Page 35 of Elemental Hope
Coryn nodded. He pushed a strand of dark copper hair away from Dominic’s closed eyes. “Beautiful and brave. Evrain is lucky to have him.”
“Just as I’m lucky to have you. They remind me of us a few years ago.” Gregory took his partner’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Only a few?” Coryn chuckled. “And neither of us was ever that good looking. I fell for your charm, obviously.”
“Still a brat even after all these years.”
“And you wouldn’t have me any other way.” Coryn pulled Gregory from the room. “Salve. Come on. Then we’ll take turns sitting with him.”
Dominic tossed and turned in sleep colored by vivid nightmares where patterned snakes crawled over his body, sinking their fangs in where they pleased. Every now and again he was aware of a cool cloth resting against his burning forehead and the press of a glass against his lips. When he finally regained full consciousness, Coryn’s smiling face was the first thing hesaw. The silver in Coryn’s hair glittered, giving him a halo of light.
“It’s sunny. What time is it?” Dominic got the words out despite his dry tongue.
“Around nine,” Coryn responded. “How do you feel?” He offered a glass of water so Dominic heaved himself into a sitting position.
“Like I’ve been chewed on by a bad tempered gator then spat out in small pieces.” He took a long drink before handing the glass back. “Thanks.” He lifted the quilt to look down at himself. “Holy crap!” He prodded his thigh experimentally. “Well, at least it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Just think about the upside of this,” Coryn said.
“There’s an upside to being covered in magical doodles?” He raised his eyebrows in question.
“Evrain is going to have to touch every bit of you in order to absorb the potion.”
Dominic’s cock jerked. Heat flooded his body and he knew he must be blushing from knees to neck. He yanked the quilt a bit further up his body, ignoring Coryn’s laughter.
“You need to get yourself ready to leave then come down for some breakfast. Gregory is charcoaling some toast, I believe. No showering for obvious reasons.”
“Okay, I’ll see you downstairs.”
“Oh—and you might want to consider other preparations…” Coryn suggested.
“What do you…? Oh.” Realization dawned and Dominic’s skin heated even further.
“You passed out before the potion worked its way inside you. As Gregory mentioned yesterday evening, at some point it would be useful if you can persuade Evrain to make love to you. The transfer of the agrimony will work much quicker that way. I doubt you’ll have easy access to lube.”
“How the hell did I get myself into this?” Dominic muttered. “I understand, Coryn.”
Coryn’s expression was a cross between apologetic and amused. “Gregory wants to be away around mid-morning. He has another plan to make your capture seem more realistic.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” Dominic mumbled but found he was talking to a closed door.
Coryn wasn’t kidding about the quality of Gregory’s cooking. Dominic ended up tossing his efforts in the trash then constructing poached eggs on toast for all of them. Shadow wound around his ankles, purring. Nathaniel made coffee as his contribution, not hiding his interest in the patterns over Dominic’s skin.
“You can look, Nathaniel. I know you want to,” Dominic offered.
“An offer I can’t possibly refuse.” Nathaniel traced his fingers along Dominic’s arms. He examined his neck then lifted his shirt. “They’ve taken incredibly well, Gregory. You did good work here.”
“Dominic did the hard part.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Dominic admitted. “I hope it’s something I never have to go through again.” He slipped around Nathaniel to take his seat at the table. “I have an appetite, that’s for sure.” His stomach rumbled in agreement.
After they’d eaten and Shadow had consumed a sizeable dish of canned sardines, Dominic gave Gregory an enquiring glance. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Coryn and Nathaniel are going to leave first. I want Symeon to think we are trying to trick him into believing you’re leaving. Nathaniel will borrow some of your clothes. It’s fortunate youhave similar builds and not too much of a height difference. Do you have a hooded top, because your hair is a complete giveaway?”
“Sure, but Symeon’s not going to fall for it.”
“I don’t want him to. I want him to think he’s being clever by not following Nathaniel and Coryn. We’ll wait a half hour or so, then leave. We’ll act as if we assume he’s gone after the others. You pretend to have forgotten something. I’ll continue on to the car. That’s when he’ll take you—if he’s going to.”
