King Thrushbeard (mxm)

Chapter 16

Almost shaking with nervousness and excitement, William slowly slid across the bench, towards the window, where he paused with his face just inches away from it; should he really?

Very slowly, he moved just a tiny bit further until he could peek in with one eye. The minstrel was lying in the tub, his eyes closed and feet dangling out on one side; he looked very relaxed, almost asleep.

Since the man's eyes were closed, William decided to look with his other eye as well; not that he could see much of the man, since most was hidden by the tub, but still.

It wasn't long before the peasant moved, reaching for the soap and sitting up in the tub. William felt compelled to hide for a moment, but since the man was looking the other way, he decided it was probably safe. Or as safe as spying on someone who was bathing could be.

The minstrel soaped his hands thoroughly, before moving to his hair which he carefully soaped until it was all foamy. His eyes were closed, and he slowly let his hands glide down his neck, to his shoulders, chest, and upper arms.
William watched with an open jaw, wondering if he himself looked that sensual while washing; probably not.

The man turned a bit, lifting his body a bit further out of the tub and giving William a perfect view of his upper body, which he was soaping in an almost teasing manner. All of his movements were amazingly slow and thorough as he traced his hands lazily over his abs and pectorals, keeping the lower half of his body barely below the water line, exactly so William was unable to see what was below his abdomen; it was almost exasperating.

For various minutes, the man washed every inch of his visible body so agonizingly slow that William thought he would go crazy. He had never seen anyone bathing before, least of all in a manner like this, and it made him all giddy; his hands were a bit sweaty and he generally felt extremely hot, though not due to the warm sun shining down on him.
He gulped loudly as the man suddenly reached below the water to wash his... other parts that were hidden from William's view. Just like with the rest of his body, the peasant took his sweet time with that too, until William was unsure whether he was still washing himself or doing something entirely different.

His eyes widened a bit at the thought and he felt his cheeks heating up; was he seriously watching the man doing something so intimate...?!
For the first time in quite a while, he let his eyes travel up to the man's face; his eyes were still closed, his head tilted backwards a bit and his lips parted ever so slightly. The entire image was by far the most erotic thing William had ever seen in his life, and he was completely unable to tear his eyes away from it, burning the picture into his mind.

Suddenly and without warning, the man turned around and stepped out of the tub. William nearly fell off the bench as he tried to sit up properly again, and hid from the window, breathing shakily. He clenched his fists and tried to calm himself down; what was he doing?!
Now that the image of the man wasn't in front of his face anymore, he was able to focus on reality again, and realize the humiliating situation he had put himself in; he had seriously just watched his husband doing... that! William could hardly believe it. Especially because it had been so intoxicating... Why had that man not wanted anything from him yet? Why had they not spent the night together yet? Did he not want him? Was he not attracted to him?!

William had completely forgotten all his earlier fears about being forced to love, mostly due to the hormones that controlled his body at the moment, and really just wanted to... 'To what?' He asked himself stupidly. What did he want? It's not like he suddenly wanted to sleep with that man just because he was absolutely stunning, right? Right?!

"Hey," the minstrel said as he suddenly came out of the cottage just a few moments later.

"Hey!" William squeaked in a high-pitched voice, clearing his throat immediately.