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Jackie Wilde was like that. She did what was best for her. She didn’t give a rat’s ass what it meant to anyone else, including her very gay son and gay fathers.
Shin Mon Thway and 3 other people liked this
If Gadleigh Castle was, in some way, the love of my life, the treasury room was its very heart.
Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus and 3 other people liked this
Gadleigh Castle was a treasure trove of hidden stained glass. It was everywhere. A master artisan had spent decades lovingly adding glass flourishes all over the estate back in the sixteenth century.
Whoever he was, the man was clearly mesmerized by the Gadleigh glass on display in the room. His sudden intake of breath, the pink flush of his cheeks, and the slow rise of his fingers to his lips all came together to make my heart thump. There was something about him that stopped me from calling out to tell him I was there.
That was one of the shitty aspects of being single. No one to touch, no warm body to cling to on a cold night in bed, no one to complain to when things didn’t go your way.
Maybe it was crass, but in my mind, men were for fucking while women were for marrying.
I felt the delicious sensation of his cock sliding past my prostate, and the sounds that came out of me were incoherent—babbling, begging, whimpering. Lio had his own incoherent sounds between kisses. I caught expletives and words like tight, perfect, hot, need you.
It was the single most intimate and erotic experience I’d ever had. And I couldn’t help but wonder if it would remain so for the rest of my life.
“Everyone wants a piece of Lio thinking it’s all fun and games, but then this sort of shit happens and they realize it’s not all nightclubs and fancy clothes.” “Wait, what?”
“You’re a prince,” I said. His face fell. “Yes.” “Of, like, a country.” “Yes.” “Oh god,” I groaned again. “It’s true. I’m an idiot.” Lio’s hands came up to cup my chin, forcing me to look at him. “You’re not. You’re smart as hell.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. “You could have told me. I wouldn’t have treated you any differently.”
Warm brown eyes peered at me expectantly from under bed-rumpled hair, and I had a moment’s clarity that I was really quite gay. I’d spent much of my time since puberty self-identifying as bisexual, but in that moment, I couldn’t imagine a single woman on earth who could ever come close to being as attractive and enticing to me as the man in front of me. But then again, there couldn’t be another man that beautiful either. Perhaps I was Felix-sexual.
At night, we spent hours exploring each other’s bodies, talking and laughing, or just curled around each other in sated sleep. It was like having a boyfriend but in the present tense only. There was no past, there could be no future, and the present was simply easy and fun.
Even without the whole “gay prince” thing, the two of us together would be ridiculous. A royal couldn’t build a life with the bastard son of a former porn star.
If Lio had any idea how much I wanted to stay with him, he’d run screaming back home to take the throne with pleasure just to get away from his crazy stalker.
“I want you to own me, Lio,” I whispered. My whole body trembled with need and fear of his reaction. “I want you to hold me down and fuck me so hard, I can barely breathe without feeling your cock shove deeper inside me. I want you to make it hurt a little so I feel it for days and days. I want you to… I want to…” I sucked in a breath. “I don’t know how to say it. I want you inside my body, and I don’t ever want you to leave it, Lio. Make me yours in a way no one else can, okay?”
But most of all, when I limped out of bed the next morning, I heard the quiet echo of his last words mumbled into my hair in the middle of the night. I’m not sure I can live without you.
“It is the work of a lifetime. The work of love and dedication to a place that meant everything to the artisan. While I was there, I attempted to count each individual work of handmade glass around Gadleigh Castle. I stopped counting after eight hundred. This wasn’t a visiting artist. It wasn’t a world-renowned maker or a neophyte attempting to learn the ropes. It was a focused, dedicated master, honing his art in the process of expressing a lifetime’s worth of love in the place of his heart.”
My Etienne - whose heart shined like colored glass in the sun.
“I really care about him, Grandpa Wilde,” I said quietly. “When I left him at Gadleigh, it was like I left one of my lungs there too. I can hardly breathe.”
“He’s such a good fucking human being, you know?” I added in a rough voice. “So beautiful. His heart is so pure. He deserves so much.”
It’s worth every single thorn you come across. When you meet my husband someday, you’ll see. He lights my life on fire, and seeing his beautiful face every morning when I wake up is worth every bit of bullshit I went through to claim him.
But after trying to keep up appearances since your father announced our divorce and we had to start holding our breath waiting for the dirty secret to come out… well, I can understand how difficult it is to pretend you’re okay while the whole world is watching. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. Surely the people of this country can handle the reality of a royal affair without the world crashing down around us. Maybe we don’t give our citizens enough credit.”
That was my heart right there, and it was walking around free as if it didn’t belong in the center of my chest.
Emily Seelye liked this
While it was the truth, it clearly wasn’t the real reason I was so upset. The real reason was knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that I didn’t belong in this place. I didn’t know the first thing about politics, diplomacy, or any of the other issues a royal family would have to deal with on a daily basis. What in hell had I been thinking? Daydreaming of a future with Lio had just been that—daydreaming. I couldn’t possibly contribute anything of value to this world.
There was no sound other than the muffled moans and gasps coming from both of us. His were noises of pleasure while mine were sounds of goodbye. If I was going to leave him, I wanted one last taste of him. One last moment of being completely his.
“I love you,” he said. “Of all the vows I spoke during my coronation mass and all the promises I made to the people of Liorland in my speech, do not doubt that those three words I say to you now are the most important ones I said today. Do you understand?”
Emily Seelye liked this
“Of all the vows I spoke during my coronation mass and all the promises I made to the people of Liorland in my speech, do not doubt that those three words I say to you now are the most important ones I said today. Do you understand?”
“Say it, baby,” he breathed. “Tell me you understand how important this is to me. How important you are to me. Please.” “You love me,” I repeated. “But you have to understand I feel the same way about you.” “I do. I know how much you love me, Felix. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“I don’t know, Lio. At least a few months, okay? I can’t… I can’t do this halfway.” He’d yelled into the phone then, his frustration bubbling over from anger and fear. “I’m not asking you to, dammit! I want all the way, the whole way. I don’t want halfway. You’re the one insisting on halfway.”
I needed to hear your voice too. It was a hard day for me too. I love you and miss you so much. I think I might be dying of heartbreak not being able to hold you after you’ve had a bad day.
“He’s so fucking hot—all confident and shit. Like an alpha male. I’ll bet he has a big dick.”
Andrea AKA Catsos Person and 3 other people liked this
“Well, the good news is that the second item will help the press quickly forget about the first,” he said with a cheeky wink. “I’m gay.” It felt like the entire universe held its collective breath. Even the woman interviewing him looked shocked. “Excuse me. Did you say you’re gay?” Lio actually laughed at her. “Yes, Valerie. I did. Whew. It actually feels nice having gotten that off my chest. Been a long time coming, honestly.”
If only the air hadn’t split open with catcalls. “Go get it, boy!” “Show us some skin!” “Felix gettin’ naughty with Prince Charming.” “What do you call french kissing in French? Is it just kissing? That’s boring.” “I call dibs next!” “Introduce us to your boy toy, Felix.”
“Christ, you’re beautiful,” I murmured, stalking closer to him. “I want to eat you for dinner.” His grin was playful, but his eyes were intense. “Only if you ask nicely,” he teased,
“He comes first. Felix is my heart. Being the king of Liorland is amazing and wonderful and important. It’s a big part of who I am and what I do, but my relationship with Felix is too. It’s all those things. And just because I am a king does not mean I owe the people of Liorland access to my most private moments. Marrying Felix was beautiful and special. I want the people to celebrate with us, which is why we will hold a formal gala when we return home. But the ceremony itself…” He looked over at me. “That was for us.”
“But Gadleigh’s your favorite.” I felt light and joyful in a way I never had before meeting Felix Wilde. “No. You’re my favorite. Wherever you are is my favorite. And the fact that Gadleigh’s history means so much to you, means a lot to me. I can’t wait to make more memories here with you. You taught me that Gadleigh glass is special because of the sand. Likewise, I feel like my life is now going to shine because of you.”
