"W-what?"

"How?" Luca blurted out the questions in his surprise, and Xavier simply tilted his head to explain.

"Hmm... Tonight? It started when you came out in your banquet clothes."

"What?!"

"Mn." Xavier’s lips curved faintly as he recalled it.

"...Extremely beautiful."

"Hup—!" Luca flushed instantly, his face deepening into a vivid crimson at being called beautiful by someone he already thought looked unfairly perfect.

Because really, if anyone should be described that way, it would be his husband. And yet somehow, the handsome man before him still had more to say about Luca’s earlier attire.

"The way it framed your body and highlighted all of my favorite things..." Xavier’s eyes traveled down, and Luca gulped as he watched that gaze wander over his frame.

"Don’t even get me started on that back."

"My... back?" Luca sounded confused, wondering if something was wrong with his back, but then—

He felt the outline of the hardness under his hand twitch, and he flinched instinctively.

"Yes, your back. I could barely breathe after seeing it."

"What?! Oh no!" The little chipmunk reacted worriedly all of a sudden, but the Prince simply continued.

"But you shouldn’t pity me. I deserved that," he admitted, "because I had the very unreasonable urge to hide you away so no one else could see you."

"!"

"I was being selfish. I wanted to keep you all to myself. But even then... even if I had been terrible, you still did all of that for me."

His gaze softened just slightly.

"So how could I not want you in every way possible?"

Even after admitting all this, Luca still didn’t look at him with judgmental or wary eyes.

Such trust.

Which was precisely why Xavier needed to get his shit together.

Now, the Imperial Crown Prince was pretty certain he wasn’t a beast by blood, but he’d be a hypocrite to say he wasn’t affected every time his wife moved, every time he smiled, and every time those eyes twinkled his way.

It was maddening and frankly concerning.

Or perhaps others simply weren’t as affected as he was when their partners did something similar. Then again, he’d have to look elsewhere for examples, because he was certain the people around him were just as bad, if not worse.

Then again, more than anything, it was probably because they weren’t married to someone like his wife.

Well, thank goodness they weren’t.

But enough about others. The only issue here was him, his irrational libido, and his all-too-generous wife.

"It took a lot of self-control, but in the end—as you can see—I wasn’t very successful in that department."

Luca’s eyes widened as his husband gestured toward his thigh with his gaze.

For some reason, the golden-eyed culprit felt a little parched as he listened to Xavier’s addicting voice.

Then, as if hearing something extremely pleasant, his ears twitched when Xavier said, "Because who would’ve thought I’d hear you asking about seduction?"

"The one person I wanted to caress all night suddenly said he wanted to seduce me."

There was a brief pause.

"Do you have any idea what that does to a person?"

With something like that, even if Xavier had been some sort of saint, his thoughts would’ve still gone from his head and straight through his dick.

Of course, he’d been as proper as he could be. But just because his mind and his conscience wanted to go one way didn’t mean his body would perfectly listen.

"Then you came to me with the very thing I’d imagined all night... wanting to do this and that in a place that would’ve turned into a battlefield if we’d continued. How could I possibly hold up?"

Xavier clicked his tongue and shook his head embarrassedly before staring intently.

"And you said you wanted to continue seducing me further?"

How?

"Just how undone do you want me to be?"

Luca made a strangled noise when Xavier leaned in to level those azure eyes with his. They stared at each other for a long, heavy moment.

But then, to the surprise of the Imperial Prince, the initially skittish Luca moved.

His hand, which had been resting over Xavier’s heart, slid down. He reached out and took Xavier’s own hand, guiding it slowly and deliberately toward his own thigh.

Right there. Just as the Prince initially did.

Then, as if making sure to drive his point, Luca—with a face as red as Jax’s hair—pressed Xavier’s palm against him, showing his husband that he was just as aroused, his own body trembling with the same heat and an even greater determination.

Xavier practically stiffened.

He wet his lips, which had gone dry the second Luca looked up at him with those big eyes that felt like an impassioned plea.

"Luca..." The wolf took a deep breath before carefully saying, "This look you’re giving me... this’d be very hard for me to forget. Next time, if you look at me like this again, I might think you want—"

But the husband didn’t get to finish his warning.

Because the little daredevil steeled his resolve and kissed his husband on the lips himself, catching Xavier completely off guard.

The kiss was quick, but certain.

"...?!"

"Yes—!" Luca breathed out when he pulled back, eyes bright despite the blush still burning across his face. "Yes, please... remember!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Then, as if his life depended on it, Luca stammered, "Then... can we...?"

He swallowed.

"Can we touch each other now?"

__

The answer was, yes, of course.

And frankly, even if the answer should’ve been "of course not," for various other reasons aside from his wife’s personal wishes, Xavier would’ve just figured out a way to make it happen anyway.

Moreover, it would have been laughable to say no when Xavier practically seemed feral after hearing his beloved say that.

The buttons on the Prince’s top didn’t even survive the undressing that took place in between entangled lips that kept on reconnecting like they could only be separated for mere seconds. Somehow, air felt like it’d gone scarce, and they needed to share it between the two of them just to survive.

Xavier’s hands were everywhere. He gathered Luca into his arms the moment their frenzied kiss started, pulling him close enough to fuse their heartbeats.

And Luca—

Luca didn’t hold back.

Encouraged, emboldened, he continued to reach out, his touch tentative at first before growing more certain.

His hand moved with a mix of curiosity and urgency, palming the rigid length of his husband’s hardness through the fabric with growing insistence until, at last, his husband’s pants were finally cast aside.

It didn’t take long before the offending layer was shed, earning a soft, delighted breath from the little fox.

Gods.

Xavier all but muttered a prayer at the sight. "...Now you can touch it better," he whispered before burying his face in the crook of his wife’s neck.

Luca blushed at the bluntness, but he was bold.

If anything, it made him more determined.

Carefully, almost reverently, he followed through, making sure his touch stayed gentle.

Mesmerized and utterly devoted to his chosen task, Luca used his thumb to spread the pooling moisture at the tip to act as a lubricant.

It throbbed in his hand and simply having his hand around him got him feeling extremely fevered. It was intensely satisfying.

"Haaah..."

A low sound slipped from Xavier, rough and unguarded, his body responding without hesitation as the top of his shaft was actively stimulated. His cold skin felt incredible against Luca’s flushed, extremely heated frame, and he reacted instinctively to the friction.

Meanwhile, the fox whose invisible tail would’ve been fluffing up and down in pride was feeling a different kind of thrill.

It was a combination of everything—the sound of his husband’s labored breathing, the feel of his quickened pulse, and the throbbing tension Luca seemed to hold sway over. The indulgent fox couldn’t quite decide which of them made his abdomen tingle the most.

Certain thoughts entered his mind; unlike that time, his husband was completely in control now. Perfectly healthy. So he couldn’t help it. He desperately wanted to know how Xavier would react if he tried to do what he did before...

So Luca, who was kissed and loved to the inch of his life, panted as he looked at his husband earnestly.

"Luca?" Xavier paused, sensing that his wife wanted to say something. "What is it?"

"Umm... Is it okay if I try something?"

His wife’s expression was so hopeful that Xavier immediately said, "Of course."

Hopefully, his impulsiveness wouldn’t send him to an early grave. Because he couldn’t even muster enough willpower to ask further questions.

Then again, with a face like that, who would be able to really say no?

It was just that the Prince didn’t expect that.

As in his lovely wife ending up on his knees for him.

And even more scandalous than that, he didn’t expect to look into those earnest, golden eyes while his shameless shaft explored that perfect mouth.

"!!!"