Page 21 of The Maestro's Mates
“No.”
Justin flinched at the word. This was all brand-new information; he didn’t have any real feelings for either of them beyond obvious sexual attraction, but for some reason, Pavel’s rejection stung.
Sebastian stepped back and wrapped an arm around Justin’s waist, his hand warm as it grasped his hip. It was odd how comforting it was to have him there. Justin wastempted to push the witch off, but he couldn’t get over how perfectly Sebastian fit by his side.
“What’s wrong with us?” Sebastian asked Pavel, pressing Justin against his side. “You should be so lucky.”
“I…I’m not meant to have a mate.” Pavel rose to his feet.
“Everyone should have a mate, if they get the chance.” Sebastian stood tall as he spoke. “Did something happen?”
“No.” Pavel shook his head, his eyes darting between the two men in front of him. “Nothing. I was never intended to have a mate. I wasn’t made for it.”
“Come on!” Sebastian said. “That’s the stupidest?—”
“Stop it,” Justin said quietly. “He doesn’t have to want a mate. I don’t want one either.”
There. He’d said it out loud. Justin supposed it wasn’t exactly correct, but close enough. Perhaps a sliver of him did still yearn for love, but he’d learned his lesson. His first vampire boyfriend had been abusive and awful. Then he’d become infatuated with Oscar, only to find out he had a human mate. Justin’s foolishness had nearly cost Oscar and Trent their lives.
He wouldn’t invite that on anyone else. It didn’t matter if he had a mate, although he doubted fate would hand him one after all the shit he’d done. Anyone would be better off without him.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sebastian’s incredulity was written across his shocked face. He stepped away from Justin. “What iswrongwith you two?”
Justin didn’t say anything. He didn’t have an easy way to explain it, and besides, he didn’t know Sebastian well.
It was Pavel who spoke, somehow maintaining his dignity despite his near-nakedness.
“I’m old enough to understand my own mind. I know what I am and am not willing to do.”
Justin wasn’t sure he shared Pavel’s certainty, but he appreciated the man’s directness.
Sebastian did not. He was pacing in the elevator now, covering the five feet of floor quickly. “This is ridiculous. I?—”
He froze, his speech dying on his lips. He glanced around for a moment, although Justin couldn’t trace what he was looking at. Sebastian cocked his head, his lips pursed and his eyes focused. After a long moment, he snatched his backpack, speaking as he rummaged through it.
“I don’t have time to unpack whatever self-destructive delusions you two have talked yourselves into, but at least we managed to attract a chaos spirit. We’ll discuss this later.”
Sebastian pulled an item from the bottom of his bag with a satisfied hum. He opened his hand to show a large rose quartz, the stone cut into a clear, unmarred hexagonal shape. It was almost like a short spike.
“We’re lucky I stashed this in here after my last spell. I wouldn’t normally be able to do much with a single quartz, but a blood relation being involved makes the workings more susceptible to my magic.”
Sebastian sat cross-legged on the metal floor, the piece of pink stone sitting in front of him. His long limbs folded easily, and Justin was struck by his limber grace. Sebastian waselegantamong all the gothic witchery. He was also a wild card, although Justin guessed it was to be expected. A life spent communicating with invisible chaos-bent spirits was bound to make a person unpredictable.
“How long will this take?” Justin asked.
“Not sure. Could be a few minutes, could be an hour. Depends on how complicated the spell is. I’ll be knocked out during it, though. Don’t try to get my attention unless it’s an emergency.”
Sebastian winked and followed up with “You two probably have enough time to trade BJs before I’m done, though.”
Justin opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Sebastian closed his eyes and rested his hands on his legs, palms facing the ceiling.
Justin’s eyes went to Pavel, who was standing stock-still, his eyes pointed straight ahead. Once again, Justin was struck by how beautiful the man was. The skin of his chest and torso was smooth and lightly freckled, and Justin desperately wanted to run his hands all over it. For a moment, he had a vision of Pavel kissing down the front of him, his salt and pepper beard tickling Justin’s stomach, growling in that deep, commanding voice of his.
His cock twitched in his pants. Come on, Justin. Don’t get hard during a fucking emergency.
He took a deep breath and let it out, hoping to relieve the anxiety gathering like static electricity on his chest.
“So…how long have you been a gargoyle?”
