Sam’s eyes widened and he gave a hurried half bow in Evan’s direction. “Apologies, Your Grace! I didn’t mean to forget you!”
On seeing Sam’s stricken expression, Evan took pity on him and waved a lazy hand. “It’s fine. Everyone forgets about me. Some days even I forget about me.” He didn’t add that his invisibility was by design. “What will you do with your day off?” he asked, in an effort to reassure Sam that he wasn’t offended.
Sam’s cheeks flushed. “Some of the lads want to go to the tavern in town and, um. Meet new friends.”
Well, that was code for wanting a quick fuck if ever Evan had heard it.
“I’ve heard there’s a place two streets back from the docks that's very good for finding friends,” Evan said with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s the one, sir.” Sam wrinkled his nose. “There’s one man there who doesn’t like to take no for an answer, though. Darcy and me might stay back here.”
“That’s a wise choice,” Thomas said. “Now go and spread the word that tomorrow is a day off, and that I’ll take care of the duke.”
Sam’s face lit up with a grin that was brighter than a hundred candles. “Yes, Captain! Thank you, Captain!”
And with that he was off running toward the barracks, hand in hand with his companion.
“They’re fucking, aren’t they?” Evan said, watching them depart.
“Sam and Darcy?” Thomas smirked. “If they aren’t, they will be by the end of the week. I’m pretending I haven’t noticed.”
Evan turned and leaned into Thomas’s side. “Speaking of fucking…”
“Yes,” Thomas said before Evan had even had a chance to invite him back to his rooms.
“You don’t know what I was going to ask.”
Thomas glanced around the now empty courtyard and slipped an arm around Evan’s waist in a way that suggested he wouldn’t be letting go any time soon. He pulled him close and said in a low voice, “You were going to ask if I still wanted to go back to your rooms tonight. The answer’s yes.”
Arousal stirred in Evan’s belly, and since he’d never been shy about asking for what he wanted, he pressed up on his toes and nipped at Thomas’s earlobe before murmuring, “Will you pin me to the bed and take me apart, Captain?”
Thomas replied in a low, dangerous growl that sent a shiver of excitement racing through Evan.
“Yes.”
Chapter Twelve
Thomas had thought the afternoon would drag, but in fact it flew by. His guards all sought him out, eager to find out if the rumours about a day off were true, and he was kept busy reassuring his men that yes, it was true and more importantly, that they’d still be paid. He barely noticed the hours passing until his stomach growled, and he was surprised to find that darkness had fallen.
He made his way to the kitchens and ate his meal, and now that he was free of the distraction of work, his nerves jangled in anticipation of the evening ahead and his mind turned to other things.
Specifically, to naked, duke-shaped things.
It didn’t help that prior to supper Evan had pulled Thomas aside into a quiet corner and kissed him until he was hard in his trousers, only stopping when Thomas gave a breathless moan, and then sending him on his way with a playful slap to the arse. Thomas had spent most of supper willing his cock to behave.
Evan was now sitting at the other end of the table, making a show out of licking up the length of a cold pork sausage. He caught Thomas watching and shot him a teasing smile beforecommenting, “You know, the last time I had something this big and salty in my mouth, I wasn’t anywhere near the kitchens.”
Thomas quickly ducked his head to hide the flush that was creeping up his cheeks. Evan was a menace—a sexy, distracting menace—who had, against all odds, chosen Thomas as his bedmate.
He still wasn’t sure how he had gotten so lucky.
When halfway through supper Evan cleared his throat loudly, Thomas glanced up the length of the table and found Evan watching him, one hand casually toying with the lacing at the front of his shirt and tugging it loose so that a dark patch of hair was just visible. Then he stood and shoved his hands through his messy hair and shook it out before prowling toward the door. He paused and ran a hand along his shoulder, pushing the collar of his shirt down an inch to reveal his collarbone. He looked back at Thomas, caught his gaze, and tilted his head in a silent invitation.
Thomas’s breathing sped up and his hand clenched tight around the handle of his fork. Visions of running his tongue over the curves and dips of Evan’s chest before teasing his nipples and working his way lower filled his head, and his cock throbbed with anticipation.
He was halfway out of his chair when Sam darted over to him and hovered at his elbow, eyes wide. Thomas suppressed a groan. “What is it?”
Sam glanced back over at the table where the other guards were sitting, and Darcy gave him an encouraging nod. “Begging your pardon, Captain, but since there’s no royals that need guarding except the duke, and you said you’d take care of him, does that mean there’s no overnight shift?”
