Page 10

Royal

Royal stood by the window in his room, mesmerized at the serenity of the early morning.

His mind drifted back to the previous night, replaying the vivid moments of his first date. Well, more like a coerced dinner orchestrated by a meddling cook, but the way it’d ended had sure felt like a date.

He could still feel the rough brush of Stone’s hand against his cheek—the sparks it’d ignited. Royal closed his eyes, conjuring the intoxicating smell of Stone’s natural scent and the way his blue eyes had stared so deep into him.

Royal touched his fingers to his bottom lip. Time had stood still when Stone was an inch away from his mouth, it was as if not only him but the universe had held its breath in anticipation.

The almost kiss was like a silent promise that’d left a pining brewing deep inside him.

An abrupt knock at his door made his heart give a strange, erratic beat. Without thought, he knew who it was.

Royal opened the door, and Stone’s broad frame filled the doorway. He had his beanie in one hand as he ran his fingers nervously over his long untamed hair. It was wavy, and longer on the top, the silver streaks running through the dark strands reminded him of the moon’s light piercing a black sky.

It was gorgeous, he was gorgeous.

Stone’s gaze lingered the same as his until a quiet passion settled in his bones.

“Morning,” Stone said, his rusty voice a touch gentler in the warmth of the morning light.

“Good morning.” Royal grabbed his heavy coat and scarf from the coat tree, “I’m ready for my tour.”

Stone nodded then moved to the side for Royal to come out. When he shut his door behind him, Mrs. Pearl was there with a set of folded linens in her hands. Her look of surprise transformed to knowing amusement in a heartbeat.

“Good morning, you two.” Mrs. Pearl chuckled before she walked past, giving Stone a cute wink. “Atta boy.”

“For heaven’s sake,” Stone muttered under his breath, then gestured for Royal to walk ahead of him.

Once they were outside, he said out of the corner of his mouth. “The whole town will know we’re on a date in about fifteen minutes.”

“Would that embarrass you?” Royal ducked his head. “Do you not want anyone to know?”

Stone scoffed, then stepped closer, took Royal’s scarf and wrapped it around his neck in a way that would keep him warmer than the way he’d done it.

“There’s no way in hell dating you would be an embarrassment, Royal.” Stone’s rough fingers grazed his throat. “These meddling folks have tried to set me up with every gay man within fifty miles of the place, not to mention the ones that come to visit.”

Royal chuckled, then hurried to cover his mouth. His laugh was still strange to his ears.

Stone was staring again, his blue eyes smoldering like raging waves. He took Royal’s hand in his and removed it from his lips. “Let me see,” Stone said in a hoarse murmur.

Royal lowered his hands, but his smile faded, as hunger took the place of humor.

Stone was close enough for Royal to feel his heart pounding beneath his heavy coat. He brushed his mouth over Royal’s ear and rumbled, “Don’t hide your smile from me, Royal, ever.”

He nodded, remaining speechless, as words to describe what he was feeling failed him once again.

When it came to him and Stone, their silence spoke far louder than their words.

Stone led him through the small town, asking him questions about how he grew up, while randomly pointing out buildings and people’s homes around town. He showed him where he went to school, structures he’d built, even introduced him to the elderly lady—waving from behind her screen door on the porch Stone built for her—who used to babysit him, his late husband, and his best friend Arthur. The locals went about their morning routines—some approached them, others gave them knowing glances.

Royal felt the weight of their stares, the quiet hum of speculation. He wasn’t blind to it, but he wasn’t used to it. In Manhattan, no one gave a rat’s ass who you were with.

But here, all the town was watching, waiting for them to do something. Royal almost wanted Stone to grab him and give him a kiss that mimicked the sailor’s with the nurse in Times Square in that famous photograph.

The town was used to seeing Stone going about his business, focused and quiet, but they must’ve never seen him walk alongside someone like Royal before.

The way they’d reacted since he arrived, he thought none of them had seen anyone like him at all.

Royal ignored the looks and instead kept his gaze on Stone. He felt behind his zipper how sexy Stone was in those jeans, and how they molded to his thighs. His heart pounded with each of Stone’s heavy footfalls.

What size are those boots…fourteen maybe? I wonder if their proportionate to his—

“Hey, city boy,” Stone rasped, making Royal jerk at being caught in his wistful fantasy. “Eyes up here.”

Seeing the slight smirk curving Stone’s lips and the amusement dancing in his eyes was enough to take the sting out of his embarrassment.

“I can’t help it,” Royal whispered, staring straight ahead.

Stone let out a gruff hum, suggesting he might have liked his answer.

The walked in silence for a moment. They passed a small café, where a group of women were sitting at a table by the window. Their eyes flickered to Stone, then to him, then back to each other, and then the whispers started.

They continued walking until they reached a moderate-sized building that resembled a log cabin at the front, and a warehouse in the back.

“What’s this?” Royal asked.

Stone removed a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. Without a word, he put his hand to the small of Royal’s back and eased him forward until he was past the threshold.

The aroma of pine and cedar hit him first, making the air rich with the scent of sawdust and aged wood. Brilliants rays of sunlight streamed through the large-scale windows, bathing everything in a goldish glow.

“This is my shop.”

“Stone,” he whispered. “This is…”

Royal was astonished. Stone took his coat off and draped it over a workbench, and he did the same.

There was so much to see. It was a playground for a craftsman.

There was not only gleaming wood furniture—coffee tables, benches, chairs and bookshelves with intricate carvings—but the array of heavy machinery gleaming like polished gemstones was beyond impressive.

Stone’s warehouse was a showcase of artistry and engineering.

Stone leaned on a saw table and allowed Royal to explore.

“You have an amazing gift,” he exclaimed, stunned by what he was seeing.

Royal ran his palm over the shiny surface of an opulent chocolatey-brown armoire.

“Stone, this is beautiful.”

He was still admiring the piece when he felt Stone’s hard chest, and his penetrating warmth press against his back.

Yes, yes.

Stone was so close Royal could feel the pounding of each heartbeat reverberating through his chest, a rhythmic pulsing that echoed his own.

Stone brushed his beard along his temple, then down his right cheek, sparking nerves just beneath his skin. Royal was reeling for more, breathless with yearning.

His dick had gone from semi-hard to throbbing, to erect within seconds.

Please, Stone .

Royal was caught between the sizzling heat of their connection and the turmoil of being so damn inexperienced. Every touch, every word from Stone felt like an electric current. But there was a pull—an irrefutable force—that was too intense for him to cower away from.

He was so far out of his depth, sinking into something that could be dangerous, yet it seemed inevitable, as if fate itself had orchestrated this moment, and now there was no going back.