Prince Of Stone - A Captive Prince Fanfiction

XIV. On a Bed of White Flowers

They were nearly back to the hotel when they got the call.

"Laurent. This is your uncle." The Regent's voice, garbled through the speaker, sent chills down Damen's spine. To think Damen had once been grateful to him, thanked him for his scholarship. Knowing what he did now, knowing what The Regent had done and what Laurent had suffered at his hands, Damen wanted to put The Regent in a stranglehold so tight he'd be seeing stars.

Damen heard the tension in Laurent's voice as Laurent strained out the words, "I know who you are. I have called ID."

"I'm sorry to tell you this," The Regent continued, ignoring Laurent's tone, "but Nicaise has run away. Someone also broke into my hotel room last night."

"How terrible for you," Laurent said flatly. "Why bother calling me?"

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about putting a hold on these court proceedings. What with Nicaise missing, I'd hate for all this strain to affect you. I know how hard you work for your grades. How desperately you want to become a lawyer."

Laurent remained strongly silent, waiting.

And then The Regent said, "You'd have to do something for me, of course. I can't allow you a free pass like this then have you think you can go spending your inheritance."

Laurent's shoulders stiffened. Damen gently drew them to one side of the street so they were standing against a storefront rather than in oncoming traffic. Judging by the stubborn set to Laurent's jaw, he was in a dangerous mood and some unlucky bystander may have fallen victim to it had Damen not moved Laurent out of the way.

"These are my terms, nephew. Move into my apartment. We can settle things ourselves, without the court case, and you can have your inheritance as I promised. We can search for Nicaise, and when we find him we can all be together. As it should be."

Laurent's knuckles were white.

Damen stepped forward and seized the phone. He snarled into the receiver, "You can go fuck yourself. Laurent will never bow to you, he--"

"Oh, hello, Damianos," The Regent said pleasantly. "I see Laurent must have taken you to his bed by now, for you to be so protective of him. But I think you'll find he has bowed to me before, and he'll do it again. I'll give him until tomorrow to decide."

Damen opened his mouth to utter further profanities, but Laurent reached out and put his hand on Damen's arm. That alone was enough to startle him into silence.

Laurent said, "Damen. That's enough." And he held out a hand for his phone.

Damen gave it to him.

He brought it up to his ear and said, "Yes, uncle. Thank you, uncle. I'll speak to you again soon."

When the call had ended, Damen watched him cautiously. Laurent merely have him a weary look and said, "Are you going to walk with me back to the hotel, or do I have to physically drag you? Unfortunately you've liberated me of my belt once already, so I have nothing to leash you with."

Damen gazed at him steadily. He said, "Don't."

Laurent didn't argue.

~

Once back at the hotel, they parted ways to shower. Laurent had called a servant to purchase and bring them clothing, and when Damen got out of the bathroom it was to find Laurent, freshly clean, sitting on the edge of the king size bed wearing nothing but a fine white shirt, the buttons only halfway done up.

He nearly dropped the water glass he'd been holding.

"Laurent," he said in surprise.

He looked up and their gazes met. It was a mistake. In Laurent's eyes he saw determination. Desire. And Damen knew at once that he was lost.

It wasn't right, he thought, that Laurent should be sitting half-clothed on the bed looking at Damen like that while Nicaise was missing and The Regent had--

But then Laurent said, "Fuck me," and Damen could think of nothing else.

"I know you want to. I've seen how you look at me. How you've looked at me since we met that day on the métro. So come on then. Or are you going to stand there like some idiot?"

Damen warned with himself for a moment. Laurent looked as if he were going to start talking again, and Damen swiftly closed the distance between them, shutting him up with a kiss.

Considering they were in a bedroom, with Laurent half undressed on the bed beneath him, it was a very chaste kiss. Until Laurent seized Damen by the collar of his shirt, yanking him down onto the bed.

Damen braced himself above Laurent, careful of his fresh tattoo and of crushing Laurent beneath him. Laurent's mouth was hot against his, his hands fisting in Damen's hair. Laurent kissed like he did nothing else, with none of the calculated reservation of his usual demeanor. But even as Damen's thigh brushed Laurent's bare skin, he could feel the corded tension of Laurent's body, braced as if against an attack.

Damen drew back a moment, said, "Why are you doing this? Why now?"

Laurent slitted his eyes, annoyance plain in his gaze as he looked up at Damen through strands of pale golden hair. "Does it matter?"

"I just--want to be sure it's for the right reasons."

Laurent pushed himself up onto his elbows, shirt falling further open to reveal his bare chest. Damen shifted back, giving him space to sit up.

Laurent ran a hand through his hair, brushing it back into some semblance of its usual careful style. "I--can't think, tonight. I need--"

"A distraction," Damen said, feeling oddly hollow. "I should have known. You are a puzzle, Laurent de Vere, and every piece of you is made up of a thousand twisted motivations."

Instead of denying it Laurent said, "You promised me a favour. Back in the coffeeshop, for freeing Erasmus. You're still indebted to me."

"And earlier today you said you'd never let me touch you for what I did to Auguste. Since then, you've kissed me and seduced me into your bed, so forgive me for being confused over your mixed messages."

Laurent said, "You know you're mine. I'm not wrong." the edge of his French accent had crept back into his voice. Damen tried to ignore how his heart warmed at hearing it. Between the two of them, they most often spoke French, but recently Laurent had taken to speaking English--only with Damen.

Damen said nothing, watching. Waiting. He knew, Laurent would continue to speak if only he stayed silent long enough to invite it.

But then Laurent surprised him.

Deliberately, without breaking Damen's gaze, Laurent leaned forward, into his space. When Damen didn't move, Laurent placed a hand on Damen's chest and pushed him backward, down onto the bed. His back gave a slight twinge of protest, but it was nothing compared to the burning in Laurent's eyes.