“You know I’m only doing this because the owners aren’t on the premises, don’t you?” Sage warned. If Nic and Luc had been around, Sage would have told Marty he was due to go on a field trip and stayed locked inside his home until after the holiday season. No amount of tears or pleadings from Marty would’ve changed his mind.
Personally, Sage found all natural cephalopods intensely interesting, and krakens the most fascinating of all. He had two degrees and a doctorate in teuthology, but that didn’t mean he wanted to get up close and personal with any cephalopod shifters. They were always larger than life, like the statues in the middle of the hotel foyer indicated, and for Sage, who spent a lifetime trying not to be noticed, attention from anyone so confident would’ve had him shivering in his shoes.
He wasn’t going to think about the gossip surrounding Nic and Luc, although following them on every social media and print platform was a private hobby of his – purely for research purposes. Virtually every aspect of their lives was documented, from their business acumen, Nic’s ability to make the perfect scrambled eggs, Luc’s skill and grace as a diver, and, of course, the numerous wild parties they held regularly on the top floor of the hotel that were considered all-out tentacle orgies by many of the people reporting on the events.
Sage would go to his grave before he ever mentioned to anyone how imagining all that tentacle play was guaranteed to speed up his weekly wank sessions. But he preferred his fantasies to stay in his head and not in real life. He didn’t have to be embarrassed about it. What people did in the privacy of their bedroom was their business, and everything Sage did, he did alone. Lusting after people and actually having anything to do with them were two separate things.
Marty sighed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Please stop worrying so much. If you followed our beloved krakens at all, you’d know that they spend three weeks over the holiday period at their private island, enjoying the sun, sand, and, I imagine, plenty of frolicking in the sea in their fully shifted form. They will be back to host their annual New Year’s Eve party, on New Year’s Eve, obviously…”
“But I’ll be working that night!” Sage didn’t care that he was interrupting his friend, even if he thought that sort of behavior was rude. “You said you weren’t coming back until New Year’s Day, and I assumed they wouldn’t be either.”
“You won’t see them, or any of their guests, or anything else like that,” Marty said quickly. “Honestly, pinky promise, they have their own private entrance. They never come into the lobby of the hotel. You won’t even know they are here, and they won’t be back at all until probably six the night of New Year’s Eve.”
“Marty! You promised. That’s the only reason I said I would come and do this for you, if they were away.” Sage was horrified. That was not what he’d agreed to. “Give me my papers back. I’m not doing this. You can’t make me.”
“Nope.” Marty could move fast if he needed to, disappearing around the desk and appearing behind a pile of tentacles. “You promised me you’d help me out.”
“One of the gargoyles can do it.”
“No, they can’t. They’re security, this is reception. Gargoyles are not polite or patient, so they can’t work on the front desk.”
“There has to be someone else who can do this. Or you could…”
Marty was already shaking his head. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen my mom and seventeen siblings all at the same time? Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve all been together in the one place? If I don’t go, if I can’t turn up because of work, it will literally break my mother’s heart. She’s been planning this since July. You wouldn’t do that to my mom, would you? She makes you socks every Christmas and wraps them up with a bow and everything, even though she thinks wrapping is a waste of paper. If you can’t do this for me, do it for my mom. She loves you.”
And this is why Marty gets his own way every single time. He knows how to make me feel guilty.It didn’t help that Marty was telling the truth. His mom was the only one who sent Sage anything for Christmas – well, aside from the odd student who thought they could get a better grade by giving Sage gift cards to university libraries. That was all done under the guise of Christmas, but Sage knew the meaning behind those so-called gifts.
Marty’s mom, though, had welcomed Sage into her home when his household had been an unsafe space and encouraged him through his studies. Marty’s mom had been the loudest person cheering when he graduated. His actual parents didn’t bother to turn up for that, but she did, along with Marty and six of his siblings.
“Fine. Although if your mom has been planning this since July, then that would’ve given you plenty of time to get your shifts covered, instead of waiting until December and hoping people would change their holiday plans.” He didn’t wait for an answer. Marty was a “do things at the last minute” type of person.
“Tell me again,” he said through gritted teeth. “When do the owners of this fine establishment typically get back from their holiday getaway? To the hour. I don’t expect to the minute, but I need to know the day and hour so I can be prepared.”
“New Year’s Eve.” Marty crept out from behind the tentacles. “They usually get back via helicopter around six in the evening. They will be totally focused on their party, which starts promptly at seven. You don’t even start your shift until eleven the same night, and Barry will be in to relieve you at seven in the morning. Eight hours. Eight hours where they will be celebrating the New Year with their friends. Upstairs. Nowhere near here. I absolutely promise. I’ll be back on shift for New Year’s Day night.”
“You fibbed to me.” Sage pointed at his friend. “That’s totally unfair, taking advantage of the fact I can’t smell a lie because I’m not a shifter.”
Marty crept closer, still clutching Sage’s papers to his chest. “I didn’t mean to, but I was desperate. I never understood what you have against meeting Luc and Nic anyway. They’re not half as bad as the press makes them out to be, and most people fall over themselves to be in the same room as them.”
Sage thought quickly. The truth was one secret he’d never share with his friend, and he already knew he couldn’t lie to a shifter. “It’s been reported many times that the owners of this place don’t have a high opinion of non-shifters,” he said, pleased that his extensive reading on the krakens meant he could come up with a plausible excuse.
“They’re both twice the size of me” - also true - “and could easily crush me with their tentacles in five seconds flat.” That was debatable – it might take longer than five seconds - but Marty probably didn’t know the tensile strength in tentacles like Sage did.
“They won’t come anywhere near you. Honestly, they have absolutely no reason to ever come down to reception. I promise.”
Sage sighed. “Fair enough. I’ll believe you, although if you start making a habit of stretching the truth with me, I will tell your mom.” He looked around at the reception space, the two chairs, and the computer and phone on the desk. “I’m here now, so you’d better show me what it is I need to know about your booking system, your computer system, and your telephone system. Hopefully, it won’t be difficult to pick up.”
“Somebody as brainy as you is gonna pick this up in five minutes,” Marty said, hurrying back around the reception counter, although Sage noticed he locked the papers in a drawer.“It’s really easy. If I can do it, you can do it with your eyes closed.”
That wasn’t quite as reassuring as Marty probably thought it would be, but Sage resigned himself to working at the Regis Hotel until the morning of New Year’s Day. That couldn’t come soon enough for him.My research is so much easier than doing this, and usually involves a lot less people.
Chapter Two
Luc
“Do you ever think about staying here forever? Or at least for longer than three weeks at a time?”
Luc looked over at his longtime partner, smiling fondly. His mate was a gorgeous man, finally relaxed thanks to their long-needed holiday. His short dark hair was getting a little long at the back and waving in curls in the light breeze. His deep blue eyes were as intense as ever, shining out from the tan of his skin. His shoulders and chest were bare, showing off a range of intricately penned tattoos of various symbols and icons that meant the world to Luc because they were on his mate’s skin.
