a Lout and a Prince

Part 24

There are few good ways to wake up after drinking enough alcohol to invite an early grave in for tea.

Cale was actually in pretty good condition considering. His head hurt and his body was sore but it was a faint sort of feeling, numbed behind exhaustion and the ponderous warmth of a breathing pillow beneath him.

A hand, familiar and warm and wonderful, caressed his cheek and Cale looked up into warm brown eyes so full of tender affection that Cale felt his breath literally being stolen away.

"My head hurts."

He kissed Cale's head gently, sweetly, lovingly.

Cale had so much to say and a lot of complaints to make. A lot of demands. Goals.

But his head hurt and there he was, holding Cale like he was a precious treasure. Hedonism won out.

"My face hurts too."

He chuckled softly, kissing Cale's forehead and lingering there as though he was the happiest man alive just to be allowed that much.

Cale's heart throbbed and he was just too tired to care about any of it.

It really felt simple.

"My lips also hurt."

He smiled and his warm eyes sparkled as he pulled Cale closer, his lips pressing against Cale's in a lovingly chaste kiss that sent tingles from Cale's spine all the way down to the tips of his toes. Cale leaned into it, closing his eyes and following the staccato of his heart.

His whole body ached and yet he never felt better. Moving his lips slowly, inviting his partner to deepen the kiss and humming with delight as his invitation was accepted.

Breathlessly, Cale found the strength to say in between urgent and languid kisses. "My whole body hurts."

Alberu's restraint finally snapped.

In one fluid movement he flipped their positions, pinning Cale to the bed and kissing his beautiful beloved as though his life depended upon it. Fingers lacing with Cale's as he held his hands down against the bed. The muffled mewl from Cale was the sweetest of melodies.

Cale's reddish brown eyes, half-lidded with desire and want and love and–Alberu trailed kisses down Cale's chin, resting his lips against his neck and delighting in the shudder it elicited from Cale.

He should stop here.

He'd always stopped here and he couldn't recklessly move forward on an insane impulse.

Cale's hands squeezed his pleadingly. "It hurts." He insisted, begging ever so sweetly.

'Right. Forgot that I'm already insane.'

Alberu squeezed Cale's hand in return, nipping Cale's sensitive neck and sucking just enough to make him whimper.

What he would give to hear Cale compose a symphony of those sounds just for him.

He released one of Cale's hands, unbuttoning Cale's shirt as patiently as he could manage, massaging the exposed pale skin and listening to Cale's every breathy gasp. Alberu moved from his spot, licking the possessive bruise in apology before he moved lower, nipping at Cale's collar bone as he went.

"Ah–" Cale's voice was ever so slightly higher than normal. Alberu wanted to hear how high it could get. Wanted to hear every delicious sound. Wanted to feel and kiss every inch of his pale skin and cover him with his own marks.

Alberu kissed his way down to Cale's chest, swirling his tongue around a pink nub and earning a breathy "Fuck–" for his trouble. Cale's pliant and beautiful body squirmed just for him and Alberu left a biting hickey on Cale's chest as a reward.