There was a smothered little sob from outside the kitchen door, and Zihan narrowed his eyes, shooting his attention in that direction for a moment.
Rowdy curled in on himself before he slid his chair back and reclined in it, clearly a man with no worries. He spread out and took up more space than should have been possible.
“Zihan, what do you think the scion is doing without you?” Rowdy lifted his mug and slurped, being an ass on purpose. “You’re not allowed to use his name, right? You’re not worthy of it? I won’t, either, if it makes you uncomfortable, but I happen to know the scion’s name is Charles Waterhouse. Didyouknow that?”
There was a sharp inhale from Zihan, and he jerked his head forward once in acknowledgement.
Rowdy nodded back. “Yep. Charles Waterhouse. He used to live in his mother’s basement in Collingwood. Not that that means anything, greatness has to come from somewhere, right?”
“Yes,” Zihan replied, perking up immediately. “He is great, isn’t he? Saints have the same trouble. No one wants to canonize someone from their hometown. He’s perfect in every way.” The boy nearly fell over himself trying to get all of his words out quickly, and braced his hands on the table to keep on his feet. “The scion is amazing.” He chewed on his bottom lip. I had a feeling that part of how amazing the scion was began and ended with his bedroom performance, but I wasn’t about to say that right now. At twenty-two, someone else getting me off had been about the pinnacle of perfection.
Rowdy shrugged. “Charles also worked as a lab tech in a fertility clinic. Did you know he served time in prison for replacing the sperm of donors with his own?” Rowdy flashed his best smile, and Zihan’s expression slipped to a pained wince.
“O-of course. The scion was spreading his essence to make the world a better place. People like the scion are ethically bound to do such things. It’s the laws that are wrong. They should have helped him.” Zihan leaned more of his weight on the table, almost like his spine had melted. “He had to do those things. Please understand.”
My stomach sank. This kid was knee-deep in the Kool-Aid. He straightened and drew his hands up into his sweater sleeves while he studied Rowdy. Gradually he lifted one cloth-covered fist to his lips, then pressed it there.
“Is that why there’s a schedule?” I asked, remembering everything Rowdy had told me on the way over here. “Is that why everyone gives themselves to him? To the scion?”
Zihan closed his eyes and nodded. “It’s what’s right. He sleeps with the women in our collective to pass on his essence.” His mouth twisted into a bitter frown.
Bingo. Gotcha.Sex was so frequently the angle that could break people out of these situations. Humans were instinctual in many ways, and unless someone was polyamorous, they didn’t take kindly to being one of many on their chosen significant-other’s radar.
“And you? Why does he sleep with you, Zihan? Last I checked, men can’t have children. How does that advance his grand plan for the world?”
Zihan’s cheeks grew rosy, and the lovesick gleam in his eyes had my mood crashing further. “He sleeps with me because he loves me.”
Poor kid.“Then why are you home with your sister instead of there with him?” I asked softly. “I’m here to have a conversation. I’m not like Rowdy”—I jerked a thumb in his direction—“who’s here to change your mind. I’m here because I want to understand. Let me know what’s going on. Your sister is worried. If the truth about the scion is so pure, then surely she’d understand with a talking-to, right?”
He unfurled from his defensive position and nodded. I wasn’t ready for it when he scooted around the table and grabbed my arm, clamping on like a suckerfish. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’ve been hoping! I love my family, but I love him, too. I have to do this. Do you understand?”
“So, please, tell me—if he loves you, and you love him, why are you here?” I patted his hand. “If I loved someone, I wouldn’t want them anywhere except at my side.”
His smile faltered, and he sucked in a deep breath. “The scion needs money to maintain his rightful place.”
Rowdy snorted and slogged down some of his coffee. “You mean that big house outside of New Gothenburg?”
Zihan sniffed in disdain. “That’s his center where he spreads his teachings and essence.”
“Mm-hmm. And you agree to this?” Rowdy shot back. “Being his… what? Boyfriend? You keep your mouth shut while he spreads himself around.”
Zihan’s grip on me tightened until it hurt, and I lightly rubbed my fingers over the back of his hand. He unclenched a little. “You agreed, right?” I asked quietly.
“It’s an imperative to support the scion.”
Well, that sounded like murky consent if I ever heard it. My stomach went sour. Glancing at Rowdy, I circled the conversation around. “So, he sleeps with the women because he needs to spread his essence, and you because he loves you? They’re work. You two are lovers.”
Zihan nodded and smiled. “Exactly.”
“Aren’t there other men? They can’t be work, too, can they?”
A frown snuck across his face. “They also are loved by the scion. They’re my brothers.” He eased away from me and crossed his arms. “The scion has more needs than one person could fulfill.”
This was the tricky part. Push too hard and the conversation was over. I wouldn’t get another chance. “So it’s not just you, and that’s fine, Zihan. Polyamory is fine, but did you agree to that?” I aimed the question at him like a double-barrel shotgun, simply because it was something totally within his control. Had he agreed to pull this trigger with his scion, or was it a sticking point he’d simply given up on?
He glanced down at me, and the pain was easy to spot in his eyes. “I am not in a position to disagree with the scion.”
“Just let him fuck you and give him all your cash?” Rowdy asked bluntly, but that was what he was best at, cutting through bullshit. And he insisted on doing it no matter how many times I’d told him it was counterproductive with people like Zihan.
