The Claiming of a Virgin King (14 page)

“
You’re not ready? Dragan
asked.

“
I need…”

“
I know what you
need.”

Dragan slipped a palm under each of
William’ ass cheeks, pulled him as far to the edge of the table as
possible, and then, as William looked into his eyes, he rocked him
back and forth onto his cock.

William’s eyes widened. He gasped.
“Oh…”

“
Oh,” Dragan said,
satisfaction laced along the sound. “Oh.”

And then eye to eye, they slow fucked
on the edge of the table until both of their orgasms built, and
when Dragan came this time it was not like the first night, or even
last night, or even all of the others. There he had rutted until
the pleasure was too much to deny. But this time, eye to eye with
his king, he slow fucked until the pleasure was all consuming, and
when he came he knew that his words had been true.

This was not just sex and the sooner
his king realized that, the better.

Chapter Thirteen

William sat, wrapped up in his winter
furs, looking out on the valley below him. He had been making his
way back from the dock, deep in the middle of preparations for
their impending departure, when he’d been sized with a sudden urge
to stop and look down at the main town.

That had been quite some time ago
now.

His driver, a pretty female called
Jarnay, had been happy to agree and happy to leave him to it. She
had chatted the whole way back, telling about her husband, who
happened to be human, and the worries they had about conceiving a
child. To William’s knowledge no such conception had yet happened,
and many thought that there was some incompatibility between the
species that would not allow it. Still, he had tried to reassure
her, which had led to her thanking ‘her king’. That had made
William uncomfortable. He’d been on the islands now for almost two
weeks and in truth he had never felt less like a king. Here there
was none of the bullshit that happened on the mainland. People
worked together for the good of the whole, and William had decided,
if they did manage to win the war, that there were more than a few
lessons he could take from Dragan on how best to rule.

Dragan…

He shook his head as the image of his
lover came to mind, because there was no escaping the fact anymore.
They had fucked constantly since that first night and not once had
William refused. He simply couldn’t, no matter how tired or how
sore, he wanted Dragan with something like the same level of desire
that Dragan wanted him.

They wanted each other.

They could not keep their hands to
themselves.

And William was worried.

He had known when he’d
agreed to the bargain that it might be a little weird, but he had
never imagined how his own feelings might develop as a result of
it. Of course, it didn’t help that this past week, ever since they
had fucked in the strategy room, Dragan had become more and more
affectionate. No longer did he allow William to retreat to his
quarters after they fucked. Instead, he insisted on holding him, on
them sleeping in the same bed, of them talking, exchanging their
likes and dislikes, describing their early lives. They were
exploring
each other.
Getting to know one another. Building bridges between them. And
William tried to resist, tried to hold himself aloof from it all,
but he was failing miserably.

He liked being held by
Dragan.

He liked waking up wrapped in strong
arms.

He liked hearing about Dragan’s
journey through the stars.

He liked all of it…

But then what? That was the question
he kept asking himself now. Because Dragan was already coming to
his rescue where the war was concerned. How much more was William
supposed to rely on him for?

For his sexual pleasure?

For his emotional support?

It would, he had realized, be so easy
to do that. To let it happen. Dragan was strong, capable,
comforting. When William was around him he felt stronger as a
result. Being held in Dragan’s arms did not make him feel
vulnerable. It made him feel like anything was possible. And the
pleasure…

He closed his eyes. It was unlike
anything William could ever have imagined. Being fucked by Dragan
was one of the most exciting, fulfilling things William had ever
experienced. Dragan, naked and hard, was the most exquisite sight.
William loved his blue skin, loved the way it looked against the
paleness of his own. More than that though, he loved the things the
lord’s lips did to him, the way his hands made him
tingle.

He loved it all.

And what did that mean?

What would happen in the
end?

“
Becoming acquainted with
your lands?”

William started from his frantic
thoughts and looked around him. Jarnay waved at him from the bottom
of the hill. She was talking on one of the hand held devices the
aliens used for communication. Perhaps it was she who had called
Dragan here.

“
I didn’t hear you
approach.”

Dragan grinned and sat down on the
same boulder William was using as a seat. The moment he did, and
their thighs touched, and their arms brushed, William had to take a
deep breath. It was ridiculous, he thought, how easily Dragan
aroused him. Proximity was all it took, and sometimes not even
that.

“
I came around the back,”
Dragan said slowly. “This is one of my favorite spots to sit and
look out on the town from. That’s why this boulder is ice free. I
have heating crystals under it.”

“
I did wonder.”

“
So,” Dragan asked. “What
do you think of your lands?” He waved a hand in front of
him.

“
They are not mine,”
William said. “As you have reminded me more than once.”

“
No,” Dragan said.
“They’re not. But one day they will be again.” He paused. “You must
have noticed by now how many humans live on these
islands.”

“
I have.”

“
They are drawn here by
tales of our prowess, or because they seek shelter, or maybe they
are just curious.” He shrugged. “Either way usually they end up
staying.”

“
And?”

“
Our people are
intermixing. That will continue. It is unstoppable.”

William frowned, because he’d started
to think along those very lines. It was impossible not to on these
islands. Seeing aliens and humans hand in hand, embracing, kissing,
or simply just working together, the way forward for their world
was obvious. And then too was whatever was developing between him
and Dragan. If the two leaders of their people had grown so close…
“I have noticed.”

“
And do you realize what
it will mean?” Dragan asked.

“
Tell me.”

“
That sooner or later
there will be one ruler of this planet,” Dragan surprised him by
saying. “And he or she will rule all areas. This is something I
have considered before, but now, with the end of the war
approaching, with you being here, with the stories we have shared,
I see it happening very soon.”

“
Do you see yourself in
that role?” William asked.

Dragan grinned. “You know that I do
not. I never wanted to lead. I have no desire to rule the
world.”

“
Yet you rule
here.”

“
I had little choice. It
was always what was best. But in the future?” He shrugged. “I am
hopeful that someone else will take the lead. What of you? You
became king only because your father once was. Is that what you
desire?”

“
I don’t see that I have a
choice.”

“
There is always a
choice.”

“
In matters such as this
there rarely is.” William sighed. “You know, Dragan, we are more
alike than you realize. Neither of us wished to be in the positions
we’re in, and yet we are. We both think there might be an
opportunity to escape at some point, but deep down we both know
there will not be.” He laughed softly. “We’re both
trapped.”

“
Perhaps so,” Dragan said.
“But your prison is different to mine.”

“
How so?

“
You are king of this
world. If we defeat Maylor you will be king of all.”

King of all…
William shuddered. That was both a wondrous and
worrying thought. For all of his short reign the world had been
split, and the idea of it being whole again was something he could
not yet grasp. And yet it would be if they had their way, and then
he would have so much work to do to put things right. William
swallowed unsteadily. There would be plenty of time to think about
that in the future. One obstacle at a time!

“
King of all,” he said
slowly and then with a soft smile, “but not the
islands.”

Dragan took his wrapped hand then.
William looked down at their interlinked digits and felt his heart
hitch.

“
Yes, the islands,” Dragan
said after a moment, and his voice was soft, almost accepting in
some way. “Because I have thought long and hard about it these past
days, and in order for the northern aliens to accept you I will
have to do so too. Publically. Visibly. It is the only way they
will follow.”

William sucked in a
shocked breath because he had
not
expected this. “You’re willing to do that?” he
asked. “Even after what you have said about these being your
islands.”

“
My islands…” Dragan shook
his head. “I stayed out of this war for as long as I could for many
reasons, the islands being one of them. They’re home to many and I
have cared for them, but they have never really been mine. And now?
As the end comes? You have pulled me in, you have shown me
something else, and I will do whatever is needed to finish
it.”

Pulled me in…

Silence settled between them. William
tried to work his mind around what Dragan was saying. About what it
all meant. He feared he knew, and he had no idea what to do about
that, and so he did the only thing he could think of, tried to
lighten the moment.

“
Was fucking me worth all
of this?” he asked.

“
You’re asking if the
bargain we made was worth it?” Dragan asked.

“
Yes.”

“
More than worth it,”
Dragan said. “More than.”

Silence again and William
took a deep, unsteady breath. The moment had
not
lightened. There was a clear,
heavy tension between them. It was practically swirling in the cold
air.

“
William,” Dragan said
softly. “You realize that things cannot go back to normal once the
war is over.”

“
Of course” William said.
“The world will be different.”

“
I do not just mean the
world,” Dragan said. “I mean you and I.”

“
I don’t—”

“
You need a warrior by
your side.”

“
A warrior?”

“
You are smart,” Dragan
said. “But you lack strength. You
need
that strength. I thought to
give it to you. That you would leave here with it. But I realize
now that it is not as simple as that.”

“
I have strength enough,”
William said.

“
If that were the case
your lords would be rallying around you.”

“
They are—”

“
Taking the easy option.”
Dragan sighed. “A warrior would have pushed them into doing what is
right.”

And William understood then exactly
what Dragan was trying to say. Understood and felt his breath catch
in his throat. “You’re saying that you’re that warrior?”

Dragan squeezed his hand. “I suspect
so. I have suspected it ever since you arrived. It has simply taken
me a little while to accept it.”

“
Then why did you resist
it?” William asked. “Why the bargain?”

“
I resisted it in the same
way that you continue resist your attraction to me,” Dragan said.
“You do not want to admit to it because by doing so you will have
to accept it.”

William sighed, caught in the truth of
Dragan’s words and equally as caught in the truth of his world, his
position. “It is not as simple as that.”

“
Your desire battles with
your duties?”

He nodded. Dragan was painfully
perceptive. “Precisely. There are things expected of a king. I must
marry in the future, beget an heir.”

“
To do that you will need
to lie with a woman?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then pick one and do so,”
Dragan surprised him by saying.

William almost laughed. “It is not as
simple as that. I would need to marry her. To live with her. To
love her.”

“
To
love
her?” Dragan said and he was
frowning now. “That will not be possible,”

And William knew he shouldn’t ask,
knew that by doing so he was opening a box that he was never going
to be able to close again, but like everything where Dragan was
concerned he couldn’t help himself. “Why?”