Sometimes Getting People to Cooperate Means Slightly Misrepresenting What You Want from Them
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Geoffrey wasn’t likely to cum, but that wasn’t the point of his cock being in Janus’s mouth at the moment. They were on their way to the peace summit with Hans, and Janus had been talking endlessly about what they’d do once they got there, what kind of tricks Hans was likely to play, how they might escape if they had to, whether anyone else might betray them, whether any of Hans’s people might betray him, and Geoffrey had just gotten tired of it.
It wasn’t like he’d shoved his cock in Janus’s mouth to shut him up. He’d started kissing him to calm him down, stop him worrying. And it had proceeded to them making out, and then groping each other, and now Janus was on his knees sucking Geoffrey off as they headed towards King Ludwig’s Plaza.
Geoffrey was pretty grateful for the quiet, though. It let him think about how he was going to tackle this meeting. It wasn’t like he was going to be alone, but he didn’t trust anyone else to make the right decisions, so even if Danai and Tanya, as well as Kristophe Ochkar and Helga Arkmeyer were going to be with them, Geoffrey knew he’d have to do as much of the talking as he could. Especially if Giacomo was there.
He idly stroked Janus’s cheek as the cart moved, wondering if Hans would be stupid enough to bring Dahlia. Probably not, because it would give them the opportunity to free her. But having her there would speak to the legitimacy of the discussion. He couldn’t be her regent by force forever, so he was going to have to convince her to at least pretend to be on his side. Giacomo would have told him not to bring Dahlia, Geoffrey thought. So whether or not she was there would tell him quickly whether Hans was listening to Giacomo. Giacomo would be a nightmare of a hostage, which meant he was there on purpose.
Geoffrey wished he knew what Giacomo was doing with Hans, though. Why hadn’t he been in touch? How long had he been back? If he was with Hans, why was he using him as a puppet instead of just killing him? Not knowing what he was planning made it hard for Geoffrey to plan anything. He’d barely been able to pull himself together since Giacomo had left him, and now he felt almost as off-balance as he’d been that first night.
Janus gave a strong suck, bobbing his head lower as the carriage turned a corner. There was no point in sitting here worrying about it. He’d figure out in a few minutes, hopefully. And sure enough, a minute later the carriage stopped, the tiny driver’s door opening. “We’ve arrived, Lord Geoffrey,” said his driver.
Geoffrey nodded, not that anyone could see him. “Is Hans here already? I’m not standing out in the cold waiting for him for hours.” It was the oldest power play in the book, but it was effective as hell. Plus a part of Geoffrey—the part that was in Janus’s mouth—figured that if he waited, he could at least finish this blowjob.
“His people are here, my lord,” said the driver. “And his carriage.”
Geoffrey sighed. Damn. He gave Janus a tap, and Janus slid off his cock, sitting back and wiping his mouth. Geoffrey did up his pants, not really caring that it was obvious he had a boner in them. The cold and politics would probably make up for that soon enough. He helped Janus stand and straightened his coat, smiling at him and giving him a kiss. “It’s going to be okay,” he promised. “You’ll see.”
Janus nodded, sighing. “I hope so.”
Geoffrey opened the door and helped Janus down the step. Javier and Dalton had come in a different carriage with the other four companions, which was an optic Geoffrey didn’t like, but hadn’t picked. Tanya and Danai and Kristophe and Helga were already out of their own carriages, which was probably because none of them had had to get dressed.
King Ludwig’s Plaza was a huge circular square that was full of shops, statues, fountains and other shit that Geoffrey didn’t care about. About fifty metres away a long table was set up. Geoffrey and Janus’s guards were fanning out around them, more than enough to overpower the ones from Hans that were milling around. There weren’t enough swords here for anyone to justify starting a fight, that was for sure.
Hans wasn’t sitting at the table, but Giacomo was. Even in a heavy coat and hat and from this distance, Geoffrey would always recognize him. He started over there, Janus taking his hand as he went. Javier joined them with Dalton, and probably they all wanted him to walk more slowly, but Geoffrey didn’t care. He crossed the hundred metres as though it were ten, and then he was there, standing on the other side of the table. Giacomo smiled up at him, not getting up. “Thanks for coming.”
“Yeah,” Geoffrey said. “I’m…glad you’re okay.” He tried not to let it sound like the question it was.
Giacomo nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay too. Congratulations. I’m sorry I couldn’t be at the wedding.”
“Me too,” said Geoffrey. “Giacomo, what’s going on? Where’s Hans?” Why aren’t they hugging? This was all wrong. Geoffrey had imagined this moment every time his eyes closed since Giacomo had gone, and it was never like this.
“The king regent asked me to speak in his place,” said Giacomo, his smile the same one he’d used to use when telling dad that Geoffrey had made him steal all the desserts from the kitchen.
“We were invited to this conference to discuss terms of peace in good faith,” said Kristophe Ochkar, arms crossed. “And our enemy isn’t even here? This is insulting. We’re all pleased to see that you’re safe, Lord Giacomo, but if Hans thinks that holding you hostage is going to make us change our stance…”
“I’m not a hostage,” Giacomo interrupted. “Please, sit down, all of you. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Did you kidnap Dahlia, Giacomo?” Geoffrey asked, taking a seat and joining him at the table.
“I organized her rescue, yes.”
“And Alfie?”
“I asked him to wait in the carriage. Ideally I’d like it if we could work out terms that don’t put anyone in a prison cell. Let’s start with how you’re going to pay back the damages that you’ve done to the Kyainese crown with your rebellion.”
“Excuse me?” Janus asked. “How we’re going to pay? We’ve been protecting the queen from the usurper. You expect us to apologize to him?”
“Yes, that’s going to be important,” Giacomo agreed.
“We came here because you said you wanted to discuss terms of peace,” Tanya said. “In a peace accord, both sides compromise.”
“Right.” Giacomo nodded once, looked at all of them, then locked eyes with Geoffrey. “I should be clearer. We have Dahlia and baby Francesca. You have nothing but each other. This isn’t a peace accord. We’re negotiating the terms of your surrender.”
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How Best to Use a Sword 