The Claiming of a Virgin King (9 page)

“
Fuck the
court.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that
because he’d said the same thing more than once. Would they, that
group of men and women, all of them from his father’s reign, some
prior even to that, understand this, condone it? William doubted
it.

You let the alien lord
fuck you in return for his help?

How could you,
William.

What will your people
think? How will they respect you now?

He could practically hear those words
the moment they found out about his bargain. And his people?
William did not know what they would think. Did it even matter
though? Not if it saved them all? Was his pride, his self-image
more important than that?

No.

That was the simple answer.

Nothing was more important than
stopping this war.

“
I do not know what I
would do without you, Niahm,” he said slowly, his mind made up.
“And now I have one more favor to ask for.”

“
Tell me.”

“
You will return to the
capital and you will take Bertram and all the guards but two of
them with you. Bertram will resist of course, but there is no help
to be had for that.”

She nodded slowly, knowing then
exactly what he had decided. “You don’t want them here for
this?”

“
Exactly. If possible I
would like to keep this quiet. At least until the war is won. Two
guards will be more than enough, though I honestly don’t think I
even need them.”

“
And you will follow with
Dragan?”

“
I will. Before the new
moon.”

“
And leaving the court
alone?” she asked. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

William shrugged. “What can they do at
this point? They do not have the codes to switch off the energy
barrier. They can’t surrender. And they can do nothing to fight.
Things are as they are. Right now my presence in the capital
changes nothing.”

“
You are right,” Niahm
said. “Nonetheless I will keep a close eye on them.”

He smiled slightly. “Several of them
would love your eye on them.”

“
But not you,
William.”

Her words startled him, and that was
saying something considering the day he’d had. “I have never looked
at you in that way, Niahm,” he said slowly.

“
Have you ever asked
yourself why?”

“
We are
friends—”

“
Yes,” she agreed. “But
you have never looked at any of the willing females in court that
way either.”

“
I am king.”

“
Your father did not think
along those lines.”

He snorted. “Father lived most of his
reign during a time of peace.”

“
And at some point you
will live your life that way too. What then, William?”

“
What then?” he asked. “I
have no idea, Niahm. I’ll think about it when that time
comes.”

“
I’m asking you these
things for a reason,” Niahm said. “You might not realize it,
William, but such strict self-control is not normal. And maybe
there’s a reason for it? Maybe it is because no one, no
female
, has sparked your
interest properly. Dragan might be the person, the right
male
, to do so. It might
be that he is exactly what you need right now. You have been under
so much stress for so long. A release is probably what you
need.”

“
I can take care of that
myself.”

She sighed. “It is more enjoyable when
someone does it for you.”

William groaned. “Niahm,
this is not something I am going to
enjoy
,” he said, but he was not
entirely sure he sounded convincing.

“
But why go into it
thinking like that?”

“
Because…” He threw up his
hands. “Because!”

“
Because nothing,
William,” she said. “You need to think about this and think about
it properly. Fact of the matter is, sometimes the thing we least
want is the thing that we most need, and I have a funny feeling
that is something you are about to learn. Take the lesson,
William,” she added. “Take it not as the king but as William the
man, because in the end, it might be the most important one you are
ever given.”

Chapter Eight

It was late the following evening when
Dragan took a seat in his feasting hall. Most nights the hall was
opened up to whoever wanted to stop by, and many did. Dragan
couldn’t actually remember the last time he had sat and eaten with
less than a dozen people and he enjoyed that aspect of his life. He
was a sociable person and liked to spend time with his people.
Tonight though, well, tonight was different because he was
expecting the king, and it would be just the two of
them.

Dragan looked around the room, making
sure all was how he wanted it. The fire, and they needed it to
battle against the cold, was sparkling in the hearth, the couches
either side of it were plumped with pillows and blankets, and the
long table was already laid out for their meal. Dragan had asked
that his few staff make themselves scarce for the night, and they
had readily agreed. The events of the past two days had been enough
for the whole town to want to take a few moments to breathe. The
arrival of the king, the subsequent departure of his staff. All of
Dragan’s people were wondering what was happening, and he hoped
that after tonight he would be able to tell them.

Dragan grinned at that thought,
surprised actually by just how excited he was. He couldn’t wait to
see the male he had been thinking about all night and all day.
They’d seen each other very briefly first thing when the king had
explained that his advisors and guards would be returning to the
mainland. The king had not explained exactly why that was the case,
just muttered something about them needing to get the capital ready
for what was to come. They had been surrounded by people, and
Dragan had not been able to ask if that meant the king was agreeing
to his terms. He could have dismissed them all of course, but
something told Dragan to wait, to take his time, not to push. He
heeded that instinct.

He wanted the king.

Quite desperately.

It didn’t really make any sense.
Dragan had wanted males and females before. He’d even thought
himself in love many years ago. But this desire he felt for the
other man was almost overwhelming. It had been some time since he’d
had to, but last night Dragan had taken his own cock in hand and
pumped it until he came. All the while he’d imagined William’s lips
around his cock head. William’s eager fingers running along his
shaft…

He was going to have him.

Dragan was set on that.

If the king refused him he was more
than willing to chase. It had even occurred to him that once he had
dealt with Maylor he would travel to the capital and demand an
audience with him. Gratitude might just be enough…

The door opened.

The king entered.

Dragan’s cock hardened.

“
William…”

He was dressed in much the same
clothes as he had been yesterday and this morning. Dragan had noted
then that they were very plain, that he made no effort to dress
particularly regally, wearing instead just a simple tunic and
pants. Dragan liked that. It was very in keeping with the sort of
man that he had taken William to be.

He stood up and waved a hand to the
seat next to him. “Thank you for coming.”

“
I could hardly turn down
a dinner invitation from my host, could I?” William replied as he
moved around the table and took the seat.

Dragan smiled at that
because it seemed the king was holding back, keeping himself aloof.
Didn’t matter. If he was honest Dragan would have to say that
aloofness was part of his attraction. Really, and now that he
thought about it, Dragan was beginning to understood why he felt so
deeply for the king so quickly. Apart from being stunningly
attractive, he had all the qualities that naturally appealed to
Dragan. He was hard working, loyal, and selfless. Add in skin that
begged to be stroked and a body that was made for fucking and well,
it
did
make
sense.

“
Your people?” Dragan
asked.

“
Are sailing back to the
mainland,” William replied. “All but my personal guard.”

“
You know you do not need
a guard, don’t you?” Dragan asked.

William shifted slightly in his seat
and caught Dragan’s gaze. Despite his plan to ease them in to this
dinner gently, Dragan couldn’t help his sharp intake of breath.
Looking into William’s eyes was like looking into something that
was both intriguing and slightly frightening.

Dragan liked that.

He liked being challenged. Liked to
have his feelings aroused.

“
I do know,” William said
after a moment. “But it was hard enough to send Bertram off
already. I suspect he would have chained himself to the docks had I
not at least kept some of the guards.”

“
It is natural for them to
worry for your safety,” Dragan said. “Especially after your
experiences with Maylor.”

“
If you wanted me dead I
would be,” William replied. “We both know that.”

“
You know exactly how I
want you,” Dragan said slowly. “And it is far from
dead.”

The king tore his eyes away at those
words and started to fiddle with his cutlery. Dragan grinned. He
was rapidly getting used to flustering the king, and he liked the
way it made him feel. Still, he didn’t want to fluster him too
much. Dragan sensed tonight was going to be a delicate business,
and considering he had every intention of having the king bent over
the couch before they were through, he needed to go
carefully.

“
Our food is ready,” he
said after a moment. “We can serve ourselves.”

“
Island food?”

Dragan nodded and removed the tops
from the dishes. “A number are, some from the home world. Like the
berries, we grow other things here. Help yourself.”

William did so, filling his plate at
the same time as Dragan. Once done Dragan poured them both a drink
and then purposefully continued the conversation. As they ate they
discussed what was grown where in the world, what was being traded
and so on. That conversation naturally followed on to other topics.
Nothing heavy, nothing political, just the general chit-chat of two
people sitting down to a meal. By the time they were finished
Dragan noticed that the king had relaxed some. He was even smiling.
Just as Dragan had wanted him to be.

“
That was delicious. Thank
you.”

“
You must eat well daily,”
Dragan observed. “No doubt you have a large staff to tend to your
needs.”

William shrugged. “My father did. The
court always seemed to be around. Discussing and advising. I never
liked it. I never seemed to have any time simply by myself. When I
came into the throne I changed all that. It is mostly just me and
Niahm now.”

“
Niahm?” Dragan asked.
“The red-headed female.”

“
Yes.”

“
You sent her back to the
mainland also?”

“
Yes. She will keep an eye
on things for me until I return.”

Had he been another sort
of man Dragan would have not asked the next question, but it had
been edging around his mind all day,
bothering
him almost, and so he
couldn’t resist. “You have fucked her?”

William’s start of surprise was a
stark contrast to his smile of just moments ago. “Excuse
me?”

“
I assumed when I saw her
that she was your lover,” Dragan said. “She is, after all, very
beautiful, and there is a natural closeness between
you.”

“
She is my most trusted
advisor,” William said.

“
She cannot be
both?”

William frowned and
dropped his cutlery. His gaze was lowered again now and Dragan knew
why. They’d reached that point…
both
knew it.

“
It isn’t like that
between us.”

“
Who is it like that with,
William?” Dragan asked softly.

The king took a deep breath then,
steeling himself, he spoke... “I guess it will be with
you.”

A blot of pure pleasure shot through
Dragan at those words. He had suspected when William had sent his
people back to the mainland. He had hoped when William accepted his
invitation to dinner…but to have it confirmed…

His cock, semi-hard throughout dinner,
thickened again now. Dragan couldn’t help but reach down and palm
it.

“
Then you are agreeing to
my terms?”

William gave a short, sharp nod. “It
seems I have no choice.”

“
There is always a
choice.”

“
And this is
mine.”

Dragan stood up, desire thrumming
through him, and held out his hand. “Come here.”