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He grinned. “Trust me. She wasnottiring of me.”
Rush tightened his grip on the reins and sighed. He wasn’t one for courting advice. Or courting at all. If Hana didn’t remember him anymore, good riddance. “There are plenty of women in Moonstone who will ride your cock. Take your pick of anyone at the palace.” Except for one. Aura. Whether asleep or awake, she washis.
“I can’t,” Astor said softly. “I like her.”
Rush peered at him, incredulous. “Then woo her all over again and fuck her out of your system. She won’t linger in your head forever,” he muttered.
Astor was quiet for a long moment, then resumed his somber whistling. Rush groaned and urged his horse to go faster, leaving the hawk a few yards behind. Perhaps it made him a bastard, but Rush had no tolerance for matters of the heart. The best way to deal with emotional turmoil was to slide his cock in someone. That wasn’t on the schedule today, however, so Astor was on his own.
Seeming to understand, Astor kept his distance until they reached the edge of Rusmire. Rush stiffened as they silently entered the city, scanning the area for threats. Weather-worn siding and mossy roofs covered the buildings, and the streets were freshly cobbled. People bustled about without paying Rush and Astor any mind. They were too busy pushing carts of bread and baskets of flowers toward the city center. Most of the stalls were already set up for market day—trinkets and jewelry and pastries. With any luck, the sorceress had come for the market, or at least decided to stay long enough to shop it.
“Stop here.” Rush pulled his mare to a halt and dismounted, his boots thudding against the cobbles. “Find a stable for the horses while I get us a room.”
Astor took the reins from him and tossed his small sack to the king. “I’ll meet you in the market after.”
Rush pushed his hood down and approached the closest inn. The scent of warm bread wafted from the bakery on one side of the whitewashed building and an apothecary sign hung on the other neighboring structure. The door creaked open to a smoke-filled lobby smelling of spices and musk. “Welcome, sir,” called a portly man. “What can I help you with?”
Rush crossed the red carpeted room and produced a gold coin from his pouch. “I need a room for tonight. Two beds.”
“Of course.” The man ran a soot-stained finger down a ledger and tapped it. “Room four is just what you’re looking for.” Rush slid a coin across the desk toward him and the worker handed over a heavy key. “Will you need anything during your stay? Supper? Company?”
“Supper, perhaps, but I don’t pay to fuck.” He wanted his women willing and eager for his cock—not eager for his coin.
With his business settled, Rush climbed a wide staircase to room four, finding it already unlocked. Everything was clean and orderly inside. The frilled bedspreads weren’t to his taste, but it wasn’t important for a single night. He tossed his and Astor’s bags on the floor before venturing back outside.
Rush followed the flow of the crowd to the bustling market. Astor had somehow beaten him there and was purchasing a powdered pastry drizzled with chocolate from one of the first stands. Rush approached and shook his head the moment the young woman opened her mouth to ask what he’d like to buy.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Astor mumbled around his first bite.
“That’s what you said when you tricked me into eating one of those lemon squares.” Rush walked away from the stand, searching for a familiar face. One with gray streaking her long dark hair, a wide nose, and piercing brown eyes.
“I forgot your dragon hates citrus,” Astor said. “But he likes sugar, doesn’t he?”
Rush shot him a glare from the corner of his eyes. “He likes birds of prey. Fresh and bloody, preferably.”
“Hmph.” Astor stopped at a second stall and chatted up the woman selling flower crowns. Rush let him without complaint. It gave him an excuse to linger, to watch. He was just the bored companion of an overly friendly spendthrift.
Rush observed every person that passed by. Man, woman, and child. The sorceress could be disguised, though she rarely bothered. Unless she’d spotted Rush and cast a spell to conceal herself from him. His dragon was just as observant inside him, eyes narrowed, pulling in deep breaths in hope of scenting magic.
Rush dragged his gaze to Astor, holding up a necklace. A teardrop ruby hung from a gold chain, catching the sun. His dragon practically salivated, though the gemstone was nothing out of the ordinary. But it wasprettyandsparkled. Everything that his dragon enjoyed hoarding—as evident by his collection hidden away in the dungeons of his palace.
“Don’t tell me that’s for Hana. You can’t bribe her into remembering you,” he said, forcing his gaze away.
Astor huffed. “I’ll take it,” he told the seller.
A glimmer in Rush’s peripheral drew his attention back to the table.Jewels. So many. Large, small. Oval, square, pear-shaped. Rings and necklaces, bracelets and earrings. His dragon pressed forward with a surge of rawneedand Rush’s pupils shifted into slits.
“Fuck.” He was going to need to buysomethingjust to shut the beast up so he could focus on his task. His gaze ran hungrily over the selection and caught on a pair of amethyst earrings. A large stone was backed by three long silver chains, each with alternating amethysts and diamonds woven in. “Those,” he practically growled to the jeweler.
“Wonderful choice, my lord.” The man took the coin from Rush and moved to place the earrings into a box.
“No.” Rush snatched them off the table and tucked them into his coin pouch. His dragon vibrated with pleasure.
Astor chuckled. “A gift for Aura?”
Rush scowled. They were his—forhishorde. Unlike his father, he would never share it with his wife. When hedidmarry, it would be for political gain and she would have no access to his precious gemstones.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful and grab an aerial view of the city?” he snapped.
