Page 38 of Lycan Prince's Secret Baby

“Did he beat you in the fight?” I asked, frowning.

Talk of Kyle and Roman’s fights in the ring the last few days had reached my ear, too. I knew these challenges, just like Roman flaunting our closeness, were his way of asserting his dominance as Alpha and a way of keeping up this charade that he and I were together. But Roman wasn’t a sore loser. If Kyle had bested him in the ring, I couldn’t imagine him being so torn up about it as he seemed now.

“No,” he growled. “Just like the first night, we’re always very evenly matched. It was the same this evening.”

I frowned, waiting to hear what was eating at him.

“It’s not the fighting. It’s what comes after,” Roman said.

I frowned. “After?”

To my surprise, Roman’s cheeks colored. “It’s the baths,” he ground out.

With the lack of running water in the house, we all used the natural rocky communal baths that were fed by river water. Lyvia had enchanted the rock pools to heat using the tiritichstones when we needed them. After the ring, the combatants generally went there to bathe.

I imagined Kyle as he had been the first night standing, all rippling muscle and tanned, lean skin. My pulse spiked.

“Well, at least I’m not the only one getting hot and bothered by him,” Roman smirked, his shifter senses obviously cottoning onto my quickening heartbeat.

“Roman,” I punched him on the arm, my cheeks heating. Then, I lowered my voice, eager not to wake Lina.

“This evening,” he continued, “he just kept intruding on my personal space in the pool. Then, getting changed afterward was even worse,” Roman griped.

“Oh,” I murmured, my mouth going dry as I could picture alltooclearly what that might look like.

“I need tea. Would you like tea?” I whispered, suddenly feeling the need for chamomile to calm my racing heart.

Roman grumbled, which I took as a yes. I kept a thermos up here so I didn’t need to wander down the four flights of stairs to the kitchen, which was especially handy if I wanted a cup in the night while nursing Lina.

I returned with two steaming cups of chamomile, breathing in its calming scent.

“Honestly, he’s everywhere I look,” Roman lamented, annoyance lacing his words. “And talk about distracting. His package is hu–”

“Roman!” I exclaimed, a laugh escaping me even as I tried to quell the flood of mixed feelings. I was tryingnotto think about all of Kyle’s skills or how spectacular his deft fingers were or his mouth, or—

I quashed the thought of our night together, knowing that that would unleash a tidal wave of untamed desire.

“Look,” Roman pressed, his expression earnest. “It’s not that I can’t appreciate the man. In fact, that’s the problem. I appreciate all of his assets too much. And given that it’s been an age since someone tried to get under my skin like he is, it’s giving me a lot of mixed feelings.”

Shit.

As a man who was attracted to men, it was natural that Kyle’s behavior was proving hard for Roman to take. If Kyle was walking around stark naked, making it his mission to get washed and changed as close to Roman as possible and show off his physique, all in a bid to assert his dominance, it wasn’t surprising my friend was close to losing his cool.

“I just hope Mark doesn’t hear about it,” Roman said. As he spoke of Mark, a soft expression came over his face. “I’d hate for him to get jealous.”

Roman’s expression was tender and wistful as he mentioned him, and I realized he wasn’t really worried about upsetting Mark with rumors of the way Kyle was acting around him. He was complaining because it was a way for him to talk about Mark. Something my friend hadn’t gotten to do much of the last few years.

“Mark could never doubt your love, Roman. You two are rock solid,” I said. My heart squeezed as I thought of how tough it must have been for both of them to be apart these four long years, with nothing but their online communication to nourish them. “And one day soon, everyone’s going to celebrate the pair of you, your love, and how special that is.”

He smiled softly, sipping his tea as his blue eyes filled with a hopeful light. “Thank you, love.”

My stomach tightened. Even in this room, we’d switched to calling each other love, and I blew out a breath of frustration at how much Kyle was impinging on our lives. I ran a hand through my hair, hating what a mess this had become. Deceiving Kyle was a necessary measure, but I’d never anticipated it would become this complicated. I missed mine and Roman’s normal closeness, too.

“Why is he doing this?” I asked dejectedly.

“Love does crazy things to us all,” Roman answered.

My breath caught in my throat. Initially, I’d believed Kyle didn’t love me. After all, with the way he’d abandoned me in the cell back in the Moonlight compound, how could he? I’d convinced myself that seeing me with another man would make Kyle give up. Yet, Roman was right. My stomach somersaulted. His actions indicated hestillloved me.

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