A deep flush rose on the boy’s cheeks, the high colour only adding to his attractiveness, and Leopold desperately wanted to take him to bed, get his hands all over that lean frame, and make him blush for other, filthier reasons.
He had a moment of disappointment when the lad shook his head. “I wouldneversuggest a roll in the hay.” But then the boy smirked and said, “Everyone knows hay’s far too scratchy. But there’s a decent bed in my cottage if you’re interested.”
“Oh, I’m interested if you are,” Leopold breathed out, sliding a hand around to the small of the lad’s back.
The groom’s breathing hitched and his eyes widened before he leaned in and kissed Leopold without warning. Leopold, heady with excitement and ever-growing arousal, kissed him right back. He found himself swept up in the way the young man’s mouth moved against his expertly, their tongues brushing, and the warmth of the lad’s hand where it came to rest on the nape of his neck and settled there. They kissed until Leopold was breathless, and when the groom pulled back, he was grinning, eyes bright and lips ruby red and plump.
Leopold wanted nothing more than to ruin him.
He gripped the lad’s hips, pulling him closer and murmuring, “Tell me, do you have a name? I need to know what to call the man who’s seducing me, surely?”
“Felix,” The boy breathed out. “It’s Felix.”
“Felix.” Leopold rolled the name on his tongue like a rich port, tasting it.
“And you?” Felix asked, raising an eyebrow. Leopold’s mind blanked for a second. “Or do horse thieves not have names?” Felix’s mouth quirked upward.
“I—uh—Leopold,” he stammered. It had been so long since anyone had asked him who he was, it honestly didn’t occur to him to give anything but his real name.
“Oh, so because you share a name with the king, you thought you could share his mount as well?” Felix’s grin widened.
“My father was a staunch royalist,” Leopold said. It wasn’t a lie.
He slid his hands around from Felix’s hips, letting them roam up and down his back, exploring all that lean muscle and promise. When he squeezed ever so gently at that perfect peach of an arse, Felix let out a tiny whimper before surging forward and pressing Leopold back against the door of Blackbird’s stall. He plastered their bodies together and kissed him again, hungry and demanding, and Leopold’s cock stirred and thickened in his trousers.
Felix slid a hand between them and rubbed at the growing bulge there. “It seems someone’s agreeable to an afternoon delight.”
Leopold’s knees threatened to buckle as something like lightning coursed through him at the intimate touch—which was patently ridiculous, he was thekingfor heaven’s sake—but somehow Felix had managed to bewitch him. He couldn’t say he minded. It had been a long time since he’d been this attracted to another man.
“Won’t you get in trouble for deserting your post?” he asked, even as he rocked against Felix’s hand. “After all, you’re supposed to be guarding the royal mount.”
Felix’s answering grin was a mischievous thing that Leopold wanted to lick out of his mouth. “Technically, I’m detaining a potential thief. And I’ve had no word that the king will ride today, so we shouldn’t be disturbed. So, what do you say?”
“Hmmm.” Leopold wrapped his arms around Felix’s neck and leaned in for another longer kiss. “Yes,” he said once they parted. “You’ve convinced me to leave the horse alone and take a different sort of ride.”
Felix let out a warm, rich laugh, then cupped Leopold’s erection once again and caressed him through the cloth, the sensation so delicious that Leopold whimpered. Felix pulled back and took his hand away and Leopold was at once bereft, but it turned out that Felix had only moved so that he could steer them into the empty stall and give them more privacy.
Once there, he cupped Leopold’s face in his hands and kissed him, soft and delicate, and the confidence of his movements gave the impression that Felix knew exactly what he was doing and would likely prove an excellent cocksman. Leopold certainly hoped so, since it had been far too long since his last assignation. He slid his hands down Felix’s back and slipped one hand under the hem of his shirt and back up, skating his fingertips over Felix’s ribs and soaking up the feel of bare skin under his touch. Felix moaned against his mouth and ground forward, his cock a hard line as he rocked against the bulge in Leopold’s trousers and pulled the collar of his shirt aside, peppering little kisses along his collarbone.
Leopold tilted his head to the side to allow better access, rutting forward against Felix’s cock and savouring the frisson of arousal that ran through him. “Can I fuck you, Felix?” he murmured.
“Please, Leo.” Felix’s breath was warm against the damp skin where the ghost of his kisses lived.
“Oh, it’sLeonow, is it? That seems awfully familiar.” Leopold was aware how ridiculous he sounded given what they were currently doing, but he was havingfun.He hadn’t met anyone so delightfully disrespectful in a long time, and he intended to make the most of it.
“Well, I can’t exactly call you Leopold, can I?” Felix said, pulling back and running a hand through his hair. “Leopold is theking, whereas Leo is a very sexy horse thief I met in the stables. If you insist on me calling you Leopold, I’m afraid I’ll have to call the whole thing off.” He took another step back and stood in an insouciant slouch, one hand perched on his hip with an eyebrow raised in silent challenge.
Delightful.
“I’ve always felt Leo had a nice ring to it,” Leopold said, right before he grabbed Felix by his shirtfront and swung him around so that his back hit the wall of the stall hard enough that the timbers shook. Felix sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes darkened. He reached a hand out and fumbled with Leo’s belt, and Leo’s cock throbbed in anticipation of Felix’s touch. Behind them, the horse whinnied loudly and hooves clattered as Blackbird moved about, and then her head came into view and she nuzzled at the side of Felix’s head. He let go of Leo’s belt and, laughing, shoved at her head.
Leo huffed in frustration. “Not now, Blackbird.”
Felix froze against him at the same moment Leopold realised his mistake.
“What did you call her?” Felix stepped to one side so he was out of Leopold’s reach and tilted his head, his eyes flicking up and down as if seeing him for the first time before settling on the expensive leather riding boots that Leopold was wearing. “Those aren’t the boots of a scoundrel or a thief. They’re top quality.”
“Yes, they are.”
