alest’s body. Water flowing perfectly down a stream. He likes this. Elician knows he likes this. He massages his hands along Alest’s body, before slowly reaching for his belt around his waist. And Alest mirrors the action. A willing student, a fast learner. They kiss still even as their belts clack to the floor. Their tunics are pulled free over their shoulders, and they laugh against each other’s mouths. They only part long enough to free themselves, then they return.
