Page 63 of Heart of the High King
“I don’t think I would’ve picked this stuff, but I love it,” Aleksander said.
She slung an arm around his waist. “See, I know your secrets. Since we were a century old, I’ve paid attention. I wanted to do this when we moved in, but you fought me every step of the way.”
“I was one hundred and two the day we met, and the house was more important than my rooms so, of course, I wasn’t going to take your focus from the shared spaces.”
“You are two whole years older than me, big whoop. And even when the house was finished, you still wouldn’t hardly let me do a thing in here.”
“Where’d you get this rug? It matches everything perfectly.”
Larissa smiled. “Duh, I had it made. I had to lighten up these dark colors, so that’s why the base is this beautiful cream, but I think the gold, silver, black, and blue are accented perfectly. I’m very happy with it. I’m glad you are too.”
“Have you ever thought about starting an interior decorating company?”
“Nah, I like doing this stuff for family and friends, but I’m happiest at my sewing machine, making pajamas.”
“I can’t believe these light fixtures Madeline made,” Aleksander said, studying the one above his head.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t like chandeliers, but then I remembered you were gay.”
“You’re hilarious.”
“Right?” Dra’Kaedan said, sauntering in from the attached room, where he’d been helping get everything settled into place. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started to say that Aleksander’s not gay and corrected myself. Evergreen may never recover from his disappointment of not making a move on you when he could.”
There was heat in his cheeks, but Aleksander just shook his head. “I’m no prize, and I wouldn’t have let anything happen between me and Alaric’s office manager. It would’ve made family gatherings too weird.”
Dra’Kaedan laughed until he cackled. “Which is why it’s funny that Brogan’s still pissed you guys didn’t hop in bed together.”
“Like I said, that would’ve been awkward as hell when you showed up.”
The Grand Warlock just shrugged. “I suppose if you were still having sex, yeah, it could’ve gone horrible, but if you’d already ended your fuck-buddies stage, it wouldn’t have made any difference to me.”
“It would’ve answered a question for us, though,” Renny remarked, joining their little huddle. “I mean, you and Brogan take five minutes. Is that because of you or him? If he and Aleksander had sex, we could ask our High King to comment.”
With a glare, Dra’Kaedan flicked Renny’s arm. “It’s no one’s business.”
“Sorry, dude. You didn’t summon me for centuries. I have memories I don’t want.”
“Okay, I summoned you as soon as I found out I was the Grand Warlock and that I had a familiar. I was under a spell, remember?”
“I’d just like to point out that you had sex after your parents pushed you onto the side of the living before you went to the living room without telling Aleksander you were adding a new person to the household.”
“I missed my damn mate,” Dra’Kaedan snapped, his navy eyes filling with anger as his infamously short temper surfaced. “And I had a lot of damn shit going on, which is why I forgot to talk to Aleksander first.”
Knowing that Dra’Kaedan and Renny were apt to get into a brawl if he didn’t step in, Aleksander laid a hand on the Grand Warlock’s shoulder. “It never mattered to me that you summoned your familiar. Renny, you’ve always been a welcome addition to the family.”
“Yeah, asshat, so stop trying to pick a fight with me,” Dra’Kaedan told his familiar.
Renny’s forehead creased; then he stared at his sneakers. “We’ve talked about this millions of times. I was just teasing and not trying to pick a fight. Sorry.”
As if a breeze had swept through the room, the storm clouds on Dra’Kaedan’s face disappeared and he tugged Renny into his arms. “I’m touchy about mates right now. Sorry.”
Larissa reached out and latched on to the sleeves of both sorcerers, dragging them toward the door. “Let’s get out of here so Aleksander can enjoy his new space. Come on everybody, we’re all finished.”
The group of D’Vaires scattered throughout Aleksander’s three rooms ran like the wind and exited. Aleksander, meanwhile, simply stood still and wondered if anything in his life would truly be normal again. The D’Vaires got weird whenever anyone said the word “mate,” and despite his argument that they should not skirt around the issue, no one wanted to hurt his feelings. Their extended family had been asking for months if something was wrong, but the loyalty of the people under his roof was never in question. As for the High King at the center of the storm, he still had no answers and missed the hell out of the man who had walked away nine months ago.
