Page 78 of The Frog Prince

“I wouldn’t have wanted you to,” Alwin said, finally risking a glance up. He was giving away too much. He was letting Otto in too far, but Alwin was powerless to resist him. “Even from the start, I found that my heart wouldn’t have been able to rest easy seeing you anything less than happy and comfortable.”

Otto’s eyes contained a storm in the wake of his words.

An arm snuck out and wrapped around his waist, and Alwin gasped into the night before he was tugged toward the middle of the bed, colliding with a broad chest. The top of his head brushed against a sharp chin and warm breath hit his skin.

His shoulder dug into Otto’s sternum and his elbow ended up in his stomach.

Too close. He was so, so close.

Otto pushed himself up onto one arm, looming over him. “Thank you, again.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Yes, I do. My entire life, there have been others I had to take care of. My family, my friends, my patients. I don’t think I knowhow to graciously accept being cared for the way you care for me. But I do appreciate it.”

Alwin swallowed around the lump in his throat, lying perfectly still and stiff, his body half underneath Otto’s on the bed he had made for him with his own hands. He didn’t know how to deal with it. He wasn’t prepared for it. He had hoped for so long, and now that the chance was there, he was completely lost.

“I’ll try to always put you first,” Alwin said, because he didn’t know what else to say. It was the deepest truth he owned.

He couldn’t promise always, as much as he might wish he could. He’d grown up knowing part of him would always belong to someone else; his people, his kingdom, his responsibilities.

But anything left was Otto’s in entirety.

A cool hand landed on his cheek, thick fingers splaying around his head and the tip of a thumb brushing against the corner of his lip as his face was coaxed up.

Their eyes met in the darkness, their skin reflecting the soft glow of the flowers around them. The water was sloshing against the outside walls, and the silence told Alwin they were truly alone.

His breath caught in his chest, heart hammering so loudly he was sure Otto could hear it. The fingers resting on either side of his hips gripped the worn material of his breeches and held on, wishing it would anchor him well enough not to fly away.

“Alwin…” Otto whispered.

Before Alwin could say anything, before he could reply, Otto’s head bent, and then soft, warm lips were on his.

Alwin’s eyes rolled in his head, his body freezing at the unfamiliar sensation. Nobody had ever kissed him in this form. Nobody had ever touched this version of him like this.

He stayed perfectly still, just feeling Otto’s lips moving across his own. Gentle and undemanding. Setting tiny fires in Alwin’sskin. Making his head ring. Making tidal waves form in his chest and tears sting his eyes.

He was drowning. He wanted to kiss Otto back, but he knew he couldn’t.

He wasn’t human. He couldn’t kiss him like a man would. He couldn’t purse this wide mouth enough to catch lips, or tangle tongues in passion. Every natural movement to him now felt blocked or awkward, screaming at him that he was not the same as he once was.

He wasn’t sure Otto understood that.

“Let me in,” Otto whispered against his lips. “Please.”

He ran his tongue across Alwin’s bottom lip and Alwin’s brain finally won over his desires. He placed his hands on Otto’s chest and pushed.

Otto went easily, without protest, respecting Alwin’s space and following his lead.

“Alwin?” he asked, cheeks flushed ruddy red, pupils blown under weighted lashes.

Alwin wanted nothing more than to lose himself in him. The crawling under his own skin made Alwin give his chest another push until he could sit up.

“My apologies,” he said, lips still burning, mind still reeling from it.

“No, you don’t have to apologize. I probably should, though. If I’ve done something you didn’t want.”

“No!” Alwin jumped to reassure him, making Otto flinch. “I mean, no, you didn’t. I…I do want it…”