He continued with his grooming, his mind once again turning to Vasily and the way he made Mother’s blood run hot and his cock twitch. The most surprising thing of all was that someone as handsome and charming as Vasily wanted Mother as much as Mother wanted him.
Andoh,did he want him.
Vasily had thick, muscled thighs that sported the same fine golden hairs as his forearms, and Mother couldn’t help but wonder how that hair might feel against his lips, if it would tickle if he were to kiss his way up the length of Vasily’s thighs.
Want stirred in his belly, and he resolved that should the chance present itself, he’d kiss Vasily from head to toe, stopping at every interesting destination on the way.
He set aside the brush with a sigh and patted the horse’s cheek. “There you go, lovely. All clean.” The horse responded by nuzzling at Mother’s face and hair, leaving a wet trail. Mother pushed the horse away, shuddering as warm drool dripped into the collar of his shirt. He grabbed a clean rag and wiped off the worst of it before gathering his equipment and stepping out of the stall. He walked the length of the stables, checking all was in order before bolting the doors and making his way to his cottage.
It was empty and quiet when he stepped inside, but he found he didn’t mind it tonight. After all, it wasn’t like he was planning to stay. He stripped out of his shirt and splashed his torso with water, running wet fingers through his hair to dislodge the stray bits of straw that inevitably ended up there. He looked at his clothing, wrinkling his nose at the state of it. Normally he wouldn’t care, but tonight he took the time to retrieve clean trousers and a good shirt, tugging them on and smoothing his hands down his front to chase away the creases until he was satisfied that he looked respectable. Then, with a spring in his step despite the lateness of the day, he pulled the door open and walked down the path to Vasily’s.
Tonight they’d sit together at dinner as acourting couple. And yes, they sat together most nights, but this felt different somehow—thus the clean shirt. Mother wondered if people would be able to tell they were together and if they’d care.
Jeremywould care, and Mother couldn’t help his pleased smile at the thought of telling the young man that Vasily was no longer open to his attentions.
Only,shouldhe tell him? Or should he leave that to Vasily? Vasily was from Koroslova, and old habits died hard. He’d been offended when he’d thought Mother wanted to keep their courting a secret, but maybe it was just that he wanted to be the one to decide.
What if, when it came to it, Vasily’s upbringing had him afraid to step out with Mother after all?
When Mother reached Vasily’s doorstep and knocked, the door flew open. “Mother!” Vasily beamed, then threw himself into Mother’s arms and kissed him hard enough that it quite took his breath away. Mother kissed him right back, any doubts melting under the heat of their kiss.
When Vasily pulled back, his eyes bright and his face flushed, he looked Mother up and down. “You look very nice this evening.”
It was then that Mother noticed that Vasily, too, had changed out of his stable-stained clothing and was sporting a fine linen shirt that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the king himself. He found himself absurdly pleased. “I could say the same about you. That’s a very fine shirt.”
Vasily gave a shy smile. “Thank you. I just felt that, well, it’s our first…outing, isn’t it? And I wanted to look nice for you.” He ran a hand through his long hair, which hung loose, falling around his shoulders in waves.
Mother smiled. “Aye, same. I’ve not courted before, but I’m fairly certain that you’re not meant to have horse drool on your shirt.”
Vasily laughed, the sound lighting Mother up inside, and they walked up to the castle hand in hand.
They fetched their meals and sat down at the long table. There must have been something in their posture or manner that showed something was different because Jeremy, who was already seated, looked between them with a furrowed brow. “What’s this?”
Vasily tensed, biting his bottom lip and looking at Mother with a pensive expression. Mother debated ignoring the question and making Jeremy sweat, but then he recalled that for Vasily, who’d grown up in a kingdom where a dalliance like theirs was unthinkable, this must be nothing short of overwhelming. Mother suspected that just sitting by Mother’s side, stiff and awkward but not making any move to distance himself, was taking all the courage Vasily had right now.
Mother could handle the rest.
He didn’t answer Jeremy directly. Instead he leaned over, pressed a soft kiss to Vasily’s temple, and said, “Eat up, love.”
Vasily’s cheeks reddened, and there was a moment’s silence while the others at the table took in the sight of Mother wrapping one arm around Vasily’s shoulders possessively before Jeremy said, “So, you’re…”
“We’re courting,” Mother said firmly. He glared at the rest of the table with one eyebrow raised, daring anyone to say something about it.
Jeremy held his gaze for just a second before dropping his head to the table and giving a dramatic sigh. “Well, that’s my chances down the drain then. Bugger.”
“You had no chance to begin with, lad,” Mother said, unable to hold back his smile. “Vasily hastaste.”
That startled a laugh out of Jeremy, and after that nobody mentioned it again, everyone turning back to their meals.
Mother didn’t know whether the lack of reaction was because Lilleforth already had a king married to a prince, because Mother held a position of relative importance and was a favourite of the prince consort, or because his scowl really was that terrifying. He found he didn’t care either, his attention on the way the tension drained from Vasily’s frame as he leaned in closer, shooting Mother a grateful smile.
It led Mother to wonder what would have happened in Koroslova if Vasily had declared he was courting a man. Perhaps that was why he’d left in the first place.
Vasily smiled and laughed through dinner, his relief obvious. He also kept his thigh pressed against Mother’s under the table for the entire meal, sending Mother heated looks as a gentle tease. By the end of it, Mother could barely focus, all his awareness fixed on that long line of heat where there was nothing separating them except the fabric of their trousers.
His cock throbbed with unaccustomed hunger as he recalled the feel of Vasily’s bare skin under his hands that afternoon as they’d kissed and cozied. He wondered if after dinner, Vasily would come back to his cottage so they could kiss and touch some more—perhaps domorethan touch.
Mother had never felt this level of attraction to someone, and he was shocked by the strength of his desire. He wondered what it was that made Vasily different to every other person he’d met, before deciding it didn’t matter.
