Page 28 of Rogue Royal
With regret, Douglas pulled a short distance away before their lips could meet.
“Open your eyes.” Though whispered, his tone brooked no argument, and he rewarded him with the pupil-blown, steel blue gaze he hoped he’d see regularly. “Colour?”
Mav blinked several times. “Green. Please?”
Douglas smoothed his fingers up Mav’s throat to cup the back of his neck. “Do you want a kiss?”
“Please.”
Douglas lowered his head, brushing his lips against his forehead, on his nose, across each eyelid, each cheek before finally descending on his mouth. Mav gasped at the contact, and Douglas sipped at his top lip, his bottom lip, and swiped his tongue into Mav’s mouth. He kept the kiss light, exploring and discovering Mav’s unique taste while his hand slipped across his body, taking the intensity down by using firmer and more insistent strokes.
When he finally pulled away, they were breathing heavily, but Mav’s eyes had cleared. Douglas’s hand lifted off Mav’s body and mirrored his other on the back of the sofa, caging Mav in.
“Colour?”
“Green.” Mav licked his lips, and it took everything in Douglas to hold back.
Douglas sank into the seat beside Mav and wrapped his arm around Mav’s shoulder, pulling him into his embrace. He pressed his lips to Mav’s forehead. Mav was tense for a moment before sinking into Douglas’s body, sliding his arm around Douglas’s waist and resting his head on his shoulder.
Douglas allowed him the silence to think through what had happened for a minute or two. He rubbed a hand up and down Mav’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“Mmm.”
Douglas’s mouth twitched. “Words, Mav.”
“Yes. I’m good.”
Douglas reached for his phone and called down to the kitchen. “Could I have two glasses of orange juice brought to my room, please? Thank you.” Mav tried to get up. “Where are you going?”
“We shouldn’t be seen like this when staff is around.”
Douglas pulled him back into his arms. “They will be a few minutes and won’t enter until I let them. We’re fine. You, however, need to drink and eat.”
Mav sank back into Douglas, nuzzling his head into the prince’s neck. “I’m going to feel like a fool when I finally sit by myself again, but for now…” He held Douglas tighter, inhaling, and Douglas returned the embrace, closing his eyes in contentment.
When the knock came, Mav groaned quietly.
“Wait, please.”
Douglas cupped Mav’s jaw, lifting his face, and once their gazes locked, he lowered his mouth, leaving a gentle kiss on Mav’s lips. The hardest thing he’d ever had to do was pull away and go to the door. He took the tray from the surprised staff member and closed the door again. He placed it on the coffee table, sliding the table back to its original place, and returned to his seat next to Mav. He passed a glass of orange juice to Mav.
“Make sure you drink all of it. It will help regulate your sugars.”
“You left me this after the massage, too.”
Douglas nodded. “It helps to regulate your body’s response to the elevated endorphins it went through. It’s called sub-drop. Helping take care of you after we’ve played is an important part of our relationship. It’s up to me to ensure you are well taken care of and don’t suffer any ill effects.” He put his drink back on the table once he’d taken a sip. “At the beginning, we don’t know how you will react to what we’re doing. Some subs have no sub-drop, while others have a crash period, anything from crying, emotional outbursts, depression, anxiety. Everyone reacts differently. Until we know how you will react, I will try to mitigate it by giving you sugar, care, attention and whatever else I think might help to keep your body and mind on an even keel.”
Mav tunnelled his fingers through his hair, then sipped his orange juice. “But we didn’t do much.”
“It may not seem like it, but you went through a lot. You must remember, this is your first foray into this. Your body is not familiar with what we’re doing, and it will take some time to learn your body’s reaction and your mind’s reaction.”
Mav finished his drink in silence, and Douglas changed the subject, giving him time to collect his thoughts.
“I’ve been checking out some charities I might be interested in supporting. Would you be able to go through them with me and see whether we’d be a good fit?”
Mav raised his eyebrows. “Of course. I had it on my task list, anyway. What made you do it?”
“I had a conversation with Freddie, and it made me think about what I wanted. What I want, I can’t have. I need to find a different way to live.” Douglas swallowed, deciding to lay everything on the line. It was the least he could do when Mav had trusted Douglas so fully. He sat forward, resting his arms on his knees, staring at the glass in his hand. “A lot of the media photos and articles get taken out of context, but it’s a context I can’t explain to them.”
