— "Very well, very well. Your turn."
Alex, still flushed with indignation, pressed forward with a more serious question.
— "How do you imagine our… relationship—" Alex coloured deeply at the very word—"after your marriage to Ophelia?"
Nathan had not expected such a sudden change of mood.
— "That is… a very good question, one I have scarcely considered. The estate is large enough, I think, to afford Ophelia and Emily their own secluded corner, and leave us ours. I doubt much will change. Though… perhaps I shall have to take her upon promenades and… do other necessary stuff, for propriety's sake, I suppose…"
Alex noted his unease and replied quietly, though with sadness:
— "I understand that you will… that you must…" The Duke's heart clenched. Alex continued softly, "I am the only heir, too. My parents expect no less than the continuation of the line…"
Nathan rose swiftly, unwilling to hear the resignation in his beloved's voice. He took Alex by the shoulders once more.
— "Alex, listen. I know our bond is… unusual. I would give anything to offer you a different path, but…"
— "I do understand," Alex whispered. "We shall manage… It cannot be so very difficult, can it?"
Nathan smiled tenderly.
— "I cannot say. I have never been a woman."
— "Never?"
— "Never."
Alex's eyes widened in innocent astonishment.
— "But all these years… how is it possible?"
— "Because I have never cared for women. And now, Alex, I care only for you."
Those words sent a tremor through Alex, soothing his fears.
— "Your turn," the Young Lord murmured.
Nathan returned to his seat, though his mind flickered back to Lady Carlston's insinuations — that Alex too would one day face marriage and its burdens. He forced the thought aside and wished to change the subject, for he was not yet ready to dwell on such matters.
Not tonight.
Instead he asked:
— "I have heard that, at some point in your life, you frequented the gentlemen's club. You strike me as rather ill-suited to such a place. Might I ask if there was any particular reason?"
Alex looked down, shame clouding his face. He confessed at length—how his mother had feared his solitude, how he had always been reserved, how among girls he was perceived only as a suitor, never as a companion; and at last, how loneliness had driven him to accept the company of men whose talk and pleasures he could never share.
— "It grieves me to think you suffered such loneliness."
Alex forced a smile, unwilling to endure pity.
— "I was not so very lonely. And now… I have met you."
The Duke could no longer restrain himself. He rose and approached Alex to embrace him, whispering:
— "Loneliness is a strange thing. One may feel it in solitude—or in the midst of a crowd. I, too, was lonely, though never truly alone. Now I realise how empty those years had been."
— "But now it is not so?"
Nathan kissed him lightly.
— "Now I am very happy."
— "Then tell me," Alex pressed, "at what moment did you realize… that you were in love with me?"
Nathan's breath caught, for he remembered at once — the vision engraved upon his soul: Alex in the lake, hair wet from swimming, tying his ribbon tighter, the setting sun upon his face, the clinging shirt that revealed his form…
— "I realised it then," Nathan confessed, "after our day in the workshop, when we went swimming. I could not turn my gaze away from you when you were fastening your hair with the ribbon. And that's how I knew."
Heat surged through Alex at the memory, mingled with a desire he could scarcely admit to himself.
Then Nathan, emboldened, asked softly:
— "And why did you blush so fiercely when we spoke of my cravat?"
Alex froze. It could be postponed no longer, lest Nathan form his own thoughts… In silence, the Young Lord fetched the piece of silk from his satchel, his hands trembling as he placed it in the Duke's palm. His face burned crimson.
— "I… I had used it… Forgive me. It smelled of you, and I could not help but breathe it in… sometimes."
A wave of heat washed over Nathan. He instantly understood the moments when his beloved might have inhaled his scent — and why the boy had been so embarrassed to return it to its owner.
He will drive me mad, truly…
The Duke sprang up, pushed Alex's hands from his flushed face, and pressed himself greedily against him, encircling the Young Lord's waist with his arms.
Alex was already so burning with heat that he had ceased to fear what was happening and desired only one thing: for Nathan to relieve his torment and do with him as he pleased.
The Young Lord embraced the Duke in return and pressed his nape to himself. Without a moment's hesitation, he welcomed his beloved and eagerly sought to meet Nathan's daring advance with his tongue.
With force, the Duke turned Alex and pressed him against the writing desk. He bent to his neck, lavishing it with kisses while deftly unfastening the nightshirt. Alex moaned, sounds he had once been ashamed of, but now he no longer cared; he thought of nothing else, melting under Nathan's touch like butter on a hot pan.
The Young Lord's languid sighs inflamed Nathan so completely that all sense of propriety fled away. He pulled the shirt up to Alex's forearms, then leaned back slightly to drink in the sight of his beloved. The mere vision of him sent Nathan's desire soaring. He hastily returned to Alex's neck, greedily devouring every inch of alabaster skin as his hands and mouth wandered lower.
Alex held his beloved tightly in his arms while Nathan traced his collarbones with tongue. But it was not enough. The Duke hungered for more, wishing the Young Lord to experience it fully. He began tracing around the blushing nipples with his tongue. Alex responded to every motion, arching his entire body, signaling to Nathan that he was doing everything correctly.
Then the Duke slowly laid his right hand on Alex's thigh and pressed it to his groin.Nathan's breath caught as he realized that Alex seemed on the very edge; his trousers were slightly damp.
The Young Lord felt Nathan's hand there and, suddenly realizing what was happening, seized the Duke's hand. Nathan straightened sharply and looked at him.
The Young Lord, flushed with heat, gazed pleadingly… and Nathan understood completely. He began moving his hand without venturing beneath Alex's clothing, while kissing him, shifting from the lips to the neck and ears, then back down to the chest.
Alex had completely lost his reason; one hand braced against the desk, the other clutching Nathan's nape. The Young Lord tilted his head back in pleasure and responded vividly to every caress with an arch of his back.
Suddenly, he felt himself nearing the peak. He bent forward, gripping Nathan's raven-black hair, and exhaled with a pleasure louder than ever before. He did not know how much time had passed as he tried to catch his breath and open his eyes. It seemed that someone was holding him.
— "Nathan?" Alex spoke his name for the first time like this, and the Duke seemed to go mad all over again.
He drew away from his beloved and gazed at Alex's face.
He is unforgettable.
The Young Lord's breath came in heavy pants, his eyes were clouded, mouth slightly parted, cheeks flushed, and marks of passion adorned his neck.
Alex realized he would need to change his trousers — but that could wait. Abruptly and unexpectedly, he pushed Nathan, embraced him, spun him around, and placed him in the very position he had occupied a moment before. Only Nathan was taller, so he leaned slightly onto the writing desk. The Duke regarded him with genuine astonishment, silently waiting for what would come next.
Alex kissed Nathan as deeply as he could, then resolved to give his beloved the same indulgence. He descended to the neck and felt Nathan already struggling to contain himself, breath coming in ragged bursts. Yet it was not enough. Alex wished for his beloved to surrender fully to the same unearthly pleasure, to let the same sounds escape him…
The Young Lord nipped at Nathan's neck, and the Duke, startled, let out a sharper, more audible breath, his hands twitching in the embrace. Alex traced his tongue along the path from neck to ear, then descended to the collarbones, pressing gentle kisses there. A mischievous desire stirred within him, and he longed to attend to Nathan's nipples in the same way.
— "Wait," Alex looked up and saw Nathan's languid face. "I am not very sensitive here. I fear you may not achieve the same effect," he said, smiling, his voice tinged with a faint breathiness.
Alex understood and continued kissing Nathan's chest, moving both higher and lower. Simultaneously, he lowered his hand further — and his breath caught. He had never touched another person's body, especially in such intimate places, and was struck by how warm Nathan felt there. Blushing wildly, Alex began slowly moving along the prominent part of his body over trousers.
The Young Lord's touches were slightly awkward and trembling, yet the Duke was already at his limit, so even these movements were enough.
Alex glanced at his beloved. Nathan bit his lip, overcome by the intensity of sensation. A drop of blood gleamed once more. His thought flashed through his mind like lightning: the realization of why the Duke had never told him what had happened to his lip.
Could it be that he had heard me and…? God.
He lost all sense of control, moving his hand with increasing urgency and speed.
At one point, Nathan could no longer restrain himself, yielding to soft, involuntary moans as he neared his peak. Alex exulted, growing ever more aroused with each breath, and finally met Nathan's gaze as he panted heavily, struggling to regain his composure.
When Nathan opened his eyes, he could hardly believe it had truly happened. Before him stood a flushed Alex, gazing intently at his beloved. The Duke pressed his lips to the Young Lord's and held him tightly in an embrace.
— "You're much better at this than I could have imagined," the Duke whispered with a seductive smile. "But I daresay you could use a bit more practice… Do you wish to sleep, my lord?"
— "No…" Alex replied timidly.
Nathan felt something pressing against his leg. He understood immediately. He guided Alex back and laid him upon the bed. Then, throughout the night, he kissed him, eliciting lustful moans again and again.