Page 55 of The Night Prince 6

“He is,” Declan admitted even as he found himself snuffling Aquilan’s glorious chest.

“This is progress.”

“It is.” Declan dragged his nose up to that hollow at the base of Aquilan’s throat.

“So, if I am going to be a good teacher and a good student, I think we need to communicate between ourselves about what we want,” Aquilan said.

“Words?” Declan almost wailed, because if words weren’t his friends when he was completely unaroused, when he was with Aquilan like this, they would be like self-inflicted wounds. “Can’t I just show you?”

“Show me?”

“And you’ll show me by how you react to what I do if you like it or not. I’m a visual learner,” Declan got out the words that Finley often said about him.

“Oh, well, I think that might work–oh!”

Declan’s mouth was sliding along the column of Aquilan’s throat, which had Aquilan’s breathing getting higher. He could feel Aquilan’s heartbeat through his lips. He drew his pointed canines along that tender skin.

“We need to–oh, that is quite–yes, right there. My ears are very… ah! Sensitive and yes, yes, yes, perfect!”

Aquilan bucked underneath him as Declan lightly bit down on the tender lobe. The taste of Aquilan was addictive. The breathy moans he made had Declan’s cock surging in his jeans. Suddenly, his own clothes felt incredibly restrictive. He reached between them and tried to undo the button fly, but his fingers couldn’t gain purchase.

“Let me help you with that,” Aquilan breathed.

He toed off his boots as he sucked on the top of Aquilan’s ears. The Sun King’s sounds were incredible, but somehow Aquilan still managed to undo his pants and shuck them off. His hooded coat and shirt followed. They were flung in all directions. Finally, the only thing separating their naked bodies was Aquilan’s pants.

Declan kissed down the length of Aquilan’s body. He loved how Aquilan would squirm when he touched a sensitive spot.

Definitely ticklish.

Until he reached the golden hair that just graced the top of his leggings. The hot, musky scent that rolled up from between Aquilan’s legs was heady. He breathed it in and felt the nerves in every part of his body light up. He hooked his fingers underneath the waistband of Aquilan’s leggings. He looked up at Aquilan’s face. The Sun King was up on his forearms watching him back. His eyelids were at half-mast. His eyes looked black as the pupils were blown so wide.

Slowly, deliberately, Declan pulled Aquilan’s leggings down an inch at a time. The mound over Aquilan’s sex was like a mountain. Declan had to pull the leggings up so that they could clear Aquilan’s cock. And when that cock was revealed it bobbed in the air. It was flushed a rosy red. The tip was wet with precum. Declan’s mouth watered for a taste of it. He had never tasted another man’s seed. His own? Yes. It hadn’t really excited him. Earthy, but not much else. But he imagined that the taste of Aquilan would be exquisite.

He rolled the leggings off the rest of the way and they were left on the floor. Aquilan’s calves and feet hung off the edge of the bed. Declan stood up between them. He was completely naked, too. His cock strained towards Aquilan. It wanted to be inside of the Sun King. He wanted that too.

And so much more.

Light And Shadow

The way Declan looked at him made Aquilan feel like a treasure beyond compare. Declan stood at the edge of the bed between his legs staring down at him with hooded red eyes. His starlight-colored hair fell across his forehead, shimmering. His long, lean body with gorgeously defined muscles was mostly still except for when he breathed. Long, deep breaths that raised and lowered his powerful shoulders.

Declan didn’t even blink at first. Then those eyes slowly moved from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. Aquilan scrunched his toes as he swore that gaze had physical weight.

“This is my first time being naked with someone I… care for,” Declan whispered. The hesitation before “care” made Aquilan think there was another word that Declan really meant but was too uncertain to say.

Do I want him to say love? Shouldn’t I be trying to slow this thing down between us? But I’ve never felt this way before about anyone. I’m certain I belong with him. And I don’t want to stop.

Aquilan’s lips parted. “Oh, y-yes, of course. You said you’d never been with anyone.”

“Never wanted to be,” Declan corrected softly.

Of course, Declan could have been with anyone he wanted. Even without stripping off the glamor, Declan was gorgeous. But even if his looks had not been so fine, there was something compelling about the young man. He was masterful. A born leader. Certain of himself in ways that some people never attained even in an immortal life. He understood why Vex was so very… vexed by his son. Declan was no innocent stripling bumbling about the world–much like Darcassan and Elasha–but a fully formed being. He knew the hard things Declan had gone through had shaped him into this, but it was also something innate in his Shadow.

Blessed by the gods. Meant for great things. To get around Vex’s enchantments, he would have to be. He must have a great destiny.

All of this made Declan incredibly desirable.

In contrast, Aquilan had never wanted to be destined for anything. His greatest desire had been to hunt, sing, eat good food and drink good wine with wonderful friends. Finding out that he was Ailduin reborn hadn’t changed that. In fact, he was still shying away from this revelation. Pretending it wasn’t true. That he wasn’t missing memories. That he hadn’t lived an incredible life before this one. A life that still had an effect on the Aravae and maybe even the Kindreth. Maybe it was because he had been Ailduin that he didn’t desire to be at the center of things again. Maybe being destined had cost him everything in the past and he wanted to protect himself this time around.