“And the walls are thin,” Duke added with a sly curve to his mouth. “Which means don’t keep us awake either.”
Certain I was blushing scarlet, I stumbled along with them down the short hallway. One of the guards from our party stood outside a door.
“There you are,” August told me in a hard tone. “You’d do well not to wander off. Enemies of Bremloc could be lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.”
Shadows, huh? Fairly sure Rowan would cut down any of them long before they could even think to lunge at me. Because, for whatever reason, he saw me as someone worth protecting.
“We were with him.” Callum echoed the guard’s hard tone, though his seemed way more legit. Maybe because he had the skills to back it up. “You’re dismissed for the night.”
“You are in no position to give me orders, knight,” he said through clenched teeth. Seemed like someone was on a power trip. “My orders were given to me by Prince Sawyer himself. If anyone is in charge here, it’s me.”
Callum’s eyes narrowed. Then, he casually turned his back to the guard. “Suit yourself. Enjoy standing out here all night while I sleep peacefully in my bed.”
August’s expression soured even further.
“Let’s get you settled into your room.” Duke ushered me toward the door and opened it, gently pushing me inside. “Remember what I said about the thin walls.”
Callum chuckled, then poked his head around Duke’s sturdy frame. “Sleep well, Ev. We’ll come to fetch you first thing in the morning.” A sudden seriousness washed over him before he came closer and leaned in, whispering in my ear, “Lock the door once we leave. Come morning, we’ll knock twice. Pause. Then knock once more. Don’t unlock the door otherwise.”
Because of Lake.It was to protect him. If Guard Douchebag walked in on us instead, Lake would be discovered, and… yeah, I didn’t want to think about it.
Duke made a fist and lightly bumped my shoulder before stepping back into the hall. Callum ruffled the top of my hair in a way that was becoming familiar. There was a tenderness in his eyes that was becoming familiar too, especially over the past month. He shut the door but remained standing on the other side of it.
I noticed his shadow and the lack of retreating steps. Only once I locked the door with a loud click did he finally step away.
Overprotective. Just like Maddox.
“Did you have a nice stroll through town?” a soft voice asked.
I turned to see Lake in the corner. Tiny bursts of excitement went off in my chest, and I ached to wrap my arms around him. “Yeah. My butt still hurts, but it’s nothing compared to how you must feel. You had to run the whole way.”
“I enjoyed the exercise. It’s been a while since I was able to run like that with such freedom. And I was able to rest when you stopped for meals.” He slowly approached, staying out of sight of the window. In front of me, he took me in his arms and nuzzled my neck. “But even if it’d been a tedious, miserable journey, being here with you would make it all worth it.”
“You sweet talker.”
“Only for you.” Lake dropped a kiss to my throat. “You’re my mate. My human.”
“And you’re my Mister Wolf.”
I felt him smile before he drew back and led me toward the bed. He helped me undress, removing my cloak, tunic, boots, and trousers. His nose crinkled in an adorable way as he spotted my underwear. They were the ones I’d been wearing when whisked away to Bremloc: neon colored and covered in hot dogs wearing sunglasses with text that mentioned my wiener.
“The strange design again.”
“You leave my hot dogs alone.”
Lake lowered his head and nipped at one of them. I giggled and curled into a ball on the bed. He dove on top of me and trailed those nips up my bare belly, chest, and throat. His lips then pressed to mine. As the taste of him exploded on my tongue, I sighed and hooked my arms around his neck.
We turned out the lantern and cuddled under the blanket, giving each other slow kisses and soft pets. It was intimate and tender but lacked any sexual undertones.
Not that labels mattered, but I sometimes wondered if Lake was on the asexual spectrum. Maybe within the shades of gray. He enjoyed sex—and he definitely set the sheets on fire when he was in the mood for it—but he seemed to prefer other forms of intimacy. Being close to me and cuddling without making it sexual.
Lake pulled from my lips and rested his head on my chest. He loved for me to hold him. I loved it too. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through his hair.
Two faces surfaced in my mind.
Going one or two nights without Briar and Maddox was common. Briar’s work sometimes took him out of the capital for a few days at a time, like when he visited the Magical Academy to be a guest lecturer or help with research. Maddox left for days when on a mission. But this was different.
“What do you think they’re doing?” I asked.
“Probably what we are.” Lake’s wolf ears twitched as I petted them. “Lying together and thinking of us like we are them.”
Luckily, I fell asleep fairly quickly. Must’ve been from the long day of bouncing around in a carriage, stopping periodically to take a leak or to dish out food from my knapsack. Lake’s scent helped too. The hint of peaches and spring. Of home.
Sometime during the night, I could’ve sworn I caught traces of another scent. Something peppery with a touch of sweet.
And somehow… that reminded me of home too.
