Page 34 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 14
Rafferty wasn’t in a good mood. In his room, trying to avoid looking toward the floor so he didn’t have to see his belly, Rafferty shuffled through the clothes in his drawers. It was a bevy of almost all browns, but he wasn’t stupid—he knew they were reds and greens that he couldn’t discern. Grabbing something plaid as he didn’t want to touch the large polka-dotted shirt Sullivan had just bought him, Rafferty tugged it on and tossed his towel onto the bed.
His boxers were quickly yanked on; then he covered them with supposedly khaki pants that were at least three or four inches too high. After he got his sweater over his head, he sat to put on socks that were much too dark for the rest of his outfit and shoved his feet into the only pair of shoes he owned, and they were just as ugly as the rest of his belongings.
It was a stark contrast to the impeccably dressed man Rafferty hadn’t seen in six weeks. Whenever he was around Aleksander, he had on a stylish button-down with the sleeves rolled up to expose his strong forearms, which he paired with casual slacks or dark jeans. There was certainly nothing as unattractive as Rafferty’s thick-soled sneakers in Aleksander’s closet. The High King preferred oxfords with rugged soles in his dragonskin. Rafferty had no idea why he was reflecting on inconsequential things like Aleksander’s wardrobe, but he missed the hell out of him, and every part of his day made him think of his close friend.
More than once, he’d brought up traveling to D’Vaire, but his family failed to see the point. Charlton was annoyed that Aleksander refused to go with him to any events, and his father refused to attend alone. Preoccupied with what everyone thought, he did not want to come across as some lowly peon with no important connections while he propped up walls with Sullivan. They’d put the idea of making the powerful D’Vaire name work for them to the side.
Charlton was dating heavily, and he had no idea what his father did to persuade the women, but they’d bought him a bevy of things, which thrilled him. There was hardly a night of the week he wasn’t gallivanting around the continent, thanks to the druid teleportation company. Rafferty’s mood soured further when he recalled that when they’d arrived, Charlton and Sullivan had both demanded they ignore any race other than dragon. Meanwhile, both men were hooking up as often as possible with anyone willing.
Not only was Sullivan on the prowl too, but he’d also found a few bars both near home and in neighboring states to hang out in. It left Rafferty home alone the majority of each day since the twins had always disregarded him. His time was spent texting with Aleksander and trying in vain to explain why he couldn’t go to D’Vaire when it was something they both wanted. Rafferty was kept up-to-date on all the colorful characters of D’Vaire and their activities. It filled him with envy as he’d like to have experienced those things with Aleksander.
Stomping into the hall after hanging up his towel in the bathroom, he went to the dining room for breakfast. Ignoring the other men already at the table, Rafferty piled on as much food as he wanted. If he was going to be stuck at the house, he was going to damn well eat like he preferred.
“Keep it up, Paunchy, and you’ll need a crane to carry your plate,” Nollan taunted.
Rafferty stalked past him to his normal seat next to Sullivan. “No one asked you.”
“Paunchy, be nice to your brother,” Charlton groused without any real heat.
“They aren’t nice to me; why should I return the favor?”
“Well, look who’s in a mood this morning,” Sullivan drawled. “Don’t disobey your king.”
“I think the rules should be fair. If you three can make fun of me, I shouldn’t have to pretend like it doesn’t hurt my feelings. I’m not going to be nice if I’m not given the same courtesy.”
“Rafferty, that is quite enough,” Charlton stated with a glare. “I make the rules around here, and if you didn’t invite their comments by being fat and wearing those damn clothes, they wouldn’t tease you.”
“I don’t even get to pick out my clothes.”
“I’m not kidding, Rafferty. Knock it off,” Sullivan ordered. “Apologize to His Highness.”
It’d been a record sixty-five days since Rafferty’s last shift, and his dragon saw little reason to lessen his defiance. The beast was driving him crazy. Desperate to fly, Rafferty strongly suspected that his dragon also needed his mate. Fingers clenching around his fork, to his surprise black scales flashed over the skin of his forearms for a few seconds.
“For Fate’s sake boy, don’t you dare shift in the damn house,” Charlton shouted, his eyes full of fear.
“It’s been too long since my last shift,” Rafferty stated. “If you don’t allow me to do it, I’m going to lose control of my dragon.”
“You just shifted at D’Vaire,” Sullivan argued.
“I haven’t been at D’Vaire for six weeks, and you didn’t let me do it then. It’s been nine since I flew.”
“Why didn’t you say so? No wonder you’re in such a mood,” Charlton said. “You’ll have to wait until night, though.”
“If I went to D’Vaire, no one here would have to see it,” Rafferty pointed out, his heart skipping a beat in anticipation. All he wanted to do was visit Aleksander, and if he had to use his dragon to do it, he would.
“D’Vaire’s not a priority right now. We’ve got money coming in. He’s a future project,” Charlton answered.
“What does money have to do with D’Vaire?” Rafferty asked.
“Don’t worry about it. But if you have powerful friends and get invited to things, money usually finds its way into your pockets. You’re probably annoying the hell out of D’Vaire by texting him constantly. Keep it to a minimum until we’re ready to try again to get him to take us to parties and such,” Charlton replied.
“He’s my friend. If he didn’t want me to text him, he’d tell me.” If his father curtailed Rafferty’s only lifeline to Aleksander, there was going to be a war. Although he’d never stood up to him, this was a line that once crossed would leave him with no choice.
“D’Vaire must really be a freak if he’s actually enjoying texting with Paunchy all day,” Neil guffawed.
Rafferty glared at the idiot and wanted to punch his face in for criticizing Aleksander. “He’s a nice guy and we’re friends,” he bit out.
