Page 368 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Lachlan’s fingertips swirl over the bite mark. ‘You don’t know me.’

‘I do. I know you. I know…’ Kade tells him, as that iridescent aura swells within like the rising sun, ‘the song your cells sing, Bodyguard.’

The older man swallows thickly. ‘I want that too.’

‘Then just say yes. Don’t make excuses or reasons why it might not happen. If you want it and I want it, then let’s just decide to.’

Kade wonders if anyone else could ever look at him the way Lachlan Tanner does and knows the answer instantly.

‘OK.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yes. I want that with you.’

Kade smiles so wide his cheeks hurt. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

There’s possession in the kiss, the mutual kind.

Kade has dirt and blood under his fingernails from last night. He has love in his heart and a promise to wrap around his bones like armour.

And if Lachlan’s incisors are a little sharper than they were yesterday, it doesn’t matter to Kade, who only loves the feel of them as they kiss. And if Lachlan’s eyes are somewhat different this morning, the whites gleaming just a tiny bit too white, the dark grey now almost black, then that’s just the morning light and it suits him anyway.

‘You’re mine and I’m yours.’

‘Yes.’

‘Promise?’

‘I promise.’

‘Always?’

‘And everywhere.’

Kade puts his lips to the shell of Lachlan’s ear and whispers, ‘We’re made from the same star,’ and he can’t stop smiling, and the gemstone aura inside him is blindingly bright and he can’t remember what he dreamt of, but he knows it was, for once, utterly beautiful. ‘I can feel it.’

Lachlan whispers back, ‘My magical boy. My siren.’

It’s another half an hour before they return to the Tower.

✴

They share a quick, efficient shower. No one else is around because nobody showers this late in the morning. The temptation to reach out and touch Lachlan under the hot downpour is nigh on overwhelming, but Kade feels duty-bound not to start anything, no matter how much he wants to.

Bad enough he stayed out all night and missed the morning checks.

Back in Kade’s room, someone from Stores has delivered fresh clothes and armour for both of them.

It’s not Iron Star standard issue.

Kade’s set is fitted black combat wear made from soft armoured weave, flexible as ordinary fabric but reinforced over the throat, spine, ribs and major arteries. Rose-red panels shadow his sides and run in narrow lines along the seams, dark enough to look black until the light catches them. The low-profile plate carrier follows the same design, clean across the chest with no unnecessary bulk, paired with black utility pants and lightweight tactical boots laced in matching red.

Lachlan’s pile is entirely black.

No colour, no decoration. His armour is cut close and articulated through the shoulders and spine, protecting everything vital without obstructing his reach or slowing the turn of his body. The carrier sits high and narrow, leaving his waist clear for weapons, and the boots are soft-soled, reinforced and built for silent movement.