He worked to flex his fingers to make the feeling stop. Taeru was not so stupid to think that it was not caused by his own embarrassment. Though, Calis could hardly be held entirely at fault for the situation. In that moment, when they had been far too close to one another, Taeru was aware that he had not pulled away. Not only had he not pulled away, but he had remained, almost expectantly. There was no need to deny it, as he was himself, and denying truths to one’s self was a very short route to mental illness. No, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he did acknowledge that he had wanted Calis to kiss him. He had been staring into the prince’s eyes, with a heart pounding far too fast, and he had imagined it a hundred different ways. Calis’s rejection, or rather, when the prince had pulled back rather than kiss him, there had been disappointment as well as relief. The disappointment was unavoidable. Calis was very attractive, charming, and all other things that kept mindless women awake in their beds beneath the moon, and Taeru was not immune to those sorts of things. But, the relief meant that he was keeping his wits about him. He knew that Calis was far more dangerous than even the prince realized to him, and he to the prince. He could not let this continue.
