He lifts the quilt and trails a finger over the man’s chest, his flesh taut and muscular, unblemished by scars, just as William likes them.
The man stirs.
William smiles.
“When do you have to leave?”
“This afternoon.” The man’s voice is full of sleep. He’s relaxed and still in that world between unconsciousness and here, the perfect time to elicit an easy orgasm and information, not that there’s ever any problem with either for him. The man is happy to talk, anytime, about anything.
“Time for breakfast?” William’s cock is hard and ready. He just needs the word from the man, or an action, and the day will get off to a fine start.
“Always.” The man goes to lie on his back, resting his hands behind his head like he’s sunbathing on the beach.
William shifts, moves over him, holds on to the high metal headboard that’s useful to grip and tie people to, like he did with the man last night. Now it’s for holding while he lines his cock up with the man’s mouth and braces himself to endure because the man has talent for this. He’s wasted in his job and William has offered him positions in his court, mainly so he can be on the receiving end of this more often.
The first feel of the man’s mouth around him makes him groan. Then there’s the swallow as he takes him deeper, and then William’s eyes roll and he feels all his responsibility and problems fade away.
When he comes, its with force. He’s holding the man’s hair now, pushing his cock deeper down his throat until he roars. The man groans, his own hand on his own cock, getting off without William like always. Low maintenance. Perfect.
They clean up, separately. Intimacy isn’t required. There’s an element of ease to this that William appreciates above all of his other relationships.
“Tell me about Paden,” he says as he sits down for breakfast with the man. “I hear there was a discovery off the north coast that he’s being particularly tight-lipped about.”
The man smiles, sips the orange juice. “There has been. But Paden doesn’t want anyone to know. It’s the legacy for the people of Scotland. Keeps the country independent.”
“Makes the country look all the more appealing to others.” William tops up the man’s coffee. He likes it strong, and black. William prefers tea.
The man nods, murmurs a thank you. Says nothing more.
“I’d like more details.”
“I’m sure you would.” He butters a slice of toast, unscrews the lid from the marmalade.
“Will I get more details?”
“Of course you will. Don’t you always?”
William sits back. Smiles. He will get what he needs. He always does.
Blair
The days seem to be getting longer and it has nothing to do with the time the sun spends in the sky. The nights drag. Sleep has stopped being my friend unless Isaac is here or I spend half the evening talking to him about everything other than Ben.
We don’t talk about Ben.
It’s been nearly two months since we last saw him, since he spent New Year’s Eve in our shared bed and I’ve relived every second of that time over and over, looking for clues as to what he was thinking, what he was intending. And I can’t find anything.
Nothing.
Apart from the words he said. Words that I’d dreamed of since being a little more than a kid, words I wanted more than anything from him.
He loved me. Us.
Enough to leave? Not enough to remain loyal?
I see his face on every wall as I walk to my parents’ suite, making the sense of dread and endings loom larger than it ever has done before.
My mother sits in the chair by the fire. She’s reading, her current permanent state since she’s withdrawn from any public commitments. Now her focus is on my father’s final days and we know we are able to call them final days because he deteriorates further with every breath.
