And Leander was not the only one reactive to the other’s touch. He could sense Talia and her cravings. That wasn’t acting—she wanted him too.
His thumbs and fingers never quite stayed still, constantly moving against the girl’s exposed skin, and his tongue had now joined the exploration of Talia’s body.
Leander could feel her pulse racing, as well as the way her muscles seemed to simultaneously relax and contract under his attention.
He wondered, briefly, if this was how she reacted to every customer of Jasmine’s brothel, with whomever she shared a bed. He pushed the idea from his mind and continued his ministrations, determined to enjoy himself tonight.
Talia mewled.
“Oh?” the lordling purred. “For someone who has been so articulate up until now... now you’re struggling to vocalise exactly what you want?” Leander’s voice had become deeper, and slightly huskier, with arousal as he reached up to kiss just under her ear… gratified immensely to hear her breathing hitch.
Leander’s hand drifted south, seeking Talia’s sweet centre under what remained of the whore’s clothes. Her back arched. Only Leander’s eyes hinted at his desire... everything else, his actions as ever were slow and controlled, and there was the unmistakable unflappable discipline masking his expression.
“What do you want, Talia?” He returned his tongue’s attentions to her neck and collarbone. Leander loved this position, where his partner was so vulnerable, left at his mercy. He enjoyed theslow tortureof another, especially when they were so responsive to him.
His kisses sank lower on her body as his fingers worked to remove the last of her clothing. It was a beautiful piece of embroidered and sequenced fabric no doubt… far finer than a girl of her station could afford, but it needed to go.
The bang of the door being opened caused both Leander and Talia to flinch in shock. Two pairs of eyes turned to see a young man standing there.
“I…” The intruder’s eyes were wide, as if surprised to find the room occupied. “Sorry.” The man turned to leave.
“Hold on,” Leander called, irritated at the disturbance, but enjoying the aesthetics of the boy and wondering if Jasmine had sent him someone else to enjoy alongside Talia. “Come in.”
The other man hesitated before taking a few steps into the room.
Leander extracted himself from Talia (who seemed about to speak but remained silent while Leander examined the new arrival) and stood, picking up the two goblets and offering one to the man, who was unbelievably attractive. “What is your name?”
“What would you like it to be, my lord?”
Leander frowned, sensing deceit radiating off the man. The man in front of him was beautiful, with raven-coloured locks and strikingly intense cerulean eyes. Olive skin indicated he was another foreign beauty of Jasmine’s.
Leander wanted him in an instant, but not when heobviously wasn’t wanted back. In the back of his mind, there was something—and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what—that was familiar about the man standing before him. Possibly with a clearer head, maybe…
“Do you not like wine, boy?” Leander waved the goblet, which had been offered some time ago.
The prostitute reached out to accept the wine and took a hasty sip of the drink.
All the while, Leander examined the intruder. He could tell the man didn’t want to be here. Talia, who had shifted from the bed to join him at the door, ran her perfectly manicured fingers up the ridges that formed Leander’s torso, and the demigod turned momentarily from the intruder.
“Leo…” she murmured, a husky, breathy way of summoning him back to a moment he had been thoroughly enjoying. “I have something to show you… privately.”
Oh, what a promise to make. Talia was unimpeachably good at her job. Leander leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss, sealing the deal, because he very much wanted to know more.
“Can your friend not join us?” Leander turned back to the other man. “You’ve ruined what promised to be the best night I’ve had in a long while, boy. How can you possibly make it up to me?”
A dark expression passed over the other man’s face and he opened his mouth to speak. “I don’t know, my lord. In any way you please.”
Ignoring the way Talia’s anxiety spiked, Leander’s hand trailed over the man’s hand and up his bare arm, snaking apattern with his index finger. When it reached the man’s shoulder, he traced the man’s neck and brought it along his jaw, angling the head downwards just a tad so he could look into the taller man’s piercing eyes. They were mesmerising.
“He’s not?—”
But Leander didn’t give Talia the opportunity to finish. “You don’t know…” he muttered, disappointed at the man’s lack of proactivity and resourcefulness. Surely that was what a whore knew best, how to help shy customers out of their shells. Leander did not, therefore, like a coy whore.
“What would you like me to do, my lord?”
There it was again, that ridiculous and self-effacing turn of phrase that probably got the dicks of other lords rising to the skies, but it did not have the same effect on Leander.
Sighing, he moved his hand to rest on the chest of the man standing in the door and pushed him back lightly. “You’re no good to me, boy. Get out,” Leander ordered before the man could come up with some undoubtedly unobtrusive and reticent phrase to appease him.
