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Said the person who always ate like a starving wolf once food got in front of him. Really, how had Gunter survived before Nikki came along? Did he just binge eat when people remembered to drag him free of the dungeon?
Nikki was rather afraid that was actually the answer.
Gunter didn’t know what to do. He felt too many things, all of them snarled in an angry mess in his chest, and it didn’t give him any clarity. Just frustration. He left the library, unable to process his emotions, but he didn’t have a destination.
Or he thought he didn’t until he ended up at Alric’s door.
He faced the closed door and slowly realized his unconscious mind had made a good decision, bringing him here. His king was wiser in terms of romance. And he had a very happy marriage with Cameron, a clear indication he would know how to advise Gunter.
Good feet. Smart feet for bringing him here.
Gunter lifted his hand and knocked.
“Enter!”
Gunter stepped inside the study, looking about until he spied his quarry. Alric sat at the desk, looking a little tired, but there was a smile on his face as he looked up.
“Well, hello. Wait, tell me I’m not missing a meeting with you.”
One of those days, eh? “No, I’m just here to…talk.”
Alric’s brow lifted in question. “I see. Come in, then. Want a scotch?”
God, yes. Gunter’s need for alcohol was strong. This conversation would go down much better wet. He beelined for the discreet bar lurking in one corner of Alric’s office, pouring a glass for himself before thinking to offer, “Do you want one?”
“Whiskey, straight.”
Obligingly, he poured Alric a glass as well. By the time he turned around, Alric had shifted to a different chair—the plush leather one he favored when he wasn’t at his desk. Gunter handed off the drink before taking his own seat nearby.
Alric sipped, eyeing him sideways. “What’s prompted this?”
“Nikki,” Gunter said with a sigh, staring into his amber liquid morosely.
“Ah.”
It was Gunter’s turn to eye someone sideways. “Why do you say it in that tone?”
“Nikki has not left your side since coming here,” Alric pointed out calmly after another sip of his drink. “There’s a great many conclusions I can draw from that.”
Gunter threw back the drink in one long pull and seriously debated pouring another. “You don’t even know the half of it. It’s not just that they spend the day in the library with me. They sleep with me, too. No, not like that, put your eyebrows back in place. Nikki sneaks into my bed every night, sleeps there, and slips out again before daybreak.”
Alric let out a low whistle. “Do they, now.”
“I don’t understand this,” Gunter burst out. “From day one, Nikki’s reacted like this to me. But I’ve not done anything for them. I thought, at first, that it was just because they were nervous. They felt safer with me than around the mages. I didn’t see the harm in letting them stay nearby until their fears eased. But it can’t just be that. Not if Nikki’s slipping into my bed, right?”
“I wouldn’t think so, no.”
Seeing that Alric was on the same page encouraged Gunter. “And it’s not just that. Nikki does things that don’t make any sense to me. They latch onto things I’ve used, silly things like pencils and gloves and sweaters, and refuse to give them back. And they’re insistent on eating every meal with me.”
“Gunter, you realize what this sounds like all laid out, right?” Alric gave him a look like a parent waiting for a child to understand the obvious.
“It sounds like they have a crush on me. And I might have believed that, except they met the ice dragon tracker today, and Dimitri charmed them without even trying.”
“Gunter, you’ll pardon me for saying so, but you look green with envy. And angry.”
“I nearly bit the man’s head off,” Gunter grumbled. Screw this, he needed another drink. He promptly got up to pour himself another scotch.
“Jealousy is unbecoming, but in your case, it’s also very obvious. I think you know very well you want Nikki.”
“It might not matter what I want. Nikki’s kissed me twice.” Gunter blew out a breath, feeling better for having those words out. “And it’s been a teasing gesture both times. I don’t think they really want me, Alric. I think I’m safe for them. I think I’m…Nikki’s never had a chance to be with anyone before me. They’re enjoying the attention.”
Alric made a noise of disagreement in the back of his throat. “I think you’re selling yourself short. Is that what this is? You don’t think Nikki really wants you?”
“I think they believe they do in this moment. But once they get their footing and grow into the incredible person I know they can be, their feelings about me might very well change.”
