Page 28 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

“Aww. Did a sexy little bard break your heart and now you can’t stand to be around any of us?” Lirion teased.

Yet, instead of getting annoyed, a choked noise broke from Fenric’s throat, and his body shook with suppressed laughter. “No. Hardly. I just mean that bards tend to be the flighty type, quickly moving from town to town, always looking for a good time, never taking anything seriously, and out for some quick coin.”

“Hmmm.” Lirion made a show of rubbing his smooth chin. “That description reminds me of someone. Who could it be? Oh! I know. Every thief I’ve ever met.”

Fenric finally cracked a grin, and it was heart-stopping. Really, it should be illegal for Fenric to whip that out and not warn a person. “And that’s why I don’t hang around other thieves.”

Leaning in, Lirion let his eyes blatantly rove over the man. If they weren’t in jail, he would be tempted to have a little taste. Fenric was very much a man of rugged good looks, especially with those crisscrossing scars over his nose, cheek, and forehead. He had some redhead in him somewhere, judging by the freckles dancing across his nose, although his hair was pitch black.

What truly fascinated Lirion was the man’s eyes.

“Something on my face?” Fenric joked.

“Your eyes are incredible,” Lirion said in a low, throaty voice. “Pure gold rimmed in green, a truly unique combination I’ve never seen before. Where did you get those pretty eyes from?”

“My mother.” Fenric twisted to face him better as well, and was that a flash of interest crossing his face? “Do you normally flirt with men who have landed you in jail? Part of your bard training?”

“I can’t show interest in a handsome man?”

Fenric snorted. “I’m not that handsome.”

“I disagree. You very much are. Shame on your lovers for not whispering sweet nothings in your ear. I’m happy to make up the lack.”

“In public?”

“In private. They’re spicy nothings.”

Fenric laughed outright, those pretty eyes of his sparkling with genuine amusement. “You’re something else, Lirion. I find it very interesting you think I’m handsome, when you’re the one who’s gorgeous.”

Well, it was part and parcel of being Lirion, considering what he was and which family he hailed from. But Fenric didn’t need to know all of that.

“Where’s this pretty pink hair from, hmm?”

“My mother,” Lirion admitted with a wink. “The best traits always come from mothers.”

“Hear! Hear!”

“It’s starting to feel like we were fated to meet today,” he murmured, which earned him another eye roll from Fenric. Yeah, it was a line. Sometimes, he couldn’t help himself. They would fall off his tongue before his brain could engage enough to catch them.

“I can think of plenty of other ways to have met that wouldn’t have caused me this much trouble,” Fenric grumbled.

“Then how about you think of ways we can spend our first date, Mr. Smarty-pants,” Lirion said playfully. “Just a shame we’re stuck in here.”

Fenric blinked once, taking Lirion’s words in. “You’re an equal opportunist, then?”

Lirion let out a low, husky chuckle. “Oh, gender means nothing to me. Everyone’s attractive in their own ways.”

“Ha. Well, good to know? But we won’t need to spend any real time in here.”

It was Lirion’s turn to blink in surprise, breaking out of his flirty fog. “Say what?”

“We’re not going to stay in here much longer,” Fenric explained, standing enough to lean sideways and look through the bars of the cell. “I was just waiting for the right timing.”

Lirion’s mouth fell open as he stared at the other man, who was clearly not lost in the same fog. Was Lirion losing his touch? Fenric should have been buried in a haze of lust at this point, unable to think about anything else. Not even escape. Who the fuck was this guy?

Irritation had crept back in a bit, but it was tempered by a mix of curiosity and hope of escape.

“But they took your lockpicks,” Lirion reminded him.