“Yeah, no shit,” I said with a laugh. “So, what were the two of you chatting about?”
“The panicborn who goes by the name Apate. Do you know her?” I nodded. She’d been at my mother’s side during our talk about me forming an alliance. “She’s involved in all of your mother’s negotiations.”
“Negotiations? You mean, my mother is lobbying the Grigori outside of Tribal Council meetings?”
Stefan nodded. “Your mother and the panicborn are working together to win over the Grigori on some matter. I don’t have any more detail than that. I’ve tried listening to her conversations, but her language is confusing.”
“That’s on purpose.” I wondered if it was this consort business or something more nefarious. “Well, keep trying to figure it out. See if you can get anything out of Dolos, Apate’s son. He seems like he might have a loose tongue, especially if he were trying to impress you.”
We continued our walk, drinking wine and catching up on palace gossip. Stefan had seen Anika slip into the warborn tents late at night and leave again come early morning.
“You think she’s a spy or a lover?” I asked.
“Can’t she be both?” he said with a coy smile.
I shook my head. “You and Lucian were made for each other.”
“You think so?” Stefan trailed one finger along his arm, as if it were the caress of a lover.
“He’s completely obsessed with you, Stefan. You know that.”
“His obsession will fade once he’s had me,” Stefan said fatally. Was that the reason he played hard-to-get? Stefan was worried that Lucian was only in it for the conquest?
“I don’t know, dude. Lucian is a bit of a wild card, but I can say that in the short time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him fixate on another person the way he has with you.”
“He makes me laugh,” Stefan said softly, and I hoped, despite the obvious obstacles, that it might work out between them.
“Even still, keep your blade close,” I reminded him. Lucian was bloodborn, after all.
“Always.”
We reached the base of the hill, the place where we normally parted, and I had another thought. “Get Orcus to open up if you can. The shadowborn’s ancestral lands are in the under realms, which makes me wonder why he’s so invested in this revolution. What has my mother promised him? What can I use to get him to my side?”
“Something other than fucking him?” Stefan said with a grin.
I laughed. “Gods, yes.”
“Mater’s tryingto play matchmaker again,” I informed you later that evening while you undressed. You preferred to sleep naked, so every night I was treated to a leisurely strip tease by lamplight, the absolute best part of my day. I’d never get tired of looking at you, the way your back muscles bunched when you stretched your arms, the sinewy bands along your spine that narrowed to two adorable dimples. That ass... damn. I was getting hard when I was supposed to be plotting with you on how to get the Tribal Council—and Mater—off my back.
“With whom?” you asked.
“Orcus.”
Your head tilted. “Not who I would have chosen.”
I couldn’t see your face, but it wasn’t the reaction I’d been hoping for. “Chosen? The hell, Henri? You’re supposed to be on my side.”
You turned, wearing only your briefs. Veins branched like rivers along your thick, tanned thighs. I wanted to trace them with my tongue and maybe my teeth too.
“Orcus will just as likely steal your soul or disappear you to the under realms. But there are others who are less hazardous, who benefit more from you being alive than dead.”
“That’s really setting the bar high,” I grouched.
“There may come a time when you need to choose,” you said soberly.
I grabbed the waistband of your underwear and pulled you closer. “I choose you.” I nuzzled your package then licked the soft cotton like a dog, mouthing your junk until it was at critical mass. “Gimme some of this. So tasty. I want it.”
You stuffed down your erection and squatted in front of me, thighs flexing deliciously. So much man to get lost in.
