Chapter 11: Giving In
Merlin's heart began to beat rapidly as his mind was filled with images of what they had done in Arthur's tent. "Arthur..." Merlin whispered back as he inched forward just a little, their lips barely touching. Arthur ran his hand across Merlin's side and then after a slight pause, he pulled Merlin forward closing the small gap that would bring their lips completely together.
"I don't want you to ever go off like that again, Merlin." Arthur said slowly, as he nibbled at Merlin's bottom lip. He moved his hands to Merlin's face, thumbs caressing his jawline delicately as if trying to memorize the shape of it. "I almost lost you; I don't think I could bear it." He told him, this time part of his words was muffled by their lips pressing against each other wildly.
Their lips were partly opened, as they tried to breath, and their tongues greedily explored each other's mouths. After a few minutes of passionate kissing, Merlin rested his forehead on Arthur's shoulder as he tried to calm himself. Arthur could feel Merlin's breath, erratic and hard against his neck and it aroused him even more.
He pulled Merlin back by his shirt and met his eyes for a second, as if searching for something there, and then pressed his lips against Merlin's once more. It had been eating at him for even believing that Merlin would ever leave him. Merlin was his and would always be by his side. This time their kisses were slower, calmer, and deeper. Their hands explored whatever skin they could find.
Arthur groaned into Merlin's mouth, as his lips pressed harder against him. The young King was unable to get enough of the sweet taste of Merlin's mouth. He brought his hands to Merlin's waist and pressed his body against him, lowering Merlin the rest of the way to the bed. His body clearly remembered the warmth Merlin's body had given him the last time they had made love and he was fully hard, his erection painfully tight against his trousers.
"Arthur we can't....someone might walk in." Merlin's trembling voice reached his ears once Arthur pulled his lips from Merlin to better position himself on top of him. He stopped kissing Merlin and moved back to meet Merlin's gaze. They stayed that way, frozen for a few moments, their eyes showing the emotions their bodies were denied to express.
Just then a knock on the door gave them a slight warning before a servant entered. Merlin moved frantically from under him and Arthur rose from the bed ready to kill the intruder. With Arthur no longer blocking his movements, Merlin fell to the floor with the sheets and a few pillows following his fall. A loud thump rang across the room, Arthur turned towards Merlin and some of his anger faded as he was once again reminded of his manservant's clumsiness.
The servant, who luckily for Merlin and Arthur was too busy balancing what he carried, was oblivious to what had just been about to transpire. He nervously moved to the table and set down two plates and turned to greet Arthur.
"Sorry to interrupt sire, but Lord Godwyn insisted that you both be brought food to eat." The young man told Arthur, who was now glaring at him as if he had just spit in the King's face. "He wanted me to inform you to meet him in the throne room once you were done with your lunch." He fidgeted from one foot to the other and then bowed, before moving towards the door and safety.
Arthur pulled his gaze away from the door and smiled at Merlin as he moved towards the table. One plate had the usual meats and cheeses with a few pieces of loaf. The other plate contained a nice variety of fruits. Reaching for a few strawberries, Arthur put one into his mouth and chewed on it as he walked back towards his manservant.
Merlin had already gotten up from the floor and managed to untangle his limbs from the sheets and now sat on the edge of the bed with his back to the table. Thus what Arthur did next threw Merlin by complete surprise. He jerked back a bit as his lips met the sweet half eaten strawberry, his eyes wandered up to Arthur's and could do nothing but part his lips slowly and accept the sweet fruit.
