You are being ridiculous. He knew it, and it still didn't stop him from wanting to run away. He drank a mouthful of mead that the elves had in large kegs all around their party field and hoped it would calm the flutter in his stomach.
"You look like you are going to throw up already," Bas said from beside him. "How much of that have you drunk?"
"Not enough."
Bas could have pulled the answer out of Apollo's head if he wanted to, but his telepathic brother respected everyone's boundaries. "You want to talk about it?"
"No. I'm fine, little bro."
Bas nudged him. "Come on. I know about the present for Lachie. I think it's good that you are extending an olive branch. I never could figure out why you two butted heads so much."
"He just thought I was another sibling to watch out for as soon as Charlotte mated with Reeve. I don't need anotherbrother," Apollo sniffed. "The man has serious issues with boundaries."
Bas gave him a pointed look. "He's not the only one."
Apollo ignored that. He didn'tneedanother brother. Especially not one that he thought about getting naked all the time, but he couldn't help it.
Lachlan Ironwood was a rugged kind of handsome that both sexes were attracted to. There was something about him that screamed, 'I'm big and tough, and I can protect you.'
Apollo had dated plenty of hot people. Lachlan's looks weren't the problem. Well, not the whole problem.
It was that ever since Apollo had seen him, he had the most overwhelming urge to sink his teeth into him. He didn't know if he wanted to fight him or fuck him, and all of Apollo's easygoing nature went out the window as soon as he saw him.
Lachlan didn't have to say anything, and Apollo wanted to yell at him. It made zero sense. If he were just another hot guy, Apollo would fuck him and move on. But no. There would be no fucking Lachlan Ironwood.
Apollo had another mouthful of mead. "I told Dad and Charlotte that I would start to play nice with Lachlan, and that's what I will do. It's his birthday in a few days, and I'm giving him a present. That's nice and family-like."
"Surrree. You two are the most platonic bros I've ever seen," Bas replied, and Apollo scowled. "Don't glare at me. I don't need to read your mind to know you lose all your cool around him. I have eyes."
"Shut up. It's probably a dumb dragon instinct telling me to fight him that has kicked in since magic was fixed and dragon knights inundated us," Apollo huffed in reply and looked across the field, where said dragon knights were trying to out-drink a group of wolves.
"Well, you better get your game face on, big brother, because Lachie is headed our way," Bas said.
Apollo fixed a placid smile on his face. He could do this. He could be nice and polite. He could make peace like he promised. Truth be told, he didn't even know how their disagreement started. It was like they saw each other and started fighting.
Lachlan wore jeans and a black shirt, his dark hair curling in the heat. Apollo swallowed hard. He just had to be cool, give Lachlan his peace/birthday present, and they could ignore each other forever.
"Hey," Bas greeted, rising from his chair. "Nice to see you, Lachie. I'm just going to refill my drink."
Apollo whispered, "You fucking traitor."
"Apollonius. You look well."
Kill me, Apollo prayed to the gods. They ignored him as usual.
"You need to come with me," Apollo said, stuffing his hands in his back pockets so he wouldn't touch things he shouldn't. He started walking away and didn't look back to see if Lachlan was following. Apollo could feel his dark blue eyes on the back of his neck. His pits started to sweat even more.
"If you are going to kill me, Layla's garage probably isn't the smartest spot to do it," Lachlan said, his deep voice filled with amusement.
"If I was going to kill you, I'd poison you like an alchemist should. A bit of Aqua Torfana just to keep to the classics." Apollo opened up the garage door and turned on the light. On the work counter behind Layla's SUV was a long, polished wooden box.
"Okay, so you aren't trying to kill me. What's this about?" Lachlan moved in front of him. "Are you in trouble? Has someone hurt you? Because if they have..."
"No, you troglodyte, no one has hurt me. You don't think I can handle my own shit? This is why you infuriate me so much.I'm not your little brother to look out for," Apollo snapped and then bit his tongue.Don't fight. Don't fight.
Lachlan looked down at him. Apollo wasn't short or slender, yet having Lachlan Ironwood loom over him made him feel like a tiny twink, no matter how much he worked out.
"Trust me, I have never, ever looked at you like your brother," Lachlan said, his lips twitching like he was fighting a smile.
