“I don’t have a lake,” he chuckled. “Well, I do. I have many. But I don’t bathe in them.” He shivered with clear discomfort. “As the royal breeder, you won’t have to either.”Royal breeder. I sucked in a breath as my dick stirred in my overalls. Throwing open the door to a much smaller room, King Sebastian pointed at a huge bathtub in the middle of it. “I have this instead. I’ll call for some warm water. When you’re done, just ask to be taken to the Great Hall. It’s where we will take our dinner. And talk.” He raised a dark eyebrow at me, and my dick instantly went from a semi to full mast. He was so cute when he was bossy.
“What’s wrong?” He narrowed his eyes. “Do you need more honey?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I swallowed. “And yes, please, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. I’ll send for some. But save some appetite,” he smirked. Taking me in, his gaze trailed up and down my body. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As an alpha, I was always hungry. I was used to simple meals meant to provide me with the stamina to work in the fields from early morning until late afternoon. When King Sebastian had told me dinner would be ready soon, I had no idea he was talking about a feast worthy of a… yeah, well, a king. The table itself seemed to go on for miles and miles, one delicious dish after another arranged on it. Roasts, baked potatoes, and steamed vegetables. Delicious-smelling sauces and grilled fish. Cheese and fruit, some I’d never seen before in my life. Cakes, puddings, and chocolate bonbons. Carafes of wine, shimmering in the lights from the overhead crystal chandeliers.
The Great Hall was empty aside from some musicians playing soft string music in a corner, and King Sebastian sitting in a throne-like chair at the far end of the table, flanked by two royal guards. Looking around, I shifted on my feet, unsure if he wanted me to approach him. I felt so out of my depth.
“Gus, come here!” he called out, and then waved at me to come forward. I shuffled toward him, feeling unsure and foreign in the garments the servants had provided for me when I’d finished thebath. The gray pants were tight-fitting, too tight for my liking, but I didn’t dare complain and insult King Sebastian, who’d been nothing but kind to me. The white shirt was large and flowy, woven from the softest, thin linen I’d ever seen. A servant had combed my hair and swept some oil through it, which smelled of the woods and the way the earth smelled after a spring shower. Before they’d dressed me—yes, I hadn’t been allowed to dress myself!—the servants had smeared some cooling ointment on the insect bites, and I think it must’ve been the most embarrassing moment of my life when they’d stared directly at my dick, their eyes wide open, mouths agape.‘Lucky king,’I thought I heard one of them whisper, then another giggled.
“Your Majesty.” I bowed when I reached him.
“Come!” He gestured at the chair to his left. “Come sit next to me.”
He wanted me to sit next to him? During dinner? I pointed at the chair. “There? Are you sure, Your Majesty?”
“Well, of course,” he laughed, his voice all lofty and featherlight, his cheeks rosy in the dim lighting. “You can’t sit on the floor, can you now?” An image of me perched on the floor, my head in the king’s lap, his slim fingers trailing through my hair, caressing my forehead, coursed through me, and I shivered. My dick stirred, and yep, I definitely needed looser pants if I was supposed to be around King Sebastian for the foreseeable future.
I shook my head, then moved toward the chair.
“Hungry?” He smiled at me, a fire sparking in his green eyes.
I sat down next to him. “Yes, very.”
“Excellent!” He rubbed his hands together, then reached for a crystal glass with a deep red liquid in it. Moving it to his plump lips, he nodded at a filled glass in front of me. “Let’s toast, eat, and then talk.”
Talk, right.We needed to talk. That’s what he’d said earlier. I swallowed as I reached for the glass. I’d never tasted wine before, but maybe it was a good idea that I had some liquid courage before King Sebastian announced he was shipping me back to the country. My chest squeezed as I brought the glass to my lips. When I’d arrived earlier, all I could think about was that I wanted to go home, back home to the farm and Hal. And I still did. But I also wanted to stay. Stay next to this strange and wondrous omega, with his green eyes on me, all curious and penetrating.
Chapter 5
Sebastian
I couldn’t help eyeing Gus as he ate. The alpha clearly wasn’t used to the number of forks that I was. He seemed to struggle with the grip on the smaller ones, too, since his hands were simply too big to use them properly.
“Use the biggest one,” I suggested. “You pick the one you feel is best for you.” It was a lie, of course, but he didn’t need to learn proper manners. No, Gus was here for one thing only, and manners definitely wouldn’t be at play there.
“Oh,” he whispered softly, a light pink coating his cheeks, before taking the biggest fork in hand. It was still too small for him, but at least he could use that one. I gulped as I took in his paw-like hand wrapped around the delicate silver fork. My mind instantly went to all sorts of places that weren’t appropriate during dinner. What else was big on this peculiar alpha, who was nothing like the alphas my grandfather had warned me against? How would his big hand feel when wrapped around my—No! I needed to stop. We needed totalk!
Gus hummed around a mouthful of meat, then licked his lips.
“Better?” I smiled knowingly. This alpha was amusing me in the best way. There was just something so innocent and different about him. Endearing almost.
“Much, Your Majesty.”
We continued to eat in silence; the only sounds in the room were our plates slowly emptying and the occasional servant who came to remove empty platters and put new dishes on the table.
“Try the carrots,” I urged, pointing to the newest platter of honey-glazed carrots. They were cooked in the oven with lemon juice and some thyme and were delicious. It seemed the cooks were having fun with this particular dinner. The small additions they’d made were more colorful than usual, and way more honey-oriented.
Gus filled his plate with a generous amount of the sweet carrots, and I felt warmth spread through my chest at the gesture. Either he trusted my judgement enough to know he would like the dish, or he was willing to please me by adding so much of it to his plate. Whatever the reason, it was heartwarming.
With my own stomach sated and full, I focused all my attention on Gus, on the way he carefully stabbed a carrot onto his fork, then inspected it with a curious frown before tasting it. I shifted in my seat, and a shiver moved through my body as I watched his lips close around the end of the carrot.
A loud moan escaped Gus, and I felt the telltale sign of my slick starting to spread. I was in so much trouble here. My alpha guards would soon be able to smell my arousal, and if I knew what was best for me, I would need them gone before their instincts took over, and I wound up being claimed right here by five horny alphas. Not that things like that really happened, but my advisors enjoyed reminding me that it theoreticallycouldhappen, so why tempt fate? More slick started leaking from my hole, and I cursed myself for my wandering thoughts.
