Page 47 of Pining for the Prince
“For all the years we have been friends you’ve assumed I’ve been shagging anything that moved?” He sounded quite hurt by the revelation.
“You suggested recently that you were retrieving information, nothing wrong with doing that post-coitally, if that’s the way you’ve been operating.” The idea Hyax would pretty much shag anyone but him had stung for a long time, but learning there had been a reason behind who he’d dated hadmade it a little better. “Like I said, as your friend, I don’t really have a horse in the race. You can protect yourself, and you don’t need me lecturing you on safe sex when you can use a spell to make sure you don’t pick up something nasty that’d make your cock weep and drop off.” He was aiming for nonchalant, a concerned friend, although he didn’t think he’d pulled it off.
Hyax stepped away. “I’ll have you know, I didn’t fuck them. I used fae dust to make them lose their inhibitions and then let them tell me what I wanted.”
“Right.” He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that information. “So you never got laid?”
Hyax snorted. “Occasionally, but not as often as you thought. I prefer a steady lover, although after Metra I was a little wilder than usual, it wasn’t over the top. You probably get laid more often than I do.”
“Please. It’s been nearly two years!”
“What?” Hyax sounded disbelieving. “What about that naiad girl? And then there was Chase.”
Gwil counted under his breath to thirteen, reaching ten hadn’t helped. “I told you Nella is a friend, and I did not fuck Chase. Which I also told you at the time.”
“But… you’re…” He waved his hand up and down. “Reasonably attractive.”
“Curb your enthusiasm, Hyax. I know I’m not in your league but there’s no reason to be a shit about it.” He grabbed his wash kit and pyjamas and stalked past Hyax to the bathroom.
“I didn’t mean?—”
“Piss off, you fucking insensitive twat.”
He didn’t know why this particular exchange had annoyed him so much, learning the truth that Hyax wasn’t dating as often as he thought should have cheered him as he could think he’d have a chance. Maybe it was that Hyax hadn’t believed him over Chase, and had thought he’d been lying about Nella. Hisincredulous expression about him having not been laid for so long also bit, but then to top it off by saying he thought him passably attractive all whirled together for a shitty rhetoric that he didn’t need to be made aware of while trying to play the blond fucker’s one true love.
At least the fae had excellent plumbing, and if he wasn’t already dead he’d have tried to drown himself in the shower. Instead he let the water pummel his shoulders and he used the fancy-looking toiletries that were no doubt Hyax’s private stash to wash away the bollocks that was the evening’s multiple levels of shite he’d put up with.
It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he went back out there openly hostile. The situation was getting to him, and he couldn’t help but feel betrayed by Hyax. While it was clear he’d never mean as much to Hyax as Hyax meant to him, he had believed he was one of Hyax’s best friends, now he’d never felt more like a business partner than ever before. He dried himself on a fluffy towel and changed into his pyjamas. A good sleep was what he needed, his body clock was out of whack from him being away from his own realm, and if he could just reset all would be fine.
Hyax was sitting in the middle of the bed as he returned, dressed in loose-fitting dark blue pyjamas. “I’m sorry.”
Gwil dropped his clothes in the corner. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does, I should have believed you when you said you hadn’t slept with Chase and the naiad girl. I didn’t mean to infer that you weren’t attractive, I was just surprised that you’d have a bit of a dry spell.”
“I’ve been busy,” he muttered. Being in love with his best friend was a real dampener on his sex life, but he might have to accept that he would need to let this go. “We should probably get some sleep.”
Hyax shifted over on the bed so he would have room. “You know I’m also a bit annoyed you thought I was fucking so many people.”
“Why? If I thought worse of you for having an active sex life then I would be an arsehole.” He lifted the covers. “Would you prefer me to sleep on the floor?”
“Gwil, don’t be silly. We’re more than capable of sharing a bed. It’s not like you’re a handsy ex.”
He wouldn’t mind being thought of as a decent individual who wouldn’t try it on uninvited, but it might have been nice to have been thought of as someone who could be more than a friend, if not now, but at some point. However, that seemed to be far from Hyax’s mind.
“Which particular handsy ex are you thinking of?”
Hyax shuffled down the bed and turned off the light. “Metra. He was not subtle earlier, and asked if we could find a way to ensure we got to know each other. If my parents knew about us I’d have sent him away with his wings drooping.”
The darkness didn’t impede his vision and he could see the repugnance on Hyax’s face. He’d believed Hyax was still holding a candle for Metra, despite the allegations of cheating, and that Hyax might want to see if what that had could be rekindled, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“He sounds like a bit of an arrogant twat.”
“You’re not wrong there.”
He might as well get a proper answer. “So you’re not interested in getting back together? We did discuss it, and you could’ve told him about us—if you trusted him.”
“I don’t trust him—he claims he didn’t cheat on me, I think he’s lying. I trusted him once and he chose to take the easy path instead of fighting for what he claimed we had. In reality, what we had was a lot of great sex and the thrill of being caught—nota great love story, or anything meaningful. I just wish I’d figured that out earlier.”
