by Macy Blake
“I heard it as well, young master,” Cecil added.
His butler was the king of discretion, yet he always knew everything that happened in the household. It was his own kind of magic, which reminded Sawyer that he really needed to ask Eduard what exactly Cecil was. Human just didn’t seem likely, not with the butler’s talents. But wait…dry brownies? What?
“Seriously?”
“Do something,” Viv snarled. She stabbed the knife into a large, plump tomato on the cutting board. It spurted seeds and juice all over the counter. His eyeball would look about the same when she got it.
Sawyer gulped.
“He offered to have his staff train me, as I was obviously inexperienced,” Mrs. Robinson added with a growl of her own.
His housekeeper was a domestic goddess and kept a household with over a dozen members clean as a whistle. Sawyer still wasn’t sure how she managed the volume of laundry they produced.
“He said what now?” Sawyer asked in a growl of his own. No one messed with Viv or Justine. No one.
Mrs. Robinson sniffed, her eyes welling with tears. No, no, no. Sawyer could handle torture and murder and mayhem, he could handle claws and fangs and dangerous destinies, but he could not handle Justine crying.
Sawyer turned to Cecil, begging for help with his eyes. His butler gently smiled at him, and Sawyer knew he was in for it.
“Young master, you are the Chosen One. You must handle this… prince.”
Sawyer groaned and thumped his head down onto the counter. He’d been trying to handle Prince Kavalan for weeks, mainly by avoiding him and wishing he’d just go away. Needless to say, his wish hadn’t been granted. Too bad genies weren’t real. He could use one right about now. Kavalan was a royal jerk, but he was also destined to be one of Sawyer’s guardians, his protectors from the supernatural world as he carried out a centuries-old prophecy. Sawyer was beginning to think fate was broken. He’d thought he would end up mated to all of his guardians. The first five had been right up his alley. Well, Saeward hadn’t officially accepted yet. His hippocamp was still warming up to the idea. And speaking of warming up, Saeward was probably out at the pool right now.
“Don’t even think about it,” Viv snarled.
“What?”
“You got that dopey look in your eyes you get whenever you’re thinking of the boys. No. You’re not getting any nookie until you take care of His Royal Assface.”
“Viv,” Cecil gasped, scandalized at last.
“What? You know I’m right. I will go on strike, Sawyer. I swear I will.”
And that would be bad. Really bad. They would starve to death without their chef. Before Sawyer could make any promises, one of the prince’s royal guards entered the kitchen. His staff immediately went from angry to happy. What even?
“There he is,” Justine cooed. “How are you today, Loch?”
The guard smiled, taking her hand and bowing over it. She giggled. Actually giggled. His housekeeper, mother of two, happily married for over a dozen years, giggled at the captain of the prince’s guard. Sawyer tried to turn his stunned expression to Viv to see what she thought of this exciting bit of gossip, but his chef was giggling as well.
“Loch! I made you some stew,” Viv gushed. “And some of those honeyed corn muffins you like so much.”
He bowed again, pressing a kiss to her fingertips. She tittered. Sawyer had never actually seen anyone titter before, but that’s what Viv did. His hard as nails chef, who’d just had a knife pointed at his eyeball, blushed like a school girl and tittered.
“Should I warm some up for you?”
Loch moved his hand over his heart and bowed his head once more.
“You know I hate microwaving, but I know you don’t have much time.” Viv hurried to the fridge and pulled out a bowl. “I have these prepared for you, okay? If you need one, just grab it. I don’t mind. Just come on in anytime.”
Wait. What? Viv never let anyone in her kitchen. There were threats. Vile threats. Disgusting, you’re-gonna-eat-something-you-never-wanted-to-put-in-your-mouth kind of threats.
She smiled at Loch. Smiled. A big smile. Beaming, really. She’d never smiled at Sawyer like that.
“What is happening right now?” Sawyer mumbled.
Loch turned his icy blue eyes to him. His smile dimmed, and he straightened again. He glanced at Justine and Viv once more, bowed his head to them, and then he turned and walked out of the room.
“Look what you did, Sawyer!” Viv slammed the door of the microwave.
“What? I didn’t do anything!”
“Prince Kava-twat has not only forbidden Loch from speaking, but he’s also banned him from eating in his holy butt munch’s presence.”
Sawyer scowled. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Apparently, because Loch is his right hand man or fairy or whatever, he takes most of the prince’s abuse.”
This was the first Sawyer was hearing of this. “He’s not allowed to speak?”
“Nope.”
“Or eat,” Justine added. “If we didn’t help him come up with a loophole, he’d be starving. But I was getting their laundry when the prince said he couldn’t eat, and what he actually said was that Loch was a disgusting lout and couldn’t eat in his presence, so I pointed that out to Loch and told him that we’d make sure he got to eat when the fucknut wasn’t around.”
“Mrs. Robinson,” Cecil gasped, scandalized once more.
“Wait,” Sawyer said. “You mean to tell me that he’s treating his staff like that in my house?”
“Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Hells bells, Sawyer. I thought I was going to have to buy you a vowel so you would solve the puzzle.”
“What?”
Justine sighed and looked at Viv. “Kids these days.”
“I’m not a kid,” Sawyer protested.
Viv put his daily smoothie in front of him, complete with one of the striped paper straws he liked.
Sawyer groaned. “Just because you treat me like a kid, doesn’t mean I am one. You three like to spoil me. That’s on you.”
Cecil snickered, one of the few times he’d ever seen his butler lose control.
“Sawyer, honey,” Justine said soothingly, “we do like to spoil you. We adore you and are honored to be part of this big crazy family of yours. But if you don’t do something about the prince and his horrific behavior, I’m quitting.”
“Mrs. Robinson,” Sawyer gasped. “No.”
“I’m sorry, love, but not even your griffin can pay me enough to put up with this treatment.”
And Sawyer happened to know that Eduard paid Justine a hefty sum to put up with their nonsense. All of his staff was extremely well compensated. Even if Eduard hadn’t made sure of it, Sawyer would have. He couldn’t think of a better use for the pile of money Eduard insisted belonged to him as the Chosen One. He wouldn’t be able to function without the three of them.
“Okay,” Sawyer said. “I’ll talk to him. This is not okay. I’m actually pissed. He won’t continue treating you guys like this. Or his people either. I’ll fix it.”
“It’s about time,” Viv snarked.
“Hey,” Sawyer said softly. “I’m trying here, Viv. I’m supposed to make this thing work, and I have no idea what I’m doing. This isn’t exactly easy to navigate.”
She sighed and pushed him a plate of fruit and cheese. “I know you are. You’re doing great. I’m just so frustrated, Sawyer. Everything was going so well before he arrived.”
“I’ll take care of it. I have no idea how I’m going to take care of it, but I won’t allow him to treat anyone like that on my watch, especially you three. Thanks for letting me know.”
She smiled sweetly at him as he scooped up his snack and smoothie. “I added extra protein to your drink today. Cecil says you’re still a little underweight. Oh, and by the way, Saeward’s in the pool. You should go enjoy the view. Enjoy it multiple times. In multiple positions. Then report back.”
Sawyer groaned. “Cecil, close your e
ars. Viv, don’t be such a horn dog.”
She waggled her eyebrows before turning back to working on dinner prep. Cecil snickered again before schooling his expression. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No. I’m good. I’m going to take Pearl outside and talk to Saeward for a bit. And then I’ll talk to Kavalan. I need to process this first.”
Fortunately, it was a bright and sunny afternoon. The pool water glistened as Saeward swam laps, his human form eating up the short distance from end to end. Sawyer sat down on the edge and lowered his legs into the water. It only took a moment for Saeward to change direction and swim to him, his head and shoulders emerging from the water like he was some sort of Greek god. Which he possibly was. Sawyer was still a little sketchy on the details of the underwater world Ward had left behind. Sawyer sighed and gave his newest guardian a soft smile.
“What is troubling you, Sawyer?”
Ward’s eyes filled with concern, and he inched closer. Sawyer snagged a piece of watermelon from the plate Viv had given him and held the bright red chunk out. Ward had developed a particular fondness for the fruit, and Sawyer wasn’t above using the knowledge to his advantage. As anticipated, Ward swam even closer and nipped the bite from Sawyer’s fingers. Ward rested his hands on Sawyer’s knees and looked at him as he chewed. He swallowed and licked his lips before giving Sawyer another one of his coveted smiles.
“Swim with me,” Ward whispered, his voice low and deep.
“Okay.”
Sawyer honestly couldn’t deny him anything. He stripped off his T-shirt and was left wearing a pair of swim trunks. His new uniform consisted of about a dozen different varieties of the outfit. He swam daily now, often more than once. Being with Saeward calmed his mind and helped his worries about their future fade. As an added bonus, it helped the still healing wound on his side.
Ward lifted him from the edge of the pool and carefully lowered Sawyer into the water. His strength constantly amazed Sawyer. The way he moved so seamlessly, as fluid as the water he preferred to be in. “You have so much weight on your shoulders,” Ward rumbled. “I wish I could carry the burden for you.”
“I’m fine,” Sawyer said.
Saeward held Sawyer against him, and they began moving slowly through the water. Sawyer had no idea how Saeward managed it. The one time he’d tried to look to see if Saeward had managed to shift only his lower half— and seriously, there was something really erotic about the idea of doing it with a merman, even if Saeward was not a merman at all and was horribly offended by the idea of being called one— but when he’d looked, he’d lost his balance and ended up half-drowned. It hadn’t been fun, although the laugh he’d drawn from Saeward at the time as he sputtered and coughed had been worth it.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Saeward rumbled.
“I just don’t know what to do,” Sawyer said softly as he draped his arms over Saeward’s shoulders and relaxed into him. “I’m confused.”
Saeward moved them through the water for a moment before speaking once more. “Perhaps you should start again.”
“What do you mean?”
Saeward sighed as they reached the edge of the pool. He turned Sawyer gently around instead of answering, then tucked himself against Sawyer’s back. When they began moving again, Saeward shifted positions so Sawyer was practically lying on top of him in the water, using Saeward’s larger body as a float of sorts. He couldn’t deny that it was very comfy, and he felt so safe with Ward supporting him.
“When we met, it was under circumstances that demanded immediate response,” Saeward said quietly.
Sawyer remembered very clearly that moment and how desperate he’d been at the time. If he hadn’t found Ward when he did, he wouldn’t have survived the night. He didn’t respond, but he did put his hand on top of Ward’s where it rested against his stomach.
“I would not have been brave enough if you hadn’t needed me,” Ward continued.
Sawyer knew that as well. His newest guardian didn’t feel worthy of his role, and it made Sawyer crazy to think of how poorly he’d been treated for so long. He continued to stay quiet, though, because Ward needed time to formulate his thoughts. It was one of those little quirks that had taken him a while to figure out. Sawyer could talk for days to anyone, but Ward wasn’t like that. He had to stay quiet if he wanted to hear what Saeward had to say.
Saeward breathed deeply, his chest rising and lifting Sawyer’s body with it as they floated in the warm, salty water. “Perhaps the prince has responded in a similar, although opposite way.”
“What do you mean?” Sawyer asked quietly.
“Instead of fighting to save you, I believe the prince may be fighting for your attention.”
If it were anyone else, Sawyer would argue. Instead, he stared up at the sky, searching the few clouds floating around like white bubbles for some interesting shape. He didn’t see anything but blobs. “It’s a terrible way to get my attention,” Sawyer said after a few minutes of contemplation.
“And our meeting was a terrible way for us to… meet for the first time,” Ward added awkwardly.
Sawyer gave his hand a gentle squeeze, reassuring Ward once again that he hadn’t minded. If Sawyer ever had a chance to hunt down the douche canoe who’d touched Saeward against his will, bad things would happen. Sawyer wouldn’t bother asking his mates to use their supernatural abilities to take the asshat out. No, he wouldn’t ask Draco to shift into his dragon form and set him on fire. He wouldn’t ask Eduard to become a griffin and use his sharp, eagle talons to slice him open. He wouldn’t even ask his vampire to use one of his swords to remove the jerk’s head from his body, even though Sawyer knew Andvari would do it without question. Hell, he could even ask Henry to use his magic to punish him, maybe by calling the air to blow him off a really tall cliff. It really was convenient having mates with such a variety of talents and abilities. But no, if he came face-to-face with the one who hurt Ward? Sawyer would use his very human hands to rip the piece of shit apart.
“I… I know you have told me that our joining was not against your will, but I still struggle with those feelings.” Ward took another deep breath, and Sawyer’s body moved with his, lifting gently in the warm, salty water. “I wonder if the prince is struggling with the differences he is facing now that he has met you as well. He was not expecting a human. None of them were. He… thought he would have to be something else to impress you, worked his entire life to become the opposite of what it is you actually need.”
Sawyer couldn’t hold back his small grunt of displeasure. Ward rubbed his thumb over Sawyer’s stomach, a wordless apology for causing him a moment of annoyance. Sawyer once again gave his hand a gentle squeeze in reply. He needed to hear the words, and if he were honest with himself, only Saeward could get him to remain calm in the face of Kavalan’s actions. “You’re very good for me,” Sawyer said after a moment more of thought. He didn’t even have to see his new mate to know he was blushing. “I’m very lucky to have you in my life. Let’s go have my snack now. Viv will tell Cecil on me if I don’t eat it, and you know his sad eyes are more than I can manage.”
Saeward rumbled out a low snicker of laughter, and Sawyer couldn’t hold back his grin. He loved those little noises so much. Ward led them back over to the edge of the pool where the plate of fruit and his drink were sitting. Sawyer nudged the plate toward Ward and held onto the edge of the pool as he took a slurp of his smoothie. He hated to admit that Cecil was right, but he had lost a bit of weight since he’d been back from the griffins’ compound. Luckily his mates hadn’t noticed, but of course his all-seeing butler had. Cecil had cornered him and insisted he add a second smoothie to his day. He honestly didn’t know what was in the damn things, but he did feel better when he drank them so he didn’t really care.
Ward made a little rumbling sound, one so soft that Sawyer would have missed it if he weren’t so tuned into his mate. He followed Ward’s gaze and found Eduard on the other side of the yard
with one of the vampire guards. He gave the guard a nod of approval for whatever he’d asked, then put his cell phone to his ear. Sawyer didn’t know how he managed to keep so many balls in the air at once. Eduard was still in the process of turning over some of his business accounts to his cousin Victor while he continued to manage their household and all of the finances. He also had taken on all of the construction projects, and the planning to improve the area surrounding their home. Sawyer had pretty much told him to do what he needed. Except he didn’t want to live behind some giant wall. That wasn’t going to happen. The wards were enough. But the look Saeward was giving Eduard wasn’t one that admired his business acumen. Oh no. His hippocamp was admiring Eduard’s truly fantastic ass. And wasn’t that interesting. Sawyer let out a dramatic sigh which drew Ward’s attention.
“What is it?”
“Oh, nothing,” Sawyer said. “He’s just so beautiful.”
Ward grunted his approval, and it took every ounce of control Sawyer possessed not to throw his fist in the air and shout.
“You don’t think so?” Sawyer asked, knowing full well what Ward’s response would be. He gave it 3…2…1…
“He’s very…”
And bingo. There was the blush he’d been waiting on.
“Yeah,” Sawyer agreed. “He’s very, very.”
As if sensing their attention, Eduard turned their way and smiled. Ward’s breath caught. It was so, so, so, so good. He began walking their way, and Ward was a second away from retreating. Sawyer grabbed his shoulder with one hand and a piece of watermelon with the other. He shoved the fruit at Ward’s lips and waited for it to be accepted. By the time he had, Eduard had reached the edge of the pool and had knelt down beside them. It gave them an excellent view of his crotch. His pants were very, very snug. He said tailored, but Sawyer knew he had them altered specifically to show off his amazing package. Eduard hadn’t denied it.
“How are you today?” Eduard asked sweetly.
Saeward twitched, but Sawyer held onto his shoulder. “Really good. And you?”
Eduard beamed at him and reached out to touch Sawyer’s hair. “I’m fantastic. Another account is done. Victor will be arriving in a couple days to go over some of the remaining accounts with me. I didn’t think you’d mind.”