Page 43 of Hold my Reins

Rox stopped the recording, and for several seconds, he struggled to find words. A lump filled his throat, and his heart ached; he needed to find out how the song ended. “It’s beautiful.”

Lynck grinned. “Truly?”

“Truly,” Rox agreed. “It sounds almost complete, not that I’m an expert, as I’ve never composed anything.”

“Neither have I. I’m very good at playing the songs I learned as a child, but creating something new… This is a first.” There was something about the way he spoke that made Rox feel as though he was missing something.

He swallowed hard as the realization hit. “Did you write that for me?” He wasn’t sure if he should smile or cry because the song may never be completed. He tried for the former. “Is this some more kelpie flirting?”

Lynck glanced down. If he was blushing, it didn’t show through the white hair on his face. “I’m not sure it’s good enough to be called that.”

Rox stood and tipped Lynck’s chin up so the kelpie had to look him in the eyes. “It was amazing. No one has ever composed a song for me. I wish I could order you to finish it and play it for me every day.”

“And if you find that magic, I will play until my fingers bleed and my ears no longer hear music, and I will enjoy every second of delighting you.”

Rox kissed him, needing the hot touch of his lips and the taste of him on his tongue.

The front door opened, and Thursten called out. “I’m back, so you better not be naked on my sofa.”

Rox stepped back, heat rising to his cheeks. “We both have clothes on.”

“Good.” Thursten stepped into the living room. “No sex on the sofa is the one house rule we have.”

“You said no sex on any furniture,” Lynck countered as if this was a perfectly normal conversation.

Thursten frowned. “Did I miss you playing?”

“It was only for Rox. But I can play something for you if you’d like?”

“If you don’t mind… That trollish jig?” Thursten smiled at Lynck. “Can I rope Rox into dancing?”

“I can’t jig.” He could dance, but it was the kind more suitable for a sweaty nightclub where shirts were optional and there was the promise of sex.

But Thursten was already moving the coffee table out of the way and then the armchair. He offered Rox his hand. “Don’t worry—I’m not trying to lure you away from your kelpie. I just want someone to dance with.”

Rox glanced at Lynck.

Lynck smiled at him and lifted the bow. “I promise to dance with you next.”

Great.

Thursten grabbed Rox’s hands, completely enveloping them. “Just follow along.”

The music started, and Thursten spun him, and then there was nothing else to do but hold on.

twenty

Rox had drunk at least one too many beers and done too many jigs with Thursten and Lynck. Though the ache in his thighs and ass couldn’t be entirely blamed on jigging as he suspected it had more to do with the fucking that had followed after they went to bed.

So when he crawled, not literally, even though that might be easier, to the kitchen in desperate need of coffee and water to stop the pounding in his head, all he wanted was a few minutes alone. However, Thursten sat at the kitchen table with a massive bowl of cereal and an equally large cup of coffee.

“Hey,” Rox managed. Even his voice sounded rough.

“The coffee is fresh. You look like you need it,” Thursten said in a rather too chirpy greeting. He let Rox pour a cup and sit down before speaking again. “Is everything okay between you two?”

“Yeah…sure…why?” He took several swallows of coffee and wondered if monsters had human painkillers, as his head was thumping as if Thursten was dancing in his skull.

Thursten shrugged, but there was a glint in his eyes that made Rox wary. “He was different at work yesterday.”

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