“You have completely upended my life, you know,” he told Sebastian, appalled when it came out almostfond. The magic had to wear off at some point, and in the meantime, the floor was hard but the fire was warm. His body was mellow from whiskey and magic, and Sebastian’s head was a pleasant weight on his arm.
It’s not cuddling when you’re magically pinned to the floor,Wesley told himself. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the glow.
Sebastian woke with a start, his head fuzzy, confused. He was in a bed, a gold canopy over his head, but the room was dim, and he didn’t know where he was—
A warm hand was suddenly on his shoulder, a now-familiar voice pitched low and soft. “Sebastian?”
Lord Fine.
Sebastian’s breath left him in a rush. He was in Yorkshire, on the giant bed in Lord Fine’s manor. The fire was still crackling, light coming from the kerosene lamp on the table by the settee and chairs. Lord Fine was leaning over him, one knee on the bed, once again dressed in the striped silk pajamas, this time with a pair of glasses balanced on his nose.
“Do you ever sleep?”
Lord Fine’s question was rueful, closer to gentle than mean. Sebastian let his head fall back against the pillow and the welcome sight of Lord Fine fill his vision.
“Not really,” he admitted, his pulse still uncomfortably high and his chest too tight.
“What was I rescuing you from that time?” Lord Fine hadn’t let go of his shoulder. “Blood terrors? Run-of-the-mill nightmares? Prisoner in someone else’s dreams—is that a thing, in your paranormal world? Nothing would surprise me anymore.”
Sebastian snorted. “Nothing so exciting. I drank too much and got confused.” And his mind had too many dark places to revisit when he got confused.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and found himself blurting, too honestly, “I’m sorry you keep having to save me. I’m sorry we didn’t meet when I was still whole, before I was shattered into what I am now.”
But Lord Fine shook his head. “Maybe we’re a pair of proper scoundrels, you and I,” he said quietly. “But when I look at you, I don’t see fractures. I see battle scars. And they don’t scare me off.”
Sebastian swallowed. Lord Fine was still above him, steady and strong, and Sebastian had to ball his hands into fists before he pulled him down on top of him. For comfort, to kiss him—any of it, all of it.
He forced himself to sit up instead. Lord Fine’s hand slid down as he moved, but he didn’t pull it away, resting it now on Sebastian’s bicep. He wore the pajamas but Sebastian appeared to be still fully dressed, only his shoes taken off. “I don’t remember going to bed.”
“Because I put you here,” said Lord Fine. “You passed out on the floor after two and a half whiskies, which apparently is also enough to make you forget you’re in Yorkshire. There are lightweights, duck, and there’syou.”
Sebastian winced. Good to know he could still find new humiliations, just in case Lord Fine didn’t already find him childish enough. He cast for a topic change and blurted, “I like your glasses.”
Wait, no, how was it better to awkwardly stumble through compliments?
But Lord Fine touched the frames. “A new necessity. Very few people have seen them; I usually wear a monocle.” He pulled the glasses off his face with his free hand and set them on the nightstand. “I was reading in the armchair. It seemed presumptuous to join you.”
Sebastian blew out a breath. “I did not mean to presume—”
“You’re adorable, thinking I could mean your presumptions and my maidenly virtue,” Lord Fine said dryly. “No, it seemed presumptuous onmypart, to get you drunk and then undress you and join you in bed. I am supposed to be a gentleman, you know.”
Lord Fine’s pajama shirt was fastened with frog clasps, the silk clinging to his shoulders and arms and a sliver of his chest visible below the collar. His eyes were a deeper blue than usual, reflecting the navy between the pajama’s stripes. He was still so close, his hand still on Sebastian’s arm, and the moment felt like it was veering in a direction Sebastian might have gone in a good dream.
He flexed his fingers and tightened his fists to keep his hands at his own sides. “I thought we were sharing the bed like soldiers.”
“Oh,werewe?” There was a new note in Lord Fine’s voice. “Because you told me interesting stories about you and other soldiers.”
Ohno.
Sebastian’s face flushed hot. “I didn’t.”
“You did.” Lord Fine suddenly shifted, one knee pressing between Sebastian’s legs. He leaned in close, and in a low voice that resonated in Sebastian’s bones, he said, “But unlike those fools, I know what I want with you.”
Before Sebastian could find words, Lord Fine’s hand slid over his jaw to tangle his fingers into the short hairs on the back of his head.
“That means I’m going to kiss you now.”
Then Lord Fine’s lips were on his.
