Page 15 of Complete Me

“I was the one who proposed,” Edward pointed out. He’d made a promise when he asked David to marry him. He didn’t take that lightly, but he’d done it when he had no idea about the threat looming over his family. It was possible that whoever was behind the attacks on his brother and father had only been after Alexander. Edward had almost convinced himself as such until Belle had fallen in love with the wrong man. Smith Price, now her husband, had proved his love for her but the secrets he’d revealed had shown that Alexander’s paranoia had been warranted. Most of this had been kept from David. In truth, Edward knew very little. His brother hadn’t been eager to share his information with anyone. Despite everything, Alexander still believed it was his role to martyr himself for the sake of his family. What bits of information Edward was privy to didn’t paint a clear picture. Edward had proposed in good faith and that faith had been slowly stripped away over the last year.

“Yes,” David said, drawing his attention back to him, “and if you’ve changed your mind…”

It took a second for Edward to process what he was saying, but then realization dawned on him. David thought this was about him. How could Edward reassure him otherwise when he couldn’t tell him the truth? Alexander had commanded secrecy, and since he wasn’t sharing news of the investigation with his own wife, he couldn’t breach his trust. “This isn’t about you. Or us. It’s—”

“Then marry me,” David cut him short.

“I will,” he promised, but David shook his head.

“Now.”

“But the wedding and…”

“Everyone will be here for Christmas. Everyone we care about, and if your brother doesn’t have the authority to marry us, no one does. I don’t need a big wedding, I just need you.”

Edward’s heart melted a little at the sincerity shining in his brown eyes. He’d made this man wait for him to be ready for years. “I want to, but there are laws.”

“Sod the laws.”

“I am the Prince of England,” Edward reminded him dryly. If something happened to Alexander, the throne would have to pass to him until Elizabeth came of age. He had to consider his place and responsibility.

“You will always be the Prince of England.” There was an implication in David’s words that Edward didn’t want to consider. “That’s not going to change. If you feel that you can’t be both Prince and my husband, then maybe it would be best if…”

David absently twisted the ring on his finger, and Edward’s heart twisted along with it. Was this really what it would come down to? Choosing between the man he loved and the legacy he’d been born to? It occurred to him that this was how Alexander must have felt when he fell in love with Clara. Although the two had faced scrutiny, scandal, and danger, they’d continued to choose each other. Why couldn’t he do the same?

“Yes,” Edward said.

“Yes?” David repeated questioningly.

“Yes, I will marry you.” Grabbing him by the shirt, Edward drew him roughly to his body. Their mouths crushed together, the air around them charged with an electricity that he’d only felt in his arms. He had shielded himself from it in recent months, trying to keep him safe from unknown enemies by putting distance between them. Now Edward knew he’d only been hurting them by doing that. The love he felt for him transmuted into an intense longing that grew as the kiss deepened. Loosening his grip on him, Edward’s hand slipped lower until he found the hardening bulge through David’s jeans. David moaned against his mouth as he began to stroke through the thick denim.

The two had always given and taken, each a generous lover, but today Edward wanted to erase any doubts. The idea that David had ever questioned his love wrecked him, and he felt compelled to show his love exactly how much he loved him. Breaking away, he met David’s chocolate eyes for a moment before dropping to his knees. Only a selfless act would be enough to show him, even though he took an immense pleasure in performing it. His fingers slid David’s zipper down nimbly, and in one practiced motion, Edward freed his cock from the confines of his shorts. It fell heavy and hot into his hands, and Edward began to caress his length as he brought its broad crown to his lips. His mouth closed over the tip, allowing his tongue to swirl languidly until he swallowed it deeply into his throat. David groaned, his hands fisting in Edwards hair as he continued to suck.

“That feels so fucking good,” David grunted as he began to rock against Edward’s mouth.

They fell into a rhythm and Edward felt his own dick begin to ache. He couldn’t stop himself from shoving his hand down his trousers to stroke it as he continued to pleasure his lover.

“It turns you on to have my cock in your mouth, doesn’t it?” David growled.

Edward nodded, taking David deeper. He responded by thrusting harder, his balls slapping against his chin, as he fucked his throat. Edward felt the first clench of his own balls, even as he nearly gagged on David’s length, and when the first, hot jet shot against his throat, his own release broke free and coated his palm. He licked his shaft as he released him, and David sighed with pleasure.

“My turn?” David asked huskily as he helped Edward to his feet. Edward grinned sheepishly.

“I might have already…” he trailed away as David spotted his sticky hand.

“I don’t mind a challenge,” David promised him before he crushed his lips to his. When he broke away, they were both panting and rock hard. “Maybe we should take this show to the bedroom before Mrs. Watson comes in and has a heart attack, though.”

Edward chuckled at the thought. Balmoral’s housekeeper had been in tenure since he was a boy. She was a grumpy, old hen who complained about everything from her arthritic hip to the quality of the village’s clotted cream. She had welcomed David with open arms, but she was getting up there in years. The two had already decided that all of this Christmas’s house guests needed a gentle reminder not to let her catch them doing anything too shocking. Although it might be easier to lock the fragile Mrs. Watson in her quarters instead of relying on the discretion of any of the couples.

“Lead the way,” Edward encouraged him, and David took his hand.

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

7

In Smith's experience, a phone call from Georgia Kincaid never meant good news. The woman's presence in his life could be most easily described with comparisons to natural disasters. Like hurricanes and tornadoes, she was an inevitability that could not be avoided. No matter how prepared you were.

Smith bypassed valet parking. It was a service he only used in the presence of Belle, whom he wouldn't dare make walk more than a few feet into a building. When he had the option, he generally preferred to keep other hands off the steering wheel of his Bugatti. Even as a grown man, he didn’t like to share his toys. He found a particularly secluded spot marked no parking, pulled in and got out of the car. His mobile would alert him if any wanker tried to tow it. That seemed unlikely given the close quarters of London garages and between his smile and his wallet, he could have a boot taken off in no time.