24 Chapter (2)

. Now I’m glad you aren’t a woman.” His thumb brushed against Jamil’s warm cheek. “It’s bad enough already without sex in the mix.”

Refusing to think about what that meant, Jamil decided to change the subject. “So are you going to tell me why both crimes weremitted so close to each other?”

“Considering that the rebels weren’t the ones whomitted them, your guess is as good as mine.”

“Don’t lie to me. Please.”

Rohan sighed. “All right. That spot… we call it the Blind. It’s a narrow strip of forest at the foothills of the Northern Kavalchi Mountains before they elevate abruptly. That spot is unique because of its geological makeup: it has just enough of korviu deposits to prevent scanners and satellites from working but not enough to prevent the use of powerful transgalactic teleporters.”

Jamil frowned. “You mean that you can teleport to that spot without being detected?”

“Yes. We use that spot to travel between Calluvia and an orbital station near Tai’Lehr.” There was a wrinkle between Rohan’s brows. “Prince Warrehn was just very lucky to get attacked by his own bodyguards near the Blind. Our people were heading back to Tai’Lehr and they came across the ambush and saved the prince. As for Prince-Consort Mehmer, I really have no idea.” He looked Jamil in the eye. “Trust me.”

Jamil swallowed, losing his train of thought for a moment. “I could visit Dalatteya under the guise of asking her opinion on the matter. The fact that someone—or something—attacked her nephews and my husband at the same location eighteen years apart is strange enough to warrant at least a discussion. I could take you with me as my servant.”

Rohan nodded, still looking him in the eye.

Jamil wondered if his eyes looked as hungry as Rohan’s did.

He knew what Rohan wanted, of course. He wanted the same thing, too. Craved it.

“All right,” Jamil whispered. Fuck, he was weak. “Maybe just a short one?”

Immediately, Rohan’s mouth latched onto his neck, his mind pushing back inside Jamil, and the world around them disappeared.

When Jamil opened his eyes next time, the clock on the wall showed that two hours had passed. He was sprawled on his back, with Rohan’s heavy body on top of him, Rohan’s mouth still on his pulsing core and their hips grinding helplessly against each other.

Groaning, Rohan rolled onto his back. “For fuck’s sake,” he bit out, shoving a hand into his borrowed pants and pulling his erection out.

Jamil was pretty sure he stopped breathing. His own cock throbbed as he stared at that dark, thick cock in Rohan’s hand. The cock was leaking so profusely the head was coated in lubrication, all shiny and smooth and mouthwatering—

“Fucking hell, this is so fucked up,” Rohan said, his gaze flickering to Jamil’s face before fixating on the ceiling as he stroked himself roughly.

Jamil tried to look away. He really did.

He still found his hand creeping down his body to press against his own aching erection, his eyes fixated on Rohan’s cock. The mental connection between them pulsed with raw, frustrating need and pleasure, and Jamil’s head was spinning. His inhibitions gone, he shoved his hand into his pants and pulled himself out. He was so wet, his cock practically slippery in his hand. He whimpered, pressing his flushed face against Rohan’s upper arm, and started stroking himself furiously. There was no finesse about it, just raw, pulsing need, their pleasure mixing, feeding off of each other. Jamil was only vaguely aware of the strangled, broken sounds he was making, all but burying his face in Rohan’s bicep as he fisted his cock.

He came with a muffled groan, humping the air as he milked himself dry. He barely managed to recover from hisasm when another wave of pleasure hit him as Rohan tensed against him and came, too. Pleasure spread through his body, warm, thick, and delicious, all the tension in his muscles replaced by that wonderful feeling.

Jamil’s eyelids grew heavy as he floated in the waves of pleasure, orange, red and yellow behind his closed eyes.

“This is ridiculous,” Rohan said. “It took us, what, ten strokes? I had better endurance as a teenager.”

Jamil’s lips twitched. He opened his eyes, and when he saw the half-offended, half-embarrassed expression on Rohan’s face, he couldn’t help it: he burst out laughing.

Rohan glared at him, but then his lips twitched too, and before long, they both were laughing.

When their laughter died, a strange kind of silence fell between them. It wasn’t ufortable, per se, but it wasn’tfortable, either. It was loaded with a certain weight, some emotion he couldn’t quite place.

They held each other’s gaze, the intimacy of the moment almost too much. Something thrummed between them, like a living being, and it took Jamil a moment to recognize what it was.

Affection.

Warm, sickeningly sweet affection filled the air between them, spreading through his body. It was the scariest thing he’d ever felt.

“It’s the bond, isn’t it?” Jamil said, hating the edge of desperation in his voice. “It’ll pass once it’s broken.”

Rohan’s black brows drew together.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

“It should,” he said at last, but he didn’t sound very certain. “It will,” he said, firmer, and then he ruined it by kissing Jamil’s nose. “It’s going to be fine, darling.”

Jamil could only laugh incredulously.

Did Rohan even hear himself?