He continued to stare out the window. It didn’t register at first that there was something moving on the horizon, but then the movement caught his attention. “Thomas!”
“Yes, sire?” Thomas hurried over.
“Is…who’s that?” he demanded as he pointed at a small, slow-moving speck, hope bubbling up in his chest. “Is that the chancellor?” Not that he really needed the confirmation. After all these years, he’d know the set of Mattias’s long body on horseback anywhere, even at a distance.
Thomas shaded his eyes and hummed. “It…yes, I think it is, sire. And there’s someone else as well.”
Leo looked again as they drew closer, and yes, there was a lean, dark-haired figure plastered against Mattias’s back, and his heart raced at the sight. “It’s them! It’s Mattias and Felix!”
He turned and went haring out the door and down the stairs, ignoring Thomas’s calls of, “Sire! Sire,wait!”
He’d waited long enough.
Leo had made it as far as the gates of the courtyard by the time Thomas caught up, and Mattias was close enough that even in the dim light of dusk, Leo could make him out clearly. Mattias spurred his horse on to a trot and within minutes he was right in front of Leo and dismounting with ease, and there, sliding out of the saddle right after him, was—
“Felix! You’re safe!”
The words left Leo in a rush. Relief washed over him like an ocean wave and all the tension left his body. Felix gave him a crooked grin and stepped forward, and Leo cupped his face in both hands, tilting his jaw from side to side and checking him for any sign of injury.
As if reading his thoughts, Felix said, “I’m fine. Just a bump on the head where Stephan’s men clocked me one.”
“Shall I send for the maester?” Leo asked, hands fluttering over Felix’s shirt as he tried to touch him everywhere and check he was really all right.
Felix clamped a warm hand over his, stilling it and giving him a look that reflected the same yearning that Leo felt. “I don’t need the maester, Leo. I needyou.” And with that, he leaned in and kissed Leo in a desperate, messy clash of teeth and tongues. Leo kissed him right back, not caring that they were where anyone could see, not caring about anything at all except that Felix was here, whole and safe andhis.
“I love you,” Leo whispered against Felix’s lips, unable to hold the words in any longer.
Felix pulled back, eyes wide. “What?”
“I love you,” Leo repeated, throwing caution to the winds, because suddenly the most important thing in the world was telling Felix how he felt. “You are my treasure and my delight, and you own my heart.”
Felix’s face lit up. “And I love you. Thank the gods you feel the same, because for a minute there I really did think I was going to die, and my biggest regret was that I hadn’t gotten to tell you how I feel, but I love you, I do, and I know it can never work, but—”
Leo shut him up with another kiss, soft and tender, and when they parted, he pushed a stray curl behind Felix’s ear. “I love you, Flick. We’llmakeit work.”
Leo didn’t knowhowthey’d make it work, but that didn’t matter right now. The important thing was that Felix had said helovedhim, and it was more than Leo had dared hope for.
They could worry about the details later.
Leo trailed his fingertips downward until he was cupping Felix’s cheek, and Felix leaned into his touch with a tiny sigh. That small sound was enough to make Leo’s earlier protectiveness surge back to life. He needed to get his boy alone, to run his hands over every inch of Felix’s bare skin and reassure himself that Felix really was unharmed—and then kiss him all over as well, just to be certain. He leaned in and rested his head against the curve of Felix’s throat, only to pull back as the stench of horse and anxious sweat assailed his senses. “Gods, but you stink!”
Felix’s mouth quirked. “Oh, I’m sorry. Next time I’m kidnapped I’ll be sure to stop for a wash once I’ve knocked out my assailant.”
“Brat,” Leo muttered, but he relaxed at hearing Felix make light of his ordeal. He reached out and ran a thumb down his cheekbone, unable to keep his hands to himself. “Did you really knock him out?”
“Of course.” Felix shrugged. “You forget, I train three times a week with the guards, and my dad doesn’t go easy.”
And the thing was, in his worry, Leohadsort of forgotten that Felix was a skilled fighter, because he associated him with sex and laughter and spankings, but ofcoursehis boy could look after himself. That was why he was Leo’s bodyguard, after all.
The idea of Felix taking on his attackers and winning was incredibly arousing, and Leo stepped closer, ignoring the smell, and murmured, “My brave warrior. You aresoattractive to me right now.”
Felix laughed softly.
Leo turned to Mattias, ignoring the small crowd of onlookers from the castle who had gathered in the courtyard. “I need a bath sent up to my room. Can you arrange it, Matty?”
“Of course,” Mattias said, his smile soft. “Will you need dinner sent up as well?”
Leo shook his head. “We’ll stop by the kitchens.”
