Thingsreallywere fucking bad, then.
“He’ll get there,” King said, effectively ending any other questions when it came to Alessio. He had full faith in him, all of us did, but maybe it was time Alessio asked for help.
I wasn’t about to make that suggestion, though, not when it was obvious things were tense enough over there as it was.
It almost made me feel guilty that Theo and I were hidden away enjoying ourselves while they were the ones dealing with the real-world repercussions.
“So what about you two?” Benoit said. “Are you going mad in the middle of nowhere yet? I’m surprised our prince hasn’t thrown himself off the roof from boredom.”
Theo smirked and set his glass on the coffee table before moving to straddle my thigh. The look of payback in his eyes was clear as he rocked over me, and it was all I could do to focus on the call and not what his troublesome ass was doing.
“Turns out we’ve equipped the house with enough to keep us occupied,” I said. “The game room was a great addition.”
“So was the gym.” Theo waggled his brows at me, and I held my finger up to his lips to silence him from saying more, but he bit the tip of my finger and added, “I’ll be in the best shape of my life when we leave after all the long, hot, sweaty workouts. Keeps me occupied forhours.”
Dear God, I was going to kill him, especially when he winked at me and leaned in to nibble at my ear.
If I could’ve pushed him off and pinned his ass to the couch without the noise being obvious, I would’ve done it, but for now all I could do was my best to ignore him.
“I’m surprised Shep hasn’t forced you to do a hike,” King mused.
Theo shifted to bite my lower lip and grinned down at me when I dug my fingers into his thighs. “Actually, this asshole woke me up at the crack of dawn on our first day here to get in touch with nature.”
Several groans sounded through the line. Apparently my interests weren’t a popular choice with this crowd.
“Theo and nature,” Benoit said, amusement clear in his voice. “I’m dying to know how that worked out.”
“Did you really get him to go? I don’t believe for a second Theo touched dirt,” Lucien added.
“It was mud, actually.” Theo glowered at me. “And it got on my shoes. I’m still recovering.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. He acts like a mosquito bite is attempted murder.”
“You’re forgetting I saved you from a spider.”
“Bullshit.” That was King.
“Excuse me, it’s true. It was massive and about to take a bite out of America’s son, and I basically saved his life. You’re welcome.”
“A prince battling mosquitos and spiders?” Benoit gave a mocking gasp. “Mon Dieu. However did you survive without silk sheets and room service?”
I snorted out a laugh, knowing full well Theo preferred street food to room service, unlike me. Hell, King knew it too, which was my guess as to why he didn’t add to that.
“I’ve got Shep,” Theo said, squeezing his thighs tight around me. “He cooks, but unfortunately he didn’t bring any turn-down chocolates.”
“How thoughtless of him for saving your ass instead of catering to your small comforts. You should be fucking grateful.”
Theo’s smile fell at King’s remark, and it immediately rubbed me the wrong way. What the fuck kind of comment was that?
“He was joking,” I snapped.
“Of course he was,” Lucien rushed to say, obviously sensing the tension. “We’re just giving you both a hard time, and knowing our Theo, it’s entertaining to imagine the two of you there.”
Theo ran his hand up and down my arm, soothing away my irritation as he mouthed,It’s fine.
I shook my head but tried to brush it off. The last thing we needed was infighting. But damn, King was out of line.
“So we know the spiders didn’t get a chance, but, uh, no other critters have been sucking on you, have they?” There was something in Lucien’s words, a bit of teasing or knowing that had me thinking his question had more to do with me and Theo than any “critters.” Maybe it was the look he had given me at the wedding after the first time Theo and I hooked up that made me wonder.
