Assassin, until the first moment (🇬🇧)

The agreement

Magnus opened his eyes, shutting them again instantly as the harsh morning light dazzled him. Groaning, he covered his face with his hands to block out the brightness of the morning sun. Apparently, he had forgotten to close the curtains last night; a mistake he normally doesn’t make. In a daze from sleep, he stretched his tired limbs, writhing like a cat on the soft mattress beneath him. A yawn broke its way past his lips as Magnus decided on a few more hours of rest before he had to face his daily duties. Drifting into darkness and back into dreamland, he rolled over onto his belly and buried his face into the soft pillow, sighing contently.

The assassin was almost asleep when he noticed an unfamiliar smell coming from the pillow. It smells like a warm summer's rain, like the moment the rain begins to fall on moss-covered forest ground, and it reminded him of Alec. Suddenly he was wide awake, the memories of the last night flooded through him as he opened his eyes, realising that he wasn’t in his own room but lying in the Duke of Alicante’s bed. How could he have forgotten something as important as that?

“Are you finally awake?” A dark, soft voice asked.

Magnus turned onto his side, blinking a few times, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the bright sunlight. Standing at the end of the bed, Alec was looking down at him, an amused smile on his lips.

“Good morning, Alexander,” Magnus hummed, stretching himself again, his eyes half-lidded. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost 11 am,” Alec answered.

“Too early,” the assassin wailed but propped himself up on his right elbow, inspecting the young Duke in front of him. Magnus choked back a sob, as he realised that Alec wasn’t fully dressed, the sight that confronted him stole his breath away.

Alec had obviously just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still damp, a few strands of his dark hair flopped onto his forehead and a soft terry towel hanging around his neck, slightly covering his naked upper body. His long legs were wrapped in tight black pants, hugging the beautifully moulded muscles perfectly.

Suddenly, the sun’s bright rays suffused the bedroom, causing the assassin to blink through the brightness, which bathed Alec in a bright glow, and for a few seconds, his hair was silhouetted by a halo of glowing gold light. He looks like an angel, Magnus thought.

The assassin let his gaze wander over the other man’s body, just as he had done with his fingers last night. The assassin could almost feel the smooth, firm skin under his fingers again, recalling the feeling of Alec’s soft chest hair. Oh, how he would like to have explored the rest of the Duke’s body last night, but unfortunately, that hadn’t happened.

Alec had stopped him unexpectedly, clarifying that he didn’t want to have meaningless sex. It had surprised Magnus at first, he had not gotten the impression that Alec was uninterested, but quite the opposite. Magnus had accepted the other man’s wish nevertheless, he still ended up in the Duke's bed, but not how he had hoped.

Thinking of how last night had ended, the assassin quietly sighed. Having sex was just frivolous fun for him and something he could have with anyone that he was attracted to. He had learned to take what life gave him, not needing deep feelings to enjoy it. That was what he told himself at least.

Magnus couldn’t afford to let anyone get too close, emotionally; meaning that any sex he had, would mean nothing special or significant to him. Not that he hadn't tried though, but his partner’s suspicion about him hiding something and the fact that he could not be honest with them had bothered him more than he had thought it would. This was also one reason he had ended the relationship with Camille a few months ago, that and her controlling behaviour.