Ashmedai wrapped his arms around Nicolas and stood. “Then that’s what you shall have.”
Nicolas groaned. “Believe me, I wish we could. But I need you to put me down. We have to go to the Rink.”
Ashmedai growled, pressing Nicolas against the door. His legs wrapped around Ashmedai’s waist instinctively, but his head fell back against the door in despair.
“I’m serious,” he whined. “The paladins are planning something. They’re not safe. Sex later. Rink first.”
Ashmedai sighed. “Fine.” He licked into Nicolas’s mouth, needing one quick taste before they focused on their responsibilities. Nicolas moaned into it, his hips rocking like he couldn’t help himself.
When he set Nicolas on his feet, his human took a deep, fortifying breath. “Non-sexy thoughts,” Nicolas said, closing his eyes. “Bugs. Punching Danny in the face. Dad giving us extra drills. Okay, we can go.” He blinked his eyes open and cast Ashmedai a small, happy smile. “I’m really glad you stayed here today. I hope it wasn’t too boring.”
“Not boring. I discovered television.”
“Oh, anything good?”
“No. Current events. Boring.”
Nicolas chuckled. “Yeah, the news usually is. Okay, let’s go.”
Ashmedai hummed, tilting his head. “They are nocturnal. The Rink may be empty.”
Nicolas’s face fell. “Oh, yeah. Shit.” He pulled his phone out and looked down at it as though debating who to call first.
“Tell me what happened.”
“They want to attack the Sentinels. They blame Danny for killing that asshole who tried to kill Alex. Somebody evenfollowed me home to make sure I didn’t go looking for my brother to warn him.”
That was worrying. “Do they suspect? Are you in danger?”
“No, I don’t think so. They’re not being secretive about it, because theydotrust me. I think they’d be hiding it better if they actually thought I was going to betray them.”
“Hm. We can go to the apartment. Danny can call them to assemble there.”
“Okay, great.”
They appeared there a heartbeat later. Daniel kept the closet light off and the door open for him. The living room light was on, and since the apartment was mostly open, with only a partial wall that separated the bedroom, there was just enough light for Nicolas to see. He glanced at the different sides of the closet, where Ashmedai and Daniel had split the space between them. Daniel’s clothes hung on one side, Ashmedai’s on the other. He would’ve been content leaving his things in boxes, but Daniel insisted on hanging everything up for him.
“You… Do you share this apartment with Danny?” Nicolas asked.
“Yes. The Sentinels had given it to me, but I don’t need most of what it offers. The bed, the bathroom, the kitchen. Daniel was living at the Rink, so I offered it to him. He suggested we split it.”
“You… live with my brother.”
That didn’t feel entirely correct, since he mostly just used it for storage space and occasionally a fallback place to wait when he couldn’t be with Nicolas. But Daniel had called them roommates, so he assumed Nicolas would consider it the same.
“In a sense,” he finally said. His fingers slipped under Nicolas’s shirt, claws trailing up his spine. “Is that okay?”
Nicolas went boneless against him, draping his arms around his neck. “Yeah, it’s okay. More than okay. I can’t believe I didn’t know you were rooming with my brother.”
And then, Daniel’s voice called out from within the apartment. “Is that my dear brother’s voice I hear? Come out of the closet, brother, I already know you’re gay!”
Nicolas snorted out a laugh, muffling it against Ashmedai’s shoulder. He took Ashmedai’s hand and led him from the closet, rounding the mirrored wall that separated the bedroom from the living room.
They found Daniel on the sofa, his bare feet propped up on the coffee table, wearing sweatpants and a ratty T-shirt with a bottle of cream soda resting on his knee.
“Nic! What’s up? Please tell me this is a social call,” he said, muting the television.
“Not so much. Can you call the others, arrange a meeting? I’ve got news.”
