Divided (59 page)

“Of course we will,” Lavus answered.  “Now get out of my
sight, for you will not fully have my forgiveness until the wedding is
underway.”

Then,
Calis thought,
I will continue to have a
shred of dignity
.  Calis bowed quickly and then turned and left the throne
room.  He’d done it.  Kilik was safe, for now—and Calis wouldn’t be followed
too closely, he didn’t think. 

The walk back seemed to take even longer than the walk
there.  He should feel relieved, and yet there was a strange tension closing in
on his chest.  No matter how quickly he walked, Calis couldn’t seem to shake
it.  As he neared his room, his feet felt as though they were tripping on the
thin carpeting throughout the stone hallway. 

I ought to go straight there.  But, then… someone could
be following me?  No, it would make more sense for father to send someone after
the conversation—or maybe he’ll retract the order.  That doesn’t seem like
Father.  He’ll want to be sure.  How can I possibly go see Kilik knowing that I
might well get him killed?

At last, he reached the hallway that contained his room. 
When he went to open the door of it, though, he fell into it.  The door swung
open, and his body stumbled, thrown into the room.  He could feel all the
emotion that he had been combatting in the room with his father rushing up into
his throat, his eyes, his mouth.  Oddly enough, Calis realized, his jaw had
started to throb, as well.  Staggering just a few extra paces, he slammed his
hands down on the desk in his room.  His head bent under the strain of the
thoughts.  The flashes that Lavus’s words had placed into his head.  The fact
that he may well get Kilik murdered. 

That single thought brought forth every single emotion that
he’d somehow managed to fight into submission before that moment.  After it,
though, his body convulsed, seized with overwhelming impossibility.  He choked
out a sound, without meaning, then a choked phrase.  “Damn… it…”  He gasped, as
tears ran down his face, unbidden. 

His body continued to tremble for several moments, before
finally, a hand on his shoulder jolted him back into reality.  He had to handle
this situation, and that meant that he couldn’t cry like a helpless child.  He
jerked, expecting to see Lee—or at worst, a servant.  The person he found,
though, forced him to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from crying out.

Two wide, concerned, and incredibly blue eyes stared at
him.  Calis’s body shuddered, trying to comprehend what was happening.  Small
and lithe as ever, Kilik stood in his room, biting his lip as though he’d
committed a terrible crime.  Calis’s eyes widened further as he continued to
stare, expecting what had to be an apparition to disappear.

Behind him, Lee stood, rubbing a shoulder with nervousness. 
This was real.  Calis lurched forward and seized Kilik, despite his knowledge
that he ought to express self-control.  His lips slammed into Kilik’s with
possessive need, and he pulled the small body against him for a fraction of a
moment.  Kilik tasted absurdly wonderful—better than he ever had before. 

Calis, though, forced his mouth away from the one that he
wanted so badly.  Their eyes locked for several seconds before Calis could
force words from his trembling lips.  “What are you—you shouldn’t be here! 
They’ll kill you!  You stupid… stupid little creature.  Why?”

Kilik just shook his head.  He seemed to be trying to figure
out the answer to Calis’s question himself.  He was concerned, but mostly, he
seemed to be quivering with some sort of carnal need—as though he needed Calis
as badly as Calis needed him.  “I wanted to see you,” he said weakly.

A click sounded, and Calis glanced across the room to see
that Lee had locked the door.  Calis let out a breath—now at least no one could
come in uninvited.  But Kilik’s presence here meant that the young man had come
through the Shining District—into the castle!  If he’d been caught, he would be
dead!  Calis shivered at the idea.  “You shouldn’t be here,” Calis hissed again. 
“They’ll have you killed!  Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?  No,
no…” Calis whimpered, working to keep his voice down.

“I don’t think anyone saw him,” Lee offered weakly.  Calis
glanced across to his advisor, and then he nodded his head appreciatively.  Lee
may not have known anyone saw Kilik—but if someone was tailing Calis… No, if
they were tailing Calis, then Kilik would have been off their mind while Calis
wasn’t with him. 

The small form before Calis fidgeted warily.  He clearly
thought that Calis was angrier than he was.  “I—I…apologies,” he whispered.  “I
just had this feeling, and I wanted to see you.  I couldn’t wait… I’ll go, I
just…”

Why was he always in a hurry to leave?  Even though he ought
to be this time, Calis reached forward and grabbed him by the hand.  “Don’t
misunderstand.  I needed to see you too, but just… something has hap—”

“He hit you again!” Kilik risked raising his voice just a
little to cry out.  His hand moved up to Calis’s aching jaw.  Calis put his
hand on Kilik’s, but then shushed him.  “What happened, Calis?  Tell me.”

“Someone knows about us.  Someone saw me with you.  I should
have expected this.”

Kilik stiffened, and he tried to pull his hand back, but
Calis kept it firmly in his grasp.  Finally, the smaller male managed to
speak.  “Are you—are you in trouble?  Is everything alright?  Calis, are you
going to be alright?”  His words were so touching.  Kilik, and only Kilik,
would be worried about Calis in this situation.

“Yes,” Calis said slowly.  “But you shouldn’t be here.  I
convinced my father not to pursue you, I think, but I can’t be sure.”  His
words were careful, and he made sure to keep a firm grasp on the hand that had
begun to shake in his.  Kilik didn’t seem to be comprehending his words,
though.  His blue eyes were flickering with agonized emotion.

A few heavy breaths later, Kilik shook his head.  “I ought
to go,” he said finally.  “Apologies—I’m not sure why I felt so compelled to
come here.  But I’ll go.”

“No, you’re here.  No one is going to come into my room
without my knowledge,” Calis soothed.  He brought Kilik’s small body against
his chest.  To his surprise, Kilik readily fell against him this time.

Lee spoke next.  “I’m going to watch the hallway.  Lock the
door behind me, Calis,” he said sharply.  Calis glanced across to his advisor,
who seemed as though he might be about to come unglued.  All of this had been
sudden for all of them, and Calis couldn’t help but admire how thick-skinned
Lee had been about the entire ordeal.  “I’ll knock once if someone relevant is
coming.”  Calis nodded shortly.

When Lee left, Calis obeyed his order without fail.  Then,
he turned back to Kilik, who seemed torn between leaving and collapsing onto
the floor of Calis’s bedroom.  Kilik in his bedroom had always seemed like an
impossible dream.  Now that he was here, Calis contended with thousands of
images flashing through his head—about Kilik, on his bed.  “I shouldn’t have
let this go on so long,” Kilik whispered hollowly.

“You didn’t have a choice,” Calis said curtly.  He wasn’t
going to listen to Kilik tear apart their relationship again.  This had
happened far too many times for Calis to listen without argument.  He walked
forward, snaking his arms around Kilik’s waist without pause.  The small body
squirmed a little in protest, though not much.

Calis brought a thumb to stroke across Kilik’s cheek—that
soft cheek that he’d become so addicted to touching.  Then, pulling Kilik’s
head forward just a bit, he claimed the soft lips as his own again.  Their
mouths pressed against one another, lips moistening as they fought one another
for control of the kiss.

After another few moments, Kilik’s arms moved up to Calis’s
head, and his fingers tangled in Calis’s hair.  The pull of them was forceful
enough to bring Calis to the brink of pain, though it stopped short, creating a
need, a thirst, and a hunger that demanded attention.  Moving away from the
door, Calis pushed Kilik towards the bed.  In reaction, Kilik’s back arched
against his fingers.

Wanting to wrest control from his lover, Calis put his lips
to the crook of the small neck.  Using just the slightest bit of teeth, he
pulled against the skin, biting and sucking in equal measures.  As expected,
Kilik’s head tilted back, and he let out the slightest of breaths—a moan that
hadn’t quite formed yet.

Once again, the body in Calis’s hands was his entirely. 
Cautiously, Calis eased Kilik onto the bed, pulling his knees up after Kilik,
straddling the form possessively.  Lowering his lips, he caught Kilik’s in his
own again, sliding his tongue into the mouth opposite of his.  The taste was
salty and sweet, and the scent of Kilik surrounding him was heady, throwing
Calis off balance.  He needed this right now.  He needed Kilik right now.

Immediately, and without warning, Calis reached for Kilik’s
brown shirt.  He yanked it upwards, pulling against Kilik’s body, already damp
with sweat.  The shirt clung, and Kilik let out a startled gasp.  “Here?” he
whispered.  “But… your father.”

“Father be hanged,” Calis growled.  The shirt came away with
another strong movement of his arms.  Calis’s lips found Kilik’s neck again,
pressing along the side of it, moving to the center of it.  His tongue traced
along the notch in Kilik’s throat, and the body beneath him trembled
obediently.  Their lips found one another again, and Kilik kissed him
fervently. 

Using his fingers as though he were playing a harp, Calis
trailed down Kilik’s torso.  His fingers lingered over the tighter areas,
easing down, gently. 

Then, he lowered his mouth to trace the same route that his
fingers had taken.  He used his tongue like a sort of feather, barely touching
the skin at all, and leaving Kilik’s body panting for more.  “Calis,” his lover
groaned.  Kilik was probably still trying to protest that this wasn’t the best
time, but they both deserved this—and they both needed it.

Bringing his fingers down another time, Calis moved along
Kilik’s sides.  Then, they played curiously at the waist of Kilik’s pants, and
the smaller man’s breathing quickened.  Rather than following up on his
taunting, though, Calis moved his head upwards until he found the left nipple
on Kilik’s chest.  He seized the tip of it with his teeth, having to force his
body to be gentle, despite the erection that was threatening to take control of
him entirely.

He pulled against the sensitive skin, sucking gently before
he ran his tongue over the area softly.  Kilik’s body fell into a fit of
trembling convulsions, and when Calis moved to the other one, the young
vigilante let out a shocked breath and collapsed against the bed.  At last,
when Calis was finished teasing Kilik’s body, their lips pressed together
again.  Kilik was breathing hard, clinging to Calis—entirely enslaved to Calis’s
body.  Kilik bit at his ear when Calis pulled their bodies together so that he
could feel Kilik’s own erection against his own.  “I thought you didn’t like me
like this,” Kilik whimpered.

“I said I liked you like this, but only when it’s me.  I
rather enjoy possessing you, love,” he said cheerfully.  When he pulled
backwards to look into the blue eyes, they flickered with challenge.  Kilik’s
lips quirked into a half smile. 

After another quick kiss, Kilik spoke again.  “You aren’t
possessing me,” he said, and he looked a little like he might be pouting.

Calis grinning, kissing along his jawline affectionately. 
“Don’t make me tie you to the bed, darling,” he threatened.  His eyes sparked
with a dare that he hoped very much that Kilik would take.

A flush came over Kilik’s cheeks, and he glanced away. 
Calis used a finger to bring the small face to look at him again, and he took
the lips gently.  They stared at one another, and Calis could finally feel guilt
pressing on him.  He needed to tell Kilik, before he took this any further.  “I
can’t stay in Telandus,” he started weakly.

The blue eyes widened, and Kilik jerked upright.  The
position was strange, and Calis was still on top of Kilik’s body.  He ought to
have had this conversation before he was so aroused that he could hardly see
the room around him.  “Why not?  Your father exiled you?” Kilik asked, alarm
ringing in his voice.  He was eclectic—how had he managed to switch from being
so aroused, to looking so entirely worried, so quickly?

“No,” Calis answered shortly.  “He did not.”

This seemed to bring even more confusion into Kilik’s eyes. 
He looked a little distrusting, as though he expected to Calis to relay
something horrible.  Their silence was deafening, and Calis’s heartbeat raced
as he realized that he had to say this.  Kilik would never approve of his plan,
but Calis would have to make him.  “My father… thinks I have insulted the lady
to which I am engaged.  He… wants to move the wedding forward.”

Once again, Kilik’s eyes were widening further.  He had somehow
pulled himself away from Calis as they were now staring into one another’s
faces without touching.  Calis desperately wanted that touch—needed it. 
“Forward?  When?” Kilik hissed sharply.  Calis could almost hear the erratic
beat of Kilik’s heart as he tried to process the information.

“Next sun,” Calis answered honestly.

Gritting his teeth, Kilik yanked himself out of Calis’s
bed.  He tripped a little as he pulled himself off it, and Calis reached
forward to make sure that he didn’t fall.  “Kilik,” Calis whispered softly. 
The boy hadn’t spoken, and he was stumbling around the room as though he had
consumed too much liquor.

With trembling hands, Kilik found his shirt and pulled it
off the floor.  After a failed attempt to get it on, he just staggered
backwards, towards the door.  “No, no,” he said hoarsely.  “Too much, Calis. 
This isn’t happening.  I can’t do this.  I can’t… you aren’t leaving Telandus. 
You aren’t doing this…”