Asher slides his arms more fully around Nathaniel, hugging him close.

"And I love you in a way I have never loved any other," he breathes, kissing Nathaniel's shoulder, squeezing him gently.

"I..." he sighs. "I was Belle's plaything. A bright shiny bauble to distract the eye. She taught me how to seduce, how to gain anything I wished from a lover, just with a glance. And I was the perfect student."