Prince of Dragons

Chapter Forty-Eight

Snow had completely covered the ground in the coming week, which not only baffled us—as I had stated previously, Iltharan was normally a volcanic and warm continent—but gave the younger ones something new and fun to mess around with. Seeing as it never snowed here, snow was very much a new thing to those that didn't have the luxury of traveling to a place that would—as I had been able to. So, as I was laying there, snuggled close against Alaban as the two of us laid in silence, the sound of childish laughter echoed around us, bringing a warm smile to my face as I opened my eyes and stared contently at Alaban.

He was still asleep—which I had noticed him sleeping later and later, lately—his blond lashes like liquid gold against his obsidian cheeks, his breath deep and his posture relaxed. I felt that warm ball return within my chest, warming my cheeks as I lifted a hand and placed it on his face, thumb brushing against his bottom lip.

Alaban twitched and opened those gorgeous amber eyes of his—the man blinking tiredly as he yawned and scooted closer to me.

"Yes, dear?" Alaban muttered, voice deep with sleep still.

His voice seemed to reverberate in my chest, causing my body to erupt in happy little tingles as I pulled my hand back and pressed a quick kiss to his nose. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I was just...admiring."

Alaban blinked for a moment, then wiped the rest of the sleep out of his eyes before peering at me curiously. "Admiring? Admiring what?"

My cheeks went red and I sat up, pursing my lips while refusing to look at him. Because come on, why did I have to say that? Gah, I no doubt sounded like a dweeb, or whatever that term the youth were using nowadays. But the cat—so to speak—was out of the bag, so it wasn't like I could take my embarrassing slip-up back.

"Um...you know...ah...I was admiring you. You look really peaceful when you sleep. I-I admit I was...you know, captivated."

Alaban was silent for a moment, and my nerves had me glance back at him as he stared at me with a soft, sweet look on his face—his lips upturned as if he wanted to smirk but was holding back for my sake.

"Don't be embarrassed, Drakell. I do the same all the time with you."

My cheeks burned even darker at that revelation, and I felt like some young guy again, experiencing his first crush, and gods, why did I have to be born so pale? I had no doubt Alaban would see how red I was turning, even with my face hidden in my hands.

He watched me sleep as well? I didn't...do anything weird in my sleep right? Oh gods, I didn't talk in my sleep, did I? I sure hope I didn't, else I would no doubt die from the embarrassment. After all, sleep talking did occur in my family—on Mother's side, last I checked.

I shivered when I felt his hand brush against my bare back—his fingers cold against my heated skin.

I turned to look at him. "Do I talk in my sleep? Ah, I know it's really random to ask that, but you know my brain is overactive and I started thinking about how sleep talking runs on mother's side of the family, which got me thinking if I talk in my sleep, and if I do, I—"

"Drakell, take a breath." Alaban chuckled as I snapped my mouth shut with burning cheeks and kissed the space between my neck and shoulder. "You do not talk in your sleep. At least I've never heard you say anything." I closed my eyes as he pressed another kiss against my neck, his hands gently squeezing my biceps. "Did my admission about watching you sleep worry you that much?"

I opened my eyes and peered back towards him. "What? Oh, no, no. I think it's sweet. I'm just...awkward."

Alaban smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. I—obviously—leaned into the kiss, his lips cool against mine, and incredibly soft. I admit I almost got lost in them, but after a few seconds, Alaban pulled away and cupped my cheek with his hand, his thumb grazing my jaw. "You're boyishly cute, and that is what drew me to you in the first place," he admitted quietly, causing my heart to flip excitedly in my chest.

He then nibbled at his bottom lip, peeked around me towards our bedroom door, before sliding that gaze back towards me. "Where is Narvi?"

I blinked. "Um...I think he's passed out in front of the fireplace. He says he's warmest there..."

"Good."

I gasped slightly when Alaban pulled me back into a kiss, this one more...intimate and slower than the last one was, as if he planned to take his time. I shivered and shifted closer to him as his hand dropped to my waist, kneading the flesh there as we made out—my body igniting with passion.

I had no objections to being pulled into immense pleasure, but I did pull away for a moment, my breath quickened. "What if people hear us?" I wondered—peering wearily towards our blanket-covered window as the sounds of bustling people echoed just beyond.

I mean, after all I wasn't exactly the...quietest man when being intimate—especially if the other man knew what he was doing. I would hate for anyone to hear anything...but those worries flew from my mind when Alaban kissed me again, his tongue grazing against mine, his hands keeping my head firmly in place.

We kissed deeply, passionately, only pulling away long enough to gather our breath before delving back in.

A/N: Smexy scene is located in Frozen Treatsssssssssss (On my pageeeeee)

Breathless, each of us took a moment to collect ourselves. I shivered as I pulled myself off of Alaban, and flopped down next to him as I took a moment to slow my quickened heartbeat.

Alaban licked his lips, his breath still labored as he turned to glance at me—his gaze searching mine. "Gods, you are beautiful." He said, which had my cheeks burning again as I let a shy smile spill across my lips.

"Oh shush you," I told him as I laid there contently. I nibbled at my bottom lip. "Gods, I hope I wasn't too loud—"

"Alaban, Drakell."

I jumped in fright when our bedroom door swung open—a very cold-looking Narvi barging in with cheeks so pink I feared he might have caught frostbite. But there was a very obvious problem. Alaban and I were...well...naked. Very naked. And I for one was incredibly embarrassed as I snatched the blanket and threw it over my lap with burning cheeks as Narvi walked over to us.

"It is very cold," he stated, thrusting out his hands so we could see the reddened tips. "But fun."

Alaban sat up and raised a brow before reaching out and grabbing the moon dragon's hand. "Oh, you should probably go sit by the fire and warm up for a moment, Narvi. Any longer in the cold and you'll be frozen solid." Alaban shook his head in amusement as Narvi pouted, pulling back his hand.

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt when I'm out there."

"I would still feel better if you sat by the fire for a minute, just in case."

Narvi snorted and pursed his lips before he crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright, I will spend some time to warm up. Oh, and another thing," he tilted his head, light eyes peering directly towards Alaban. "You might want to get your clothes on. Aerylin is coming over later to talk to you about something."

Alaban blinked, then sighed dramatically, before he pulled himself to his feet and pulled on a pair of loose trousers. "Did she say what it was about? Or did she leave it ambiguous as always?"

"I...what does that word mean?" Narvi asked, though his attention was now on me.

I straightened up and cleared my throat awkwardly. "Oh, um...ambiguous means something uncertain."

"Oh...ok. Then yes, she remained ambiguous." Narvi—much to my embarrassment—walked over to the bed and sat down next to me, crossing his legs crisscross like. He continued to stare at me—or, honestly it kind of felt like he was studying me, but before I could ask him why, a knock sounded on our front door.

Aerilyn had arrived. With whatever she needed to talk to Alaban about.

A/N: Annnnnd here's yet another chaptttterrrrrrr! (I know it's slow atm, but it will pick back up again sooooonnnnn) (And by that i mean the drama lol)