William swallowed, a knot of excitement tightening in his chest as the prince caressed him on the hip. Did he really want to do it in the Council Hall? At this hour of the night?
"Y-Your Highness?"
"Shh, let me take care of it." His voice brushed his ear and made his throat go dry. "It'll be fun, trust me."
The prince leaned toward him, his chest pressing against William's back. His other hand caressed his neck, his lips grazed his ear, and the inviting warmth of his breath made him shiver.
"Do you know what we could do?"
"Well…"
"I could slip your robe off your shoulders and place it on a chair."
His fingers undid the buttons one by one with slow, measured movements. He slid the garment off William's shoulders, down to his wrists, and removed it. His hands returned to caress his neck and hip.
"Then I could brush trace your belly up to your chest."
The prince's fingers slipped beneath the shirt, traced wide circles around his stomach, and slowly rose to his nipples. He stroked them gently, and William closed his eyes to savor those touches and the soft sound of his voice whispering in his ear.
"I'd kiss you until your lips were soft and swollen…"
The prince drew him into another long, deep kiss. Their tongues brushed, warm and wet, twining as if they might melt into one another.
"…and then I'd finish undressing you."
The prince undid William's trousers and lowered them, then unbuttoned his shirt and spread it open. William shivered as the chill of the room slid over the bare skin of his inner thighs.
"Y-Your Highness…"
"Shh…"
He returned to caress William's chest and trail his lips along his neck. He bit his shoulder and licked his skin as if savoring every inch; his breath burned like fire.
William pressed a hand over his mouth and tried to hold back his moans, but those touches and the darkness that seemed to amplify every sensation only made it worse.
The prince brushed his hair aside and licked the nape of his neck, his fingers grazing the curve of his hips. "Then I'd touch you here…"
He moved his hand lower and paused at William's entrance. He brushed it with light, skilled touches, pressing as if he meant to enter him and then withdrawing at once.
A fierce fire grew low in William's belly, excitement seizing his chest and making him hard between his legs. His breath rasped in his throat, his mind wrapped in a haze made of pleasant sensations and hungry desires.
The prince kissed his shoulder. "I'd stroke you for a long time, and then I'd enter."
He slipped a finger inside, and William stifled a moan of pleasure against his own palm.
His Highness leaned toward his ear, his presence solid as stone against his back.
"And then I'd begin to move inside you."
He moved his finger back and forth, in and out, slowly. William panted and whimpered and moaned against his own hand as pleasure swelled in his chest and between his legs.
The darkness around them had wrapped them in a cocoon of silence that cut them off from the rest of the palace. It was as if crossing the threshold had carried them into another world.
The prince nibbled his ear, then took his hand from his mouth and pulled it gently behind William's back.
"I want to hear you moan, Will."
"They'll find us…"
"I don't care."
The prince caressed William's knuckles, then wrapped his hand around his index finger and slowly guided it inside him. William arched his back, lips parted in a silent moan. His own finger and the prince's moved in and out of him as one, and the pleasure was so intense it blurred his thoughts.
He wanted to scream, to beg him, to moan and surrender to him, but all he could do was pant and tremble beneath his touch.
The prince kissed the nape of his neck. "Are you all right?"
"I… don't know…"
"Am I hurting you?"
"No, but…" William moaned softly. "Please, only your fingers."
"I didn't think you were still sore."
"I am."
"I'm sorry."
The prince withdrew his finger and turned him around. He kissed him, stroking his tongue with his, then pressed his forehead to William's.
"I'm sorry, Will. Are you all right? You're not injured, are you?"
"Your Highness, I'm not that fragile. I can handle two fingers."
William lifted a hand and searched for his face in the dark. He found it and caressed his cheek; the skin was so soft it made him want to bite it.
"Please don't feel guilty."
"I don't want it to be unpleasant for you. For either of us."
"It won't." William smiled, even though the prince couldn't see it. "I have an idea."
He pushed him back against the table, then kicked off his trousers and unbuttoned the prince's. He pulled them down and climbed onto his lap.
"I know you like seeing me on top, but tonight you'll have to make do with my voice."
"Your voice is more than enough to arouse me, William."
William reached into the darkness until he brushed the soft fabric of the prince's shirt. He unbuttoned it, baring his chest, then bent over him and brushed his lips over it. It was warm and soft, and the faint scent of the prince's skin made his chest tighten.
With one hand William stroked his shaft until he felt it hard against his palm.
"Your Highness, touch me."
They began to give each other pleasure, between muffled moans and ragged breaths. The prince's fingers touched him with gentle precision and drew him closer and closer to orgasm.
William took one of his nipples between his lips, played with it using his tongue, and sucked it, savoring the gasps in his ear. He would have liked to hear him cry out and beg, but he didn't want to be discovered a second time.
"Will… I'm close…"
"Me too…"
They came together soon after, with short breaths and muffled moans. William let himself fall onto the prince's body and closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth of his skin and the scent of sweat and cologne.
"That wasn't bad, was it?"
"No, not at all" murmured the prince.
"But don't ask me for a second round, because I don't think I could manage another."
"You have my word that we'll sleep and nothing more."
"I'm so happy I could fall asleep right here."
The prince laughed. "I don't think that's a good idea. If we both fall asleep, there'll be panic tomorrow morning when the servants come to prepare the room."
William frowned. "You just ruined our moment."
"All the better. You looked like you were about to doze off."
"Maybe." He got down from the table. "Is there a candle somewhere? I have no idea where my clothes ended up."
"Wait, maybe there's something."
The rustle of papers and the clink of fallen inkwells filled the silence and lasted a long moment.
"Here it is!" the prince exclaimed.
William reached out into the darkness and brushed His Highness's wrist, then traced along his fingers until he touched something soft and oily. A stub of candle.
He drew on magic and produced a faint flame that drove back the shadows and illuminated the prince's smiling face. His tanned skin caught the candlelight like gold.
"You're beautiful," William murmured. He caressed his cheek, then moved down along his neck, chest, and abdomen.
The prince fixed the candle stub into a holder, then gripped William's hips and drew him back onto the table. He licked the traces of semen from his belly and gave him small bites around his stomach, then lowered his lips toward his groin.
William tightened his hold on the back of his neck and pushed his face toward his own abdomen. He wanted to feel his tongue tracing damp trails across his skin. Even though he had just come, he still wasn't satisfied.
But he was tired.
"Your Highness, we should go to bed."
The prince pulled his lips away from his skin and looked at him. "Are you sleepy?"
"A little." William slipped his arms around his neck. "It's strange. No matter how many times we do it, I keep wanting more. But I'm exhausted, I can feel it, and yet I can't extinguish this hunger."
"Neither can I."
"I fear it's an effect of the Crown Pact. Perhaps it's your magic that makes me so sensitive."
"It's possible. I still need to learn to hold back; I can't wear you out this much." His fingers stroked William's backside. "This beautiful part of you can't endure my roughness for long."
William raised an eyebrow. "Are you getting a bit full of yourself, Your Highness?"
"Just a little." He kissed his collarbone. "Let's go to my chambers. I'm starting to get tired too."
William stepped down from the table, turned to look for his clothes—then froze.
On the floor, sprawled in a pool of blood, lay a woman's corpse.