He huffed a long, aggrieved sigh, then said, “What we did in there…” He trailed off, and I attempted to fill in the gaps.
“What we did in my study was between two consenting adults,” I reminded him.
“I licked your shoe,” he whispered tersely. “That’s not normal. Surely you must know that?”
“It’s not normal because you’re a prince?” I asked, truly puzzled.
Frowning, he said insistently, “It has nothing to do with whether I’m a prince. Or maybe it does. It’s only… I’m not like that.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not your whore.”
Interesting choice of words.
“I never said you were my whore, Cedrych. Did I make you feel that way?” I asked.
“No,” he said crossly. “You know what I mean. If my mother…” He clamped his mouth shut and took a gulp of cider even though it was still too hot and probably scalded his tongue.
A ray of clarity struck me. This was less about what we’d done and more about who might find out. Cedrych had lived his entirelife under extreme scrutiny. All of his actions, however intimate or mundane, had been laid bare for all to judge, reported on by the daily scrolls, policed by the Royal Guild, and admonished by his mother. He’d been stripped of his agency from a young age and acted out to assert himself, often in unhealthy ways.
“No one besides the two of us will ever know about what happened in my study,” I swore to him, “unless you tell them.”
“Why would I do that?”
“No one will know, Cedrych,” I repeated. “Not my servants or the guard or the daily scrolls and above all else, not your mother.”
“Someone will find out and tell her,” he insisted.
“I’m a private person, Cedrych, and I do not share my bedsport. Any gossip would be purely speculation.”
“Surely you have a reputation. Your past lovers must know what you like, how you are.” He waved his hand at the pub’s patrons as if it were common knowledge.
“As I told you before, my bedmates were selected according to their ability to be discreet and maintain my privacy. You can ask anyone in my household about my sexual practices, and I doubt they’ll be able to tell you anything beyond me having an appetite for sturdy, muscular men.” Even Anika’s understanding was basic at best.
“Sturdy, muscular men,” he said, eyes going unfocused. “Why is that?”
“I like to see their muscles bulge when I cuff them, when I tease their cocks after they’ve been caged by my metal, to have all of that masculine strength under my command as they cry and beg for release. And I like a little meat on the bones to hold onto when I fuck them.”
That enticing tongue of his poked out to sweep his lips. I still hadn’t tasted his mouth. So many regrets.
“What do you mean by caged?” he asked.
“Stay and find out,” I tempted.
“Do you…” He stared at me with such lovely turmoil in his eyes “Do you think less of me for it?”
We were dancing around the wordsubmissive. Rather than out him as such, I grabbed one of his hands and held it in my own. “I’m delighted you’re so willing to follow my instructions. That excites me more than you could possibly know, and it has my mind spinning with all sorts of delicious, sensual games we can play.”
The scent of him changed, arousal mingled with fear.
“How do I know this isn’t a trap? That you haven’t lured me into this arrangement only to betray me later?”
“I have the same fear of you, Cedrych. You have nothing but my word to go on, but I can promise you, as a gentleman and a friend, I have no interest in betraying you. If you were to make yourself vulnerable to me, I would cherish that gift and never dishonor it.” His cheeks turned rosy, but his eyes would not meet mine. I brought his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. “Please, Cedrych, stay.”
“Will we do more of… that?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“I’d like to, but only if it interests you as well.”
