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A warm, joyful burst spilled through Nox at the thought. “Right? That’s what it felt like! I was balls-deep in you and it was heaven. I was complete because I was with you, not because of the family ‘curse’ or the other curse,” he said, rubbing his ear against his cheek to quell the gross itch that spread under his skin and caused a shudder. He felt it whenever he thought about his mother’s locket and the curse that had been cast in the MacCrorys’ trailer.
Nelson shushed as his arms slid around Nox and he danced them into the shower. “It isn’t just us, Nox.”
“Why can’t we decide that?” he asked, turning so he could see Nelson’s face.
His pewter eyes softened with tears and Nelson sighed heavily as he rested his forehead on Nox’s. “We? Me and you, or me and the Nox who calls me Uaithne?”
“I didn’t. Did I?” Nox’s heart sank right down the drain. He could hear himself saying it and wondered if this was what his father had been afraid of when he warned him all those years ago.
“I’m scared too.”
“Just because we’re scared doesn’t mean we’re helpless,” Nox said defiantly, shaking his head and reaching for his most energizing body wash. “I know what I feel and I’ve always felt it with you. We’re good and we’re stronger together.”
Nelson made a thoughtful sound and obediently held out his hands when Nox aimed the glass pump bottle at him. “I know we are when we aren’t…being intimate. I feel complete and like I’m finally where I belong and you make me a better agent when we’re working. But I do know the Dagda5—He wants us to…” His face turned an adorable shade of pink as his gaze dropped coyly.
“That would only be our problem if we didn’t already want to do it,” Nox said, letting his eyes skate down Nelson’s body. He was getting hard again, bless him. “Let me help you with that.” Nox squirted a generous amount of the Castille soap blend onto his palm and received a strained groan when he stroked it onto Nelson’s cock.
“I know it’s normal for new couples to…a lot, but this doesn’t seem natural.”
Nox purred as he sucked on the end of Nelson’s chin and tugged firmly. He was so close and Nox’s mouth watered in anticipation. “We might be damned no matter what we do, so we might as well make the best of it.”
“Which one of you believes that?”
“What?” Nox’s hand stopped and he frowned at Nelson’s chin, feeling another flicker of concern. It was getting harder and harder to tell which thoughts were his own and which had come from that distant place. They used to come like whispers and Nox had to strain to hear them, but after the rave they had grown louder until they blended and felt as organic as his own desires and ideas.
“Is this you being stubborn and horny or are you under His spell too?”
Nox scoffed, pushing the thought away and resuming his efforts to comfort and distract Nelson. “Stop acting like I’ve already lost, like I’m already gone.”
Nelson shook his head. “No. I’m not,” he rasped, then braced his hand on the wall as his body jerked and trembled. His head snapped back and his eyes shut, tears forming on his lashes. “Nox!” he pleaded, crying as he came again.
1 Sorcha (Surka): Nox’s mother, died when Nox was 12.
2 Is leir don saol e an firinne (Iss lair dun sail a on firr-inyeh): Everybody learns the truth.
3 An mor ata air? (On moor ah-taw err): At what price?
4 Uaithne (Oof-na): The Dagda’s magic harp that could change seasons, turn the tides of battle, and see into the hearts of men.
5 The Dagda (Dag-duh or Day-duh): An important god in Irish mythology likened to the Germanic god Odin. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and a high druid. He is associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength, as well as magic, druidry, and wisdom. He can control life and death, the weather and crops, as well as time and the seasons. His name means “the good god” or “the great god.”
Six
Ican’t hurt Nelson.
That was non-negotiable so Nox fired off an S.O.S.—Send Old Slut—to Merlin. Thankfully, the old slut responded immediately, promising he was on his way.
“What’s happened? Where’s Nelson?” Merlin asked as he rushed through the front door, swinging his overcoat off with a dramatic flourish.
“He’s in the study making some calls,” Nox informed him as he hung it. “We’re going to see Julian later.”
There was a disgruntled humph as Merlin preened at his collar and its oversized bow. “I had hoped you might give yourself another day to recover and recharge.”
“I’m fine. Better than fine—perfect!” Nox said as he put an arm around Merlin and turned them away from the study and toward the kitchen. “And we finally have a lead after being stalled for months.”
“I’m not so sure this is a lead,” Merlin argued. His temper was thinner than his hair, but Nox understood that Merlin was still upset about what had transpired at the MacCrorys’. “I think this ‘puppet master’ decided it was time and summoned you back to New Castle. He poisoned that woman so you would find her and find that curse. It was a trap and you might be walking into another.”
Nox made a thoughtful sound, as if he hadn’t already done the math as well. “He’s called me out and you and Clance both think that I should hide?” he verified, making Merlin scowl over his shoulder as he turned into the kitchen.
