“I’ll make sure my thanks are suitably restrained,” Leo said, and didn’t bother to hide his relieved smile as they walked down the staircase and along the long stone corridors into the far reaches of the castle where the physician’s rooms were situated.
Leo knocked on the door and didn’t wait for a reply before walking in while Janus waited outside. He was met with the sight of Felix, naked and facedown on the physician’s table, and Leo couldn’t help the gasp that left him. Felix’s left side was a riot of colour, reds and blues that would turn purple soon enough. There was one bruise in particular that covered most of an arse cheek, but he looked otherwise unharmed.
The physician, a small man with thinning hair who was just putting the lid back on a jar of salve, barked out, “What?You can’t just barge—” His mouth snapped shut when he turned and saw Leo. “Your Majesty!” His cheeks turned red as he fumbled and threw a blanket over Felix’s lower half. “Deepest apologies, sire, I didn’t know it was you!” He swallowed and gave a hasty half bow, hands clenching reflexively at his sides.
Leo felt some sympathy for the man—after all, hehadjust barged in. “It’s fine, Maester Owens,” he said. “I just wanted to check on my guard.”
Felix turned his head. “Majesty?”
Leo was at his bedside in an instant, and it took all his restraint not to run a hand down the curve of Felix’s spine or lean in and kiss the top of his head. He gripped the side of the table to keep his instincts in check and said, “Felix. I wanted to come and check on you. Is the physician taking good care of you?”
“Yes, sire.” Felix propped himself up on his elbows, pulling a face and moving slowly. “Nothing’s broken. It’s just bruising.”
“Good, good,” Leo said and wondered what to say next. Hewantedto tell Felix off for putting himself in danger, and hewantedto make him promise he wouldn’t do it again, but that wasn’t appropriate to say to someone whose job was to put themselves at risk, was it? And itcertainlywasn’t done for a king to tell his supposedly casual lover that he’d been terrified at the thought of losing him. He settled for saying, “I’m glad you weren’t badly injured.”
“I’m glad I wasn’t badly injured as well, sire,” Felix said, and the soft smile he gave Leo said he’d heard what Leo wasn’t saying.
“I’ve arranged for you to recover at the castle, where I—I mean, wherethe maestercan look after you.”
“Thank you, sire,” Felix said. “He’s taken excellent care of me so far.”
The physician puffed out his chest. “We’ll have him up and about in no time.”
“You have my appreciation,” Leo said, and the man beamed. Leo tried to think of a subtle way to get the man out of the room, but he was too rattled to find an excuse, so in the end he just said, “Would you mind if I asked you to step out, Maester? I wish to have a private conversation with my guard.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Shall I come back in…an hour?”
“That will be fine,” Leo said and waited for the man to leave.
The maester fluttered about for a moment, wiping his hands and straightening Felix’s blanket, and it took all of Leo’s patience not to push him towards the door, but finally he gave a small bow and left, and they were alone.
As soon as he heard the click of the door closing, Leo was bending over the bed, pressing kisses to the back of Felix’s neck and running a hand down the length of his spine like he’d wanted to do since he’d arrived, desperate to reassure himself that Felix really was here and safe and whole.
“You could have been killed,” he whispered against Felix’s skin. “I wassoworried.” His hand encountered the edge of the blanket and he eased it down, pulling back so he could see Felix’s injuries properly. “Oh, sweetheart.” He said with a sigh, his chest growing tight. He ghosted his fingertips over the massive purpling bruise on Felix’s arse and gave in to the impulse to lean down and kiss it.
The skin was greasy with salve and warm under his lips, and Leo didn’t care. He did it again and again, peppering the area with soft pecks until Felix laughed and said, “I thought only the king got his arse kissed by an angel?”
“Hush, you,” Leo mumbled, but he pulled back. “How badly does it hurt? Be honest.”
Felix eased himself onto one side and winced as he swung his legs over the side of the table and sat up with careful movements. He wrapped his arms around Leo’s neck and pressed their foreheads together. “It throbs, mainly,” he said. “But I’ve had worse. I’m more concerned that someone wants you dead.” His grip tightened, and it struck Leo that perhaps Felix was as worried for him as he’d been for Felix.
There was no denying the warm glow that spread through Leo at the thought that Felixcared,but he set it aside for now in favour of providing what reassurances he could. “It’s fine. The guards scoured the area and didn’t find anything. They think it was just a random attack.”
“Still.” Felix buried his face into the curve of Leo’s throat, his voice muffled. “I don’t like the idea of you being in danger.”
“Well, it’s not exactly my favourite thing either, but it goes with the territory, sweetheart. And I feel better knowing I have you there protecting me.” Leo wrapped his arms around Felix’s back, careful to keep his touch gentle.
“I’ll always be there,” Felix murmured, his breath warm on Leo’s skin, and Leo had to close his eyes against the sudden sting there.
Because Felix obviously meant he’d be there as Leo’sbodyguard, but Leo realised with an awful, sinking certainty that he wanted so much more. He wanted Felix as his lover, permanently.
And what he wanted, he couldn’t ever have.
ChapterThirteen
Felix stared at the ceiling and sighed.
He wasbored.He’d been confined to the infirmary for eight entire days. It was longer than he’d ever rested in hislife, and it was torture. His skin itched with the need to be up and about, but the physician was firm. He’d declared that the king had insisted Felix should be on bed rest, and so on bed rest he would remain.
