King Tomb (Forever Evermore) (28 page)

Cahal’s Vampire growled, but when Antonio lifted an absent hand, his attention back to me, and flicked Cahal’s forehead, the growling stopped. Antonio brushed Cahal’s cheek once before letting his hand fall slack to the bed, saying, “Lil, do you want to talk about this?” He paused, his worried golden eyes darting over my face. “Are you confused or upset?” He inhaled heavily, his chest lowering and falling, and said rapidly, “This in no way means that I didn’t love your mother. I did. But we were only friends.”

I opened my mouth to say I had known he and my mother hadn’t been an item to begin with, but I stilled when I watched Cahal touch Antonio’s hand, resulting in Antonio’s shoulders relaxing, his quick intakes of air slowing. I closed my mouth slowly, lips pinching as I examined how Antonio’s thumb moved the slightest bit over Cahal’s, gripping it.

I was seeing something I had never seen before with Antonio.

He
loved
Cahal.

It showed when he glanced down at him, his eyebrows pinching, allowing Cahal to see his private worry, before turning his attention back to me and asking softly, “Lil, are you all right?”

My wolf growled, and my eyes glowed fiercely as my attention snapped to Cahal, feeling all kinds of protective instincts rising to the fore, each battling to strike at the person who might harm who I felt was mine to defend. I stalked through the bedroom until I was staring down at Cahal. I pointed at him around the coffee and stated bluntly, “Since this whole scene never actually happened, I’m going to tell you right now that if you hurt him I will personally carve out your fucking heart and let my wolf feast on your corpse.” My wolf growled furiously in agreement. “Do you fucking understand me?”

“Lily Ruckler!” Antonio barked, sounding surprised and pissed. “Apologize. Now!”

“I. Will. Not,” I growled, bending so my face was right in front of Cahal’s. “Answer me, dammit, because I am as serious as this fucking war.”

Dark eyes stared an inch away, not flinching under my regard. “Have you drunk from those cups?”

I blinked at his question, wondering how the hell he hadn’t gotten my point since I couldn’t have been clearer. “Excuse me?”

“The cups,” he stated slowly, like I was a halfwit. “Have you drunk from them yet?”

My wolf growled but, curious where this was going, I stated, “No.”

“Good,” he lifted one from my hand, took a sip, completely ignoring the fact I was still in his face, and peered to Antonio, holding the cup out to him. “I’d like for you to drink.”

I went still. Understanding. Not sure how I understood, but again, it was part of that knowledge that remained between my memory voids. I quickly raised, moving back a step and slamming against Ezra, not even realizing he was behind me. “You…” I cleared my throat as Ezra steadied me. “You love him, too.” This was a symbolic gesture of wooing, of love, normally done at weddings, but since this event ‘never’ happened, it couldn’t be done in front of others, only us, their children, who would keep their mouths shut.

Cahal nodded once in answer, his eyes completely set on Antonio. “Tony…drink.” Antonio stared between the cup and Cahal, a weary, almost scared hesitation that he tried to hide shining on his features, but it peaked only to quickly disappear. And I watched, silent, as Cahal’s indifferent countenance cracked then completely crumbled, his expression plain as day, his love and adoration for Antonio shining through his eyes. “I’ll never run again. I won’t hurt you as I did before. I love you…and I’ve never stopped.” Cahal’s jaw clenched hard as he lifted the drink closer to Antonio. “Please, Tony. Trust me and drink.”

I wasn’t breathing, profoundly taken aback. My mind kind of…floated…at his heartfelt words, at his plea. I didn’t completely understand the depths of it, but it was sincere and torn from somewhere deep inside him. I could tell it had cost him dearly to say, to put himself out there, by the way his heart rate galloped and his chest heaved, perspiration beginning to form on his forehead as he waited for Antonio’s answer.

Ezra’s heart rate wasn’t doing much better, and I reached back with my free hand when he kind of tilted against me, and grabbed his hip, keeping him steady and damn near holding all his weight, his hands instantly gripping my shoulders for added support.

Ever so slowly, one of Antonio’s hands began to lift. Hovered.

Lowered a bit as he stared at the cup.

Air shuddered past his lips, then he finished raising his hand to the cup and took a firm hold on it. “I love you, too. Even when you hurt me, I never stopped.” Golden eyes touched and held Cahal’s dark ones, his love vulnerably revealed in his expression, his gaze, and his act as he lifted the cup to his lips, staring at Cahal over the rim as he took a sip.

Cahal’s chest shuddered, and he accepted the cup back from Antonio, taking another sip, grinning, his eyes appearing misty as he lowered the cup, then he rumbled quickly, “Ezra, you’ll want to leave now.”

I jerked as Cahal blurred, and suddenly the cup was on the nightstand, and Antonio was flat on his back on the mattress with Cahal over him…and yeah, I could see tongues moving together as their heads tilted, hands gripping each other’s cheeks or hair or nape or wherever their hands were wandering. The only thing I think that kept Ezra standing was the fact that the sheet had luckily moved with them, again covering their lower sections. Cahal heaved in a breath, demanding against Antonio’s mouth, “Queen Ruckler, get King Zeller out of here.”

I physically jolted out of my shock, Ezra’s body kind of moving with mine since he was lying against me so heavily, and I quickly averted my gaze from them, muttering, “Right. Right. We’re leaving.” I turned, literally lifting one of Ezra’s large arms over my shoulders, and started dragging him out as Antonio began to glow a little, which I somehow knew — this knowledge weirded me out a bit since it was from my voids — it meant he was becoming turned on, a Mage’s telltale of arousal. Yep, I hastened my way through the room, tugging Ezra and kicking a couple of empty orange juice bottles — didn’t want to know — out of our path.

As soon as we brushed past the tent flap to the front room and it closed behind us, any sounds — good Lord — of our dads doing their thing abruptly cut off with the privacy spell. After debating my options, there weren’t many since we couldn’t go outside like this, I dumped Ezra’s half-slack form on the golden couch.

Taking one good look at his face told me he was close to passing out, so I placed the other coffee cup in his hands. “Ezra, you need to drink this. A little caffeine will help to clear your head.” He lifted it methodically, green eyes staring off into nothing as he took a few gulps. It had to burn his throat, but he didn’t even flinch. “Alrighty. How about a smoke, too?”

When no answer was made, I started digging through his pockets, finally finding them in the inside pocket of his robe, which I hadn’t even known was there. I took one out and placed it between his lips, flicking his lighter, the flame bright in front of his face. “Here you go.”

He tilted his head slightly, uncannily meeting the flame with the end of his cigarette — even as he still stared off into nothing — pulling so the end lit.

I found an empty glass for him to ash in and sat on the coffee table directly in front of him, babbling about nothing in particular and periodically ordering him to ash or drink, which he did when told.

Eventually, he interrupted my ramblings with a grunt, still staring over my shoulder, and said with perplexity, “That, I never would have expected in a million years.”

I nodded once. “Me either.”

He blinked.

Blinked again. “It also sounded as if this wasn’t a new love, but my mom, my dad’s mate, died only a little over a year ago, and I know this is the first time they’ve been together in the past year.” Another blink. “They said they had never stopped loving each other.”

Yeah, I had caught that.

He glanced at me, lifted the lighter from my hand and lit another cigarette, then stared back over my shoulder, his eyebrows puckered. “Does this mean he loved Elder Farrar while he was mated to my mom?”

My lips pinched, not really wanting to answer that one, but I ultimately sighed and began to explain the best way I knew how. “I’ve been mated before—”

“So have I.”

“Well, being mated didn’t stop you from loving your dad, did it?” I didn’t think I needed to say anything else. Being mated didn’t mean you lost all emotions for everyone. All it did was physically keep you sexually faithful to your mate.

Ezra grunted. “Never in a million years…” He went completely still a second later, his heart rate doubling. “Wait. If they get married, then you and I…” His eyes rounded and he choked on his smoke. “Oh hell, maybe I can stop this somehow.” He actually began lifting from the couch, his attention on the flap to Antonio’s bedroom.

Using a quick hand, I shoved him back — hard — onto the couch, staring into his surprised, wide gaze. “Ezra, calm down. Antonio is
like
a dad to me. Not
technically
my dad. He never adopted me.” I pointed between us. “We wouldn’t be step-siblings.” I patted the air. “Find your calm place and try to breathe.”

Ezra stared. He breathed in heavily through his nose, then slowly out through his mouth. “I’m freaking out a bit.”
No shit.
“I didn’t expect this.”
No shit.
“How are you so calm?”

I shrugged. “Antonio wasn’t mated to my mom, so it’s not so hard to take the news.”
Plus, I’m having to take care of you.
“Your situation is a wee bit different.”

He nodded instantly. “That’s gotta be it.” Arched eyebrows furrowed. “I have nothing against same-sex relationships, but I never expected…” He cleared his throat, running a hand over his face, then his eyes narrowed on me. “You aren’t going to tell them I freaked out, are you?”

It was damn hard not to laugh. “Nope.” Seriously, men will be men. “Scout’s honor.”

He grunted. “Now, that’s fucking funny.”

“I live to amuse.” I slapped his knee as I stood. “We need to come up with our game plan for King Collins and Queen Cooper.”

He peered at the bedroom tent flap. “They’re probably going to be…”

“Busy,” I muttered, grabbing his hand and hauling him to his feet. “Yay, for them.”

Ezra suddenly appeared like himself as he appraised me. “Maybe they’ve got the right idea.” He towered over me, and if I wasn’t mistaken, peered down my shirt. “Getting
busy
sounds enjoyable.”

I pointed a finger at the tip of his nose, whispering, “Discretion.” I jabbed said finger against the tip of his nose a few times to make my point. “We need to think about the other King and Queen. We’ll have plenty of time to get busy, just not today.”

He tilted his head up…and bit my finger gently, licking over the tip with his tongue before releasing it. “I’ve got it.” Slowly, he bent, nuzzling his face against my neck, his warm lips caressing my skin softly, barely breathing, “We’ll be the very souls of discretion.”

“Exactly,” I sighed, leaning into the strokes. “Complete control over the situation.”

He hummed quietly. “Exactly.” He pressed his lips once more against my throat before straightening — I wobbled a tad — and smacked my ass none too gently, pushing me toward the tent flap to the outside. “Duty, then pleasure.” A pause. “This is definitely one of those times I hate my position, because I would much rather be deciding what position to do.”

I paused, grinning, before lifting the flap. “It’ll give us something to look forward to.”

“Yes,” he purred. “Yes, it will.”

We began our travel to King Mile in the dead of night.

I was driving my Hummer, and my nostrils kept twitching.

My wolf growled softly as I glanced in the rear-view mirror. I glared directly at Antonio on my back seat. “You two fucking reek!” They smelled so badly of the sated it was suffocating.

Ezra even had his window rolled down for the fresh air.

Antonio had the courtesy to blush. “Sorry, Lil.”

Cahal merely grunted, grabbing my attention. “I’m not sorry. That was long overdue.”

Antonio instantly amended, “Precious, I didn’t mean that I’m sorry it happened.”

Precious
…fucking hell.

Cahal’s smile was private as he gazed at Antonio. “I know, honey.”

Honey
…Jesus Christ.

They stared intimately into one another’s eyes. They weren’t sitting directly next to each other as Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs drove directly behind us, their headlights shining through the back windshield. But they were holding hands, their joined fingers resting on top of Isa’s legs where she slept between them in her back-facing car seat. And…they stank so badly.

“Good God, quit looking at each other like that!” I grumbled, waggling a finger back between the seats. My wolf growled again. “There will be no funny business happening while we’re in this car.”

This time, it was Ezra who grunted — in complete agreement.

“I mean,” I continued, completely exasperated, “did you two have to spend the entire damn day doing
that
?”

Antonio gave a satisfied grin as he altered his attention to me, staring into the rear-view mirror. “Yes, we did. Precious was right. It was a long time coming.” He paused a moment when I scowled. “No pun intended.”

My brows eventually puckered. “How long?”

Antonio’s expression was patient on mine. “Cahal and I were together long ago. Until I became mated.” His lips thinned and his gaze altered, lingering on Cahal. “We were in love. It’s not a period of our lives we wish to rehash. It wasn’t…pleasant…when it ended.”

I rolled my shoulders, glancing backward and quickly appraising Cahal while Ezra stayed mute and appeared to be sniffing the air. Cahal was now staring out his dark window, his expression so damn blank that is was telling enough. I swiftly turned my attention to the road, and I nodded once in the silence. “Fair enough. I won’t ask any more questions.”

“Thank you,” Antonio murmured quietly.

Ezra broke his stillness, abruptly turning to stare back at his dad. “I am going to ask.”

Cahal slowly turned his gaze to his son. “I loved your mother.”