Rowan was watching him walk between the cubicles now, and everything around him faded away.
Rowan trembled as he was led with the others onto the bigger ship. The pirates had easily overtaken his small group, and now he knew they’d either be sold off as slaves or forced overboard into the endless sea. They shouldn’t have braved trying to sail through to another continent. They’d been warned that pirates ruled this section of the world.
“Who do we have here?”
The deep voice sent shivers down his spine, ones that didn’t entirely feel like fear. He watched with wide eyes as the most beautiful man he’d ever seen walked toward them. His long black hair was loose about his face, dark brown eyes narrowing on Rowan himself. The ship shifted on the moving water, yet the obvious captain didn’t miss a step as he confidently strolled across the deck until he stopped right in front of Rowan.
“Such pretty red hair,” he murmured as he reached out to rub a strand between his fingers. “Whatever shall I do with you?”
Another shiver wracked his spine. Desire blazed from those dark eyes, and Rowan knew he wouldn’t have a sea death until this man had his fill of him.
A loud snort brought him out of the fantasy, and he blinked the real world back into focus to find Emory standing right in front of him and staring at him with complete amusement.
“Have a habit of just drifting off in your mind, don’t you?”
Rowan looked past him to Ivor, who was regarding him with amusement of his own. Only Ivor also had a thoughtful expression on his face, head tilted to the side.
Shutting his eyes, Rowan inwardly struggled not to show his humiliation this time. He really had to get a handle on this fantasizing thing.
Emory laughed again. “I came to get you because Xavier ordered a bunch of food and everyone is going downstairs to the big conference room to eat. You like Chinese?”
Rowan nodded at Ivor’s question. “Love it.”
“Come. I’ll show you the way.” Ivor nodded his head toward the elevator.
When they reached the door to the conference room, Rowan hesitated because the table was mostly full. He recognized a lot of the preternaturals, but there were a few humans like him inthe room he hadn’t met. One of them came forward and held out his hand. He had black hair, and Alaric, the elf he’d already met, was standing close to him with a hand on his back.
“Hi, I’m Ezra, and you’ve met my boyfriend, Alaric. Alaric says I’m not friendly enough, so here I am. Introducing myself.” He rolled his eyes toward his boyfriend, who chuckled.
Rowan couldn’t help but grin himself. He liked nothing better than a straightforward person. “I’m Rowan.”
“I’ve heard you bake like a dream. You must be going nuts stuck here like you are. I’m really sorry about that draugr.”
“So am I. Thing is ridiculously scary.”
“So, you’re like us?” He waved his finger around at the other humans. “We can all see through their magic. Has Ivor told you what that could mean?”
Rowan frowned. “What that could mean?”
Ezra opened his mouth, but Alaric clapped his hand over it and gave Rowan a smile. “It just means you’re unique—like he is.”
Rowan got the feeling Ezra had meant something entirely different, but Ivor wrapped warm fingers around his arm and led him toward one of the empty seats. White containers filled the table, and there was a pile of sauce packets and utensils on one side. Ivor grabbed a pair of chopsticks and a handful of sauces then took the chair next to Rowan’s. “Pick whatever you want. Oh, I’ll grab you a plate so you can choose several things.” He got back up.
“Hi, I’m Clive,” a cute man said from across the table, patting the hand of a beautiful, white-blond, androgynous man next to him. “I’m with Bain.” He pointed toward Dax—the one who was best friends with Ivor and Emory. “And the guy with Dax is named Everett.”
Everett spoke up. “It’s my fault that draugr is after you, and I am so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Dax said, wrapping his hand around the back of Everett’s neck affectionately. Dax was so large, he made Everett look positively tiny. “We had no idea that spell would release it from the nephrite.” The ogre looked at Rowan. “But we all do feel bad that it got loose and came after you. We’re glad you’re here where it’s safe.”
“I’m glad, too. Though I am starting to go a little stir crazy without a kitchen.” Ivor set a plate in front of him, and he smiled in thanks, then grabbed the closest box and glanced inside to find beef lo mein. He scooped some out, then chose some rice and egg foo young.
The whole time, he was aware of the heat coming from Ivor’s body next to him. It almost felt like they were a couple along with most of the people in the room. There were a few single preternaturals. Well, he assumed they were, though they could easily have partners not here. One in particular drew his eyes because he had pointed ears and a long tail. Rowan had no idea what kind of creature he was, but he was too polite to ask. When that preternatural spoke up, he used a rather loud voice.
“Everett, have you had any weird fans show up?”
Fans? Was the man famous?
“Nah,” Everett answered. “I’ve been lucky. Most just send me private messages to tell me they like the books, though I did have one who sent a DM and grew quickly furious when I didn’t respond immediately. I thought that one would become a problem, but luckily he went away after swearing he’d never read another of my books. Why?”
