Page 18 of Heart of the High King
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You don’t have to do anything right now or tell anyone about us. We’ll have to figure this out, but I can assure you that there is no reason to rush.”
“I have absolutely no idea what to say to you.”
“Go back to your hotel and take a deep breath. We won’t say anything to Sullivan. You two can enjoy hanging out with Kendrick until you head home. I meant what I said, Rafferty. I will not pressure you. I just need you to know that I’m going to tell my family who you truly are to me. In time, we’ll know if Fate was right about us.”
Rafferty licked his lips, which Aleksander tried very hard not to notice, then bit his bottom one. There was tension in every line of his body, and Aleksander wanted to figure out a way to calm him, but they’d just met. With no idea what the right words were or if a relationship between them would eventually be possible, Aleksander was still pleased by the man in front of him. Only Fate knew if he was going to ever be more to him than a sexy voice and a handsome face. As if he could read the troubled thoughts plaguing Aleksander and wished to unsteady him further, Rafferty spun on one giant white sneaker and walked out of Worth’s office into his own.
“That went well,” Aleksander muttered aloud to the empty room.
∞∞∞
“Your Grace, slow down,” Sullivan gritted out as Rafferty dragged him out of the D’Vaire mansion. Not bothering to respond to his brother, Rafferty didn’t let go of his arm until the door slammed shut behind them and they were standing next to the rental car that had unknowingly tilted his life dramatically.
“We have to go,” Rafferty said, yanking the keys from his pocket and promptly dropping them on the graveled driveway.
“What in the bloody hell are you talking about? We’ve just arrived.”
“Please Sully, I’ll explain.” Somehow, he managed to get the vehicle unlocked and with his heart beating hard enough that he feared it was knocking against his rib cage, Rafferty got inside. His brother wasn’t even in his seat when he got the car started and put it in gear.
“Why did D’Vaire want to speak to you privately?” Sullivan demanded.
Rafferty whipped the vehicle around the moment Sullivan had his seat belt fastened. His mind was not functioning properly, but Rafferty forced himself to take a deep breath. With no choice but to find a way to hide the truth about Aleksander, he quickly put together what he thought would be a plausible excuse. “When Kendrick found out that it was us two, he made it clear only you were issued an invitation.”
“I already know he only invited me.”
All the terror inside Rafferty morphed into anger. “I told you that I should’ve stayed home,” Rafferty yelled. When he got to the road, he hit the gas pedal hard. “I didn’t want to come, and Kendrick certainly doesn’t want me there. It was embarrassing to go in there. I’ve made a complete fool of myself.”
Sullivan slammed his hands on the dashboard. “You need to slow the hell down. You’re going to get us both killed.”
The red haze dissipated from his vision, and easing up slightly on the accelerator, Rafferty realized he had no idea where he was even going. “Are we going home or to the hotel?”
“Is our mission complete? No. We’re going to the hotel. You need to turn up here.”
“I want to go home.”
“Why must you always whine about everything? You aren’t going home. Tell me what you and His Highness spoke of.”
“He thought I should go,” Rafferty lied. “You need to check with Kendrick first before I can travel to D’Vaire.”
“I don’t know him that well, you know that. How are you supposed to make friends with D’Vaire if Kendrick won’t let you through the door?”
“I don’t know.” Rafferty was sure the last thing he wanted was to be friends with Aleksander.…Wasn’t it? Shaking his head in a vain effort to clear it, he pulled into the tiny hotel parking lot. Fate must’ve made some kind of mistake putting him with the D’Vaire High King. There was no way he could be with a man, and he was broken in the sexual attraction department. Wasn’t that a large part of a romantic relationship? They couldn’t even bind their souls without biting each other during intercourse.
“Why are you still sitting in the car?” Sullivan demanded. Rafferty had parked but was clutching the steering wheel in his hands.
Forcing himself to unfasten his seat belt, Rafferty trailed after Sullivan, who got them through the check-in process and up to their shared room. “I just want to go home,” he muttered to the floor, wondering how in the world to extricate himself from this mess.
“You need to find a way to talk to D’Vaire.”
Rafferty glanced up and knew he could not disappoint his father. This whole matebond business aside, they needed allies if they were going to survive in the Council. Neil and Nollan were eating up all the funds provided by the emperors, and they had yet to find a source of income. How an ally was going to fix that problem he wasn’t exactly sure, but that was his father’s problem—Rafferty had his own disaster to deal with. “I have his cell phone number. He thought it was a good idea to exchange them.”
Sullivan slapped his arm. “Why didn’t you say so? That’s good. He’s not holding the visit against you, and now you can make up excuses to talk to him.”
A wave of relief and inquisitiveness swept through Rafferty, and he wondered why he was curious about a man he could never be with in any capacity other than as a go-between for his father. “I suppose so.”
“I’ll talk to Kendrick. Convince him you’re not the devil so you can go back to the mansion sometime. Meanwhile, you make nice with D’Vaire. Maybe if he likes you, there will be another invitation to the house. It’ll be easier for you to be friendly in texts. He can’t see you scowling that way.”
Rafferty had permission and was even being encouraged to build a friendship with Aleksander. Was that opening a door of opportunity for Court Kestle or throwing Rafferty into the deep end of a pool without a raft? With no idea how to answer that, he wished he’d fought harder to stay home. “I guess I can text him.”
“You can and you will, Paunchy. It’s your duty as a duke.”
“I said I would do it,” Rafferty growled, though excitement was brewing over getting to talk to Aleksander again. So calm and collected in the chaos, Aleksander was a man to be respected. Perhaps there was a way he could have a friend outside Kestle. Fate thought there should be more, but Rafferty wasn’t on board with that and didn’t know if he ever would be for anyone.
