“Clarissa…”
“Well, nothing we can do now, I suppose. Though a push for a new law to prevent such things in the future should be considered.” She flicked her right hand, as if to wave her words away. “But enough about that, who was…that boy earlier?”
“Boy?”
“The white-haired one. He was rather rude. A stray? Sin, rumor has it, you tend to pick up quite a few. You really must think more before doing such things. People are starting to talk.”
Feeling his anger rise, he crossed his arms to prevent himself from clawing at the table. He wondered what the woman would think if she really knew him. The thought caused him to shudder, as a flash of darkness ran through his mind.
“Judgment from those I do not know has no hold over my actions.”
“Yes, I suppose that is how it should be,” Clarissa murmured, as if she understood. “However, you really should think about your reputation, and how being seen with someone like that boy will affect it. Cecil…was it? No matter, he is below you. It sends the wrong message to those in society. And that man, Roth.”
“My second-in-command,” Sin reminded her sharply.
“Yes…about that. It is rather odd having more than one, let alone three. I suppose you do have three main branches, but that in itself is unusual. You stand out, dear, and not in a way that most would consider good.” She clucked her tongue. “But if you think about it, if you let him go, you would still have two. Such a rude behemoth, really, manners must have been nonexistent in his home growing up. An uncivilized beast like him should never be in such a position. Not to mention his age. Second-in-command in the Zaytari, at only six hundred, why…it’s unheard of.”
Beast, ha. Clarissa had no clue as to the meaning of that word if she thought Roth was one. He doubted she had ever faced anything so horrifying.
Closing his eyes, Sin took a deep breath. When he opened them, he made sure his anger was hidden. “Clarissa, I believe it is time for us to part ways. You are obviously not someone I want to be associated with.”
She gasped. “What?”
When playing by the rules of ‘high-class’ society, there were many other ways to express your displeasure and disdain that didn’t involve screaming or violence.
Pulling his napkin from his lap, he tossed it onto the table and stood. “I am sure you, with your vast knowledge of society, understand my reasons. Being seen with someone with such little class…well, people talk. Rumors and all that, very bad for my reputation,” Sin explained gleefully.
Clarissa made a rather unflattering squawk, and her hand went to her throat.
“I have to say, that is the first intelligent thing you have said this evening, my dear. Well, that and your compliments on my suit.” Sin pulled on his long overcoat. “Now, beforemy reputation sinks lower, I will take my leave. But don’t worry, as I am a gentleman, I will pay the bill.”
Grabbing the billfold, he was about to storm out, when she sputtered, “You can’t…you…why?”
“You would not understand even if I told you. But I suppose I will explain in the vain hope that you will evolve into a better person.” He let his anger show just a bit, and said sternly, “No species is pure. We all have our downfalls, we all have our misdeeds, our acts of cruelty. We are all equal, for the simple fact that we are not perfect. It is truly a shame that KING Xavier has been denied what is truly his right due to individuals such as yourself. He is a good man.” With his hands on the table, he leaned in toward Clarissa. “And my ‘strays’ have more kindness than you will ever be capable of. Considering your personal convictions, you have no right to judge anyone’s character.”
“You…”
“Furthermore, the way I run my group, that is something you also will never understand, for the simple fact that you have nothing that you would die for. As for Roth, he may be rough around the edges, but he is a better judge of character than even I am at times. And his age is inconsequential. There are older immortals who do not understand the hardships of life, and young ones who have experienced too much. Oh, not to mention, he is only about three hundred years younger than I was when I was given my position.”
When he finished, Clarissa was gaping like a fish. Sin walked away withoutanother word.
In one form or another, all eyes were on him—so many sideways glances. Cecil had never felt so awkward, or so annoyed, in his entire life.
He was full, so somehow, he had managed to swallow enough food during the disaster that was the last few hours. It was surprising, considering the constant attempts by the forty or so people in the room to try to talk to him.
Despite being placed between Benji and Roth, he now knew more than he cared to about Jack and George. Jack was sitting on the other side of Benji, and George was beside Roth.
George was about six foot two and muscular, with long pointed ears, white-blue hair, tan skin, and two curly black horns. And he was an ice demon, who was married to a lovely fire demon named Jill. But the two had recently decided they needed more in their relationship and were looking for a third. While a woman would be okay, they would prefer if the person had a dick.
Oh, and they had a child on the way. Oh, and the reason George’s wife was not here to help her husband fill Cecil’s mind with scarring visual images of their sex life was because she was currently test driving the most recent of dicks. Apparently, the mystery man, who Cecil sincerely hoped he would never meet, was on his way to becoming a permanent addition in their relationship.
Now, Jack. Jack was a nature elf. The man stood just shy of six foot, was a bit on the thin side, had pointed ears,deep-brown skin with red undertones, and short grass-green hair.
Jack, unlike George, was very single. But he was on the lookout for the love of his life. And Jack had happily informed Cecil that he hoped that the person was into paddles because he liked being spanked. But he didn’t want a full-on dominatrix, as he wasn’t into whipping, just a light ass reddening. Though candle wax, ropes, possibly dildos and gags, were okay. But no real pain, as Jack wasn’t into that.
And how did Cecil know all of this? Well, the twolovelymen kept leaning over to talk to him. Because they had apparently decided that Cecil was their new best friend, and therefore, needed to know everything about them.
More so Jack. Cecil was almost positive that at one point the man had put his elbow in Benji’s food.
