“It’s fine,” Evan said quickly.
Thomas made a sound that suggested he wasn’t convinced but he didn’t argue, and after a moment he lay back down. Evan let out a quiet sigh of relief. The last ten days where he’d been confined to his bed had been a torture of inactivity, and he hadno intention of repeating them just because Thomas insisted on fussing over the tiniest twinge of Evan’s newly healed wound.
He sat up and stretched—carefully—and used the corner of the sheet to wipe away the sticky mess on his hand and Thomas’s belly. Then he settled back down and laid his head on Thomas’s chest, one hand tracing the lines of muscle absently and enjoying the feel of Thomas wrapping an arm around him as he floated in a daze of post-orgasmic contentment.
Just as he was drifting off, there was a polite tapping at the door. Evan decided to ignore it.
Thomas was seemingly in agreement. “Tell them to fuck off,” he grumbled.
“Fuck off!” Evan said loudly. Thomas stared at him wide-eyed, and then the corners of his mouth curved up into a smile. Evan grinned back at him. There were advantages to having a reputation for improper behaviour.
The knock came again, louder this time.
It was Thomas who called out this time. “He said fuck off!”
Evan beamed at him proudly. He rather enjoyed being a bad influence on his sensible captain.
There was a moment’s silence before a fist pounded on the door in a manner that refused to be ignored.
Evan sighed as the warm pool of contentment he’d been basking in dissolved. He threw the blankets aside and marched across the room, heedless of his nakedness. “This had better be important,” he snapped as he yanked the door open. “I’m bloody well recovering from an attempt on my life!”
“I know,” King Leopold drawled. “Why do you think we’re back?”
Oh.
Out of the corner of his eye, Evan saw Thomas freeze in open-mouthed horror. Leopold leaned against the doorframe andglanced between the two of them. “Captain,” he said pleasantly. “Good to see you.”
Thomas made a wheezing noise and yanked the sheets up to his chin.
“Oh my god, Leo.” Felix elbowed his way past the king, taking in the situation at a glance. “That’s an impressive scar, Evan. Thomas, would you like us to leave and come back in a few minutes so that you have a chance to find your trousers and the remaining few shreds of your dignity?”
“Please,” Thomas mouthed, voice barely a whisper and eyes still as wide as saucers.
Evan let out a huff. “What aboutmydignity?”
“Please,” Felix said. “We all know you have none. I mean, you did answer the door stark-bollocks naked.”
He had a point, not that Evan was going to admit it. Instead he said, “Why don’t we meet in your office once Thomas and I have made ourselves decent?”
Leo nodded his agreement, and Evan wasted no time bundling them out the door. Then he hurried back to the bed where Thomas was sitting with the sheets still pulled up and his face the colour of a ripe strawberry. Evan felt a pang of sympathy for him and leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “I probably should have asked who that was before I opened the door.”
“That would have been a good idea, yes,” Thomas said in a strangled voice.
“Still,” Evan said brightly, “at least they didn’t turn up while you still had my cock in your mouth.”
Thomas stared at him and then burst out laughing, shaking his head. “Life is never going to be dull with you, is it?”
Hearing him say that so casually, as if it was a foregone conclusion that they’d be together—that Thomas might want that with him—had Evan’s vision turning blurry for a moment. He glanced down at the quilt and blinked rapidly to chase theunexpected emotion away. His voice was hoarse when he said, “I’ve been accused of a lot of things, but being dull isn’t one of them. Now, shall we get dressed and go and deal with the king?”
Thomas cupped Evan’s face in his hands and kissed him firmly before letting out a sigh, throwing back the blankets, and standing, looking for all the world like a man about to go into battle. “Lets.”
“Iwon’t lie, I’m actually a little offended that I wasn’t the target,” Leo said with a frown. “I mean I am the most important man in the kingdom.”
“Yes, of course you are,” Evan said, propping his feet up on Leo’s desk, “but have you never heard the term the power behind the throne? It turns out that certain shadowy figures felt threatened by another shadowy figure who played the game better than they did. It’s me,” he added. “I’m the best shadowy figure.”
Felix placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “I still think you’re the most powerful man in the kingdom.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Leo said before turning his attention back to Evan. “Get your feet off my desk.”
