Page 69 of Bloodgrove

“We are saving a life. Relax.”

At last, Will turned his head toward Eric and forced his eyes open. Eric was propped upon one forearm, his sharp face painted in light and shadow. It emphasized his elegant cheekbones, hollow cheeks, and pointed chin. His hair was disheveled, but Will’s gaze continued lower, over the sinewy throat to the broad shoulders and hard line of his collarbone. Across the expanse of lean muscle to the undergarment hanging low around his hips. A blanket hid his legs.

He was beautiful, and Will understood why Elodie drank in the sight.

“Will,” Eric murmured, suddenly uncertain. His given name upon the man’s lips made him shiver. It felt as intimate as a touch, like a hand placed upon his chest where his heart beat.

“Eric, I want you here too,” Will said. “I am cold,” he added quickly, because otherwise he felt too vulnerable. Elodie was familiar and forbidden. He had tasted her on his tongue; she had come against his face. It should have been only another natural step to finally hold her in his arms.

If he ignored the pain in his body and closed his eyes to reality for a moment, he could imagine that the circumstances were different. Perhaps they had returned from a ball that had lasted too long, or from some adventurous journey. And Elodie was his. She allowed him to love her and to make mistakes with him.

Eric was the opposite. The man seemed to prefer touching him only with the tip of his walking stick. And yet their dance had repeated itself far too often in Will’s dreams, and sometimes he had continued it after imagining that they withdrew into one of the many private rooms…

But that was not how things were. Elodie and Eric had come to rescue him from his own stupidity. How could he still speak of making mistakes when his mistake had cost Saint his life?

Eric seemed to read the darkening thoughts upon his face and finally lowered himself fully against Will’s side. Gods, it felt good to have his muscles, his masculinity, beside him. And one or two moments later, Eric pulled both of them closer. His arm reached across Will to Elodie’s waist, and his lips brushed Will’s cheek.

He spread the blanket and then the coat over them. The farther they drifted into sleep, the more tightly he held them. The more shamelessly he permitted himself to protect what he called his own.

He did not need to say it.

Will felt it in his touch, and the first faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Chapter 36

It was still dark when quiet voices woke Will. He could still feel Elodie and Eric at his sides, their bodies like two suns holding the night inside him at bay.

“What is going on between the two of you?” Eric whispered, and Will decided to keep his eyes closed. Then he felt the man pinch him in the side.

Was this Eric’s attempt to collect his part of their bargain?

“What do you mean?” Elodie shifted away from Will, presumably so she could glare darkly at Eric.

“Do you think I cannot see how familiar you are with each other? He is your employee—yes, a prestigious one—but do not lie to me. You are doing more than merely showing him off. Did you know Katelyn and Balto had planned another prank for him? They only called it off after they saw you at the ball.”

“One prank was enough. It would not be right to torment him any further.”

Eric snorted. “And you are not tormenting him? Let him do his work and find a few ordinary friends. There is no need to drag him into all of this.”

“Does Will strike you as someone who wants an ordinary, quiet life?”

“No. But this should not cost him his life. Look at him. Is this what you want for him?” Eric kept his voice low, but every word was sharp and accusing.

“I didn’t know he would do something like this!”

“But he is clearly doing it for you!”

Will would have liked nothing more than to punch Eric in the stomach and make him stop talking.

Elodie’s fingers traced the dried circle of protection on his chest. “I can’t send him away. He is the first good thing my house has known in a very long time. He is shocked, outraged, compassionate—he is so normal, not broken like us. Is it so wrong of me to want to enjoy that a little longer?”

“You are getting married.”

“I know! We are not doing anything!” Elodie spoke the lie with effortless ease. “I love talking to him, hearing all his wondrous ideas. The house no longer feels so empty with him in it. He is like a kind fairy.”

Eric snorted. “I think he would laugh at you if he heard that. We both know that’s not true.”

“Fine. He looks like a kind fairy.”