The Summer Prince spins us so I’m on top, hands pressing into his chest as the waves submerge him. As the tide swirls around us, I continue with movements as frantic as the ocean. The pressure of the water, Dayton below me, the heat and the cold, all blend into a single, overpowering sensation.
He rises out of the ocean and kisses me. My legs wrap around his waist, the waves swirling around us.
“This has been the best summer of my life,” I gasp.
He clutches my face. “Farron, I?—”
A wave crashes over us then, so loud it drowns out everything else. When it falls away, his lips are over mine and the words lost with it. But I imagine he said, I love you.
And I kiss him back like he did. Move my body with his like he told me those words.
Dayton’s hands roam my body, finding every sensitive spot and setting it alight with his touch. I arch into him, moving in sync with the rhythm of the waves. His lips find mine again, the kiss deep and all-consuming, and I lose myself.
His hips move slowly, drawing out our pleasure, his other hand stroking me beneath the waves. The water rises higher, soaking us through, but we’re oblivious to everything excepteach other. Dayton’s every touch, every kiss, drives me closer to the edge until I’m teetering on the brink of ecstasy.
“Ready, baby?” he whispers in my ear.
Whimpering, I nod, burying my face into his shoulder. His skillful hips buck once, twice, until he reaches that sensitive spot deep within me. I come undone. His hand closes around my cock as I spasm into another wave of pleasure. His groan is loud and long as he releases deep inside me. The intensity of it leaves me breathless, clinging to Dayton as the world spins.
Teeth nipping my ear, he growls in broken, shattered words. “Gods, you feel so good. You make me feel so good. I fucking love coming inside you, baby.”
Tears flow down my cheek, and I kiss his neck tenderly as we stay locked together.
Dayton’s lips find mine once more. I surrender, letting the waves of desire and the tide carry us both away.
I love you, Day. I love you so much. I’d do anything in this world for you.
23
Dayton
Istride through Soltide Keep, the familiar halls doing little to lift the heavy feeling in my chest. The glimpses of my haphazard appearance in the tidepools seem to mock me as I make my way to the High Prince’s chambers. I need to talk to him. Though I’m not sure as to what end. To ask his leave to go to Autumn? Or to beg him to present an acceptable reason for me to stay in Summer?
What happened on the isle with Farron, the manner in which we’d fucked on the beach. Had that been the start of something new or a goodbye? Had I heard him right between the rush of the waves?Did you say those three words to me?Or has my imagination gotten the best of me again?
My hand hovers over my seashell necklace. I don’t know what choice to make.
After we’d made our way back to shore, I’d taken a revealing walk through Hadria with naught but a palm frond as coverage. Once we’d arrived at my personal quarters, I’d thrown on a beige tunic and loose pants. Farron had fallen into my arms, kissing me wildly, saying how excited he was for us to depart for Autumn tomorrow. Then he left to pack.
And here I am before the High Prince’s chambers to ask him something. I still don’t know what.
As I linger outside the door, I hear voices through the crack. I adjust my stance and peer through to see Damocles and Decimus in deep conversation.
“You must have noticed how much time they were spending together,” Decimus says.
Damocles gives a long sigh. Despite the late hour, my brother is still dressed in his fine regalia. Stars, I wouldn’t be surprised if the bastard sleeps in it.
“He kissed the Autumn Prince in front of the whole court,” Damocles says. “I’d be a fool not to notice that.”
A slight chuckle from Decimus. “Why the frown, brother? Was this not your grand plan?”
“Unfortunately, this summer has only proven how unready our youngest brother is.”
My stomach drops, and I force myself to stay still.
“Instead of courting the Autumn Prince properly,” Damocles continues, “he has stolen him away in shadows and night. Instead of staying in the palace and learning from his High Prince and the High Princess of Autumn, he has frolicked in the Pirate Isles and slept with the goats up on Mount Tempitus.”
My heart sinks. I press closer to the cool stone wall.
