Page 48 of A Gaze So Longing (The Fall of Livenza #1)

In a trance, Favian nodded and followed with his eyes as his prince brought the come-stained fingers to his mouth and licked off the spillage, not once breaking eye contact.

Had he thought he was calming down a second ago, Favian’s erection now grew harder again.

This , he thought, must be paradise .

When Leonardo had cleaned up every last drop and swallowed it all down, he pressed a kiss to the back of Favian’s hand. “That was fucking great.”

Pride bloomed in Favian’s chest, rendering his cheeks hot. He pulled the prince around, then in for a passionate kiss, losing himself in the sensation of a mouth he now knew more intimately than he had ever believed possible.

Leonardo chuckled and slung his arms around Favian, their chests flush. “Do you,” he whispered, “want to come, too?”

Favian swallowed, suddenly hurled back into reality. “Perhaps. . .I—I have been touched before, but only. . .” He didn’t need to finish the sentence for Leonardo to understand. “I don’t know how any of that will feel, now that it’s with you.”

Leonardo stroked his back, fingers drawing patterns into the light skin. “We could try, if you want. And if anything feels off, we can stop.”

“Alright,” Favian said. When Leonardo raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced by Favian’s consent, he emphasized, “I do want to try. I trust you.”

That gifted him a smile. “I trust you, too.”

They kissed again, then the prince whispered, “I’m going to touch you now, alright?”

When Favian nodded, he did, thumbs stroking over his naked hipbones at first, then wandering.

Leonardo reached the waistband of his undergarment and, eliciting a shudder, hesitated, but Favian nodded again, motioning for him to continue.

The prince pulled down Favian’s pants only far enough for his cock to spring free, pecking kisses along his jaw as he did.

When Leonardo’s hand closed around his erection, Favian jolted, his fingers finding the prince’s shoulders, holding onto them.

“Keep going,” he breathed, his eyes pressed closed.

He wanted to focus on the body in front of him, on Leonardo, Leonardo, Leonardo—but no matter how hard he tried, the images returned, the man before his inner eye spiteful and vile.

“Stop!” Favian gasped. Immediately, Leonardo released him, both hands retreating.

Leonardo patiently waited for Favian to collect his breath.

“Can you—” he eventually attempted. “I mean, would you—do you think—”

“What do you want?”

Avoiding Leonardo’s eyes, he whispered, “Your mouth.”

But he needn’t have worried.

“Gladly,” the prince replied, sliding from the bed, onto his knees. He motioned for Favian to follow, and so he did, carefully positioning his legs onto the floor to either side of the body below, noting the pain in his foot but choosing to ignore it, and encasing the prince between his thighs.

“Can you hold yourself?” the prince asked, looking up, hands carefully placed on top of Favian’s thighs.

Nodding, Favian brought a hand to his crotch and took the base of his cock in hand, stabilizing the shaft.

After one more inquisitive look and an affirmative nod, Leonardo leaned forward. When the prince’s lips met his tip, it was Favian who had to stifle a moan. Leonardo ran a wet tongue over the head before taking him into his mouth, eyes still trained on Favian.

He hadn’t intended to watch, but now he couldn’t look away.

The prince was on his knees in front of Favian, between his legs, taking more and more of him into his mouth until his lips met Favian’s hand.

Leonardo’s motions were steady, the up and down of his head intoxicating.

Digging his fingers into the back of Leonardo’s head, Favian leaned as far back as he dared, breathing hard.

It didn’t take him long to reach a climax of his own; Leonardo’s expert movements quickly pushed him to the edge, then over it.

Despite its familiarity, the sensation was unusual, the familiar rush of his climax brought to new levels of intensity by Leonardo’s lips and tongue and the heat of his mouth.

Never had Favian experienced this with another person; never had his body given up this much control in such a vulnerable state. And it was a vulnerable state—the twitch in his limbs left him at the mercy of Leonardo, of the prince, the person whom he had entrusted with the truth of his desires.

Favian came into the prince’s throat, Leonardo’s lips encasing him until he was no longer jerking, until his orgasm had ceased. Once again, Leonardo swallowed, taking all remnants of Favian’s pleasure with him.

“Gods,” Favian panted, then pulled Leonardo back up from the floor, into his embrace, into the tight space of a bed that was not intended to hold two people at once, yet they were making it theirs.

The prince chuckled and nuzzled his neck, hands careful on his back. “How was that for you?”

In response, Favian’s lips found Leonardo’s, communicating everything words could not. He hoped—believed—his prince understood.

As he drew closer to Leonardo, skin to skin, arms and legs tangled underneath, between, around each other, Favian found himself imagining a life in which this could be their normal.

Once all of this was over, once Leonardo had married Dinha and moved away, once they had found a way to build their own world without any majesties—

Once they were able to exist in peace, they could have many more mornings like this. Waking up in each other’s arms, in a bed that didn’t feel like it would break apart underneath them at any moment, Leonardo’s lips on his own—

This was the life Favian wanted.

This was the life he would fight for.