It was the hottest thing he had ever seen.
Grabbing Haydn’s hips tightly, Royce kept fucking him fast and hard, chasing his own orgasm.
When he came, it set his body ablaze, heat and pleasure rippling through him. His vision went white, his body shuddering violently, his back arching as he spilled his release deep into his husband. He stopped himself from knotting him only through sheer willpower and collapsed on top of Haydn, panting like he’d run a marathon. His hips kept thrusting, his brain convinced that he could get deeper, that he could put a piece of himself inside Haydn and stay there forever.
It took him a long time to regain some semblance of rational thought. When he did, he found himself on his back, with Haydn’s arm and leg thrown over him, his face pressed against Royce’s shoulder. Haydn was nuzzling into his skin, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on Royce’s chest.
“I think you blacked out for a moment,” Haydn said, sounding rather pleased. “I’m that good.”
Royce laughed and, tipping his face up, kissed him. “You are,” he said, threading his fingers through the damp hair at Haydn’s nape.
Haydn gave him a smile Royce could only call dreamy. It was so very soft and pleasure-drunk it made something in Royce’s chest tighten. He stroked Haydn’s flushed cheek with his thumb, feeling so damn enamored he didn’t know how to deal with it.
So he kissed him again. And again. Somehow, it wasn’t enough. Bizarrely, he still felt hungry despite just experiencing the best orgasm of his life. But this hunger wasn’t lust. It had a different edge to it.
He didn’t know how long they kissed, their lips clinging to each other. It could have been hours, for all he knew.
After the kissing petered out and the wild emotion settled somewhat, they lay for a time without speaking.
“You aren’t leaving,” Royce said at last.
Haydn blinked at him, still looking flatteringly dazed.
“You aren’t returning to Pelugia, right?” Royce said.
Haydn just gazed at him for a long moment before shaking his head.
Royce breathed out. All right. That was the important part. He knew they still needed to talk about their relationship, but that could wait.
“You’ll stay the night,” Haydn stated, his arm around Royce tightening.
Royce snorted and kissed him on the forehead. “Aye, General.”
Haydn grinned at him and wagged his eyebrows. “Hmm, I wouldn’t be opposed to you calling me that.”
“We’ll see,” Royce said with a smile. “Let’s sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“The Galactic Council representative is arriving in two days. I will be working late at the office.” He sighed. “The Lord Chancellor elections aren’t going well. None of the candidates got enough votes in both countries. I hoped we’d have more time, but…”
“But it looks like there will be no Lord Chancellor chosen by the time the Galactic Council representative is back?”
“Looks like,” Royce said. “Let’s hope Lord Ksar will be more understanding than he looks.”
Haydn heaved a sigh and murmured, “I really don’t like that you bear the burden that isn’t even yours. Is Taube really incompetent at his job?”
Royce buried his face in Haydn’s hair. “It’s not incompetence. I’m just beginning to think Taube isn’t all that invested in peace. He only wants to look good and win the next elections. Everything else is just a means to that end.”
Haydn hummed and kissed him on the neck. “Then let’s sleep. I don’t want you to feel tired tomorrow if you’re going to work late.”
Royce’s chest was suddenly tight with affection. He’d never had this before: a partner who cared for his well-being, someone he could share his problems and thoughts with.
Someone just his.
Royce wrapped his arm around his husband and closed his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this content. “Good night, love,” he said. The endearment slipped out as if he’d called Haydn that countless times before.
Haydn’s breathing hitched a little, his arm at Royce’s waist tightening against his flesh before relaxing.
“Good night,” he murmured, squirming even closer to him.
Royce was still smiling faintly as he drifted off.
Chapter Twenty
Prime Minister Taube was hosting a huge reception in honor of Lord Ksar’ngh’chaali’s arrival, with the most prominent political figures of Kadar and Pelugia expected to attend.
Haydn had been kind of dreading the event. There was no avoiding his father or Uncle Yurev at that gathering. Everyone who was anyone would be there, and his relatives wouldn’t miss it, especially since they were also involved in the election of the new Lord Chancellor who was going to represent their planet in the Galactic Chamber of Lords.
Haydn knew the candidates for the position had been narrowed down to a male Kadarian omega and a female Pelugian beta, with neither country willing to support the other country’s candidate. They were still at an impasse, and Haydn could only hope that Lord Ksar’ngh’chaali would be willing to help them choose instead of getting annoyed with them that they still hadn’t managed to resolve their differences.