I was achy from sleeping on the couch, but other than that, I felt pretty good. Lack of sleep and copious amounts of ale hadn't done a thing to me. All right, maybe a little thing. I stumbled to the bathroom, yawning, and yanked off my clothes, starting with my boots. I couldn't remember if I'd ever been so drunk that I'd slept in my boots. I didn't think so. I'd gotten drunk before, but it was always alone, and drinking alone wasn't as much fun. I usually stopped before I was to the point of staggering to bed.
The hot water felt divine. As if the Goddess had blessed the water for me. I sighed and hung my head under the spray, letting it ease my muscles. By the time I was done, I felt awake and refreshed. I got out, dried off, and gathered my clothes to take into the dressing room with me.
After tossing my dirty clothes into the basket for washing, I pulled on some fresh ones, finished with socks and boots, then headed out to the sitting room. I wanted to make sure I hadn't made a mess there before I went downstairs. What waited for me was a mess all right.
“Taroc!” I jerked to a stop in the doorway. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Taroc stood up and strode over to me. I backed up. He kept coming. I kept backing up until the back of my legs hit one of the bedside tables, jostling the lamp and the bottle of oil on top.
Taroc grabbed the front of my tunic. “How many men are you courting?”
“What?” I whispered.
“How many?!” He roared.
“None,” I said, jerking my tunic out of his grip. “I thought we were . . . but then you stopped coming around. So, none.”
Taroc blinked. His chest was heaving, but its rapid rise and fall slowed. His expression shifted into confusion. “What?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I shoved at his chest. “I thought we were doing great and then you just vanished. I assumed you changed your mind, that you had second thoughts about committing to this,” I flung my arms out. “And that's fine, Taroc. I get it. But then you look at me as if it'smyfault!” I pushed his chest again, and he stumbled back a step. “I'm sorry you want me but can't deal with sharing. That's not my fault! I didn't choose any of this!”
“What do you mean, no one?” Taroc whispered.
I scowled at him. “Are you stupid? No one. Zero. It was one—you—now, nobody.”
“What about Jusso?”
“Jusso?” I shook my head in disbelief. “I haven't even flirted with Jusso since the time he told me he was only interested in sex.”
“But Caleb . . .” Taroc's eyes narrowed. “Motherfucker!”
“Caleb? What did Caleb do?”
“I overheard him tell one of the other humans that you used to be lovers,” Taroc said.
“Yes, we were. So what?”
“It was at breakfast.” He grimaced. “I heard him as I passed by, and I sat down close enough to listen in on the rest of his conversation.”
“You eavesdropped on Caleb?”
“I'm not proud of it, but . . . now, I'm wondering if he meant for me to hear it.”
“It's not as if I'm hiding the fact that I was with him,” I said, utterly exasperated. “Caleb mentioning that shouldn't have—”
“Then one of the others asked Caleb if he wanted to get you back.”
I went still. “And he said no, right?”
“He did.”
I let out my breath in relief.
“But then he said, he wouldn't stand a chance with you, not with all your lovers and the men you were dating. Men, plural.”
“All right, first of all, he probably doesn't understand that I only date one man at a time. Second, if you were so upset by hearing that, why didn't you ask me about it?”
“I went to ask you, and I found you with Jusso.”
