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The basket had been delivered while Stannis and Davos were meeting with the master builder. It was waiting in the anteroom when they got back to the royal apartments, sitting on a table by the door.
"The bounty of the Reach," Stannis read from the card. "A gift from Mace Tyrell. Does he hope for his daughter to wed me? Renly said he hoped to interest Robert in her."
"I would have something to say about that," Davos said, reaching to open the basket. Stannis shivered at his possessiveness. He and Davos had only become lovers when he'd taken the throne a few weeks before and there had been much to surmount before they truly felt at ease with one another. Now, it lit a fire within him that Davos' hand lingered on his arm for no reason Stannis could discern than the very thought of him marrying another.
Thankfully, there was no danger in that.
"You do not think it might be poisoned?" Stannis wondered. "It may not even be from Tyrell at all."
Davos pulled a pear from the basket. "There is only one way to find out." A silver knife had been sent as well, and Davos used it to slice the pear. "Here."
He slipped the fruit between Stannis' lips, letting his fingertips linger briefly just inside Stannis' mouth. Stannis almost forgot to chew and swallow the pear. There was a burst of tart on his tongue, but he longed for Davos' finger.
Or he could return the favor.
"Curious," he said, picking up the knife, "that the Hand should have the king be his food taster." He sliced off another piece of pear.
Davos was anticipating him; his eyes were closed and his lips parted as Stannis slipped the pear between them. He allowed his thumb to brush Davos' lips as Davos chewed and swallowed. A moment later, Davos' tongue flicked over Stannis' fingertips, swirling around them to draw them further into his mouth.
Despite himself, Stannis let out a moan. Davos opened one eye, giving him a somewhat withering look.
"You had pear juice on your fingers," he said matter-of-factly.
Stannis was aware his ears were burning as he withdrew his fingers.
"Plums," he said, turning his attention back to the basket. "Have a plum, Davos."
He held it for Davos so he could take a bite. He took only small nibbles, his eyes on Stannis' face the entire time. Stannis felt himself grow hard in his breeches. I am worse than Robert now, he thought, as he watched Davos bend his head, eating carefully around the pit. It was disconcertingly like when Davos sucked his cock. Yes—he even tucked his hair behind his ears. Stannis gave a sharp intake of breath. Davos looked up at him.
"Are you all right?"
Stannis nearly choked. "Perfectly."
Davos smiled and went back to his plum. Stannis turned it for him so he could eat all of it, until Davos was sucking lightly on the pit, Stannis' fingertips in his mouth.
"Shall we see what else is here?"
Stannis watched wordlessly, still holding the plum pit as Davos extracted a small jar from the basket. His cock gave a hopeful jump in his breeches; he realized with a sinking feeling that he now inextricably associated small jars with the one of oil in the bedside table.
"Ah." Davos smiled. "This will do nicely."
"That's…" Stannis swallowed. "That's not…?"
"Chocolate." Davos held it out so he could see the contents. "Have you had chocolate?"
"No." The stuff had been a fad at court near the beginning of Robert's rein, but Stannis had never sampled it.
"You must try it." Davos unscrewed the lid and dipped one shortened finger in. He held it out and Stannis took that as his cue to take it in his mouth. He wrapped his tongue firmly around Davos' finger, judging that was what he wanted. The chocolate was bitterer than he'd expected it to be and he licked Davos' finger clean.
"Good job," Davos said. "I have an idea of what we can get up to with this. Come."
Stannis followed obediently, trying to figure out what Davos meant. Chocolate instead of oil would be unwise, he decided, licking the last of it from his lips.
Davos set the jar of chocolate on the bedside table and began unlacing his jerkin. Stannis quickly set to undoing his belt, recognizing that Davos wished not to linger in undressing as they often did, their hands caressing exposed skin and assisting one another in removing their clothes.
"Now," Davos said, once they were both naked on the bed, "let me show you the fruits of my learning with the maester."
"The maester?" Stannis sat up, bewildered, but a gentle press on his chest from Davos laid him on his back again.
"Yes," Davos said, straddling him, the chocolate pot in hand. "You said if I was to serve on your small council I must learn my letters."
"Aye." Stannis had indeed said it, when he'd named Davos his Hand. But what has that to do with this?
"It means I have learned to label things," Davos said, dipping one of the fingers of his right hand in chocolate. "By writing what they are called on them."
And he then proceeded to do exactly that, writing in large, loopy letters—chest across Stannis' chest, arm on the inside of his upper arm. Stannis whimpered. Davos ignored him and continued to work diligently—nipples with two arrows pointing to Stannis' and numerous other lines Stannis didn't think had any informational value other than the fact Davos seemed to have realized he shivered every time Davos ran his fingers down his ribcage.
"Hold still," Davos said, a few drips of chocolate falling on Stannis' hip as he leaned down to write thye on each of Stannis' thighs. (He didn't bother to correct the spelling; he thought it would quite ruin the mood.)
"You skipped something," Stannis said. The part he most wanted Davos to touch was resting, achingly, on his belly, which had been dutifully labeled.
"Can't spell that." Davos dipped back into the jar for more chocolate. "But I have also learned to label my property so that what is mine does not get mixed up with another man's."
"Have you?" asked Stannis, in a strangled voice.
"Like so." And then across Stannis' stomach he wrote, in very large letters, DAVOS.
"You mean to mark me as yours?"
"Have you any objections, sire?" His finger was still moving; he was drawing—yes, an onion.
"None at all." Stannis still didn't know what Davos was planning to do when he was covered in chocolate, but he certainly agreed it with the sentiment that he belonged to Davos.
"So now that we know for sure," Davos murmured, leaning down so he was lying nearly on top of Stannis, "let's get you cleaned up."
He began where he'd first painted Stannis, on the arms. One swipe of the tongue obliterated the word, though Davos lapped at his skin again for good measure—he well knew how sensitive this part of Stannis was. His cock responded to the idea that Davos had deliberately marked him on all the spots he most liked attention.
Stannis' groan of urgency did not make Davos move any faster, however. He moved slowly and deliberately over the letters he had just written, the tip of his tongue sweeping them away. Stannis could not wait to flip Davos off him and take him—though he was beginning to get another idea, too.
Davos had now moved to Stannis' stomach and was carefully removing evidence of his own name and sigil. He was spending more time than necessary on Stannis' lower abdomen, and he supposed the reason Davos had written so much there was because he knew it made Stannis squirm. All that was left was his thyes, and Stannis would have sworn that was the spelling to get Davos' mouth on his cock.
But he had more willpower than that.
Just as Davos' mouth was making its way upward, Stannis reached for his shoulder. "Your turn," he said.
"My turn?" Davos licked chocolate from his lips.
"Your turn. Lie down."
Davos seemed to be trying to contain a grin as he flopped onto his back, his cock bobbing.
"Your writing of the Common Tongue is coming along nicely." Stannis reached for the chocolate pot. "But now I will demonstrate my High Valyrian script."
Davos' eyes went wide and Stannis allowed himself to be satisfied at this. "Here." Chocolate dribbled from his fingers onto Davos' shoulder as he carefully wrote a chain of glyphs down his throat. It was a fragment of poetry he'd been made to memorize as a boy. He murmured the words in Davos' ear after he wrote them. It may not have been arousing in the Common Tongue, but Davos seemed to squirm at it.
"And now, shall I mark you?" he whispered.
"I would never dream of denying you that, sire."
"My name," Stannis said, going back to the chocolate pot, "in Valyrian is written like this." He made each careful mark with painful slowness, pleased now with the many hours his grandmother had made him practice his Valyrian script. "My name is Valyrian in origin. My grandmother insisted. It should, perhaps, be spelled Staennhys, but my mother refused, much to the annoyance of my grandmother."
"I'm glad," Davos said, between heavy breaths. "That sounds like a lot of letters."
Stannis smiled as he began to render a stag on Davos' hip. "Yes, it is. "
All the more to enjoy taking them off.
**
It took what seemed like hours to catch his breath again. After he'd licked Davos clean, Davos had been ready for him to take him, and so he had, vigorously. Stannis was still trembling from the aftereffects and had been heedless of the mess. The sheets were filthy; there was chocolate in Davos' hair and a handprint with shortened fingers on Stannis' arse. They both needed baths, and neither was in a fit state to call for one, much less to appear before the small council within the hour.
"Davos," he said.
"Mm?" Davos sounded to be on the edge of sleep.
"That was… invigorating."
Davos gave him a sleepy smirk and nuzzled into his arm. "I'm glad you thought so."
"We must clean up, though."
"Ah, yes, the council meeting." Davos lifted his head. "Oh, Stannis, you've a bit of chocolate on your neck." And he proceeded to suck it off.
At long last, they bathed and dressed. Stannis had thought the enormous tub in the king's bedchamber a lavish indulgence when Robert had had it installed; now that he was bathing with a partner, he found he rather enjoyed it.
When he was dressed, however, he discovered Davos had made one mark he could not wash off.
"I am sorry, sire," Davos said, looking truly apologetic as he stood beside Stannis in front of the mirror. "I misjudged the placement."
"No matter." Stannis finished lacing his doublet, but its collar was not high enough to hide the mark. "No one is bound to notice."
At the last moment, before leaving his quarters, he seized a blue mantle, not often worn, and pinned it into place with a stag cloakpin.
Indeed, few people stared at the king's neck; it was mostly Stannis who was obsessed with it and the memory of Davos' lips, teeth, and tongue. All through the meeting of his council, he thought about it, what it had been like to explore Davos' body with his mouth, to write on each other.
How could something so simple be so erotic? He squirmed in his seat, evading the disapproving gaze of Randyll Tarly who must have thought he was not paying attention.
Davos was giving his report on the rebuilding of the royal fleet calmly, as though nothing had transpired between them. Stannis envied him his composure. He didn't look like a man who had just been licked over most of his body.
Stannis' cock gave a small half-twitch. He would not forget this afternoon for a long time, nor did he want to. He rested his jaw on his hand as he pretended to listen to Davos. This was by far the most exciting thing they'd ever done in bed together and Stannis found he wanted more.
He had heard tales—things he had tried firmly to shut from his mind—about… things which lovers might do that Robert had talked of. But he wasn't Robert, nor was he even Renly, who had leeringly tried to give Stannis a dirty book when he'd realized he and Davos were a couple.
"What do you think, sire?" Davos' voice interrupted his lewd thoughts. "About the purchase of the cogs?"
Stannis cleared his throat. King on the Iron Throne and the smuggler is still coming to my rescue. "We must purchase them. Our coffers are not yet depleted, but our fleet is. I am satisfied with those we reviewed this morning."
Davos bowed. "Yes, Your Grace."
Stannis fled from the meeting as quickly as he could, even managing to outrun Renly who would surely comment on the mark if he saw it. He made his way back to his chambers, pulling off his mantle as soon as he was inside. He dropped into a chair and leaned his head back. At least here, he could think of Davos' nude body moving over him, his mouth leaving marks all over. Stannis' hand went to his neck. I am his, it is true. Would that I could wear his mark with pride for all to see.
He barely registered the door opening.
"Sire?" Davos stopped just inside the doorway, looking afraid to come in further. He was looking down at his boots. "I truly am sorry about the… the mark. It won't happen again."
Stannis lowered his hand, having forgotten he'd been touching the blasted spot. "Davos," he said firmly. "Come here."
Davos came forward slowly, almost hesitantly.
"Come," Stannis repeated, trying to soften his tone. He wished desperately that he could be sweet with Davos but it wasn't in his nature. Would it be easier if I could say the words as Renly charms his love? Even Robert got half his paramours in bed on the goodness of his words.
Davos came forward and Stannis pulled him down into his lap. It seemed ridiculous, but he wanted to have him close, to reassure him.
"Davos," he said, pushing his hair back from his face, "I am not ashamed to have your mark on me. Even here. I am sorry if I seemed to be. I just…" He paused, deciding to fill his indecisive silence by kissing Davos, "I am new to this. I have never had a lover. I have always been the sort of man who held himself above such things."
Davos' eyebrows rose, heralding a protest to which Stannis quickly raised a correction. "I thought I had to hold myself above such things. You showed me it was quite the opposite."
Davos smiled, his head falling onto Stannis' shoulders. "I know, Stannis. I just want you to tell me if it's too much for you."
It was too much, but not in the way Davos meant it. Stannis felt too much. He rubbed Davos' back. "No. Today." He paused again, forcing himself to surmount the embarrassment of what he was asking. "Today was… like nothing else."
Davos smiled against Stannis' neck, directly over the mark. "I'm glad you liked it."
"You have shown me much of what can be gotten up to in bed. I should like… I should like to know more. More than just the two of us in bed doing as we have done most nights. More like today."
"We can certainly do that." Davos' beard brushed his neck as a trail of kisses wended their way from the infernal mark to Stannis' collarbone. "In the future, sire, if I am to leave a mark, would you prefer it here?" A shortened forefinger brushed the base of his throat. Stannis shivered. He loved for Davos to touch him with his left hand; clearly, he had noticed.
"Yes," Stannis said, "Davos, you may by all means leave a mark there."
**
Stannis spent the bulk of the next few days wondering what Davos might have in mind for their next adventure. The mark on his neck faded, and Stannis resumed going about without his mantle pinned high about his chin, but more marks appeared, lower, in spots that were securely covered in public.
His, Stannis thought, I may be the king but I am well and truly my Hand's. He shivered at the thought of it, as he shivered at Davos' looks, the brief touches of their hands across the council table when passing papers back and forth. If any of the other council members noticed, none said a word. Even Renly held his tongue, though Stannis suspected all was clear to his master of laws.
He found he didn't mind.
"What are you thinking about, sire?"
Stannis dropped his quill. He had indeed been thinking about Davos, had been staring at him as he sat in the window seat, reading petitions.
"I'll tell you what I was thinking about." Davos laid his papers aside and settled back against the window, crossing his legs. "I was thinking about fucking." He said it so casually, as though he'd been thinking about reinforcing the city walls.
"Oh?" Stannis looked down at his ledger, but the figures seemed to swim together.
"Yes." Davos kept speaking in that same tone as though listing which locations on the walls needed repair. "I was thinking I might like for you to fuck me on that throne of yours."
Stannis leaned back in his chair. "Nonsense. You would not like those barbs, Davos. I wouldn't let you hurt yourself."
Davos rose from the window seat. "I would not be sitting in it. You would be." He came to Stannis' chair and swung into his lap, his back against the desk. "I would be in your lap, like this. And you would fuck me like this." He wriggled his arse so that it was lined up with Stannis' crotch.
"You still would have to hold the arms of throne."
"Perhaps I will wear gloves." Davos leaned in, letting his left hand run down Stannis' chest. He began to roll his hips.
Stannis kissed him. "And what about me?" He slid his hands down Davos' back and cupped his arse. "I should think I would find it painful. I would be forced to lean back."
Davos nuzzled at his neck, his beard rasping against Stannis' stubble. "Then perhaps I would suck your cock." He began to unlace Stannis' breeches. "You would not need to lean back."
Stannis squirmed as Davos' hand found his cock. "I feel as though I might anyway. I am often powerless in the face of your touch. And those stairs, Davos; you will not like kneeling on them."
"Mm." Davos' thumb brushed the underside of the head of Stannis' cock. "Then perhaps I will just have to suck your cock here then."
Before Stannis could even respond, Davos slid from his lap to the floor, under the desk.
Stannis gave a sharp intake of breath. They had never done anything like this outside the confines of a locked bedchamber.
He remembered how nervous he had been their first time, before they'd sailed from Dragonstone. Even with the confidence his large force gave him, Stannis was sensible of the fact that he might be killed. It was why he'd taken the chance of taking Davos into his bed—all the battles he'd faced since his youth had never given him the fear of dying a virgin, but once he had known Davos returned his feelings, he had wanted to take him to bed before they were separated.
He remembered his fear and nervousness, his hands fumbling like a green boy's. Four and thirty and that was what he was, though Davos had not appeared to judge him for a second.
At least now I am more comfortable, he thought with satisfaction as he skimmed his hand over Davos' head.
The door opened.
Stannis jerked his head up, though his hand remained under the desk. Randyll Tarly stood before him, looking annoyed.
"Your Grace," he said, a sheaf of papers extended before him. "The payment rolls for the sellswords and sellsails."
Davos flicked his tongue over the head of Stannis' cock. He tangled the fingers of his left hand in Davos' hair, willing him to continue.
"Thank you," he said, extending his other hand.
"I'll wait while you sign them, sire. The captains have been waiting for payment, and I would like to have that pirate gone as soon as possible."
Beneath the desk, Davos gave a huff of displeasure; Stannis knew he regarded Salladhor Saan as his dearest friend and had no patience for some of the court's disapproval of Stannis welcoming a pirate as an honored guest. (Stannis himself disapproved, but Saan had helped him to win his throne and that rated some reward.)
"Very well," he said, as Davos went back to licking lazily. "I shall sign them." His voice sounded a bit strangled to his own ears; he hoped Tarly didn't notice. He inked his quill as Davos took more of him into his mouth.
Stannis shivered and smudged his signature. Davos was uncommonly skilled in that regard. Stannis rocked his hips forward, knowing that the desk hid both Davos and his motion from view.
Stannis didn't know how old the desk was, but it had to date back to his great-grandsire's reign or before. He wondered if any of his predecessors had ever had their cock sucked under it while conducting royal business.
The most likely would be Robert and he hardly ever did any actual work.
He reached for the royal seal and stamped each document beside his signature.
"Lord Tarly," he said shakily, sliding the papers back over, as Davos' tongue swirled lazily. "You may inform the captains that they are paid in full and released from their duties to the Iron Throne."
Tarly bowed. Davos gave a great suck as the door closed, readjusting himself now that they were uninterrupted.
"Balls, Davos," Stannis managed.
He felt Davos' fingers exactly where he'd most desired them. It should have shamed him to have his Hand under his desk like this, especially while speaking to someone else but being interrupted had inflamed him like nothing else. He came hard and Davos swallowed every drop.
"Well, sire?" Davos said, resting his chin on Stannis' knees. "Was that what you had in mind?"
Stannis let out a shuddering breath. "Davos, what does it make me that…" He cleared his throat. "I wanted you to continue."
Davos smiled and eased himself out from under the desk. He sat on it, making Stannis wonder how many Hands had ever sat on the king's desk.
Certainly none who sat there with their king's breeches still undone.
"It doesn't mean anything in particular, sire. People have their inclinations. This is mine and I'm glad you share it."
Stannis took Davos' hand in his and kissed it. "Anything, Davos."
"And what else would you like?" Davos leaned forward to stroke his hair.
"Right now," Stannis said, sliding from his chair, "I should like to take care of this." He pressed his hand to the bulge in Davos' breeches which had waited all this time while Davos was under the desk.
"Mm." Davos pushed his hips forward to give Stannis better access. He unlaced Davos' breeches slowly, knowing what exquisite torture it was. He loved to see Davos with his head thrown back, his hair in disarray, as he took him in his mouth. He'd only recently become skilled at pleasing Davos with his mouth and he kept his attention on Davos as he did so, looking for signs that he should stop or continue what he was doing.
He also kept his eye on the door—in his rational mind, he didn't want someone to walk in and interrupt them, but in his irrational mind… the thought of someone seeing the king sucking his Hand's cock sent a warmth rising in his chest.
When Davos came, Stannis swallowed, wanting to take his seed inside him.
"You are beautiful," he told Davos, kissing his now-softened cock.
Davos laughed. "And so are you, Stannis." He kissed the top of his head. "Where shall we go next?"
Stannis frowned. "Next?" He was spent, as was Davos. There was work to do, even if Davos' arse was presently resting on his ledger.
"Next time," Davos clarified. "Do you have ideas of what you might want for next time?" He cupped Stannis' cheek. "For next time we decide to do this outside the privacy of our bedchamber?"
The rasp of Davos' hand on his beard was almost enough to make next time right now. Instead, he kissed Davos' wrist and stood, lifting Davos off the desk and setting him on his feet. "I'll think about it," he said. "For now, we have work."
"Naturally," Davos tucked himself back into his breeches, managing to make himself look every inch the Hand of the King.
Despite himself, Stannis was still distracted.
**
"Have you given it any thought?" Davos asked him on their way back from supper. Three days had passed, and Stannis had not ceased thinking of it. Ordinarily, he would have objected to discussion of this sort of thing in the corridors, but that seemed secondary when they were becoming so much more adventurous with those activities.
"Outside," he said thoughtfully. That would require arranging, though; they would need horses, to leave the city, to go into the Kingswood. But it was a sweet image, Davos laid out on the grass, the air on their bodies. "No."
"No?" Davos smiled.
"That wouldn't be practical." Stannis cleared his throat. "And there are secret passages throughout this castle, but most are disused and probably crawling with rats."
"That doesn't sound pleasant."
Stannis paused before a tapestry. He tried to imagine taking Davos while concealed behind it, but even with his newfound sense of adventure, his practical self prevailed on that, as well.
"Davos, do you love the sea?"
Davos smiled. "Of course you know I do, sire."
Stannis kissed him, quickly, liking how the torchlight flickered in the surprised widening of his brown eyes. "Then I want us to make love overlooking the sea." He kissed Davos again, pushing him back against the tapestry.
Anyone could come down this corridor, his rational mind said.
He kissed his way down Davos' neck, fumbling to undo his jerkin. All the best to finish quickly.
"Where?" Davos asked, tangling his fingers in Stannis' hair, keeping his mouth in place.
"There are balconies overlooking the sea. Not in Maegor's Holdfast. One of the towers overlooking the Rush." He nipped and sucked on a spot on Davos' throat.
"And what will you do?"
Stannis smiled. He could see what Davos was doing here—repayment for his scenario of the other day. "The balcony would be off a guest bedchamber—perhaps I would lock the door." Davos shivered under him. He stroked his hair. "I will strip you. I like taking your clothes off, Davos." He unlaced Davos' jerkin fully so that it hung open, then loosened the laces on his shirt and pressed a kiss to Davos' clavicle.
"And what of your clothes, sire?"
"I would leave that up to you. Do you like taking my clothes off?"
"Naturally, sire, but I do like watching you take them off yourself." He ran one shortened finger down Stannis' jaw. "I will admit I do like seeing you move naked." His hand brushed Stannis' bicep. "Your body is exquisite."
Stannis' hips bucked involuntarily, pinning Davos to the wall. "Very well then. I would take my clothes off for you. And you can enjoy it to your heart's content. For then we will go outside."
Davos ground his hips lightly against Stannis' thigh. "Outside," was all he could manage.
"I'll prepare you first." He let Davos grind against his thigh. "No need to bother with the oil outside. No place to put it." Davos chuckled slightly, but Stannis could not help being practical, even when he was doing this to Davos.
"I like when you prepare me," Davos told him. "I like feeling your fingers in my arse."
Stannis reached around to cup Davos' arse at that. He wasn't going to risk taking Davos' breeches off, as much as he longed to feel the warmth of his skin.
"Then we'll go outside."
"And then?" Davos was squirming. There would be no return soon, Stannis knew. They would have to get into the bedchamber, or Davos would come right here in his breeches—which, he reflected, perhaps wasn't a bad idea.
"I'll bend you over the railing and take you."
Davos made a strangled sound of pleasure, the exact same noise he made when Stannis did take him. His heart beat faster at that.
"Slow," he added. "I'll take you slow. I won't touch you just yet—just fuck you. Right in that spot."
Davos groaned.
"And then maybe I'll take your cock in my hand. But at first, I just want to enjoy you out in the open, in the sea air, smell the breeze, taste the salt on your skin."
Davos shut his eyes. "Stannis, I—"
There were footsteps at the end of the corridor. Davos' eyes went wide—they were too far from their chamber door. Davos seemed to make a moment's calculation before ducking behind the tapestry.
Stannis smoothed his hair and glanced down to see if his erection was visible.
"Ah, Stannis, I thought you might be in bed by now." Renly was coming toward him.
"What do you need, Renly?" He sounded more irritated than he had meant to, but that was not terribly out of character, he supposed.
"I was just hoping to have that book you were talking about." In the torchlight, Renly looked amused.
"You were looking for a book?"
Renly smirked. "I do do some work, Stannis."
Stannis could not help but glance over his shoulder. He hoped he looked casual. Davos was hidden completely behind the tapestry; Stannis hoped he was letting himself breathe, for it moved not. Only the tips of his boots were visible, but Stannis knew to look for them.
"You did ask me to review the tax code."
"I did." Stannis crossed his arms over his chest. He had completely forgotten about their conversation of that afternoon. "I…" He shook his head, biting back any further comment. "Thank you."
He forced himself to fetch the book as Renly waited in the doorway and Davos waited behind the tapestry. He glanced at Davos' boots one last time before he handed Renly the book. The woven boar which was being killed by Robert on the tapestry quivered slightly. Stannis turned back to his brother.
"Here," he said. "But it's not necessary to sit up half the night with it."
"Oh, I shan't," Renly assured him, smiling. "This was enough initiative for one night." He turned to go and paused. "And do tell Ser Davos he can come out now. Unless behind the tapestry was your intention. If so, there are choicer spots. All you need do is ask. I know most of them."
Stannis felt his face redden, but to his own surprise, a short, sharp laugh escaped his throat.
"If we need to know, we shall ask."
Renly nodded. "Good night, Stannis. Good night, Ser Davos."
Stannis stood rooted to the spot as he walked away.
Renly was gone before Davos emerged from behind the tapestry. His hair was in disarray and his jerkin and breeches were unlaced.
"I'm sorry, sire," he began.
"No." Stannis cleared his throat. "Don't apologize."
They were silent a moment, then Davos laughed. "I suppose that sort of thing is expected if one is going to do what we are doing."
"Indeed," Stannis said. While he wouldn't have chosen for this to happen, he found it wasn't a deterrent.
"Your, uh, plan, sire. Did you have more thoughts on it?" Davos stepped closer.
Stannis slipped his arm through Davos' and led him into the security of their chambers. Perhaps it was best to lock up for tonight.
"I do," he said. "Let me tell you them."