Page 25 of Arthur

I turned to see Arthur standing not far behind me. “Are you ready?”

I nodded. First though, I went over to where Wallace was holding a sleeping William. “He will be fine,” Wallace told me.

“I know he will. I just wanted to kiss him. Thank you, Dad.” I winked at Wallace, who covertly winked back. Carefully, I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to the top of William’s head. Arthur was right behind me, and after we both kissed our son, we left the kitchen and started the short walk back to our own cottage.

It was less than a minute’s walk, and we made it in silence. When we were both inside the cottage, Arthur touched my arm to turn me toward him. “Are you sure everything is all right?” he asked, his gaze showing concern.

I sighed. “Arthur, we’re parents.” Arthur nodded. “But we aren’t just parents. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our son’s grandfathers watching after him for an hour or two while we be a couple. Just because we have a child doesn’t mean we are suddenly only parents. I want to spend time with you.”

“We spend time together.”

I sighed. Arthur wasn’t normally this dense. In fact, he was incredibly intelligent. Now, suddenly, he seemed clueless.

“Sure we do. But every time William makes even the tiniest peep, you go running to him.” I shook my head. “If you don’t wish to spend time alone with me, you are free to go back to the inn and retrieve William from your fathers.” It made me sad that Arthur didn’t want to spend time alone with me. Yes, we spent time together, but William was always with us. I didn’t feel it was unreasonable to want a couple of hours away. I simply walked to our bedchamber and then beyond. When I was in the bathing room, I pulled my tunic over my head and placed it on the peg on the wall. I moved to the tub, and with a lot of concentration, I had hot water in the tub.

“I could have done that for you,” Arthur said as he came into the room.

“I thought you were going to go retrieve William?” I asked over my shoulder.

“No. I…” Arthur went quiet for a moment, looked thoughtful, and then shook his head. “Talk to me, my love. What’s going on?”

I sighed. “Nothing. Seriously, I adore William. But I feel like we’ve already started losing us. At least somewhat. I want time just the two of us.”

“We aren’t just two any longer.”

I nodded. “True. We aren’t. But we have a family, and they should be able to spend time with our son as well. If you want him with us at all times, so be it. We can be just parents.”

I took several deep breaths. I wasn’t going to cry. I wouldn’t. I would take my time and be me. Yes, I was still a father, but that didn’t mean that was all I was. I was still a person, a man, who had needs.

I toed off my shoes, then pushed my hose down my legs. I left them on the floor where I was, then walked over to the tub, carefully stepped in, and sank down. I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to enjoy the heat as much as I possibly could. I needed something to take away the tears, and closing my eyes and trying to relax might not do that, but it would help.

“You’re all right with William being not here.”

I looked at Arthur. “Yes,” I told him. “I love our son, but he’s perfectly safe with your fathers. There isn’t a single person in this inn who wouldn’t go to great lengths to protect and care for our son. Do I feel guilty about not having him here with us? No. I might be a father now, but I am also a man, Arthur. You might have forgotten that, and your entire focus might be taking care of our son and me, but you’re forgetting other aspects.” I stared at Arthur, hoping he understood. “You’re forgetting us. We are still a couple. We don’t have time for us any longer. As soon as we might have a chance, you rush to William.” I sighed, frustrated. “I don’t fault you. But he doesn’t need to be fussed over quitethat much. Most of the time, he continues to sleep and doesn’t require us to do anything.”

Arthur stared at me. Was I getting through to him? Would he understand or be upset? I really hoped he wasn’t upset.

“I’m neglecting you,” Arthur said finally. “I didn’t intend to. I thought by caring for you, that was all you needed and required.”

I groaned, frustrated. I sat up and turned a bit in the tub. “I’m not…you’re not neglecting me. You are most attentive. But not inthatway any longer. I know you yourself have desire for me still. I can sense it through our bond. I also thought you could sense mine for you. Only, you always rush off to William. I understand we will never be the same two people we were before he was born, but we are still a couple. We need to make sure we don’t forget that.” I thought that perhaps I was getting through to him. When he stripped naked and joined me in the tub, I was relieved.

Arthur wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back to his chest. “I apologize. I didn’t even consider that my actions were hurting you.”

I shook my head. “They’re not. I just don’t want us to become so wrapped up in being parents that we forget that we’re a couple. I want to be with you. I enjoy when we make love. I miss that.”

Immediately, Arthur kissed the side of my head. “I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t realize you were ready for that kind of activity.”

That was acceptable. “I need to be more vocal about it. I realize you have access to my thoughts and memories, but I also know you don’t go peeking into them. Maybe you should though. I have nothing to hide from you.” I felt the hesitation from Arthur. We had been over this many times before. I knew he was a bit worried about me “seeing” his past in some ways. “I know you have a past. You are centuries old. It is expected that you have had partners. Many partners. I’m not upset, nor am I jealous of any of them. I simply want us to go back to being howwe were as a couple. I understand we have William now, but that doesn’t mean we stop being in a relationship.”

“That still doesn’t make me not remorseful about my past. If I had thought about my life with my One, I would have made some different choices.”

I chuckled. “Which is acceptable. But when one is alone for so very long, it cannot be expected that they remain truly alone and innocent.” I myself hadn’t exactly been with others before Arthur. I had experimented a bit, but the timing hadn’t worked out beyond getting my rod sucked. I was of a mind that I didn’t know when or if I would meet my One, so I hadn’t waited completely. If my parents had their way, I would have been married off to a woman who not only knew nothing about warlocks but wasn’t my One at all.

Arthur ran his hands down my chest. “If you have relations again, what exactly are you hoping to have? Are you certain you’re feeling up for it?” When Arthur’s hands dipped below the water level, I grinned.

“I’m up for everything. Yes, I’m positive about wanting to be with you that way again. I was hoping that you could take me, make us both release at least once, and then curl up and hold me while we sleep. I would very much like for at least three or four hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

Arthur’s fingers walked their way across my hip toward my center. When they tapped their way up my rapidly stiffening rod, I had to stop and take a deep breath in order to get myself under control. This was Arthur. He was my love and could do things to my body that I hadn’t known were possible. On top of that, it had been over a month since I’d had release. I was ready to burst.

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