So he rolled Evan gently onto his side and wrapped the quilt around them both. Then he curled up behind him—always the big spoon—and threw an arm over Evan’s sleeping form, holding him firmly in place.
And despite the fact he was currently spooning the most dangerous man in Lilleforth, he was asleep in under a minute.
When Thomas woke up, he was the little spoon.
He wasn’t sure how it was even possible, but somehow in the night he and Evan had changed places, and now there was a face pressed against his shoulder and an arm gripping him around the waist. Evan’s breath was warm on his bare skin, and it took Thomas a moment to register that most of his body was uncovered. He lifted Evan’s arm and rolled over and couldn’t help but smile to himself. Not only had Evan switched their positions during the night, he’d also made off with most of the quilt, and it was piled on top of him in a cosy heap.
Thomas was tempted to steal it back just to see the expression on Evan’s face, but he refrained. Duke in his bed or not, he still had a regiment of guards to oversee. He slipped out of bed and pulled on a pair of trousers and a shirt, then went and stoked up the embers of last night’s fire to take the chill off the air.
At the clink of metal on stone, he turned back toward the bed. It was empty and Evan was sitting at the table wearing his trousers. He was bent over, collecting his secret knives from the floor and slipping them back into his boots.
Evan lifted his head, his expression serious, and propped his elbows on his knees. “Thank you for last night. But I’ll understand if you don’t wish to repeat it.”
Thomas frowned and his shoulders slumped. One night in his bed and the duke had changed his mind?
“This is not me changing my mind,” Evan said with a rueful smile, and Thomas had to wonder if his disappointment was that obvious or if the man was just incredibly good at reading people. “Last night was the most fun I’ve had in a long while. But I did rather back you into a corner by kissing you in front of the ambassador, and I don’t want you to feel obliged to carryon a charade that could damage your standing as Captain of the Guard.”
Oh.
That was unexpectedly considerate, and Thomas was reminded that the flippant, self-absorbed duke that everyone saw was an act. It was true that perhaps therewouldbe stares and whispers from his guards, but Thomas found that the thought didn’t bother him as much as the idea of putting a stop to this fledgling arrangement did. And besides, the whispers wouldn’t last—not if his men knew what was good for them.
Thomas might never get the chance to dally with someone as attractive and clever as Evan again, and he had no intention of walking away before he’d fulfilled every one of his fantasies.
He prodded at the fireplace with the poker, raising a flurry of sparks, before straightening and facing Evan. “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long while too. I don’t intend to stop just because some people might not approve. And it’s not like the court can say anything. After all, if the king can marry his groom, what’s to stop a captain and a duke cavorting a little?” Then, feeling bold, he strode over to Evan, cupped the side of his face and tilted his head up, kissing him lightly. And in case it wasn’t clear, he added, “If you recall, you already had me half seduced before the ambassador turned up last night.”
Evan arched one eyebrow. “Only half?”
Thomas gave a shrug. “Perhaps three quarters.” He retrieved his own boots, sitting on the side of the bed to pull them on. The hidden space where his knife normally lived was empty, and when he glanced around the floor the blade was nowhere to be seen. His brow creased. “Where’s my?—”
“Think fast.” The stiletto came whistling through the air towards him.
Thomas reached up instinctively and plucked it out of midair. “Is that how you seduce all your lovers?” he asked, heartracing. He eyed Evan warily to make sure there wasn’t another one on the way. “By throwing knives at them?”
“Only the ones who can handle it,” Evan said with a smirk.
As Thomas slipped the stiletto into his boot, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d passed some sort of test.
Scooping his shirt up from the floor where it had landed last night, Evan pulled it over his head just as Thomas had a sudden memory of him using that same shirt to clean them up the previous night.
Evan tensed and wrinkled his nose, then let out a sigh and said, “I’m going up to the castle to bathe and change. And after that I’m going to spend the day listening at keyholes. Come to my room tonight to compare notes?”
Thomas nodded. The search for the would-be assassin was their top priority, after all. Still, Evan’s messy hair and rumpled shirt made him even more rakishly attractive, and Thomas found himself asking, “Just to compare notes?”
Evan’s eyes gleamed with promise. “Well, perhaps notjustthat.” And with that he strode out the door and Thomas hurried after him.
Tonight couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter Nine
Evan liked to solve his problems in the bath.
He had long ago learned that chasing too hard after the answer to a question often led to it slipping from his grasp, but circling round, slowly and carefully, then casually sidling up to the solution usually worked best—and what better place to think than while having a nice, relaxing soak? So the first thing he did upon his return to the castle was order a bath brought to his room. He sank into the tub with a sigh of relief, the stiffness in his back and hips from Thomas’s lumpy mattress easing as the hot water worked its magic. He’d known falling asleep in that terrible bed was a bad idea, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to leave the captain’s side.
And even as he arched his back, the knots popping along his spine, he found he didn’t regret it. Thomas had lived up to every one of his expectations. And honestly, it had been worth a little discomfort just for the experience of throwing that knife and getting to see Thomas catch it with inhuman speed. Evan’s cock stirred at the memory, but he ignored it for now.
He needed to concentrate on finding out who was threatening the king and then remove the threat. Once that was taken care of, he could daydream about his big, burly guard andhis thick thighs and thicker cock to his heart’s content. For now he closed his eyes and sank down into the bathtub, inhaling the herb-scented steam and letting his mind drift.
He turned what he knew so far over in his mind, idly examining it from all angles and hoping against hope that there would be a moment when all the pieces slotted together tidily and told him what he wanted to know. But by the time the water had started to cool, he had to admit that as far as solid evidence went, they had very little.
