The Royal Series 0 - A Royal Archive

Chapter 4

He was instantly wrapped in strong arms, as the sheet and duvet were pulled over him.

But as they lay together, with Anthony's breath puffing gently against his forehead, Finnegan knew that he could not spend the night this way. He was in desperate need for affection; to know that he was wanted and desired, because Gustavo had not made him feel that way.

"Anthony," he spoke up and waited for a grunt of acknowledgement before pressing on, "will you make love to me, the way you did on our first night together?" he asked, desperate to feel a connection with someone.

The first night Anthony came to him, they did little more than talk to ease his fears, but they both knew that he really meant the first night they made love. It had been magical for Finnegan, who had never been made love to before. Men had been using his body to find pleasure since he was thirteen, but he had only thought to use that to his advantage when he was sixteen.

The very first time Anthony touched him was a magical moment that sent shockwaves through his system. He had never known true pleasure before, without harbouring some hidden fear at the back of his mind that he would not be good enough or what the client wanted.

He needed to experience that again.

Something brushed against his forehead and he feared he would be rejected. Anthony had just told him that he was tired and they had agreed to only hold each other this night. But then his body turned towards him and a hand snaked over his stomach.

Finnegan tipped his head up to look at the six foot four man beside him. The only man who had ever been taller than him. "I am sorry," he apologised, the words bursting forth in regret. "I know you are tired. I will not ask again," he promised, dipping his head into the crook of Anthony's neck, to settle for the night.

He had been stupid to suggest such a thing.

"Finn, in all the time I have known you," Anthony said, tipping his head up with the gently touch of two fingers beneath his chin, "you have never once asked for something for yourself. What has encouraged you to speak up tonight? Has someone hurt you?" he asked, with those big brown eyes and a tenderness he had not had directed his way in a long time.

"No." He shook his head and thought of how to explain. "Not physically. But someone I thought was a friend hurt me. I thought we had grown close, but he is ashamed of me," he confessed, feeling his heart ache at the thought of what Gustavo had said, loud and clear, without the need for any words.

Goodbye.

That awful word resonated inside his head and he no longer wished to think of it.

"Yet I may remedy this and heal you, for this night?" Anthony asked, in realisation of what he needed.

All Finnegan could do was nod.

"Then I will, of course, heal you," he promised, with a smile.

As he moved out from beneath him and hovered over his body, Finnegan acted instinctively. When a hand moved from his stomach to the waistband of his under boxers, he took a quick breath and uttered, "Kiss me."

Anthony blanched and stared at him in surprise. "Kissing is not permitted," he recalled, with an odd tone that he did not recognise.

"I do not care." Finnegan reached up and cupped both hands around Anthony's well cut jaw and held his handsome face still. "Please...I long to know how it feels to truly be made love to. To have someone care only for me and treat me with the same tenderness that I so often see in your eyes. Only you can offer me that experience," he admitted.

Anthony smiled and tentatively leaned down to press their lips together. It was a brief and gentle touch, but that was not what he needed.

Finnegan pressed forward into the contact and wrapped both arms around Anthony's neck, to draw him closer. He sucked lightly on a full bottom lip, while scraping his fingernails across the bare skin of his neck. It was an action that spurred Anthony into a more passionate response, throwing caution aside and reacting the way Finnegan had hoped he would.