But when the knock came a fourth time, I grabbed Blueberry and threw him at the door so hard it caused a loudthump.
Muzo gasped. “Blueberry! You killed him!”
“He’s full of stuffing. He’s fine,” I mumbled. “Go back to sleep.”
“It’s hard to sleep after witnessing plushie murder...”
I hauled myself out of bed, picked Blueberry off the floor, dusted him off, then plopped him back in Muzo’s waiting arms. My mate lit up as he hugged the abused plushie to his chest.
“Yay! Now we can go back to sleep,” he decided.
Just as I was about to crawl back into bed, the door clicked. I watched, flabbergasted, as it swung open to reveal Jade. He held up one finger, which sported a dragon claw at the end. He didn’t look pleased to see me.
The feeling was mutual. “Since when do you know how to pick locks?” I grumbled.
Jade’s claw shifted back and he crossed his arms. “I’m glad you asked. I read about it recently in one of the many books in my library, and this was a good opportunity to practice what I’d learned.”
“Oh, hey, Jade!” Muzo called from the bed, waving.
Jade smiled at him. “Good morning, Muzo.” The smile fell off his face when he turned back to me. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
I hesitated.
Jade provided the answer for me. “No, you don’t.” He checked his silver watch. “It is now 10 AM. You were supposed to be on the beach an hour ago. I reassured every member of staffandthe contestants you would be present. I assumed you would be there, given our talk about responsibility.”
I grimaced as guilt slammed into me. Jade was right—again. When I agreed to be the bachelor of the Games, I took on certain duties. It embarrassed me that my younger brothers did a better job at this than I did.
“I’m sorry for skirting my responsibilities,” I said. “But I’m not sorry for spending the night with Muzo.”
“I didn’t say you had to be,” Jade pointed out.
“Oh, crap,” Muzo said, sounding down. “Is this my fault?”
“No,” I said instantly.
Jade nodded. “You’re fine, Muzo. Cobalt is the one who whisked you away to the castle and ravaged you,” he added with a smirk.
I shrugged. There was no point in denying it. If the two naked men caught in bed weren’t enough of an indication, then the lingering scent of sex in the air was the nail in the coffin.
“I’m happy for you two, truly,” Jade said, putting a hand on his chest. “Just try to remember thatsomeonehas to be in charge of running the Games, hm? And I can’t run them if the big bad bachelor himself can’t be bothered to show up.”
I hung my head. “Yes. You’re right.”
Jade sighed. “It’s fine. I should’ve seen this coming from a mile away since you barely paid attention during the challenge briefing.”
“The what?”
“Do you even remember the concepts we discussed?”
I balked. “Um...”
“I rest my case,” Jade said, amused despite himself. “At the time, you half-heartedly agreed to a quiz show about yourself, like Thystle did on his season. Although I doubt it would have been a success, given how little the contestants know you.”
I rubbed my temple. “I don’t even remember agreeing to that.”
Back then, I was so distracted by Muzo’s distant suffering that I couldn’t think of anything else. All I knew was that my fated mate was out there somewhere, going through hardships. I was glad to finally have him in my arms where he could be safe forever.
“So, what are they doing instead?” I asked.
