Page 45 of Elemental Hope
“Can I fry him? Please, can I?” Evrain wiggled his fingers.
“No!” Dominic and Damon spoke at the same time, though Damon’s ‘no’ was more of a yelp while Dominic’s was a reprimand.
“Fuck.” Evrain threw himself into the armchair next to the fireplace. It was already laid. He gestured toward the logs, which burst into flame.
Dominic dropped to his knees next to him. “The others will be back soon. I want to be with you too—more than you could possibly know—but later, when we’re alone and we have time to enjoy each other. Okay?”
“Okay.” Evrain pouted but his lips twitched into a smile. “Sorry.”
“No you’re not.”
“No, I’m not. We could shove Damon outside and lock the door?”
“He just helped save your ass, Evrain. Be nice.”
“I’m not very good at nice.”
“Why don’t you take a shower then put some proper clothes on? Much as I like having you sitting around half naked, you’re filthy. Damon and I will see what we can pull together for a meal of sorts.”
“You need to shower and change too,” Evrain wheedled. “You could come join me.”
“I could, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s an excellent idea, but I’ll let you off this once. I’m starving.” Evrain hauled himself from his seat, fatigue apparent in his obvious effort. “That spanking is only on hold until later.” He sauntered toward the stairs, casting a knowing glance back over his shoulder.
Dominic got to his feet, groaning at his aching muscles. Damon was perched on the edge of the kitchen table, swinging his legs.
“You really have your hands full with him, don’t you?” Damon grinned. “Warlocks are all so dommy.”
“Evrain isn’t cruel like Symeon though.” Dominic felt the need to defend his lover.
“No one, warlock or not, is as bad as Symeon. Nathaniel is totally different.”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
Damon nodded. “He’s given me a proper contract. He hasn’t fucked me even though I wish he would.” Damon sounded wistful.
“He’s giving you time. It’s not that long since you were with Symeon. It will take you a while to get over what that bastard did to you.”
“True. But I kinda feel that I need Nathaniel to give me better memories.”
“Then tell him,” Dominic said.
“Maybe.” Damon hopped off the table. “Now, what are we going to cook? Do you two even keep groceries in the house?”
“Of course we do.” Dominic rolled his eyes. “There are a couple tubs of stew in the freezer. We can put them in a big pot on the stove. I know how to make herb dumplings.”
“You do?” Damon licked his lips with a slurping sound. “I might just have to move in here.”
“Evrain would roast you within a week.” Dominic retrieved the storage boxes of stew from the freezer then emptied them into a big pan. He gathered the ingredients for the dumplings.
“Can I help?” Damon bounced on his toes. “I need to do something, I’m still a bit hyper.”
Dominic laughed. “Can you rub butter into flour?”
“Sure can.”
Dominic roughly measured out the ingredients. “If you do that I’ll pick some fresh parsley from the garden.” He padded to the door where he pulled on an old pair of boots. He couldn’t wait to get out of the scratchy overalls which were all he wore, but he could put up with the ridiculous outfit for a while longer. He opened the door and almost fell as a rocket-powered ball of black fur barreled into his legs. “Hey, Shadow. Where have you been?” He scooped the cat into his arms. Purring vibrated through his chest. “Happy to see me, huh?” He cuddled Shadow, absorbing her warmth. “Evrain’s back. He’s upstairs.” Shadow squirmed until he let her down. She immediately shot toward the stairs.
