The King's Lover-Chapter 386: Simply An Itch

Rose lay in bed with Caius; his right hand lay beneath her head, and her back faced him. She could easily see the bandages on his wrist as he lay his hand straight on the bed. His other hand held her close to his body, and she felt his heartbeat against her back. His steady, soft breathing made hers sound ridiculously loud. Echoing in the room and just as loudly in her head.

Dinner has been over for quite some time now, and she found out during dinner that Lord Paul had left for the capital. She was concerned, but Caius didn’t seem to want to discuss the topic and had seemed reluctant to inform her about his physician’s departure, so she had let it go.

As soon as dinner was over, she lay in bed because she was exhausted from the day and wanted to get some rest as quickly as she could. But somehow, she hasn’t slept a wink since she’d gotten into bed.

It felt like she didn’t know how to sleep anymore, and all she was aware of was the Crown Prince behind her. They had consistently slept in this manner, but it was suddenly different, and like an elephant appearing in the middle of a room, it was impossible to ignore.

But even if the Crown Prince was the reason she couldn’t go to sleep, he had given her enough time to fall asleep before he joined her in bed, and that hadn’t made any difference.

"Can’t sleep?"

Rose froze. She was sure he was fast asleep, yet his voice sounded clear, as though he too couldn’t sleep. Rose felt her heart start to thump in her chest at the realization, and she started getting warm all over.

"Yes," she slowly mumbled, pressing her hand against her chest. She didn’t like the excitement in her chest, and she tried her best to dampen it.

He pressed against her, and Rose nearly gasped out loud as she felt him harden against her back. However, she knew it was excitement disguised as shock.

She was annoyed that the Crown Prince seemed to know what was wrong. Caius, however, didn’t do anything else; he just stayed close to her. He didn’t even tease her about why she couldn’t sleep.

Rose adjusted, and she felt him stiffen behind her, letting out a slight grunt, but still didn’t do anything else when just her flimsy dress lay between them. He didn’t even caress her or reach for her chest.

Rose was at a loss. It was hard to sleep. A huge part of her knew that giving in to the desire was exactly what the Crown Prince wanted. He made her very aware of his arousal, knowing she was restless, and he didn’t pursue it; rather, he seemed to be waiting for her.

Rose shut her eyes. She would go to sleep now if she didn’t have to deal with him tomorrow, but she would be in his presence all day. Rose didn’t want to have to deal with today’s jumpiness one more day.

Perhaps it was a good thing as she would go to him herself, because she wanted to. But at the core of it, Rose knew it wasn’t really that simple. Did she really have any power? Their relationship was complicated and it always would be.

Rose turned around at this thought. There was no point beating around the bush; it was best to get it over with. So she faced Caius, pressed her face to his, and kissed him. Caius swore as their lips met, his eyes widening briefly in surprise, but he quickly grabbed her chin to keep her face in place, his palm partially wrapped around her neck.

Caius kissed her slowly, and Rose internally cursed, as this was the one time she wanted him to be a little aggressive, to get this over with, to lift her dress and take her as he usually would.

But Caius was cruel. She didn’t want intimacy, but he took his time. He was ridiculously gentle, and she nearly cried out in annoyance... It was simply an itch, that was all it was. A couple of days couldn’t suddenly change the premise of this situation; it didn’t suddenly make things better.

His hand moved from underneath her jaw to her chest, and as he caressed her breasts through the fabric, Rose moaned into his lips. It was just a simple touch, yet she was already losing it. He didn’t have to touch her to have her melting in his hands, and when he did, all reasoning went out the window.

His hand moved lower, and Rose welcomed it, moving as close to him as she possibly could. He grabbed her thigh and squeezed, pulling her closer to himself, as close as her nightdress would allow. He didn’t lift her dress as he pulled her closer; rather, his hand ventured upwards, and he dug his fingers into her hair.

Rose protested against his lips and ground her hips against him, but Caius only kissed her deeper as he grunted against her lips. He seemed content to just keep kissing her, but Rose wanted more, and she knew so did he.

He was hard enough to poke through the fabric, and she knew if she positioned just right, even the nightdress wouldn’t be able to stop him from penetrating deep into her. Rose nearly lost her mind at the vivid memory, but no matter how she twisted or pressed against him, Caius didn’t give in.

Caius broke the kiss and moved his hand to the side of her face. "My sprained hand makes it difficult," he said in a hoarse voice.

Rose’s face was flushed as she looked up at him, barely seeing his expression, barely hearing his words over the loud ringing in her ears.

"Perhaps..." he added.

Rose didn’t get a chance before she was pulled on top of Caius as he rolled onto his back, leaving her lying flat atop him.