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It took almost a month for Hugh de Clermont to approach him. Longer than Fernando had hoped—but then, they had met as enemies on the field of battle. He would be the first to admit that his transformation from leader of an army to ambassador and negotiator, from deadly warrior to charming Andalusian prince, was not an easy one. His arrival at the de Clermont castle to draw up the terms of their fragile peace must have felt like an invasion of sorts. And Fernando was a patient man, when he needed to be.
Now, with Hugh’s body against his body, and his mouth on Hugh’s mouth, the waiting and the watching and the wanting seemed entirely worthwhile. The younger vampire had needed to time to reconcile his own feelings, to build the courage to defy his powerful father’s wishes—Philippe, of course, had immediately sensed and forbidden their attraction. He wanted to keep his hold on Hugh, one of his fiercest warriors and sharpest negotiators. Fernando understood. He planned to spend the rest of his life showing Hugh just how well he understood.
Fernando’s hands slid down Hugh’s strong chest and gripped his hips. Hugh groaned.
“I need more of you,” Fernando growled, his teeth grazing Hugh’s ear.
“Where?” Hugh breathed out a laugh. “This whole fucking castle is full of vampires.”
A fair point. Stolen kisses in hidden corners amid the daytime hustle and bustle of the castle were one thing, but once the sun went down and the human village went to sleep, they would almost certainly be overheard—or worse, interrupted. Fernando hummed an acknowledgement of the question and took his time nipping along the collar of Hugh’s tunic while he thought through their options. Hugh sighed happily, the fingers of one hand twisting into Fernando’s hair.
When Fernando finally raised his face to Hugh’s, he looked so desperate that Fernando pulled him into a searing kiss. Hugh’s feet lifted off the ground as Fernando hoisted him against the stone wall, pressing their bodies together. He moaned at the feel of Hugh’s arousal against him. Why exactly were they not tearing each other’s clothes off this very moment?
The sounds of footsteps in the adjacent corridor brought Fernando back to himself. He pulled away reluctantly, Hugh’s soft sigh of annoyance going straight to his cock.
“What about the stables?”
Hugh shook his head, “The grooms are gossips.” His brow furrowed, and he rested his forehead against Fernando’s. “Leave it with me,” he said finally. “I’ll get a message to you.”
Fernando smiled and kissed him again. “Perfect.”
---
Fernando spent the rest of the afternoon in a state of distracted anticipation. Sitting across from Hugh and the rest of his family, hashing out terms and conditions, he could not banish the image of Hugh’s face just before he had kissed him for the first time: open, longing, and desperately beautiful. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t want to banish that image. He wanted to keep it, to pay a great artist to capture it, so that the moment would never be lost.
When the summit broke up before the evening meal, Hugh’s brother Matthieu approached.
“My brother and I will hunt together this evening,” he began. Noticing Fernando’s skeptical expression, he took a step closer and continued, “I know Hugh would appreciate your companionship, if you would care to join us.”
Ah.
“I would be glad to accompany you both.”
---
The moment they were out of sight of the castle, Matthieu turned away with a cheeky salute to his brother and disappeared into the night. Hugh grinned, waving Matthieu off before taking Fernando’s hand and leading him into a grove of trees. When the dark quiet of the forest closed around them, Hugh sighed happily and pushed Fernando against a thick trunk.
“I thought I might die waiting for that summit to end,” he breathed, pulling at Fernando’s clothes.
Fernando assured him the feeling was mutual, tugging Hugh’s fur-trimmed tunic over his head. “I have never been so distracted.”
And then they were kissing – unhurried, open-mouthed, and messy. Fernando reveled in the feel of him, Hugh’s cool skin like silk under his wandering hands. When he brushed his thumb along Hugh’s growing arousal, the younger vampire made a choked sound against his mouth that snapped Fernando’s thinning patience. Without breaking their kiss, he switched their positions, pushing his love against the tree trunk and slipping his hands under the waistband of his trousers.
“Let me make you feel good?” he murmured against Hugh’s mouth.
“Yes,” Hugh panted, “please.”
Fernando grazed his teeth along Hugh’s lower lip before kissing, licking, nibbling his way down that perfect body. A trail of bruises blossomed, purpled, and faded in his wake. Hugh shook with need, mumbled curses and fragments of Fernando’s name tumbling from his mouth. When, at last, Fernando pressed his nose against Hugh’s hip bone and pressed his lips to the base of Hugh’s cock, he had to hold onto Fernando’s shoulders to keep himself upright. Fernando looked up at him through his lashes and smiled.
“What?” Hugh asked, his voice rasping.
“You’re beautiful.”
Fernando didn’t give him a chance to reply. He dipped his head and sucked Hugh’s cock into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip as he moved. Hugh moaned as Fernando began to suck him in earnest.
“Fuck, yes.” His hands moved up Fernando’s neck and twisted in his hair. “Ah—please, don’t stop—yes, yes—”
Hugh’s hips bucked, and Fernando moved one hand to hold him still. The other worked along the base of his cock, stroking where Fernando’s mouth couldn’t reach. Soon Hugh was trembling from head to foot, his head thrown back against the tree trunk, gasping and overcome with pleasure. Fernando hummed his appreciation.
A sharp tug on his hair lifted his eyes toward Hugh’s.
“Fuck me,” Hugh begged.
Fernando did not need to be asked twice. He slid his mouth off of Hugh and stood, pulling his love into a deep kiss. Their cocks rubbed against each other, sending shocks of pleasure through Fernando’s body. He ground his hips against Hugh’s again before pulling back.
“How do you want it?” he asked, brushing a lock of hair out of Hugh’s eyes. “Tell me what you like.”
Hugh kissed him again, gently, before replying, “I want to see your face.”
Fernando sighed with pleasure and pulled Hugh to him again, kissing him long and deep before laying out their fine robes on the forest floor. He knelt and held out his hand. Hugh took it eagerly, tumbling into Fernando’s arms.
He opened him up slowly, gently, enjoying each gasp and sigh, pausing now and then to stroke, to suck, to kiss. Hugh was a whimpering, begging mess—I want you, please, I need—by the time Fernando carefully pushed inside him.
Fernando’s eyes fluttered closed, savoring that first hot thrust. Hugh’s answering moan told him everything he needed to know. He wanted to hear that sound every single day for the rest of his cursed life. Fuck. Yes.
Fernando reached out to cup Hugh’s face as he started to move, and Hugh reciprocated, draping his lithe, muscular arms around Fernando’s neck and wrapping his fingers around the base of Fernando’s skull. His eyes were wide and dark, his mouth open, and he was absolutely, painfully perfect. You feel so good, so, so good. Don’t stop, please, more—
Fernando dropped his head to mouth at Hugh’s nipples, biting gently on the muscles of his chest, leaving marks no one would see tomorrow. But Fernando would know they had been there. He’d sit across from Hugh at the negotiating table and know that Hugh’s chest had been covered in little, perfect bruises. Fernando would know that Hugh had been marked as his.
“Ff—fuck, Fernando, please, I’m—”
He felt Hugh’s body begin to spasm and slid a hand down his love’s body to grip his cock. One, two, three rough strokes and Hugh was gone, crying out and scrabbling at Fernando’s chest as he came. Fernando swallowed Hugh’s moans in a fierce kiss as he found his own release, burying himself in Hugh’s body again and again until he could no longer move. He collapsed against Hugh, and they fell back onto their fur-lined robes, savoring the bliss of being held in strong, loving arms.
They kissed again, gently, enjoying the afterglow, until Hugh’s brow furrowed. Fernando pulled back, a question in his gaze.
“Philippe will know,” he said quietly.
Fernando kissed his nose, his eyelids, between his brows. “You won’t face him alone, love. I promise you.”
Hugh’s eyes lit up. “ ‘Love’? ”
Fernando grinned and rolled over, pulling Hugh against his strong chest.
“Yes. Love.”