A Royal Pain

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

smut warning go wild kids

It was probably safe to say that Dan was panicking. He could feel his entire body shaking as he laid there with his eyes clenched shut, trying to continue to clutch his last dregs of sleep. Because being awake meant acknowledging everything that had happened in the past hours, and Dan felt a larger affinity with say, throwing up, rather than doing that.

"Dan?" Phil's voice whispered, and his hand came up and settled on Dan's shoulder. Dan said nothing, his body curled into a tight ball. "Oh, Dan." Phil was quick to scoot closer to him, to wrap his body around his and just comfort him through the contact of warm skin.

They were both naked, but Dan—for once—didn't feel at all out of place or embarrassed about it. "It'll be okay," Phil said softly. His thumb had taken to slowly stroking Dan's hip where it rested beneath the blankets. Dan still didn't respond. His stomach felt tight and uncomfortable with nerves, and there was this wretched crawling sensation all along his spine. He wasn't cut out to be king!

As if matters weren't bad enough, Cecily suddenly arrived in the doorway and her eyes widened to the size of their royal dinner plates as she took in the sight of them naked in bed together. Dan was grateful, at least, that the blankets were covering his waist.

Distantly, he felt kind of indignant that Cecily had barged in, and he figured that he should probably be feeling horrified and embarrassed at the fact that she was seeing this. Under normal circumstances, he'd likely be half way to firing her—or having her hanged.

Instead, he found that he could hardly drudge up any emotion at all, his entire being just overwhelmed with dread and fear. There was simply no room for embarrassment.

Dan turned over in Phil's arms and pressed his face into his chest, set on ignoring the maidservant.

"Er—is he okay?" Cecily asked tentatively. Dan felt like he should be bristling with anger—don't talk about me as if I'm not here!—but he wasn't. He just clung to Phil even tighter, his fingers digging into Phil's warm, bare skin.

"He's a little shaken," Phil answered honestly. Hearing this, Dan understood that it was quite true. He realized then that his cheeks were wet with silent tears, though he had no clue when they'd first appeared.

"Prin—Your Highness," Cecily said. "You should get up. There are advisers here to speak with you, and there's some paperwork as well..."

Dan let out a sob into Phil's chest, who wrapped his arms around Dan more firmly and drew him closer. Dan was vaguely aware of a kiss being pressed against his forehead.

He didn't even notice that Cecily had left the room, not until she came back, more voices following behind her.

"Is the prince okay?" Bentley was saying.

"King," Alfonzo corrected, and Dan flinched in Phil's arms. Oh God, the king. He couldn't be the king! He hardly knew anything about being king!

"Out of my way," a familiar, stern voice butt in. "The king needs a nutritional breakfast!" Dan then found himself with a room full of guards, a maidservant, and a cook—all of whom he'd never wanted to see him naked in bed.

"I brought eggs," Charlotte informed, stepping closer to the bed. Dan closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of Phil. At least that, in the midst of everything that had changed, had stayed the same.

"I don't think we've ever seen the king naked before," Bentley said cheerfully, and Dan felt his entire body go red.

"Get out of my room!" he croaked, pressing his face more firmly into Phil's chest in an attempt to not have to look at anyone else.