Page 34 of Cinder
He kissed Cin again, and it seemed as though he was searching through Cin’s mouth, stealing his breath away beforemoving on to Cin’s jawline and the soft space behind Cin’s ear. Cin laughed at the sensation, playing with the prince’s hair as the prince kissed his skin.
“There,” he said, pulling Cin against him. “Was that a kiss?”
“It was at leastthreekisses, I think.” Cin pressed his lips to Prince Lorenz’s once more, quick and soft, then lay his head on the prince’s shoulder. They stood like that, holding each other.
The yard felt almost lovely like this. There was something deep in Cin’s bones that he hadn’t realized usually prickled in this place, until he lingered there in the prince’s arms, and felt it gone. Momentarily banished, at least—unable to return so long as Prince Lorenz was holding Cin up.
The prince’s fingers trailed up and down Cin’s back, and after a while he asked, “Did you grow up in this place?”
Part of Cin lamented losing the quiet, but he nodded. “Yes—it was my father’s mother’s estate once. My birth mother is buried in the garden...”
“And you really love it here?” Prince Lorenz seemed merely curious this time. Unless he was simply hiding his judgment better now.
“It’s my family home,” Cin said, and hoped the prince understood that as an answer. It was the only one he could give. “It’s got no dovecote, though. An irreparable failing, if you ask me.”
“Wherearethose pigeons of yours, hm?” A smile came into his voice. “I haven’t seen those birds that keep following you around since we arrived.”
“It’s late. They do sleep, you know,” Cin grumbled, teasingly. “But I think they may also be giving us space.”
“Ah.” The prince’s hands slid down Cin’s sides, cupping his waist. “Well, I can see one benefit to there being no servants in your house.”
“What is that?”
His palms glided lower, fingers wrapping around Cin’s ass as he whispered in Cin’s ear, “We have the whole place to ourselves.” He squeezed, sending a flurry of desire through Cin, but then those glorious hands were gone, motioning to the back door. “Shall we?”
The thought instantly turned Cin off. “Let’s go around the back instead.” It was, oddly, not as cold as it should have been, and Cin suspected there was something magical about that. “Too many less-than-sexy memories inside.”
The prince took the redirection in stride, shrugging as he extended a hand to Cin. “Far be it from me to make my pleasure anywhere ordinary.”
“Have beds ever factored into your many endeavors?” Cin asked, guiding Prince Lorenz around to the garden, deliberately circumventing his birth mother’s grave. If anything, he thought she’d be proud of him for managing to get frisky with the prince—but they could still put some distance between them and her.
“Only when it’s someoneelse’sbed,” the prince answered, and it sounded like he was, oddly, telling the truth.
Cin unwrapped his feathered cloak, settling it over the grass. He wasn’t sure what they weredoingyet—wasn’t actually sure how much he felt comfortable with—but it seemed right. “Your royal mattress is probably too plush anyway. Your partner would end up asleep instead.”
Prince Lorenz—now just visible enough in the moonlight to see the details of his expression—made a face. “As though I’d ever be such a boring partner as to let that happen.”
He helped Cin settle onto the cloak, half on top of him as he knelt to catch the back of Cin’s head in his hand and brush his fingertips over Cin’s lips.
“Prove it,” Cin whispered.
The prince kissed Cin yet again, but this time the slow, seeking gentleness was gone. He kissed like he had back at thecastle dovecote weeks ago, with fire and lust, as though already dreaming of the place this would take them. Cin moaned into Prince Lorenz’s mouth between gulps of air, one of his hands finding its way onto the prince’s chest as he supported himself with the other. He dragged it down, feeling the prince’s taut flesh beneath the fabric until his thumb brushed something hard as metal hidden beneath.
Before Cin could distinguish the shape, Prince Lorenz scooped that hand up, pushing Cin back and onto the ground without breaking the kiss. The moment Cin settled, he felt the strain of his chest binding all too keenly. His breath came shallower, but he couldn’t seem to stop, stars spotting his vision as he kissed the prince back.
Before too long, Prince Lorenz broke away from Cin’s mouth, leaving Cin to gasp as the prince sucked on his neck. One of his hands put rolling pressure between Cin’s legs, and Cin swayed into it, moaning. When the prince shifted his face downward, though, his fingers already working open the front of Cin’s pants, Cin forced himself to sit up.
He caught Prince Lorenz’s chin in his hand. “Wait.”
Worry flashed in the prince’s gaze, so selfless it made Cin ache.
He took a breath, solidifying for himself that this was what he truly wanted, before he continued. “Please, I want to do you first. Let me make you come.”
Fifteen
Cin had never done this before. Fingers, yes, but never his mouth. As he settled between Prince Lorenz’s legs, an anxious exhilaration threatened to dislodge his stomach. The prince was accustomed to much better service—would he even enjoy the work of an amateur?
“You don’t have to,” Prince Lorenz said, seeming to pick up on Cin’s uncertainty. “Just watching you gets me off.”
