Page 60 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

He understood what Brannal was saying, truly he did, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been accused of doing something wrong when all he had ever tried to do was befriend a sad little girl and make her happier.

“Come here,” Brannal said gently.

Perian allowed himself to be tugged closer, and then he was enfolded in Brannal’s arms. Perian blew out an unsteady breath and tucked his head into the man’s shoulder, inhaling the soothing scent of leather. He was reminded suddenly of Renny doing this to him. It really did make you feel remarkably better when you were hugged by someone who was trying to support you.

Brannal pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

“I’m truly sorry,” he murmured. “You’ve been taking better care of her than all the rest of us, and you did it for no other reason than because you could.”

“She seemed sad,” Perian mumbled into the leather beneath his cheek.

“Thank you for caring,” Brannal said gently.

“It’s impossible not to.”

Only Perian wasn’t just talking about Renny.

“You look tired.”

“Didn’t sleep last night,” Perian admitted. “Was worried about you.”

Brannal tightened his grip. “I’m sorry I worried you, and I’m sorry I made a mess of everything yesterday.”

“You didn’t—”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Brannal pointed out acerbically. “Of course I did.”

Perian pulled back so he could face the other man, arguing staunchly, “If something triggered you, that’s not your fault.”

Brannal let out a sigh. “You’re too forgiving.”

“No such thing.”

Brannal was silent for a moment, and then he said, “Can we go to bed? Just to sleep.”

“Yes, please,” Perian agreed with alacrity.

He didn’t even know what time it was. He’d lost track of everything, especially with waiting for the proverbial ax to fall, but it certainly felt like it was time to sleep.

They took turns in the water closet and changed into sleep trousers. It wasn’t exactly business as usual, but neither was it the brittle tension of yesterday that had seemed like it was going to snap and destroy everything.

They crawled into bed, and Perian settled on his side and reminded himself he was exhausted, and this was much better than it had been, and he shouldn’t be wishing for—

Only then a hand was tugging on his arm, and with something that was definitely not a sob, Perian was once again tucked up against Brannal. He could breathe fully for the first time all day, tension beginning to seep out of his body. The steady thump of Brannal’s heart, audible where Perian’s head rested on Brannal’s chest, reassured him, and somehow made it seem like everything was going to be all right.

Chapter Twelve

Perianwaswarmandcontent again, and after a moment, he realized it was because he’d woken up in bed with Brannal, an arm slung around him. They were snuggled up back to front with Perian nestled against Brannal’s chest, and he could feel Brannal’s erection pressed against his ass. Unlike previous mornings, where he would probably have rubbed back against it and tried to propose some fun entertainment, Perian was satisfied with simply continuing to lie there enjoying the man’s closeness. He still didn’t know what had triggered Brannal’s reaction, and he didn’t want to make any assumptions.

He felt when Brannal woke up, his body stiffening at first and then relaxing again, though there was still a slight thrum of tension.

Taking a stab at the reason, Perian said, “I am familiar with the concept of morning wood, and we don’t need to do anything about it.”

Brannal huffed a sound of dissatisfaction, but a bit more of that tension dissipated. Then he tugged Perian deliberately closer and nuzzled against the side of his head, and that wasdistinctlybetter.

“Morning,” Perian said to him.

“Morning,” Brannal returned. “How are you feeling?”

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