Page 16 of Heart of the High King
Sullivan gave the go-ahead, and Rafferty closed his eyes, as instructed, to experience his first-ever teleport. His mouth went numb as the ground beneath him vanished and in the few seconds it took for them to travel, his tongue became woolly. Lifting a hand to rub his now-aching stomach, he lifted his lashes.
“I hope you enjoy Arizona. Here’s my card in case you’d like to request me specifically for future trips.”
After pocketing it, Sullivan led them out of the Dérive building and next door to a rental car company. Rafferty’s queasiness wore off by the time Sullivan walked over with a set of keys.
“You’re driving,” his brother told him.
“Why me?”
“Because I hate that everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. It’s making me crazy.”
With a roll of his eyes, Rafferty followed Sullivan outside and once they located the correct vehicle, they got inside. The GPS was useless since D’Vaire was a protected sanctuary not on any available map, so they had to use Kendrick’s directions, which turned out to be simple.
“This is it?” Sullivan asked when Rafferty rolled up to a large gate with a dragon head in the center. “I expected more.”
“We’re at the top of a hill. You can’t see anything.”
“Press the button so we can get inside.”
After firming his mouth in irritation, Rafferty lowered the window and pressed the button on the security box.
“Good afternoon,” a monotone voice responded within seconds. “How may I assist you today?”
“Um…yes, hello. I am here with Duke Sullivan Kestledraconis. He’s expected by Kendrick.”
“His Grace only stated that his brother Duke Sullivan was visiting.”
“I’m his brother too. Duke Rafferty Kestledraconis.”
“One moment, please.”
Rafferty slumped against his seat. “I told you this was a stupid fucking idea, and you should’ve come alone.”
“Paunchy, don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
“And that teleporting made me feel sick.”
“You’re just looking for reasons to go home.”
The gate swung open. “Please drive to the house and park next to the garage. His Grace, Grand Duke Brogan D’Vairedraconis, will meet you at the door.”
“Thank you.”
Sullivan laughed as Rafferty put the car in gear and as they traveled first down, then to the left, an enormous house came into view. “I guess I spoke too soon. That’s a damn mansion.”
Once Rafferty came to a stop, they got out, and a man strode out of the house. Probably five inches over six feet, he was intimidating, but the expression on his face was blank. “Your Graces, I believe Skeleton Lord Gavrael told you I’d be waiting for you, I’m Grand Duke Brogan. Please come inside. His Highness would like a word with you.”
Rafferty shot a glare at his brother, who shoved him the second the Grand Duke turned his back on them. They trudged through the entrance, the house eerily silent as they went through a hall with wooden floors. Brogan took a right and as he opened the door to an office, Rafferty’s dick went painfully hard. After he managed to step into the room, there was an exotically gorgeous man with silver rings around his pupils denoting that he was a king staring at him as though he were a ghost. There were ones of gold as well, he’d learned from the little reading he did on D’Vaire, but from this distance he could barely distinguish the two metallic colors breaking up the blue and black of the only bi-color dragon on the planet.
The first thought to come to mind after he figured out that he was looking at his mate was confusion. Rafferty wasn’t gay…was he? Even at this exact moment, Rafferty could not say he was interested in having sex with the admittedly handsome man despite his raging hard-on. What was wrong with him? And what did it matter, anyway? There was no way he could ever be with a guy. His father would lose his mind, and his brothers would do the same. Rafferty had no idea what to do, but the decision was taken out of his hands.
“Duke Rafferty, may I speak with you privately?” his mate stated, a muscle in his jaw flexing.
Sullivan gave him a questioning glance, but there was nothing going on he could explain. And he could not ever refute an order of a king, so with his heart pounding but his cock finally softening, Rafferty followed the High King into an attached office, wondering how in the world he would ever fix this mess.
