Page 82 of Distinctly Daray
The elevator dinged, and they stepped out into the hallway.
“I am no longer on potions or require stasis. If you are content with the knowledge we have, so am I. Honestly, I am relieved you do not have to endure being reunited with a beast or having a past life restored to your memory. I have no desire for you to suffer any pain or recall your death.”
“Those aren’t high on my list of things to do either, but I’d face anything if it meant making you and your dragon happy,” Keegan replied.
Victor reached up and kissed him. “That’s why you’re our Sunshine.”
Phillip brushed his lips first with Keegan’s, then leaned close to do the same to Victor. “Your kindness is a gift beyond measure, Sunshine.”
Since Victor was at risk of melting into a pile of romantically charged goo in the hall, he knocked on the Tenebri condo door. It swung open to reveal a sentinel in a casual uniform identical to Phillip’s.
“He still won’t let me answer the damn door,” Evergreen called out from behind him in a pair of striped shorts and a cold shoulder T-shirt in a soft green.
“It is for your safety,” Dudley insisted.
“We brought wine,” Keegan said.
“Get in here,” Evergreen insisted. “There’s beer in the fridge. I already opened a bottle of white for us, Victor, or we could mix drinks.”
“Wine is good.”
His mates fetched beers for themselves, and Victor followed Evergreen into the kitchen to take a freshly poured goblet of wine from him. The apartment Dudley and Evergreen shared wasn’t the same one Victor had crashed in for a few months decades ago, when his employment had beentemporarily ended by Chander. Dudley and the druid-necro formerly attached to his soul had eventually purchased a condo together, and it was decorated in the same soft greens and grays as Evergreen’s eyes.
The floors were a pale wood, and the place was kept from being too monochromatic by crisp white furniture and lots of texture. It was soothing. Dudley kept the plants draped throughout the living spaces alive since Evergreen unfailingly killed everything he watered. It was a three-bedroom unit, but Victor doubted anyone besides Evergreen’s parents had ever stayed in the guest space.
Off the living room was a set of glass doors leading to an office that was more reading nook than workspace. It was dominated by an oversized chair and massive ottoman, and the wall-to-wall shelves were crammed with books since both Evergreen and Dudley were avid bookworms.
Dudley preferred mysteries, while Victor secured every romance recommendation his heart desired from Evergreen. The hybrid with a love of swoony stories curled up on a tonal striped chair with his bare feet underneath him.
Victor chose a spot in the middle of the coordinating sofa and was pleased by the sentinel and fallen knight squeezing in on either side of him. Across from them, Dudley chose the remaining chair.
“Okay, Victor, you’re still wearing that little smile,” Evergreen said, his lips pursed. “I looked at it all through lunch, and you swore nothing was up, but you aren’t fooling me. What’s going on in that kitty head of yours?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Victor replied.
Dudley’s brows drew together. “That is a lie.”
“Excuse me, sentinels are supposed to keep that information to themselves unless they’re working on a case. I didn’t commit any crimes,” Victor retorted.
“That is thankfully the truth,” Dudley muttered. “But I am your friend, which is why I mentioned how untruthful you are being.”
“Besides, I didn’t need a sentinel to tell me you’re full of shit,” Evergreen commented, taking a gulp of his wine, then setting it beside him on a coaster on the wooden end table.
Phillip’s hand landed on Victor’s thigh. “What do you want to do, Sparkles?”
“I’m fine with telling them if you two are,” Keegan said. “They only have to keep it a secret until this weekend when we announce it at D’Vaire.”
“I guess it’s up to Evergreen and Dudley if they want to keep a secret, because we haven’t even told our Darays yet,” Victor remarked.
“For Fate’s sake, you have to tell me now,” Evergreen insisted. “I can’t take the suspense.”
“Perhaps I do not wish to keep a secret from everyone,” Dudley commented. “We have the entire day tomorrow to avoid telling anyone in our office about whatever news Victor, Phillip, and Keegan have.”
“Too damn bad, Dudley,” Evergreen countered. “If you don’t want to know, go to your room and stick your fingers in your ears.”
“Dudley, do you want us to give you a minute to leave?” Victor asked.
“No, I saidperhaps, but I was speaking hypothetically. I wish to know your secret, and you have my vow that I will not say a word tomorrow.”
