Chapter 84

Eugène had kept his eyes obediently closed, at least until the Emperor brought him past the front door.

The hour was long past midnight. In the dilapidated mansion, where not a soul remained awake, it was impossible to distinguish the house from the night itself. But the Emperor walked forward without hesitation, as though he knew exactly where everything was.

His steps were far too quick to be considered those of someone guiding another. Not only did he fail to accommodate the man walking with his eyes shut, but his pace grew increasingly impatient over time, until, at last, it became impossible to keep up with him while blind.

Reluctantly, Eugène opened his eyes. He knew that somewhere within the house, there must be an entrance leading to a secret passage, but thankfully, their destination was not the damp, hidden corridor; it was a bedchamber.

“Your Majesty is still as poor a guide as ever.”

Eugène offered the remark to the Emperor, who was all but dragging him along. The Emperor, undoubtedly aware by now that Eugène had opened his eyes, seemed utterly unconcerned by the fact.

“Wedislike placing blame on others, but this time, it is your fault.”

Taking the stairs two or three at a time, the Emperor swiftly reached the second floor and turned right with practiced ease. A row of plain doors lined the corridor. He opened the nearest one without so much as pausing to choose, and pushed Eugène inside. There was something strangely familiar about the action.

It seemed he had reached the limit of his restraint. No sooner had he crossed the threshold than the Emperor lunged at Eugène. No words were needed, no intentions clarified. He sought out Eugène’s lips with urgency and ripped open the cravat from around his neck.

Though he pretended to remain composed, Eugène was no different. As he undressed himself, he exhaled warm, shallow breaths against the Emperor’s jaw. They longed to kiss, but their desperation caused them to miss at first, brushing briefly, then misaligning, until the third try finally brought their mouths together, and the relief was nearly palpable.

The cravat was cast aside. The justaucorps came off. Eugène could not even remember when the vest had disappeared. As they kissed, the Emperor untucked Eugène’s shirt from his pants and pulled him closer, hands now roaming.

Their sharply defined shoulders collided with painful force. Unlike the delicate frames of noblewomen, Eugène’s solid, full build filled the Emperor’s arms entirely, making it unmistakably clear, this was a man he held, and not just any man, but Eugène himself.

The Emperor slipped a hand beneath the loose shirt, caressing the tightly knit muscles along Eugène’s back. Their shoulders were of similar width, but Eugène’s chest was broader, his waist taut with tension, and his skin, while not soft, was resilient to the touch.

Eugène’s body, honed by harsh training, radiated masculine allure. Even the scars that bore witness to his brutal past did nothing to mar his beauty.

GCJ aoRJtOt ENI hNRmfFNmJz ge mCJ ImtJyqmC OA mCNm gOze, ge fmI DyofImNXNgLJ oNyLfyJII. GCNm IOoJOyJ IO hNRNgLJ OA tJIfImfyq ge AOthJ hCOIJ fyImJNz mO IDttJyzJt EfLLfyqLe, mCfI, oOtJ mCNy NyemCfyq, ImfttJz Cfo EfmC AfJthJ, OFJtECJLofyq RLJNIDtJ.

“Wewant to hold you.”

EIT kPqTifi qUYYTB kUNèJT’A gfBp GYfATi, qiTAAQJN dITQi IQqA dfNTdITi LA IT mIQAqTiTB YTmBYp. rYiTLBp ILYSmLp TiTGd SifP dIT sQAAQJN LYfJT, IQA LifUALY Jfm dIifggTB mQdI AUGI ITLd LJB UiNTJGp dILd Qd STYd iTLBp df gUiAd. KT GfUYB dTYY kUNèJT mLA QJ L AQPQYLi AdLdT. EIT ILiB BQGs qiTAAQJN QJdf IQA dIQNI YTSd Jf BfUgd.

“bfTA xfUi vLMTAdp sJfm Ifm df IfYB L PLJ?”

Eugène, feeling the Emperor draw even closer instead of retreating from the evidence of his own arousal, gave a low laugh and posed the question. Their bodies, tightly pressed together over the fitted fabric of their pants, were sensitive to the slightest brush, so much so that even the faintest contact drew involuntary, aching moans.

The Emperor seemed to enjoy the sound, grinding against him deliberately as he pressed his lips greedily to Eugène’s neck.

“Not exactly, butWehave a general idea.”

“Knowing just the general idea may not be enough. Is Your Majesty truly certain?”

“You make it sound likeWeshould be preparingOurself. Could it be that you wish to takeUsinstead?”

The question was so unexpected that Eugène’s thoughts stalled. He had never imagined His Majesty would ask such a thing. Narrowing his eyes, he studied the Emperor, as if trying to discern whether the question was genuine.

“If you wish, you may takeUsfirst. It would not be a bad thing to learn how to take a man through experience.”

The Emperor gave a languid smile as he made the absurd proposition. If it were a joke, it was a cruel one as he must know how irresistibly attractive he was. But far more troubling was the possibility that he meant it in earnest.

“If I dared such a thing, I would either never be able to leave Your Majesty’s grasp for the rest of my life… or I would have to die by Your Majesty’s hand.”

The empire, influenced as it was by religion, was relatively tolerant of sodomy. Even so, a clear boundary remained. So long as one did not become too deeply entangled, such relations were not considered a major offense. A person of high rank enjoying the company of one beneath them posed no issue. But the reverse was an unacceptable transgression.

Fully aware of this, Eugène rejected the Emperor’s offer without hesitation. To embrace the Emperor would mean giving him a weakness, and Eugène had no intention of becoming vulnerable to him in such a way. The words were framed as a joke, but in truth, they were a calculated refusal.

When Prince Cyrill had been raped by pirates, his father had threatened to strip him of his right to inherit unless he hunted down and killed every last one of them. To be violated by a man was that grave a liability to a person of power. For this reason, Eugène could not let the Emperor take that risk, no matter the fleeting pleasure.

“Such an opportunity may not come twice. Is it a definite refusal?”

The Emperor whispered sweetly as he bit Eugène’s lower lip. He tugged, then kissed the upper lip, his tongue slipping inside to tease with relentless persistence.

“Refusal is too strong a word. Let us say… I decline.”

Though his breathing grew ragged from the deepening petting, Eugène maintained his composure to the end.

“WesupposeWeshould feel insulted, yet for some reason,Weare pleased. Truthfully,Wewere a little nervous, wondering whatWewould do if you actually desired it.”

Feigning nonchalance, the Emperor resumed his hungry kisses along Eugène’s neck.

The reason he made such an offer was to prevent any dissatisfaction with the position in advance.Considering Eugène’s pride, which constantly sought to assert himself as a man, having his position decided without any say could later become a source of trouble.

But the Emperor had no intention of leaving even the slightest possibility unattended. After all, considering how hard he had worked to obtain this man, how could he knowingly leave such matters to chance? Even if Eugène had truly asked for it, the Emperor had already been willing to offer his body at least once. Because that one time would become the eternal shackle binding Eugène to him.

The Emperor, who had pushed away even the last remaining problem, now began to indulge in Eugène in earnest.

Eugène wrapped both arms around the Emperor’s back, feeling the smoothness of his skin with his hands. If Eugène’s own body was like a weapon honed for real combat, then the Emperor’s body seemed more like a work of art. It felt as though it had not been made for actual use, but solely to be admired; each minor detail radiated a refined sense of form.

As the Emperor’s lips traced Eugène’s shoulder, his sharp jawline came into view. His skin, white as plaster, revealed not a single pore, and his gracefully curved nape was as cleanly shaped as porcelain. Eugène pressed his lips to that nape, tasting a dizzying visual pleasure.

They moved onto the bed in a tangled position, unable to take their hands off each other. As they collapsed onto the soft feather mattress, the sheets rustled and released a faint scent of dust. The combined weight of two adult men caused even the sturdy wooden frame to creak under the strain.

Eugène lay down atop the silk cover embroidered with laurel leaves. The Emperor positioned himself between Eugène’s legs, half-kneeling on the bed, looking down at him.

“Lift your hips a little.”

Realizing belatedly that he had been too eager to even take off his pants, the Emperor laughed as he made the request. Eugène complied, lifting his hips to help him remove them. The Emperor stripped away the last piece of fabric from both their bodies and stood before him in full nudity.

The dim moonlight revealed the contours of the Emperor’s body. Broad shoulders, a proud chest, and long, resilient legs. Even without any ornaments, standing there fully naked, he looked like a statue of a young god. Between his marble-like legs stood his erect penis, the only part of his body that did not resemble a sculpture.

Its shape was similar, but not in size. Not only was it considerably larger than that of most grown men, but it even surpassed Eugène’s. Though it was not monstrously so, not to the point of tearing anything apart.

Everything about the penis was just right. Its well-formed appearance, the faint blush of its hue, the angle and shape in its aroused state, all of it.

At some point, he took out a small porcelain bottle and approached Eugène. Though his frame appeared slender, his body was dense with muscle, and the weight of it carried surprising force. He pressed his thigh between Eugène’s legs, pushing them apart, while his lips moved along Eugène’s jawline.

The hands that trailed down his neck grabbed his chest before sliding down his abdomen and stopping between his legs. Stimulated for so long already, Eugène’s penis was flushed and wet at the tip.

The Emperor stroked the area near the pubic hair with his palm, brought his hand down to gently cup Eugène’s penis. It was his first time touching another man this way, but as a man himself, he knew where to stimulate.

He caressed the sensitive tip, lightly scratching over it with his fingernail. Eugène flinched, arching his back and swallowing a moan at the sudden jolt.

It was an intriguing reaction, but the Emperor was in no mood to linger. His own penis had been stimulated for so long that it was painfully erect, making it was impossible to focus on anything else.

The Emperor showered Eugène with kisses, layering his own penis over the hand that held his. He held them both in one hand and began to rub them rapidly. Their hardened dicks, inflamed with arousal, stiffened further from the direct friction and flushed with swollen veins.

Every time they slipped from his grasp, he curled his fingers to trap them again, deliberately grinding their tips together. A hot sensation coiled in the pit of their stomachs. The climax was near.

A sharp burst of sparks exploded in their minds as release overtook them. The feel of another man’s penis rubbing against his own and spilling warm cum was vividly, almost crudely, real.