Page 2 of Pining for the Prince
“It can wait if you’ve plans.” Hyax always seemed to have plans, and never with Gwil. Which was a different issue…
“I’ve plenty of time. Besides, I like to keep a man waiting, lets me see a different part of their aura if they get annoyed by it. Much easier to manipulate.”
“Hot date then?”
“Depends on your definition ofhotanddate, I suppose. Mortal footballer. Great legs, but the jury’s out on whether he can hold a conversation. Now what did you want?”
Hyax perched on his desk and Gwil wished he wouldn’t, nearly fifteen years of pining was beginning to bite, vampire pun not intended. “I had a meeting with Tobias at the club. He’s got a proposition for us.”
Hyax groaned. “Honestly, Gwil, when will you learn that his ilk never has your best interests at heart?”
Probably around the same time he’d admit to being in love with his fae best friend and business partner, which would be never. “He’s sending over a contract with terms and they’ll include a property freehold on a fast ley line.”
Hyax cocked his head to one side. “Oh no. You’ve already said yes, haven’t you? There’s no way you’ll have turned that sort of offer down.”
“I told him I would think about it. But you must be at least a little bit curious about a gig that can offer such a reward.” Only the ley line would have tempted Hyax since the case involved Flume—someone not important enough in vampire society for Hyax or his family to care about appeasing. Hyax had never needed the money, not surprising given his position as prince of one of seven fae tribes, and was, at certain times, picky over what he’d help with.
“It won’t be good whatever it is. I suppose since you’re telling me you’ll be expecting me to get involved otherwise, or your dealings with Flume would have gone unmentioned.”
He wasn’t wrong but Gwil wasn’t going to admit it. “I share all important business conversations, so I resent you’d think I’dkeep something from you. Besides, at its heart, it’s a simple property reclaim.”
“If it were simple then the old melon scrote would have asked someone else to do it and wouldn’t be offering what he is. What’s the catch?”
No point in soft-soaping it. “The item he wants returning is in the British Museum.”
Hyax’s eyes flashed gold—he was fucking beautiful when he was angry. He stormed towards the door. “You’re a fucking twat!”
The slam caused the whole room to shake.
Still, it could have gone a lot worse.
CHAPTER TWO
After all these years he shouldn’t be surprised at Gwil’s inability to say no to the likes of Flume. For all their devil-may-care attitudes, vampires were a hierarchical species and if a big bad pointy-fang asked for something, the chances of a lower-down saying no were little to non-existent.
But he couldn’t let his anger with Gwil interfere with his duty. He might only be fourteenth in line to his mother’s crown, but it came with expectations, especially if he wanted the freedom to do as he pleased. He had no desire to be king of his tribe, or marry into one of the other tribes to foster better relations with a friendly faction. As far as he was concerned his eldest brother was welcome to the crown and his siblings were happy enough playing inter-tribe bed-hopping. However, the liaison role was inescapable, but if it kept his mother sweet and stopped her from asking questions about a future spouse he’d do it without argument.
He’d left via a portal to his friend Cikla’s residence in Chelsea where his footballer date was meant to be picking him up any moment. Not that it was being called a date—there was still too much discrimination for him to be an openly gay footballer—butIan hadn’t wanted to miss an evening with someone who looked like Hyax.
Cikla threaded a red rose into Hyax’s buttonhole. “Do you have enough fairy dust?” she asked.
“Yes, I restocked earlier.” He saw she was pouting. “You’re not still mad that I’m the one going out with Ian tonight? It’s no reflection on you, you know?”
She was a beautiful fae, but not even her stunning copper hair would have persuaded Ian—he was well into no-vagina territory. “I know. And you’re only doing what the Crown is asking. I’d be more annoyed if I had to do it.”
“You’d hate it. I don’t think you’d have the patience to deal with some of the egos I have to contend with.”
“There are perks.” She waggled her eyebrows.
Not the ones she was alluding to. He wasn’t about to fuck the likes of Ian, he was far more selective these days. The doorbell rang. “He’s here. Wish me luck.”
“I’d rather wish you the good fortune that his stamina off the pitch is as good as on it.”
He tutted and left. It wasn’t that he didn’t hook up with anyone, but those he met via these encounters were rarely his type or often bored him senseless. He wasn’t a fledgling anymore, sex for the sake of sex had lost its edge years ago and he’d much rather spend an evening watching bad television with Gwil and a bag of lavender bonbons.
Twenty minutes later, having been chauffeured to an exclusive club and shown to a VIP section and private booth, Hyax was sitting opposite Ian. The champagne was mediocre, as was the company, and Ian wasn’t even that pretty to look at. Sometimes he wondered how the court selected the people who were on the cross-examination list. Ian was a potential link to an escaped convict. Not one of the dangerous types, his charges hadbeen minor, but the fae did not tolerate rule-breakers, so Hyax had been called in to help find them.
Hyax imagined that if Ian hadn’t been born with amazing footballing skills, he’d have been sitting on his own in a pub trying to pull someone with his lame jokes and a personality borrowed from a three-week-old potato.
