LOGINAjax’s POVCould you be positive that you made the best yet the worst decision of your life at the same time? I was pretty sure I had. I sat on the hotel bed, staring at the ceiling, It was maybe 4:00 a.m., I had left Ryden's employment about twelve hours ago, and all I had done was stare listlessly at the ceiling. I didn't even want to think about leaving the country, leaving Ryden behind.There was a knock on the door, and I straightened up, frowning. It was 4:00 a.m., who was knocking on my door? Wary, I pocketed a weapon before I moved closer. “Who's there?”“It's about Ryden, sir,” the voice said. I recognized him vaguely, he was an assistant to the queen. Then Ryden's name clicked. I pulled the door open, not caring that it sent the security lock off the hinges.“What about Ryden?” I demanded.“He is missing.” The man's face was grave. “His horse wandered back to the palace without him, there were signs of a struggle. And there was a handkerchief tucked into the saddle that de
Ryden’s POVI woke up with a cowlick out of control. Then I accidentally ripped my pants, and I’d thought the day couldn't get any worse. Turned out the joke was on me. Ajax was standing in front of me, cool and distant in a way he had never been, and I knew my day was definitely going downhill.“I need to speak with you and your parents,” Ajax said patiently.I stared at him, not wanting to believe what he was going to say.“Why?” I asked, trying not to sound as desperate as I felt.“I need to talk to them,” Ajax said again, looking at me in that guarded sort of way that told me nothing.Defeated, I sighed, nodding as I led him to the room. Father had been home from the hospital for a few hours, and he and my mother were in the receiving room. When we entered, I stood to the side and Ajax was in front of them, exuding a coldness I wasn’t sure he actually felt.“I regret to inform you that I need to quit, for personal reasons.” Ajax didn’t look at me, and that hurt more than anything.
Ajax’s POVIt'd been a hell of a day, and it wasn't over yet. I walked inside Ryden's room feeling like I was in an alien world with alien people. I loved Ryden but I had no real place in his world. I feel inadequate, like I was window dressing. I wasn't needed, and from the way Ryden was acting, I wasn't sure I was wanted. I couldn’t think of the last time I’d been so vulnerable, and I didn’t like it.“Why are you being so distant and cold?” Ryden asked, glancing to the locked door that was between us and the guards.My defensive instincts kicked in. It was hard, because logically I knew I should've responded better. I should've calmly and carefully explained what I was feeling, and why. Instead, anger and fear and guilt all twisted together and came out as rage. “I'm tired of being your dirty little secret, available to fuck whenever you want and then to be ignored or treated like a servantwhen you're bored. I don't want to stand to the side while you brazenly flirt with some Brit
Ryden’s POVIt was strange, feeling like my life was falling apart. I was sitting in the room with my father, the king, who had been shot and was now recovering. But all I could think of was the man sitting behind me, who would barely look me in the eye. I wasn't sure what was happening, but things between us had felt weird since the night before. It could've been nothing, I could've been imagining it. But I really wanted to show Ajax the palace, my favorite horse. Where I slept and where I lived.“It's a very important for you to set a good example for our people,” Father said. “The people of our country already love you and will be influenced by you for decades to come, once you become the king.”I kept my thoughts off my face, because I knew at the moment I needed to focus on the fact my father was feeling better, and not the fact that I had fallen for a man. The last thing my father needed was to worry about something else. Even if I did want to come out to my parents – and I wa
Ajax’s POVWhatever desire had flickered in there faded, and there was a faint smile on his face. “We can't be late, so I’ll head out first.” Ryden gave me a kiss, and then he was gone, unlocking the door smoothly and giving the guards a polite smile as he left.I stood there, grateful none of them could see me with my cock out. I felt discarded, used. I knew it wasn't Ryden's fault, or his intention, but the hiding was getting to me. It was like I was only good for physically getting off, only for the stolen moments we had at the beginning and the end.Because the king had been injured, and Ryden was taking his place.That meant Ryden was even busier than he'd been before. It wasn't like back in Boston, when we shared classes and a small condo and could spend all our time together. This was a whole different thing.I got redressed, making sure nothing was out of place. I may not have belonged, but I was still going to look out for Ryden as best I could. I only wanted to give him the
Ajax’s POVI stared at myself in the mirror, checking out the lines of my suit. I was dressed impeccably, but I still felt invisible. I wasn't needed here. Yes, Ryden had ensured that I was invited to the gala, but with all the royal guards, I wasn't needed. I was a bodyguard, he was surrounded by royalguards, and now I was stuck in my room by myself.I missed Ryden like I missed a part of my body. I wanted to touch him, I wanted to taste him. I wanted to feel the warmth of his cock in my mouth.We had managed a quickie once or twice in the last week, but we always had to part immediately after cleanup, and we had never gotten the time to actually connect. I wanted to be alone with him, lie down with him, smile with him. I felt emotionally alone, and it wasn't something I liked. The time difference made it difficult to talk to my friends back home, too. As it was, Ryden couldn't talk to his friends either, because this sudden disappearance was conspicuous enough.A knock on my door
Ryden’s POV“Moby Dick was a whale and a boat,” the professor declared. Sure, he didn’t simplify it quite that much, but after hearing Ajax use ‘blah blah blah’ to describe half of what our professors were going on and on about, I found I got a lot of entertainment out of mocking our particularly
Ajax’s POV“Blah blah blah, whale, blah blah blah,” one of Ryden’s snooty study-buddies said. Okay, that wasn’t it exactly, but it was what it sounded like. We were discussing Moby Dick, a book that, despite Ryden’s promise, had not gotten any better in the two weeks I’d been reading it. Instead,
Ajax's POV“Here,” Ryden said, snapping me out of my reverie by handing me a small card. I took it, turning it in place like it would tell me something other than an address and time. “My parents are leaving for Cosandria tomorrow, so my aunt and uncle are throwing a party for them. Since your duti
Ryden's POV I gave him that casual up-down that always put people in their place and delighted in the way it made him stiffen a touch. I didn’t sneer, but my lips were thinned. I saw a hint of indecision in his eyes, like he was trying to figure out which version of me was real.“It’s understandab







