“Hands off my mate!”
They spent the rest of the evening eating and chatting happily. Alerion was even nicer than Dre had told him, and when he started telling childhood stories about his sons, Sammy had to laugh so hard that his ribs began to hurt. They parted with the promise to meet again soon, this time at Alerion’s home in Switzerland where he would treat Sammy to a traditional Switzer cheese fondue, complete with white bread and schnapps.
Back in Sammy’s apartment, they undressed and slipped under the covers after a quick stop at the bathroom.
“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Dre pulled Sammy’s back against his broad chest, massaging his upper thigh with his big hands. Sammy couldn’t suppress a groan. Being touched by Dre was as good as touching him, and he was already addicted to both sensations. Having a true mate definitely was bliss.
“No, it was fun. I like your father.” Sammy hesitated. “I didn’t want to ask while we were at Barion’s, since I do remember that this is a sore topic, but is there a reason your oldest brother wasn’t there?”
Sammy felt Dre tensing up behind him before he sighed deeply. “You’re right. This is a difficult topic for me, and for dad and Barion as well. Quirion has always been—different. He’s very bookish, but not in a fun, nerdy way like you and me. More in a ‘once he gets caught, he doesn’t look up’ way. It’s very hard to get him out of his home, and while he is happy I found my mate, that’s still no reason for him to abandon his studies. Don’t take it personally. We have stopped doing that centuries ago. It’s just the way he is.”
“I’m sorry. It must be hard not being able to connect with your brother.”
“It was, in the beginning. I’ve made my peace with it. The way I see it, Quirion is a constant in my life, something that never changes, that always waits for me in the same place, which is good at least for me. And I think he’s happy, so why should I force my ideas of happiness on him, even when his way of living strikes me as odd, to put it mildly?”
“You’re a great brother. A great mate. I love you, Dre.”
“And I love you, Sammy. Now, are you up for some honeymoon sex? Because I’m ready to go.” To emphasize his words, Dre nudged Sammy with his huge cock. A whimper escaped Sammy. Strictly speaking, he was too tired for action. Strictly speaking. On second thought, he was more than willing to roll around with his mate.
Chapter Seventeen
“You think this is a good idea?” Now that the book club meeting was actually happening, Sammy seemed to have second thoughts on Barion joining them.
“No, it’s probably not. But we both love Barion, so we can’t tell him not to come and the others said it’s okay. We just have to take Mavis’ and Maribell’s baskets from them, in case they come armored again.” Dre wasn’t sure what to think of Barion’s sudden interest in meeting people, but when he came to the book club, at least Dre could keep an eye on him. If Barion got into trouble, Dre would be there to help—or stop—him. Unless he pissed off the witches. Then his little brother would be on his own. Dre loved Barion, but he wasn’t suicidal, not when he’d finally found his mate. He took Sammy’s hand. “Let’s just see what happens. We can’t change it now anyway.”
“I love your pragmatic view on the world.” Sammy started making the drinks for his friends while Dre put some left-over pastries on a plate. Today was Emilia’s turn to bring sweets. As Sammy had informed him, the vampire tended toward more exotic food, like Japanesemochiice cream,wagashiandsata andagi. While Dre liked to try new things, he was a traditionalist when it came to his pastries, meaning he preferred cookies and pie and muffins over anything else. The plate with the pastries was his emergency ration.
A soft rustling at the tables let Dre turned around. Milo had already gone home. The kid had to study for another test, and the shop had been empty. Since he hadn’t heard the door chimes, Dre assumed his brother had arrived. “Barion.” He stopped short. It wasn’t his brother but Jon standing there, his hands folded in front of his body. “Oh, hi, Jon. I’m sorry. I forgot you come from downstairs. I was expecting my brother.”
Jon opened his mouth to say something but was cut short by Barion’s booming voice. “Did I hear my name?” Barion stepped forward from the section with the manga comics, his eyes gleaming happily.
“Yes. I mistook Jon for you. Jon, this is Barion, my younger brother. Don’t take anything he says seriously, and just in case he pisses you off, don’t forget that we have different mothers and I’m mated to your landlord. Barion, this is Jon. He’s a nice guy, so don’t bother him with your usual crap.”
“Geez, brother, I feel so loved.” Barion turned to Jon, offering him his hand, only to pull it back when he seemed to remember what Dre had told him about the zombie’s aversion to touching. “Hi, Jon. I’m so sorry you only had my brother as a role model for demons so far. I can assure you that we weren’t all born with a stick up our asses. Some of us are actually fun to be around.”
Jon grinned broadly. “Hi, Barion. I like you. You’re funny. Who do you think should end up on the Iron Throne?”
Barion’s eyes started to gleam. “A man after my heart. Daenerys, of course, with Jon as her loving husband and Drogon and Rhaegal to protect their children. Tell me, what do you think about Lagertha?”
“I love her. A strong woman, who knows what she wants and who has no qualms taking it. Though I do have a weak spot for Aslaug. I think she was misrepresented in the series.”
Barion smiled broadly and gestured toward one of the couches. “Shall we sit? I can feel a longer discussion in our immediate future.”
Jon nodded shyly before sitting down next to Barion. The two started chatting like they’d known each other forever. Dre turned to Sammy with raised brows. All he got was a shrug.
When Sammy was done making everybody’s favorite beverage, the others started trickling in, as if they had smelled it. Mavis and Maribell were the first, followed by Amber and Emilia, who had indeed brought an assortment of Japanese sweets, which made Dre grateful for the pastries he had secured. Last were Troy and Declan, who immediately snatched two of the greenmochiice creams, happily munching on them while they settled next to Amber. Once everybody was seated, Sammy cleared his throat. “Welcome, everybody, to our book club meeting. Over there is Barion, Dre’s little brother, who has joined us today to see if the book club is for him.”
Barion waved, meeting the gaze of everybody. Declan and Troy waved back, Emilia and Amber gave a nod, and Mavis and Maribell just stared. Their purses were too small to host a lot of curses, so Dre allowed himself to relax slightly. Sammy went on, recapitulating what they had done during the last meeting before introducing the new topic. “Now what were your impressions of theCthulhu Cycleby H. P. Lovecraft?” He looked around.
Both of Barion’s brows arched up. “I’ve meant to ask this before, brother. Wasn’t Lovecraft that human Aunt Corrallione hooked up with for some time?”
Dre rolled his eyes. Leave it to Barion to ruin his big surprise. “Yes, Barion. She was. And thank you. I’ve meant to mention this little tidbit casually during discussion. Thanks to you, my grand entrance is ruined.”
“Wait, Lovecraft actually knew a demon?” Amber’s eyebrows almost reached her hairline and she looked at lot more elegant doing it than Barion.
“‘Knew’ is one way of putting it,” Barion huffed. “They were fucking like bunnies in the spring.”
“Barion! Watch your language.” Dre threw his brother an angry look.
