Chapter 31: Is it War? (I) Entangled

When Killian opened his eyes, he was met by a fresh scent in the room, it seemed like a subtle pine smell, and he sat up to see two maids standing by the door, and a big tub of water that had been moved into the room, filled with hot water.

The dampness of the warm water spread in the room, and Killian moved eagerly to get out of bed.

Sharp pain from his legs froze his movements and he had trouble moving them to the edge of the bed.

His eyes shot over to the maids standing at the door and he wished Stella had been there.

'Will they look down on my weakness too?' He had a solemn look, and one of the maids had picked up on it and walked towards him.

His body moved without him telling it to, as he leaned backward fast as the brown-haired girl got close.

'Damn' he thought, cursing himself for the reaction, but had no control over it, as his body still did not trust maids, with Stella being the only exception.

'They will think I am weak…' He studied her face as he still did not know why she had approached.

The girl acted as if she hadn't noticed his movement, and barely dared to look at his face.

Killian could see reddish flushed cheeks, and wavering peeks at his face.

"Young Master, would you like to use this?".

The girl showed him his cane laying neatly over her two small hands, with a slight bow of her head, presenting the cane like it was some precious artifact.

Kilian cleared his throat and reached for the amber part, feeling the smooth round amber against his palm.

Somehow it was a soothing feeling, and he smiled at the girl, genuinely happy that she had brought it.

"Thank you".

He supported his weight against the cane on the floor and bit his lip, as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

He looked at the girl, and it seemed her cheeks had gotten redder, or maybe it was his imagination. It was getting very warm and damp in the room.

The subtle 'thuds' against the soft carpet were heard as he walked to the bathtub where he let the second girl help him undress.

Both of the girls looked away, but he did notice how they had looked at the severe scarring on his legs before doing so, but neither had said anything.

There was a commotion outside, and the door to his room swung up.

Things happened within moments before Kilian could even react.

The two maids instantly stood in front of the naked Kilian, both with knives in their hands, that had seemingly appeared from their clothes.

They were facing the door, where a huffing Dante stood, suddenly realizing what he had done, as he saw the pale skin of Kilian, that could not be fully covered behind the two maids.

A knife was already thrown and embedded into the wall right next to Dante's head.

No one had even noticed which one of the maids had thrown it, but Kilian was impressed.

These girls were more than just maids. It seemed like either his grandfather wanted to keep an eye on him or protect him.

Kilian did not mind either, so far they had been good to him regardless.

"What are you doing Dante?"

Kilian stepped in between the two maids, who stayed at his side.

Dante tried to keep his eyes on Kilian's blue irises.

"I… I just wanted to make sure you were ok" his voice had lost some strength and sounded wavering as if he had already regretted his decision to come.

Kilian gave him a smile, he had missed Dante when trapped in the cave. It was always reassuring to him when Dante was nearby.

"I am ok… Would you like to check for yourself?"

Kilian kept his smile, which had a small hint of amusement to it, as he gestured to the bathtub, with his eyes still locking Dante's to his.

"Dante seemed to struggle with an answer. Kilian had expected him to refuse awkwardly and had looked forward to teasing him a bit.

"I… Yes".

Kilian's eyes wavered. 'What..he agreed?' He was surprised, and had not expected this answer, but found it interesting.

Dante seemed surprised by his own answer as well and was mumbling something like vague excuses for his behavior.

Before Dante could take back his words, Kilian dipped into the warm bath and gestured for Dante to come over.

The two maids did not seem to mind, instead, they seemed to be even more flushed and huddled together in a hurry to bring soap and scents over to Kilian.

"Hurry up, the water won't stay warm like this forever".

Kilian leaned back in the big tub, where anything below his chest was now covered in cloudy soap water.

Dante hesitated for a few moments before starting to undress, letting his worn clothes fall to the floor, and stood almost with a timid look on his face before walking over and moving into the opposite side of the tub.

His body was huge compared to Kilian, and Kilian felt slightly jealous of the toned tanned body.

Even if the tub was big, it was now cramped and their legs under the water were entangled for them both to fit.

As soon as their skin touched, Dante had made every effort to look everywhere but at Kilian, which just amused Kilian more.

'I can't tell who is the wolf here and who is the lamb'. Kilian thought while giving his most innocent smile to Dante.

"Are you ok…Young Master, what happened?".

Kilian recalled what had happened, and he felt the wounds on his lower chest hurt some but the pain was dulled together with all his scrapes and cuts from the cave.

He quickly turned to look at the maids.

"There are healing herbs in the water, it should help with the pain Young Master"

Kilian was impressed, he had not even had to ask, they seemed to be ready for anything he needed, even before he knew he needed it.

He nodded at them and relaxed his muscles, soaking in the warm water that was warming up his body and reducing the pain he was in, even his legs were feeling better.

"I am fine Dante".

He finally replied to his question and gestured toward the maids.

"I am being well-taken care of, this is no longer the Heathgrave house," he paused for a second before continuing.

"So you don't have to worry anymore".

Kilian closed his eyes, and the thought of the warm golden Rayden filled his mind, this was a similar feeling to that, and he somehow missed the comforting feeling it had given him in the cave.

The two maids each slowly washed them and left to find new clothes while letting the men soak in the water.

Dante nervously moved when they left, and again proceeded to look anywhere but at Kilian.

His thoughts were making him anxious. Why had he agreed to this so easily? His first thoughts had definitely been to reject it right away.

This was his Master, and it seemed as if some invincible line had been crossed.

He knew Kilian enough to know the guy would sometime tease him. It was not malicious, and he honestly enjoyed it, as he had come to realize he liked the young master.

It was playful, and it drew him in, it was not as if there were any rules against it, only that society had deemed it wrong not only two men, but a noble and a commoner, the noble's knight no less.

It was like a triangle of social and professional suicide for them both, but he was more worried about how it might end up impacting Kilian.

Something smooth touched his chest, while he was having all these thoughts, and it brought him back to the present around him.

A pale foot, with heavy scaring, was pressed at his chest, rubbing his muscles.

"Won't you massage them again?"

Kilian had not ordered him to but asked, and Dante would not have minded either, as he without replying took the foot in his hands, and started to slowly massage the skin and muscles beneath, in slow circular motions.

So what if it was all kinds of wrong to others, it did not matter. All he had to focus on was taking care of this young man in front of him, no matter what others thought.

His hands moved over the foot and ankle, and up the calves, moving the leg up over the waterline as he did so to reach further down.

He rested the foot on his shoulder and saw Kilian lean back and more of his upper body was submerged til only his neck and head were above it, with his golden hair fanning out in the water.

Small content sounds escaped Kilian's mouth and Dante had to look down at what he was doing, instead of at Kilian's reddish face.

He couldn't tell which one of them was feeling the most stimulation, as he had no way of preventing Kilian from noticing the erection he had underwater.

Dante moved the foot back down under the water and repeated the massage to the other leg, breathing in the hot steam in the silent room.

His head felt hot, and he peeked at Kilian.

Kilian had closed his eyes. The incredible feeling from the massage had completely relaxed his body and gotten rid of any lingering pain together with the medicinal herbs in the water.

It felt good.

He could not help it when he let out sounds whenever Dante moved his hand or increased the pressure on his sore legs, and the hands felt big on him like they could easily snap him like a twig.

It was reassuring those strong hands were being this gentle.

He thought back on the shared bath they had done before, but there had been other people present then.

He looked up at Dante surprised to see him looking back, but Dante was giving an expression as if Kilian had caught him red-handed.

Kilian had a sudden thought and moved his foot under the water, up between Dante's legs, and gently pressed against a hard erection.

There was a deep groan from Dante, and the massage had stopped, while he was trying to endure what Kilian was doing to him.

It was not as if Kilian was hurting him, but at the same time in a way he was.

'He must be trying to hold back,' Kilian thought and retracted both of his legs and sat up in the tub, leaning forward towards Dante.

"Does it hurt?"

That was all he asked as he moved up closer and with a lot of splashing and water spilling off the edge, turned around in the tub with his bareback against Dante's front.

Dante didn't know what to do but instinctively reached out to hold his arms around Kilian to support him from slipping, and instantly regretted it.

It was at that moment that Kilian sat down, sitting right above Dante's lap, with his thighs pressed and squeezing against Dante's hard dick.

Dante held him, his body was slightly trembling in the water, trying with every ounce of self-control to hold back.

Was this too much? Kilian was unsure if he had gone too far this time. He knew Dante wanted this, but he knew the conflicting thought the man had, and it was not as if they were actual lovers.

It was more like a mutual need and want.

Killian leaned his head back to look up at Dante who was holding him with all of his body as if Kilian was something precious.

"I will do it for you".