“The joke was on her, though. The water sprites thought it would be even more funny if the boat appeared perfectly fine, even though she had wrecked it. The look on her face was priceless when she realized. I had no clue what was going on until one of the sprites warned me before I got on the boat. It allowed me to brazen my way through the situation entirely. I thanked her for taking such good care of it and decided on the spot that I was going to live in it just to piss her off. Any attempts I've made to fix the hole have failed, whether I use magical or mundane means, but it’s always worked perfectly fine.”
“Why would I judge you for that? Why would anyone?”
“Well, it wasn't a very mature thing to do, was it?” Clayton smiled sheepishly and smoothed down the lapels of his robe. “Not only did I move from the main house to live on a boat, but I also chose to leave England to become Samantha's assistant at her chapter house in Boston. In hindsight, it was a very catty thing to do.”
“Catty?”
“Serena wanted that position, and I was going to give it to her even though Samantha asked me to do it. It's always been easier to give Serena what she wants so she'll stay off my back.When she's mad at somebody, she and her friends make sure that person knows it.” Clayton sighed and played with the silk belt holding his robe together, causing his robe to fall open enough to reveal his chest. All of that smooth, freckled skin made Mal’s back teeth ache, and he realized that he was hungry again. “But Serena has no power over here, and if she came, Samantha would make her life a living hell. It pays to have a boss in high places, I suppose.”
“What are Serena's friends' names?” Mal asked.
“It doesn't really matter. It's been a long time since any of them have caused trouble for me.” Clayton’s fingers played with one of his lapels, and Mal saw the flash of a nipple. If Mal’s body hadn’t been a mental construct, he would have shattered his back teeth from clenching his jaw so hard.
“Hmm.” Mal nodded, deciding not to push. He doubted it would be difficult to find out their names. Besides, it would give his mind something to chew on to distract him from his desire to chew on Clayton. Mal’s new fixation was going to take some getting used to. It would probably be a bad idea to feed off of Clayton every ten minutes, so he needed to rein it in.
“I don't know why I'm telling you this. It's none of your business,” Clayton said, shaking his head like he'd snapped out of a trance. “I'm going to go get dressed now. You stay put.” He held out a hand to forestall Mal before he could follow.
Mal hadn’t realized he’d left his invisible seat and tried to follow in the first place. Why was his control so difficult all of a sudden?
Mal obeyed Clayton’s order sullenly, both to prove he could control himself and to appease his flustered redhead. Contrary to Mal’s previous behavior, he understood that he needed to act like a decent person to get Clayton to warm up to him.
Of course, that was half the fun. Getting his prey to come to him of his own free will was going to make everything so much more delicious in the end.
Mal watched the gentle, elegant lines of Clayton’s form move under his robe until he was out of sight. When Mal realized he’d taken a step to follow Clayton without realizing it, he shook himself from his trance.
Distraction. Mal needed a distraction. His gaze panned over the living area until it caught on the hole in the floor. Perfect.
First, he removed his invisible furniture so it wouldn’t take out an adventurous child on their way down the hole, and then he put up an invisible barrier around the whole thing. It wouldn’t prevent anyone from jumping in, but it would stop anyone from falling in by accident.
Mal was so happy with himself that he decided he would focus on being proactive until his redhead came back. He would inspect the entire boat for dangerous defects—starting with the hole in the hull he’d seen on his way in. However, when he turned around to get started, he jumped back in surprise at the figure in front of him.
Mal formed a long blade of essence on reflex, ready to rip through his assailant without asking questions, and only stopped at the last second when he recognized the person.
“What in the ever-loving fuck are you doing here?” Mal demanded. He cleared his throat because nightmares didn’t squeak, even when surprised, and it wasn’t happening again.
Not that it had happened in the first place.
“Nice to see you too, sunshine,” Holly said, completely unfazed by the weapon at her throat.
“How did you get in here?” Mal hadn’t had a hint of her presence, and that was unprecedented for him.
He always knew when people were around him. Within a ten-meter radius, Mal knew exactly how many creatures,sentient or otherwise, were around him. His senses were infallible, and he should have had warning of her approach well before she’d gotten so close.
Holly shrugged and said, “The usual way. Do you have anything to eat here?”
Eira entered the room just as Holly spoke and bulldozed her way into the conversation. “Did you bring a friend, Mal?”
She didn’t wait for him to clarify that, no, he hadn’t brought a friend, he’d brought a stowaway, and also, he didn’t have friends, nor did he want any. Instead, she continued on, talking over him like she didn’t care that she might offend a creature capable of destroying a small city on his own if he put forth a little effort.
“We’ve got plenty of food, love, and an extra bunk if you want to stay the night. It won’t be much, but any friend of Mal’s is welcome here.” Eira gave a kindly smile to Holly, unmindful of the tiny fit Mal was in the process of having.
How had Holly found him, and how had she gotten so close without him noticing? Fucking brownie magic. It had to have something to do with that. He couldn’t imagine how else she could have snuck up on him like that.
Brownies were devastatingly powerful in their own homes, but Holly didn’t live here, which meant she must be from a line of exceptionally talented brownies.
Holly hefted her bag on her shoulder and said, “Thanks! Where should I put my stuff?”
“Follow me, dear, and I’ll show you. The name’s Eira, by the way…”
