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Audric stops five feet from Rakos. “Thank you for returning Bellamy, Captain. I look forward to a detailed explanation from both of you.” “Not sure I look forward to providing one, Your Highness,” Rakos says. “But I’ll do my best.” Before he can say anything else, Bell rushes forward. “Audric! Julien! I’m thrilled to be back, but please don’t kill my boyfriend yet!”
Rakos needs every last ounce of willpower not to laugh. “Bell, sweetheart. There had to be a better way to break that to them.” “I think it was perfect.” Bell stumbles to Rakos’s side, and they reach for each other’s hands at the same time.
Sarka’s voice rumbles through all of their heads. Julien and Audric seem startled; Bell isn’t. I am happy to sit in the courtyard. Your castle windows are very wide, and it will be fun to watch people through them. “Oh, joy,” Julien says under his breath. “Audric, could you get them to Healer Dury? I need to talk to the guards and punch a wall or two.” “I’ll send Dury to you next.”
Bell holds up a hand. “One second.” Even Rakos doesn’t know what Bell wants, until Bell whirls around with pure love and joy beaming in his eyes. Love, joy, and a heaping dose of mischief. Under Audric and Julien’s disbelieving eyes, Bell pulls Rakos into a kiss so tender and filthy, he forgets everything else in the world.
“See to Bell first,” Rakos says when the healer arrives. The healer moves obligingly towards Bell, who says, “Ignore that. See to Rakos first.” “Yes, Your Highness,” the healer says.
Bell covers his mouth and leans towards Whisper, while pointedly speaking loud enough for Julien to hear him. “Feel free to let me know if Julien ever gives you trouble. I know my brother can be a bit of an ass to work for.” Whisper tenses unexpectedly. “That won’t be necessary.” Julien’s brow furrows. “What do you mean, ‘work for?’” Confused, Bellamy looks between them. “Did I misremember? I thought you said you were a servant of Julien’s.” “He what?” Julien whirls to glare at Whisper, leaning into his space. “You introduced yourself as my servant?”
Whisper doesn’t flinch at Julien’s threatening posture. He just blinks up with an incongruous hint of coquettishness. “It was faster than explaining.” Julien groans in exasperation and holds up a finger to Bellamy. “Give me one second, Bell.” He turns back to Whisper and growls, “I need to remind Whisper of a few details about his position.” Whisper’s already tilting his face up when Julien presses him against the wall. The ensuing kiss makes Bellamy flush red and turn away.
Bellamy coughs. “I missed you too, Jules. Let’s talk later.” Julien waves without looking up.
After a quiet stretch, Bellamy asks, “Are they…” “Yes. The short answer is yes, His Highness and Whisper are together.” “Wow,” Bellamy says. He can’t remember Julien ever seeing a man for longer than a week. “It’s not just another fling?” “If only, Your Highness.”
They left Sarka playing in a nearby river under oathguard supervision. Bastard chose to stay with her. Bellamy spares a kind thought for the guards who think the dragon will be their biggest concern that day.
“What are you looking at, minstrel?” Rakos asks. Bellamy elbows him. “The sexiest farmer in Silaise.” Rakos grins. “Still think I could get away with telling your moms I’m a farmer?” Bellamy grins back. “I would love to see you try.”
“I’m fine, Mother.” Bellamy pulls Rakos closer by the hand and doesn’t let go. “Thanks to Rakos.” Margot lifts her chin, fixing Rakos with a calculating stare. “So I’ve heard.” Her attention returns to Bellamy. “I look forward to hearing the tale of your journey from your own lips. Julien’s letter was rather colorful.” “As if he has room to judge,” Claude mutters.
“Mother, Claude, I’d like you to properly meet Rakos. He’s the one who protected me in Draskora and brought me home. I’m very in love with him, and I intend to keep him.” Margot brushes a fallen leaf from Claude’s shoulder. “To think, I thought Julien’s little assassin would be my greatest trial as a parent this year.” “Julien has always been like that.” Claude glares suspiciously at Rakos. “This is Bellamy, though.”
“I am delighted to meet you, Captain Rakos. What mother doesn’t wish to see her children happy? And putting aside family matters, the information you offer is worth the diplomatic inconvenience.” Bellamy knows inconvenience is putting it mildly. Rakos’s hand twitches in Bellamy’s. “I’m not a captain anymore, Your Majesty. Just an inconvenient fugitive.”
Leaving Bellamy, Rakos, and Claude alone together. Bellamy counts silently: One. Two. Three. “My dear Bellamy,” Claude says sweetly. “Could I talk to your paramour alone for a moment?” Not even five seconds. “It’s fine, Claude. You can threaten him in front of me.” Rakos slings an arm around Bellamy’s shoulders with a welcome, reassuring weight. “Let me guess. If I hurt him, you’ll kill me?” “Oh, you are a clever one,” Claude says, unabashed.
When Sarka pauses, hovering on an updraft, Rakos loosens his left arm in the harness enough to sit up. “I could get used to exile.” Sarka snorts. You just like fucking your scrawny prince. “That’s definitely a perk.”
A phalanx of oathguards surround him as he enters. They’re ostensibly assigned to guide and protect him, but everyone knows their primary task is to watch him. Rakos doesn’t mind. Public scrutiny will make it more difficult for Lady Claude to discreetly murder him.
“What are you reading?” Rakos asks, unlacing his boots. Bell looks up with wide, innocent eyes. “An adventure novel. About a notorious thief and an innocent young mage who gets taken hostage by him. And then—” “Smut. You’re reading smut.” “Very adventurous smut,” Bell says happily.
“I love you,” Rakos says. Bell’s eyes crinkle, and he hooks a leg around Rakos’s hip. “Really? Prove it.” “With pleasure,” Rakos purrs, and kisses Bell’s smirk away.
Love won’t change that Bellamy tires too easily. Love won’t keep him from losing days to headaches when he’s stressed, or eats the wrong amount of the wrong thing, moves too much or too little, sleeps too late or too early. Love doesn’t need to cure anything for Bellamy to need it like air.
“Does flying make you horny? You’re always hard after you fly.” “You make me horny. I don’t get hard when you’re not up there with me. Usually.”
“Maybe I’ll find a book about a sexy farmer, since I don’t have a sexy farmer anymore.” Rakos gasps in mock outrage. “What happened to you being so kind, generous, and understanding?” “Did I say that?” Bellamy can barely concentrate on unraveling Rakos’s clothes. Finally, he just falls back, points at Rakos, and orders, “Strip.” “Yes, Your Highness,” Rakos says with a lascivious grin, and jumps to the floor.
Rakos looks ravenous. Eager. But if Bellamy lets Rakos prep him, they’ll never get to Bellamy’s goal. Rakos has been enjoying the luxury of royal beds far too much, and right now, Bellamy doesn’t want to spend an hour on foreplay. He wants to fuck. Then nap for two hours. Then spend an hour on foreplay before fucking again.
“Take as much time as you need, I’m not going anywhere.” Bellamy tilts his head. “So, I could just stop? Like this?” “As much. Time. As you need,” Rakos grits out.
Bellamy pillows his head on Rakos’s bicep. “Let me know if your arm falls asleep,” he mumbles. “No promises,” Rakos says. “I don’t need that arm.” “Well, I need that arm. My arm. My sexy dragon rider.” Bellamy turns his head and kisses Rakos’s arm. “My incompetent farmer.”
“Lady Claude,” Rakos says politely. “Oh, it’s you,” Claude replies, which is an improvement in friendliness from her. She swans back to her seat at Margot’s left, and Margot extends her hand so Claude can play with her rings.
“Not to be rude, but should Captain Dragon be here for an exclusive family meeting? How sure are we that he isn’t a spy?” “We already voted on it,” Bellamy says. “Just before you came in. We all took a vote and unanimously said he should be here.” Julien cocks his head. “I feel like you’re lying. But how could my precious baby brother lie to me?” “I would never,” Bellamy says, smiling sweetly.
Bellamy leans closer to Rakos, appreciating his lover’s solid warmth along with the tick in Julien’s jaw. “Don’t worry, I’m supervising Rakos very closely.”
Bellamy.” Bellamy straightens in his seat. “Yes, Mother?” Her smile is fond, but a little exasperated. “I had intended to arrange a marriage for you.” Everyone except Claude freezes. Bellamy is too shocked to respond, and Rakos breaks the silence first with a tense, “Your Majesty.” Heart pounding, Bellamy seizes Rakos’s hand beneath the table. “That’s not going to happen, Mother.”
Luckily, I have one son left.” Her gaze arrows from Bellamy to Audric, whose eyes widen. A brief fracture of surprise before his expression smoothes out. Bellamy rarely sees his oldest brother caught off guard like that. Margot continues. “I’ll do my best to arrange a match to your liking, and I’ll seek your input in the negotiations. But please try not to fall in love in the meantime. It’s terribly inconvenient for me.”
