Page 40 of The Curse Between Us

Throat dry, Zephyr could only nod. He was aching with need, and though his own hands could never compare to the certain bliss of Edric’s touch, it would be enough. Licking his lips, he slowly trailed one hand down the centre of his chest, feeling Edric’s eyes follow its path. “I want to know how your hands would feel on me,” he confessed, voice low. “Rough, I imagine. Callused from years of holding a sword.”

“I imagine yours the same.” Edric was moving his hands across his own chest, barely brushing across his nipples. Zephyr watched every minute movement that he made, cataloguing them for the unlikely day he might be able to replicate them himself. “But gentle. Soft.”

“Yes,” Zephyr whispered. He rested one hand low on his torso, right above the base of his cock, and pressed down slightly. He was fully aroused, but he wanted to make this last, so he brought his hands upwards again, tracing over the lines of his hips. “You might hold me here. Dig your thumbs in while you smiled down at me.”

“While I kissed the side of your neck. It is bewitching, did you know?” Edric tilted his head to the side, exposing the rather tempting expanse of his own neck. “Is it sensitive?”

“Yes.” Zephyr ran the tips of two fingers down the column of his neck and shivered at the sensation that spread all through his body. “Very much so.” He repeated the movement, slower this time, luxuriating in the feel of Edric’s eyes on him as he did. “And you? Where are you sensitive?”

“Here.” Edric rolled one nipple between his fingers, gasping back an oath. “And here.” His hands skated over the soft-looking skin on his inner thighs.

Zephyr bit back a groan, imagining running his lips over those same spots. Teasing Edric with his mouth so close to hisgroin, so close to where he was hard and flushed with need. Taking him down to the root and feeling the weight of him on his tongue, feeling Edric’s hands thread through his hair as his breathing became unsteady.

He could resist it no longer. He wrapped one hand around his aching cock, head falling against the back of the chair in relief. Edric let out a shaky moan and did the same, both of them keeping their pace slow, watching each other. Zephyr noted the way Edric twisted his wrist, the way he added an occasional faster stroke to jolt himself out of his rhythm. He could hear the slick slide of skin against skin and the increasing harshness of their breath.

It was impossible to decide where to look: at the rosy head of Edric’s cock as it appeared and disappeared under his hand, or at his face, his lower lip caught between his teeth as a hiss of pleasure escaped him. “It has been a long time,” he said with an embarrassed laugh. “I may not--”

Zephyr nodded slowly. “It has been difficult to find a moment alone, has it not? Tell me, Edric.” He dropped his voice impossibly low, slowing the movements of his hand. “Did you think about it? Not when I was ill, but before. When we were sleeping apart, did your hands stray? Did you catch yourself just in time, then pass a frustrated night alone with your desire?” He smiled, then. “I know I did.”

“Zephyr--” Edric’s eyes were wide and glassy, his shoulders tense. “Please, keep talking.”

“Especially on our wedding night,” he continued. “You looked so striking that day, Edric. I could not take my eyes off you. And as satisfied as I was with our marriage, I could not help but wonder what it would be like were it more conventional, were we able to mark the occasion in a more traditional manner. I lay awake, sticky with sweat not only from the heat but from my lurid imaginings.” He let his eyes roam over the expanse ofEdric’s skin, the freckles that dotted his body and the fine golden hairs glinting in the firelight. “I see now that they fell far short of the wondrous reality of you.”

Edric’s hand was flying quickly over his erection now, his lower body shifting against the mattress as he visibly strained towards climax. “Let me see you now,” Zephyr implored him. “Let me have this memory of you in utter bliss to carry with me, so that I may revisit it when we are apart and my hands are all I have.”

With a soft cry, Edric reached his peak, curling in on himself as he spilled over his own hand. Zephyr groaned at the sight and redoubled his own efforts, stroking himself with increasing speed. He could feel the tension coiling low in his belly, nearly at its breaking point.

He panted harshly as he swept his eyes over Edric’s body, relaxed now, wishing he could feel the press of it against his own. Wishing he could learn every inch of it, sink inside it, feel the warmth that radiated from Edric surround him in the most profound way.

As though reading his thoughts, Edric’s eyes flew open and locked on Zephyr’s, and he was lost to the crashing wave of his pleasure.

They stared at one another in the aftermath, as their bodies loosened and slumped bonelessly without the tension keeping them upright. “Well,” Edric said eventually, with a breathless laugh, “never let it be said that we have not made the best of our situation.”

Chapter Ten

Edric rested his forearms on the parapet, gazing towards the distant mountains. The sun was slowly sinking off to his left, casting scarlet rays that gradually faded to soft rose and gold as they streaked through the sky, reflecting off the peaks in a breathtaking display of color. The last light of day touched everything, painting the snow-covered landscape with a gentle, ethereal glow. But beyond those mountains, Edric knew, his husband was likely standing in a similar place, gazing out on the same snow-covered expanse of Eskarven, the final brilliant beams of light sparkling over the frozen river that wound its way through the valley.

A deep sigh escaped him, and he sank lower into his pose, his arms folding against the cold stone. The ache in his chest grew sharper, more intense, as it had for the past few days. The absence of Zephyr was a physical weight, a constant reminder that they were far apart, separated not just by distance but by duty. It had only been a week since he had left Eskarven, but the time seemed to stretch out endlessly, as though each day without him was a year in itself. He missed him with a fierce ache that startled him with its intensity, the kind of longing that gnawed at him in the quiet moments, when his mind wandered and he found himself imagining the warmth of Zephyr’s touch, the sound of his voice, the simple joy of sharing a space together.

"Your Majesty?"

The voice from behind startled him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Edric turned, shaking off the melancholy that had threatened to consume him, and saw a guard standing hesitantly on the stairs leading to the parapet. She was a young woman, one he did not recognize, and her posture suggested uncertainty.

"Yes?" Edric asked, offering a polite smile as he straightened up, attempting to regain some of his composure.

"Your meeting with Lady Hadley, my lord. At sundown?" she asked, her voice a little more confident now that she had his attention.

Edric pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Yes, of course," he replied, though the thought of another meeting, another discussion about the future of his kingdom, was the last thing on his mind at that moment. Still, he managed a polite smile, nodding toward the guard. "Thank you. I will be along shortly."

The guard smiled back, but in her haste to retreat, she nearly tripped over her own feet. Edric caught himself just in time to suppress a laugh. Without thinking, he stepped forward, steadying her by the shoulder and ensuring she regained her balance. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she accepted his help, offering a grateful smile as she straightened up.

"No harm done," Edric said with a soft chuckle. Together, they walked back down into the castle, Edric casting one wistful glance over his shoulder at the distant mountains before turning away to face the business at hand.

Lady Hadley was waiting for him in one of the smaller, more comfortable audience chambers, a quiet space where important matters could be discussed without the distractions of formal court proceedings. She rose as he entered, offering a small but graceful curtsy. "Your Majesty."

"My lady," Edric replied, returning the gesture with a bow, and gestured for her to take a seat as two attendants quietly poured them each a glass of apple wine. The room was dimly lit, the shadows of the evening stretching long over the walls, creating a comfortable atmosphere that helped ease Edric’s mind, if only for a moment. "I trust you are well?"

"Indeed." Hadley raised her glass to her lips and took a sip, never breaking eye contact with him. "And you?"

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