Alik presseed a small vial of oil into Eamon’s hand.
“Tell me more about your island,” Eamon murmured and kissed Alik’s bare shoulder.
“There would be shade and warmth and plenty to eat. You wouldn’t have to fight any longer-”
Alik heard Eamon open the vial and shivered in his arms as he slid his hands up Alik’s chiton.
“Go on.”
“And we would sleep away the morning and early afternoon and wake up in each other’s arms-”
Eamon watched Alik’s face as he began to gently massage his hole, careful of any lingering ache from the night before. There was no telltale sign and Alik scooted even closer to Eamon, spreading his legs wider.
“I loved how you woke me up last night. No one has ever done that to me before. Your tongue and your lips, I thought it was a dream.”
“I love to hear the sounds you make.”
Alik arched his back and Eamon’s slickened finger slipped inside him, just a bare inch. For a moment, Eamon pulled away to take Alik’s chiton off.
Naked, sitting astride his fiance’s lap, Alik kissed him. Eamon returned his finger to Alik’s hole and drank down his moan as Eamon slipped a finger inside of him.
“I would like to feel you near me all the time, know that I am ready to climb into your lap and I am yours to have as you will-”
Eamon listened eagerly, wanting to know every single way he could please Alik. He slowly sank another finger inside him and watched Alik tip his head back to the stars. Alik seemed lost for words as Eamon found that spot inside him and gently teased him, rubbed it over and over until Alik cried out for him.
Eamon swung one leg over the bench so he sat astride it and leaned back on his hands.
“Ride me, my Prince,” Eamon commanded.
Alik sat forward and grasped at Eamon’s leaking cock and leaned back. He took his time sinking down on it, not because he was still sore, but because he savored the feeling of Eamon filling him up unlike any other man before him.
Eamon studied Alik as he slowly pushed himself up and then let himself fall down on Eamon over and over. It was like watching the most wicked show Eamon had ever seen and he loved every second of it, the throaty sighs and the nonsense whispers that came out of Alik’s mouth. He loved even more that Alik took his pleasure unabashedly, that he used Eamon in such a way. And Eamon loved that he was being used because even though Alik was clearly enjoying himself, Eamon could also tell that Alik was partly putting on a show for him as well.
Without warning, Eamon sat up and pulled Alik off of him, sat him down on the bench and it took a moment for Alik to understand what was happening, but in that moment, Eamon spread Alik’s knees and sank his mouth down on his mouth.
“Ah!” Alik cried out, surprised at the sudden change in pleasure.
Eamon thought of doing this all day; he thought of pushing Alik into some empty room and getting on his knees and licking his cock till it was dripping wet and then sliding it into his mouth and as much down his throat as he could fit. Alik was no small man, not in anyway, and his cock was no different.
So Eamon indulged in his fantasy and sucked Alik down in one smooth move.
“Eamon, please, my King, please, stop. I want to come with you inside me,” Alik hissed.
Eamon gave him one last, long suck and then sat back. “Turn over,” he ordered.
Alik did as he was told, his torso over the bench he was just sitting on. He felt the warmth of more oil on his ass and shivered as Eamon lined himself up and pushed in.
“How do you want it, my Prince?” Eamon asked, holding himself still inside Alik.
Alik clenched him with his muscles and Eamon hissed.
“My King, please, fuck me slowly to begin with.”
So Eamon did. He fucked Alik slowly, long, slow strokes and watched as his cock entered the man below him again and again.
“Faster,” Alik begged, panting and clutching the bench beneath him.
Eamon draped himself over Alik and pushed in slowly, so slowly that Alik cried out and tried to push back onto his cock.
“Is that how you request?” Eamon asked.
“Please, my King. Please. Fuck me faster, my King.”
“Better,” Eamon said and licked his neck.
Eamon leaned back and grasped Alik’s hips and began to fuck him hard and fast and then reached around for his cock. It was hard and hot in his hand and took half a dozen strokes before Alik was crying out and clenching around Eamon, massaging and milking his cock until Eamon also cried out and came inside Alik.
He laid over Alik for a moment and relished the feeling of him underneath Eamon for a moment before he pulled away.
Later, when they were laying on some furs and staring up at the sky, Eamon took Alik’s hand in his and stroked the fine bones there, the soft skin of his wrist and laid a kiss there.
“Why do you like to play at being my Prince?” Eamon asked quietly.
If it were said in any other tone, Alik would have felt immediately defensive, but instead, Eamon posed the question as something serious and to be listened to.
“I don’t know. I haven’t ever asked anyone to do that. Or referred to anyone else as my King. You feel...” Alik trailed off, like he was unsure of how to describe it. “You feel safe. Like I could tell you the worst things I have done and you would not judge me.”
Eamon nodded and kissed his knuckles.
“Why do you like playing at being my King?” Alik asked.
“That’s easy. I want to take care of you, protect you. I suppose it’s part of who I am, but when we are here,” Eamon gestured to their naked bodies, “It feels like only I can take care of your needs in this way and I am more than pleased to do so.”
“You are the only one who has pleased me so thoroughly,” Alik said and grinned up at him.
“I will gladly serve you,” Eamon said.
“Though I have a question to ask you,” Alik said.
Eamon laid back on the furs. “Hm?”
“Would you be amiable to-” Alik paused and looked up at the stars, away from Eamon’s bright eyes.
“To what?” Eamon asked and kissed his fingers.
“I have never-”
“Alik, darling, if you never say the words you will continue to never have what you are trying to ask for,” Eamon teased.
“Would you be willing for me to be the one-” Alik floundered again.
Eamon waited.
“I think I would like to fuck you one day,” Alik blurted.
“Oh,” Eamon said.
Alik’s heart sank. He did not want to ruin the beginning they had build and he opened his mouth to take it back.
“Can I ask you a question first?” Eamon asked carefully.
Alik nodded.
“Did you assume that because I am bigger and the better warrior that I would not want to be taken in such a manner?”
Alik nodded and then added, “I am also particularly fond of being fucked as well. It is usually my favorite position.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?”
Eamon was still not looking at him and the feeling in Alik’s gut twisted.
“I do not want to make you uncomfortable. I was only wondering. We don’t have to-”
“Alik.”
“I don’t know. I just know that I want you in every way and this is the only part of me that has yet to be explored with another man,” Alik said.
“Oh.”
They were silent for a moment and Alik was ready to give up on the subject altogether when Eamon looked over at him and there was a small smile on his face. “So few have ever asked and the times that I have been the one with a hard cock in my ass have been unforgettable. Any time you want, all you have to do is say so.”
Eamon leaned forward and kissed Alik slowly.
“Not tonight, though,” Alik said and sat up. He threw one leg over Eamon’s waist and kissed him again. “Tonight, I think I will be greedy.”
Chapter 11
"Your Highness, if I could get a word after dinner," Sir Malcolm said as they sat at dinner the next night. Alik paused as he reached for a napkin.
Eamon and Lissandra didn't even glance at each other as they settled themselves on either side of Alik.
"That won't be possible, Sir Malcolm," Lissandra said easily.
"Really, it won't be more than a moment." Malcolm insisted with an easy smile to Lissandra. He was a handsome man, charming, and polite. There was talk about a marriage between one of the princesses and him. He was the lord of several islands, profitable land that produced both valuable timber and plenty of crops.
However, he made Eamon uneasy for a reason he could not place.
"The Crown Prince is indisposed for the night," Eamon said and watched Malcolm try to search for words to insist on the meeting. "If it would interest you, my sister could speak to you, with Lady Issat and Princess Avelina accompanying them," he continued and sat back. He steepled his fingers under his chin and regarded Sir Malcolm silently for a moment.
Alik became aware that the entire table was quiet and staring at them. He reached over and put a hand on Eamon's forearm, silently warning him to tread carefully. Eamon glanced over at him and settled back in his seat, though he did place his hand over Alik's, effectively pinning his hand there.
"Or, if you'd prefer, you and I could speak. Privately," Eamon suggested.
"My fiance has become concerned about the time I spend away from him. Believe me when I say that Princess Lissandra or Princess Avelina speak for me." Alik said, in an attempt to smooth out that look on Malcolm's face.
It did not work, as a sneer rose to Malcolm's face. "When will it end? We are forced to accept this farce of a marriage that will not produce an heir and I am now being told I must deal with a princess if I am to talk about trade?"
Eamon leaned forward on one arm and his brow furrowed. "Go on."
"You think I will not? You think that I am not sick of this play you put on? That your family bends to your will and does not say a word against you, Bladebringer?" Malcolm demanded.
"It seems you have plenty to say," Alik noted and gestured to a servant who brought a jug of wine forward, "Please, let us hear it."
"The entirety of this land is beholden to your wants, to your desires, to the fact that between four heirs-"
"Five," Alik said and gestured to himself.
"That none of them have produced an heir to either kingdom of the most powerful military might or the richest nation? How does such a thing stand?" Malcolm demanded and pounded his fist on the table. A few of the lords around Malcolm startled. Alik studied the man’s features, his red face and bulging eyes. It seemed like they found the root of what was bothering the kings.
"Is there anything else you would like to share?" Alik prompted.
The other guests in the dining hall shared looks and quietly murmured.
Malcolm seemed to realize what kind of position he had put himself in and quieted, though the disgust was clear on his face. He stood and the knights behind Eamon shifted forward as one. Eamon raised a hand to them and there was a moment of hesitancy before they shifted back.
"I lay down a formal challenge for the throne," Sir Malcolm said.
The silence was complete.
"On what grounds?" Alik said. His eyes sparkled and a smile tugged at his lips. It took Eamon a moment to realize that he was enjoying this spectacle that Malcolm was creating, probably more than the lengthy debates of the past several days.
"The grounds that this whole engagement is false and will produce no heir and that both nations are only using the other. If you were decent and had the slightest modicum of intelligence, you would marry one of the princesses so that at least a legitimate heir could take the throne. Instead- we are thrust into a game of your choosing-"
"Fine," Alik said. "I accept your challenge."
Eamon turned to Alik slowly and opened his mouth as though to say something but Alik squeezed Eamon's forearm and met his eyes.
A united front, his words echoed in Eamon's head.
So he shut his mouth and turned back to Sir Malcolm with a cold look on his face.
Malcolm threw back his head and laughed. "A trial by combat it is."
Alik stood and the silence around them was thick and heavy. He seemed to be waiting for Malcolm to say something else but Malcolm remained silent, only stared Alik down. Everyone else stood slowly.
"As you say," Alik said evenly.
Everyone turned to Alik, even Lissandra and Edmond on Eamon's other side. From the other side of the table, Avelina’s horror was unmistakable.
Sir Malcolm left with his retinue and the others stared at their retreating backs.
"Come," Alik said and left the room with Eamon at his side.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" EDMOND hissed at their backs as they walked to Alik's rooms. "Malcolm is a warrior, has trained all his life, has battle experience-"
"You will be dead before your wedding and one of us will be married off to that horrid man!" Lissandra added.
"He would not give me beautiful children, I would like to add," Avelina said.
"Any children of yours would be beautiful," Alik said politely as they swept through the halls and went up the stairs.
"I don't want to sound impertinent or impolite, Your Highness," Sir Nicolin began slowly, "But you are not trained as he is and I haven't seen anything other than the sparring armor you brought with you. Do you even own any armor? Let alone know how to fight in it?"
"No," Alik said and pushed open the doors to Eamon's rooms. "I was hoping for some as a wedding gift though. Is that too much of an extravagant gift to request?" He asked Eamon.
"If you survive this night, I will make it myself," Edmond snapped. He seemed even angrier than the others, if that was at all possible.
"And pray tell, why would I not survive this night?" Alik said and went to the table and poured himself some wine that Lissandra immediately snatched out of his hand. She glared at him when he had the nerve to look offended.
"Because you are going into the arena with Sir Malcolm and he will not let you out of there in one piece," Avelina snapped. "Of all the foolish, stubborn decisions I have ever even heard of-"
"No, I'm not," Alik said and poured himself another goblet of wine.
"You just told them-" Sir Nicolin sputtered, "You cannot go back on your word- You are bound by honor-"
"I said that I accepted the challenge. Ever since that debacle with King Alyx in Cerith, I have been mindful about studying all the laws of the lands I am entering. Duels differ throughout the lands. The rules of Ataton dictate that the challenger can then set the rules of the arena when the challenge is made, no later. If he tries to change the rules at a later time, he is labeled a coward, the match is forfeit, his challenge is null and void, and the victory goes to the opponent." Alik said. "Malcolm made one rule. A trial by combat. Therefore there are no other rules to break. I accepted, yes. Did I agree to go into the ring personally?" Alik snorted. "Do I look like a fool? That man would shred me into pieces. I like all my pieces connected, not on some arena floor. Therefore, I choose my champion," he turned to Eamon. "Would you be so inclined, my darling?"
"You devious little-" Eamon said and inhaled deeply. He thought he was going to be forced to watch Alik face down Malcolm and probably die in the arena that night. When he realized that the would be the one facing Malcolm in the ring, his heart slowed and he calmed. He slumped in a chair.
"Ah, ah. You will be marrying me in less than a week," Alik said and raised an eyebrow.
"I mean it as a compliment," Eamon insisted.
"I'm sure you do," Alik said and turned to Nicolin and Willhelm, who had joined them. "Well? Suit him up. Get him ready," Alik gestured at Eamon. "Whatever it is that is done before such things, I am not sure of the protocol of this moment."
"I-" Willhelm said and let out a huff of breath that turned into laughter. "I am highly impresse
d." He turned to the wardrobe and pulled out a helmet and shook his head.
"Get used to it," Alik said and smirked. As Nicolin and Willhelm laced up the chest guard and the forearm guards Alik looked at Eamon and asked, "Can you tell me exactly how you earned the name Bladebringer?"
Edmond snorted and Lissandra took a seat. Avelina fussed over Eamon's hair, loosening the leather strap he tied it back in and securing his hair more tightly.
"In the Battle of the Sons, our army was losing. Quite badly. Our line was about to break and I could see it. I could see where my death was, out in the dirty, bloody field. The ground below our feet was mud but not from rain, but rather all the blood that had been spilled. So, as with any blood drunk man, I charged the army," Eamon explained succinctly.
"He was alone," Willhelm added. "Completely and utterly alone."
"All he had with him was his blade," Nicolin said and passed Eamon's sword to him. Eamon hefted it into his hand, as though testing the weight, like he didn’t know it just as well as he knew his own body.
“Heartseeker.” Nicolin said and eyed the blade in Eamon’s hand like he was scared of the weapon itself, and not the man ready to wield it.
"So I charged. I broke through their line and fully expected to die. But I would not die without taking as many of the Vresal as I could. I fought and I fought-" Eamon’s voice dropped as he concentrated on buckling his sword around his waist.
"He brought Heartseeker past the front line where no man had before," Nicolin explained when he saw the look of confusion on Alik's face.
"Ah," Alik said and nodded.
They were silent as Nicolin and Willhelm finished.
"Can I have a moment before we go?" Alik asked when everyone stood.
"Of course. We'll wait for you in the foyer," Lissandra said and took Edmond's arm.
When the door closed behind them, Alik spun to Eamon. "You can take him down, right? I haven't gotten you into something that could get you injured or killed, have I?"
Eamon tugged at one of his forearm guards and snorted. "Hardly. Malcolm is-" Eamon sighed and met Alik's eyes. "He is trained more than you and he does have battle experience but there are few out there that can match me in single combat."
A Prince's Duty (The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow, #1) Page 16
