James woke in an unfamiliar bed.

Often when he dreamed, his mind put him back at Sandhurst where he’d completed his cadet training. But that had been little more than a single bed. When he’d crammed another body in there, he’d jolly well known about it.

He certainly had never slept as well as he did last night.

Nevertheless, as he stirred, woken by the natural light creeping around the curtains, his initial assessment put him back at the start of his Army days. Because there was a warm, naked body pressed tightly against him.

It only took a second of blinking the sleep from his eyes to establish that he was definitely not back in Surrey. The furnishings put him squarely in a royal residence. Then who could possibly be in his bed?

It wasn’t his bed. He looked down at Theo’s signature blond hair as he slept, and everything came rushing back to James.

He let out the breath he hadn’t even been aware he was holding and snuggled back against the pillows. Theo’s hair was too tempting not to stroke gently back from his forehead. He looked so angelic when he was asleep. James thought how quickly he could get used to a sight like this.

No, a voice warned in the back of his head. You can’t get used to this.

James banished the unwelcome thought. He liked Theo very much. He was fun and sweet and sexy and so hard-working. He wasn’t afraid to treat James like a human being. Ant he’d also proved he could be sensitive to James’s needs.

During their last year at school, Oli Milton had always teased James about his royal status, even mid-fuck in their dorm at Eton. To this day James never fully trusted Oli wouldn’t out him, despite being happily married to a man now. Arnav Kapoor had been James’s most frequent bedfellow at Sandhurst, but like James, he’d never wanted to contemplate coming out of the closet. Terry Dayton had always been up for a shag while they were on tour in Afghanistan. James tried to tell himself that Terry’s humour was his way of showing affection, but the jokes were always a little too cruel. James suspected Terry knew James could never come out for him and resented him for it. Their parting wasn’t the most amicable.

James had also had a couple of public relationships with women, which had faced their own challenges. Lina Perrot was an heiress to a European airline company and had loathed the attention from the press so much their time together had ended before it could really begin. Everyone, James included, had thought Hilly Oakes was going to be the one. But sadly, sometimes two people just didn’t quite fit together and it was best to go their separate ways.

James had taken each of those heartbreaks quite hard. Worse were the ones he wasn’t able to discuss with anyone for fear of his secret being discovered.

It was so much easier here in the bubble of Bodiam. Here, he had his little support network. People like Manjeet, Peggy and Quintin who didn’t see anything wrong with his sexuality. Away from the outside world, James could spend the night in Theo’s bed and not be afraid of the consequences.

How long could it last? He stroked the backs of his fingers against Theo’s cheek, barely touching him so he wouldn’t wake him up. Theo challenged him and made him feel alive. He was joyous and conscientious and beautiful.

James wasn’t ready to give him up without a fight.

Well, depending on how Theo felt, they had a week to see how things went. Theo might have only been interested in a one-night-stand. But the way he’d anxiously asked James to stay until morning suggested otherwise.

James knew he was a fool who was only going to end up heartbroken once again, but there was no going back. He couldn’t help how he felt. Theodore Glass made his heart sing.

Too late, James realised Theo was rousing. But James wasn’t going to pretend he was asleep just to avoid a potentially awkward situation. He just hoped Theo wouldn’t think he was being creepy.

“Good morning,” James said, his voice hoarse with sleep.

Theo frowned and looked around at the room before turning back to James. Comprehension appeared to dawn on him while James held his breath. Then Theo smiled and relaxed against James’s side.

“You’re still here,” he said.

James’s heart skipped a beat. That was a very good sign.

“Of course,” he said. “The bed is very comfortable,” he couldn’t help but tease.

Theo’s eyebrows shot up. “Really,” he said with playful scorn. “In that case, I might just have to kick you out so I can enjoy it all to myself.” He stretched out, deliberately throwing his legs over James’s knees and his arm across his throat.

James could play at that game too. “How about I kick you out,” he said, diving in to tickle Theo’s sides.

“Holy fuck, no! Mercy!” Theo squealed. His peals of laughter filled the room and he wriggled and squirmed, trying to escape. James didn’t torment him for too long, mostly because he wanted to kiss him too badly. “Eww, get off,” Theo said, still laughing as he made a feeble attempt to push James away. “I never brushed my teeth. I bet I’m minging.”

“You’re beautiful,” James insisted as he smothered him with more kisses.

It wasn’t long before Theo rolled James over, lying on top of him with their thickening cocks in his hand. He held his lips just high enough that James had to crane his neck up to kiss him as they rocked lazily together.

“Come here, you minx,” James growled as Theo grinned and made him reach even further for a kiss.

“Sorry,” Theo said, not sounding sorry at all. “But you do this proper cute thing where you pout and I love it.”

The words hung between them for a second. Until James realised he was being ridiculous imagining Theo would say anything close to ‘I love you’ after their first night together. So James used his momentary advantage to snatch a kiss and make Theo burst out laughing, breaking the tension.

After that they were rutting like bunnies, smiling and kissing and touching as they clung together. Just like the night before, they came all over each other and made quite a mess, but James didn’t care. He’d never been brave enough to shower with anyone before, but he thought Theo might be open to the suggestion.

Theo soon found something to fret over, though. “Will someone notice the sheets?” he asked, mopping up the dark patches as best he could with more tissues.

James plucked the tissues from his hand and dropped them over the side of the bed with the others. “I trust the staff here,” he said. “They’re a good, hard-working and supportive team. If they noticed anything, they wouldn’t say and they certainly wouldn’t tell.”

Theo bit his lip and studied James’s face. “It’s not that I’m ashamed,” he blurted out. “I think sex is perfectly natural and anyone who reckons otherwise needs to get the stick out of their arse.” He drew in a breath as James chuckled in agreement. “But, well, I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble or anything. I know…I understand it’s not simple for you.”

James didn’t want to think about that. His blood ran cold at the mere notion of a newspaper getting wind of a homosexual affair within the Royal Family, especially a member in line to the throne. But he found Theo’s concern immensely endearing.

“Thank you,” he said, hoping he could convey his complex feelings on the matter. “I…I’m sorry it can’t be simple. I wish it was.”

Theo looked down at where their fingers were interlinked. “No, it’s cool. I get it,” he said. His voice was slightly tense, though. James hated that.

“Hey,” he said, forcing a smile. “It can be simple right now, though,” he said. “We’re in our own little bubble for the next week. I’d…well, I’d like to keep seeing you, like this.”

“Naked?” Theo suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. But his expression suggested he was pleased with James’s idea.

“I’m certainly not going to complain if the nakedness continues,” James agreed. “But I mean having dinner together and such.”

Theo took a shaky breath and frowned. James’s insides threatened to ice over. But then Theo smiled.

“Sorry,” he said. “I know I’m apologising a lot, so, sorry for that, too. But, um, sorry for second-guessing a lot of things.” He shifted next to James and looked directly into his eyes. “This is like stepping into some fairyland, or something. You know? Two weeks ago, I didn’t know if I’d have enough money for train tickets. Now I’m, like, in Wonderland. And it’s bloody amazing. But I don’t really know what I’ve done to deserve it.”

Relief filled James’s chest. “For someone so intelligent, you are awfully dim at times,” he chided gently. “I keep telling you how exceptional you are. But I don’t mind if I need to carry on doing so, if it means you might finally believe me.”

Theo gave him a light slap on his arm. “Shut up,” he said, although his lopsided grin showed how pleased he was with the compliments. “All right, I promise to stop second guessing things. This is me trying not to overanalyse everything from now on, okay?” He waved his hand between them. “We like each other and the sex was blinding, so, that’s all there is to it for now, yeah?” He pecked James’s cheek. “No big pictures. Only little ones. Snapshots, even.”

James laughed and ran his hand along Theo’s side. He loved the dip before his hip. It seemed made for James’s hand to rest there. “One day at a time,” he agreed.

Theo nodded, then huffed. “Well, I should probably start this day already,” he lamented. “I’ve got a shit ton of work to do, and right now I’m covered in dried spunk.”

“Oh, lovely,” James said, wrinkling his nose.

“Shut up. So are you,” Theo said, pinching his leg.

James squirmed away. “Actually,” he said before he could lose his bottle. “I was wondering if you wanted to take a shower with me?”

“Oh, yes,” Theo said, throwing the covers back and hopping out of bed. “Great idea.” He strode over to the bathroom like it was no big deal at all. James swallowed and followed behind him.

It turned out there wasn’t really enough room for both of them to get under the water, and they would certainly have had a tough time managing any actual fucking. What transpired was a slippery, silly session where they alternated under the stream, washing each other’s hair and trading wet kisses. James was turned on, but not so much after just climaxing that he had to come again.

It was relaxing and sweet. James felt comfortable as they dried off afterwards and brushed their teeth. He was almost sorry to put his clothes back on from the previous night. He’d very quickly become accustomed to wandering around starkers in front of Theo, who did likewise.

Soon enough, Theo was shooing him out the door, though. “I’m very busy and important,” he announced. “Please go away, you big distraction.” But he kept pulling James in for ‘one last kiss’. Eventually, James wished him goodbye.

“I’ll call you later,” he promised.

Theo’s face lit up. “I’d like that,” he said. “Or you can pop by any time you like.”

James felt bad over all the times Theo had told him to text when they parted ways. Now Theo knew the truth. It felt incredibly liberating for James to tell him. He loved how Theo didn’t make him feel small over his dyslexia. It hardly seemed like an obstacle at all when he had talked to Theo about it.

Of course, that wasn’t the case. But it was nice for James to pretend he was a normal person with a normal life and normal crush for once.

Maybe even a normal boyfriend.

He ached to suggest the word out loud, but that was lunacy. It would only spoil things and remind them both of what they couldn’t have. So James satisfied himself with being able to sneak a very final kiss from Theo before he closed his door.

James strode through the castle bidding good morning to everyone he passed. No one seemed to notice he was in last night’s clothes, but James felt deliciously rebellious all the same.

He should have known it wouldn’t last.

When he opened the door to his chambers, he wasn’t all that surprised to find Quintin waiting for him, although he did feel a twinge of guilt. “Oh, I’m sorry, old chap,” James said as he stepped inside the living room. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Long enough,” Quintin said matter-of-factly as he dashed over to James. He was never one to mince words. “We need to get you dressed. I see you already showered in Mr Glass’s room.”

James was too happy to be ashamed. But then he realised what Quintin had said. “Get ready for what?” James asked, automatically holding his arms out for Quintin to remove his cufflinks. James was perfectly capable of performing such a task himself, but he knew when Quintin was in a mood like this, it wouldn’t do to argue. It was strange how practical the same act could feel compared to how sensual it was the night before.

“The Princess of Wales will shortly be arriving,” he said, meaning James’s mother. “She and Ignatius will expect to meet you in the breakfast room.”

“Oh,” said James. He couldn’t say he was thrilled at the prospect, but it wasn’t the end of the world. No doubt they were checking up on the preparations for the ball. “Well, I shouldn’t imagine they’ll want to stay long. We can survive a few hours’ scrutiny, especially when everything is going so well.”

Quintin closed his hand around both the cufflinks and held them to his chest. “They are not alone,” he said solemnly, looking into James’s eyes.

James frowned. “Fair enough,” he said, still not understanding Quintin’s grave mood. “Who’s with them? Anyone important?”

Quintin swallowed. His orb-like eyes were even wider than usual.

“Princess Klara of Sweden, Sir,” he said.

James felt the world fall away beneath him.

Fuck.