The Prince's Groom

The day had been perfect for a wedding.
Thomas de Fleurre, former exiled prince of the Isle of Ilgeria and longtime resident of the country of Flaundia, stood in the dark, finishing off his glass of champagne and watching the small number of guests dancing below his bedroom window. As the clock struck midnight, the friends and neighbors who had attended the ceremony continued to enjoy themselves with enough food and liquor to keep them sated into the wee hours of the morning.
The celebration right after the ceremony had been a success as well. The strange thing about this event was that the bride was not marrying a man, but a woman. Two women had committed themselves to one another—to have and to hold, until death do they part—on the beach during a beautiful sunset. Thomas had wiped a tear away from his eye when his sister Daisy had embraced and kissed Chelsey, her lover, and now her partner to honor and cherish all the remaining days of her life.
Thomas smiled as, below him, Daisy and Chelsey again kissed passionately under the shadow of a coconut tree. He observed unabashed as Chelsey caressed Daisy's breast through her beaded lace bodice. Hugging Chelsey close, Daisy whispered something in her ear and then grabbed her hand. Both women kissed again and ran into the house.
Two women loving one another, much as a man and woman did, were considered an abnormality in Flaundia, the country where he and his sister had grown up. In Daisy’s case, she had been through many hardships after being separated from Chelsey for eight long years. She’d been kidnapped and held for ransom by the woman who’d been operating under the guise of a vicious lady pirate who’d terrorized the ocean waters near his homeland. But now, on this small piece of island property that Chelsey owned, the newly retired pirate would be able to love openly and live in peace with Daisy.
If only the same could be said for Thomas. He sighed, placing his empty glass on the window sill, and looking up at the night's sky where he spotted a bright shining star. What he wouldn't give to live with his lover on an island far away from all his responsibilities, uncaring of the harsh opinions back at home. But there was no use in just wishing or praying for answers. He was needed elsewhere, and not even Martin could talk him into staying.
“Ah, Martin . . .” Thomas whispered in longing. He glanced down at the revelry, but his lover of one month was nowhere to be seen. Time was short, and all Thomas wanted to do was spend the late night and early morning hours in Martin's arms, their naked bodies flush against one another as they kissed and touched. There he could ignore his uncertain future.
The man on Thomas's mind walked into the room and shut the door. He stood in the semi-darkness as Thomas looked his fill. Each and every time he saw Martin, his heartbeat pounded at a ferocious rate and his groin grew heavy. He had not felt this deep passion for another man until Mr. Martin, Chelsey Dread's former first mate, had waltzed into his life and seduced him.
"There you are, lad. I've been looking for you everywhere." Martin walked toward him with a bright grin on his face.
He looks at me as if he loves me. Thomas clasped his hands behind his back to stop from reaching out and taking Martin in his arms. He was so very wrong. Martin didn't love him. Desired and lusted for him, yes. But loved him? No.
Thomas remained silent as Martin wrapped his thick hands around Thomas’s nape and tipped his head back. He swallowed, overcome with the need to get down on his knees and worship Martin's cock. Never had he experienced anything like it. Thomas would never forget this man as long as he lived.
"What are you thinking of, Your Highness?" Martin asked and licked his lips.
Thomas clenched his fists, wanting desperately to run his fingers through Martin's dark goatee, spread his palms over his bald head, and press kisses over the older man's face. He frowned. He didn't even know how old Martin truly was, let alone his first name.
"Please don't call me ‘lad.’ And certainly not ‘Your Highness.’ I'm very much a man and no longer a prince, and haven't been for many years. I would have no idea how to even run a country given the chance," Thomas said, adding the last as an afterthought.