Page 16 of The King’s Bodyguard (Catkin Trilogy #1)

Landis

D uring my rut, I had felt as though I had plunged into the fires of the earth.

This was ten times worse. Perhaps if I had experienced my heat properly with a willing partner, I might have been more prepared, but even so, I had a feeling that being with Corrin was going to be uncharted territory regardless of what I could have enjoyed.

After the day I had, after my wild ride and eventual tumble, I had awakened into a more dangerous world.

Corrin’s story chilled me to the bone, and I struggled to comprehend, even now, how close to death I had been.

If Corrin hadn’t been there for me, I would have died alone, surrounded by trees and wilderness.

Corrin had saved me but my close brush with death electrified my senses.

Recognizing the fact made this moment feel even more vivid.

I had never felt so alive before, so sensitive to touch. As Corrin’s fingers massaged the base of my ears, traced a trail of fire down my chest, and his lips smothered my own with dominating kisses, I felt as though a thousand warm hands had taken hold of my skin and were drawing desire out of me.

What did I want? I hardly knew how to voice it.

Words failed me. All I understood was that my body cried out for Corrin’s touch, and Corrin answered.

His tongue and fingers teased me, lapping and sucking at my nipples until they were as hard as a rock.

My cock was already aching, hard and swollen, and leaking from its head.

My hips jerked as my back arched. My tail lashed out. I writhed, gasping for breath, unable to utter coherent syllables. At some point, I realized that I had barely touched Corrin. Should I not also attempt to please him?

Somehow, I managed to release my death grip on the quilt beneath me.

My questing fingers were met with the moist touch of Corrin’s mouth.

As he sucked on one of my fingers, he moaned, causing his tongue and throat to vibrate against me.

I nearly came right then and there, but Corrin tugged on my balls and pinched me gently on my head.

I nearly screamed, but I managed to choke off the wild cry that erupted from my now raw throat.

My legs wound about Corrin’s waist in a vain attempt to leverage myself against him.

Abandoning all reason, I rutted, my cock sliding against his.

It wasn’t enough. I needed him. Now. Somehow. I knew vaguely how it was done.

My ribs, my back, and my thighs were bruised.

They shrieked in complaint after the long day I had endured, but I barely registered it.

Corrin, whispering sweet nothings in my ear, stroked me gently, brushing my golden curls away from my now sweaty face.

I glared at him and managed to choke out a question.

“Corrin? Please?”

I had wanted to command him, but all semblance of authority was gone.

Corrin was my bodyguard, but I could no more command him than I could the ocean.

Corrin’s green eyes filled with lust at the sight of me so undone, and then at made me writhe even more.

I might be spread before him like a wanton thing, but whatever he saw made me feel as though I were the king of the entire world.

“Not tonight,” whispered Corrin.

My grip around his shoulders tightened. Corrin laughed then. The force of the vibrations soothed me a little. Still, I mewled in pleading desperation. Corrin kissed me again, long and hard until I nearly lost my vision from lack of air.

“But I live to bring my king pleasure.”

“Landis.” I gasped out.

“Landis,” he echoed.

For a second, the pressure against me eased.

Corrin leaned back to apply some kind of oil to his palm.

Now slick, his fingers wrapped around my cock and his own, holding them together.

With his other palm, he applied the oil to our cocks, allowing them to slide together.

His touch was gentle at first, but then, as desire ripped through me, clenching my thigh muscles about him, as his breath came ragged, Corrin began to pump around our cocks even faster.

Feeling Corrin’s cock against mine was heavenly. It promised me so many things. Things I had never thought possible. After one stroke, he clenched around our tips and thumbed his nail gently across my slit. My hands fell to claw at his wrists.

Corrin’s free hand caught my wrists and gently pinned them above my head. He shifted forward and upward, bending over me. I had nowhere to go. I was captured, but neither would I attempt to flee. This felt so good. I ached to remain in the moment.

For a bit, Corrin’s thumb teased me, making me whimper and mewl. I was promising all sorts of things. I would be good. Gods. I wouldn’t touch myself. I just wanted to touch him. I wanted to make him feel as good as I felt. Corrin... Corrin.

With a flick of his wrist, Corrin began to pump again around our cocks.

His skin pulsed beside mine, sparking electricity from my groin up into my head and ears.

My tail had risen. My body was prepared to be taken.

Corrin seemed to ignore it, but through the slits in my eyes, I could tell that he was struggling not to come right away.

His eyes were now all black with only a sliver of green showing.

His thighs, pillowing my ass, clenched. His balls tightened as they ground against mine.

At his tip, he leaked pre-cum alongside mine.

With a growl, Corrin set the pace anew, driving me crazy.

His chin was now thrown back. It made me feel even more on fire, if possible.

My eyes were now scrunched closed as each thrust brought me to a new peak.

My toes curled. My body clenched. I was so wet.

Gods. Corrin. Before I could stop myself, I screamed and came all over his hands and my stomach.

In response, Corrin came as well, but he kept his fist around us.

Joined so intimately, he wrung us both dry.

At some point, I felt as though my soul was once more anchored in my body. Corrin had released me, eased me down, and drew me back into a close embrace. His body curled about mine. I could hear the rasp of his uneven breath slowly calming down. I was finding it just as hard to regain my own breath.

Fatigue stole over my frame. I had a long day.

Corrin hadn’t fucked me, but I knew now that his choice had been the right one.

Corrin knew best. I could trust him. Melancholy threatened to steal over me, but I pushed my dark thoughts away.

I focused on the warmth of Corrin’s arms around mine, the crackling of the fire, and the sound of the night forest around the lodge.

Whatever happened, I had to be strong. It wouldn’t be easy, but with Corrin beside me, I would survive anything the Goddess of Fate tossed at me. I wasn’t alone. Not truly. There was Gareth, Hugh, Lord Elthorne, and others. Even more importantly, there was Corrin.

Wriggling about, I turned in his arms, buried my head in the crook of his shoulder and neck, and whispered thanks.

Corrin’s arms tightened around me. He stroked my head. I found myself relaxing in his embrace, soothed by his touch.

“I’ll be here,” he promised. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Finding comfort in those words, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I felt sore all over.

I suppressed a groan as I automatically stretched.

I paused halfway through and collapsed back into the pillow.

The quilt had been pulled up over me, providing some warmth in the chill of the early morning.

I was also clean. No doubt Corrin had taken care of me while I slept.

The thought warmed my heart and cheered me up even though I felt like death.

I turned to discover Corrin walking in wearing his breeches and untucked white shirt.

In his arms, a steaming bowl of spiced oatmeal sat on a tray neatly arranged with a spoon, a napkin, and a plateful of bacon and fruit.

Prying myself up to a sitting position, I allowed Corrin to set a lap table up and then place the tray down.

“Feeling sore?” Corrin asked.

“A bit,” I grunted.

“You will need to rest.”

“I hardly have time for that,” I protested.

“I know.”

Of course, he knows. He has seen firsthand how weak I was. How vulnerable. How naive. But Corrin has never blamed me or scolded me , I thought. He doesn’t look down on me. Instead, his green-eyed gaze offered encouragement. I found strength there and loyalty. It bolstered me a little.

“I oughtn’t to complain.” I sighed.

I shoveled in a mouthful of oatmeal. The spice of cinnamon exploded over my tongue, and I got a few more mouthfuls in as Corrin sat and watched me in the chair he had pulled up by the bed.

Corrin was relaxed, boneless even. Clearly sated by our night spent together.

I fought a blush at the memory of his hands around our cocks.

Now’s not the time, Landis! I scolded myself.

“I-I was saved, and I spared our country the difficulty of explaining why their princess was dead or maimed from a hunting accident.” I popped a piece of fruit in my mouth and contemplated what had happened.

“And Gareth and Hugh no doubt will use this occasion to ferret out some portion of the truth. With each attempt, whoever is behind this will become more bold and careless.”

“That is the hope,” Corrin said. He didn’t look too happy about it, though. “If you can survive that long.”

“I’ll do my best.” I paused and then admitted. “It really does help to have you here, Corrin. Not just as my bodyguard either. Also as... you know.” I suddenly found it difficult to say. “A f-friend, and, um...”

“Lover?”

Corrin’s voice sounded too innocent. Laughter bubbled up, and I relaxed a bit more.

“I am here for you, whatever you need,” Corrin said. “But it would be remiss of me to not remind you of facts. That this event may not reveal what we need to know. These things sometimes take time. You must be patient. No realm was saved in a day.”

“I suppose.”

“Trust me on this one.”

“How do you know it’s true?” I had to ask.

Corrin shrugged and sighed.

“My mother told me so.” He winced as if remembering something painful and then continued. “She’s wise... and she’s been working to forge peace between our kind.”

“Between the Munni and the Sunna,” I recalled.

“Yes.”

“It has mattered quite a bit to you?”

“I suppose so.” Corrin didn’t sound too enthused.

“I grew up living life on the fringes, expecting nothing and giving nothing in return. The world my mother dreams of seems... impossible. We have always lived in the shadows, under the boot of the Sunna. Our provincial overlords have always curtailed our freedoms. But still, my mother dreams.”

“And you don’t believe in her dream.”

“As I said, it is simply difficult to imagine.”

It was indeed hard to imagine. The world that Corrin painted in so few words seemed alien to my own. Is this how he sees our people? I wondered. Is that what he thought when he passed through the gates of Rimefrost? What has he seen on the streets? How has he been treated?

I didn’t have to really guess. For a moment, I felt ashamed. Certainly, I faced dangerous political intrigue. I had survived a civil war and came to power. I had gained the support of the court for the most part. I had surrounded myself with friends.

Of course, this did not promise safety. There was my cousin and other faceless opposition who would rather see me dead than on the throne.

And yet. There was Corrin, touching lightly on another hidden world I had never fully considered.

A life of hardship, of inequality, of struggle, of mistreatment.

My father had hoped to bring an end to all of that , I mused. Corrin’s mother, the famous Seeress of Velamere, dreamed of it and worked even now towards it. She had sent me her best warriors and hunters. Both Meera and Jan Stonewarden had sent me their greatest gift—their son.

There was so much I could do to help the Munni.

With my ascension, I would be able to bring about true change in Sumarene.

Meanwhile, here I was, wallowing in self-pity and wasting my time fretting over what I could not change.

I stiffened my shoulders and focused on finishing my breakfast as soon as possible.

Corrin had done so much for me already, it was time I did my part.