by Crook, Amy
“True,” said Julian, getting inside.
Alex missed the chance to admire his seat, and then mentally smacked himself. Winsome though Julian might be, he wasn’t for Alex to be admiring, other than as a means to an end. He joined Julian in the car, sitting back with a grin. “Since I’m being disgustingly honest,” said Alex, hoping this wouldn’t blow up in his face, “I feel I should tell you that I didn’t really arrange tonight, my brother did.”
“Henry or Victor?” asked Julian, eyes dancing with mischief.
“Henry, he’s the one with the connections,” said Alex, cocking his head as if he could somehow hear what Julian was thinking.
Julian chuckled and wiped his brow in mock relief. “Oh, good, Victor’s got a reputation for being terribly boring.”
Alex laughed. “And Henry quite the opposite, I bet.”
“Ooh, does this mean I’m going on one of the famous Benedict knicker-melting dates?” asked Julian.
“Why?” asked Alex, trying to school his face to innocent inquiry. “Do you wear knickers?”
Julian laughed and Alex with him, and Alex felt something inside himself unclench just a little more. Julian might not be bewitched any longer, but he wasn’t totally immune to Alex’s brand of charm, either. “You won’t be finding that out tonight, it wouldn’t be proper.”
“Speaking of proper, whose spot am I stealing and why?” asked Alex curiously.
Julian chuckled. “Caught on to that, did you? Willoughby had to cancel at the last minute, his sister’s just flown in from the continent with some ridiculous princeling on her arm.”
“Oh, dear,” said Alex, though he found it very interesting that any of the candidates would cancel right after the spellcaster was murdered. “Well, I’m glad I could fill your otherwise empty evening,” he said, kissing the back of Julian’s hand.
Julian looked pleased about that, as well. “Where are we going, do you know?”
“Nihon, for dinner,” said Alex, pleased when Julian looked impressed by that.
“Ooh, your Henry is good if he got you in there with no notice,” said Julian. “I’ve never been, it’s not Cecil’s sort of place.”
“I have no idea if it’s mine or not,” said Alex, “though I am aware that it’s very trendy at the moment, which means I’ll probably stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Your clothes are fine, anyway,” said Julian, quite boldly slipping a finger into Alex’s open collar and making Alex’s eyes go wide and his breathing shallow.
Alex had never been one for casual touching.
“I, ah, had my family’s fashion advice, and the clothiers there to overrule it when they tried to choose unsuitable colours,” said Alex, catching his hand and kissing the fingertips. His skin felt terribly sensitive, and he was fairly certain that Julian hadn’t intended to get quite the reaction that his touch had wrought in Alex’s body.
It had been far too long since Alex’s last liaison.
Julian blushed fetchingly, as if he could read the inappropriate reactions in Alex’s face and deduce their meaning the way Alex read magical cues. “Well, you look quite fine,” he said, touching the lapel pin, which responded by glowing just a little brighter.
“Not as fine as you,” said Alex, giving in to the urge to stroke just the backs of his fingers over Julian’s cheek. “There’s a reason half the aristocracy is fighting for your hand, beyond boring ambition.”
Julian laughed, and it was delighted and sexy at once. “You find ambition boring?”
“Dreadfully,” said Alex, forcing his hand to drop away, so he wasn’t touching Julian anywhere. He berated himself mentally for missing the contact.
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Then why are you here?” he asked.
Alex chuckled. “I’m fairly sure it’s not on to ask that of your suitors,” he said, then looked away and up at the ceiling, trying to find a truth that would work here. “I suppose the simplest way to say it is that I’m here for you.”
It was true, because it was Julian who wanted, needed more than anyone for Mandeville’s murderer to be caught. To be stopped before more people died, before he could recover from the failure of the spell he’d put so much time and effort into cultivating and try something new. Something worse.
Julian smiled. “I’m not sure that’s entirely true,” he said, touching Alex’s cheek with his fingertips so Alex would look back down at him. “But I’ll take it.”
The kiss that followed was as sweet as it was unexpected, and Alex couldn’t have stopped from kissing back any more than he could have lied about why he was there, not really.
Julian’s lips were soft and warm, narrower than Alex’s lush, wide mouth, both stronger and more pliant than Alex was used to. Despite having initiated things, Julian quickly gave up control, letting Alex cup his cheek, change the angle, slip his tongue out to taste the softness of Julian’s mouth. Julian let out a soft sigh when the kiss ended, eyelids fluttering open as he said, “Perhaps you’re here for me after all,” he said with a shy smile.
“Aren’t you enough?” said Alex, and thankfully that seemed to be just the right thing. If it hadn’t been, Alex supposed, he could always go for more kissing.
The car slowed to a stop before Alex could follow that line of thought any further, and then they were outside a very trendy restaurant indeed.
Alex was right, he stood out, but he wasn’t sure it was all that bad, considering the crowd vying for Julian’s hand and heart.
CHAPTER 14
In Which We Have Dinner, Drinks and Dancing
Alex got out first mainly because he was closest to the door, but it also gave him the chance to offer Julian a hand, to tuck his hand in Alex’s arm as they walked toward the tall glass doors. Alex stopped, sighed, and said, “Just a moment,” turning back and flagging down the car so he could get a few essentials — like the card-and-bribe-money bundles — out of his overcoat.
At least he’d remembered before they got inside.
“Sorry about that,” said Julian, brandishing his wallet and then slipping it in the inner pocket of his suit jacket instead. “I forgot I’d put it all in the coat.”
“Am I so very distracting?” asked Julian coyly.
Alex gave the only response he could. “Yes,” he said, tucking Julian’s hand in his arm and palming one of Henry’s cards as the doors swung open untouched.
“Mr. Benedict, Master St. Albans, so good to see you,” said the maître d’, shaking Alex’s hand and smoothly accepting the bribe, then taking Julian’s coat and handing it off to the waiting coat check girl. “Your table is ready.”
“Thank you,” said Alex, getting an odd look from the elegantly-dressed man before he led them off to their seats, a perfectly good table, not the best but not shoved near the kitchen doors, either.
Once they were seated, Julian grinned. “Maîtres d’ are a bit like fairies,” he said, “they don’t really like to be thanked except with gifts.”
Alex laughed. “I’ll remember that,” he said, opening his menu. Nothing had prices, and a glance told him that was true of Julian’s as well, which was an interesting choice. It reinforced the feeling that one had to be part of a special class to even get a table here, one that Alex disliked intensely, despite being one of those people on the inside.
“What do you think is good?” asked Julian, snapping him out of his reverie.
Alex forced himself to focus on the menu, which seemed to consist mostly of small plates that one could try in sequence. “I expect it’s all ridiculously delicious,” said Alex with a chuckle.
“I like that,” said Julian. “Ridiculously delicious.”
In the end, they ordered an altogether random assortment of things and let the waiter pick the wine, and Alex didn’t mind one bit given the delighted expression on Julian’s face. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had someone so willing to just try things out,” he said.
Alex shrugged. “Why not? It’s not as though any of it will be ba
d, and if it is, we’ll pay for it anyway and then go get takeaway curry or something.”
That got him another delighted laugh, though he had no idea why. Apparently, Alex being Alex was as entertaining for Julian as it was to most waitresses and the occasional waiter, though not their current one.
“Your first course,” said the waiter dryly, bringing three of the small dishes they’d ordered, along with two empty plates for sharing. He seemed to feel they’d made poor choices, which baffled Alex, who didn’t think anything in a restaurant of this quality should constitute a poor choice. Another server poured wine for them, leaving the bottle on the far side of the table.
“Oh, it’s all squid!” said Julian delightedly, taking a sip of the wine
Alex took a sip from his own glass, which upon tasting proved to be a dry, pale white. “I guess that makes sense, they grouped them by ingredients.” He took the slender lacquered chopsticks and served them each strips of grilled squid, then switched to the spoon for a scoop of squid ink rice apiece. The third dish held four curling tempura squid tentacles, arranged beautifully around a small dish of dipping sauce, so he just pulled that one close enough they could both get to it.
“Have you ever Courted a consort before?” asked Julian curiously, when Alex picked up his fork.
Alex cocked his head. “No, why?” he asked, scooping up a little of the intriguing black rice. The warm, fluffy rice was just slightly fishy with a strange inky taste to go with the colour, the whole dish subtly flavoured in a way that belied its dramatic appearance.
Julian smiled. “Cecil used to do that for me, serving up bread or appetisers or whatever when we went out,” he said, wistful and fond. “It’s one of the things I liked about being his consort-to-be, no one thought it strange.”
Alex smiled and shrugged. “It just seemed the right thing to do,” he said with a chuckle. “I suppose it’s a good thing you weren’t offended, I didn’t really think about it.”
Julian seemed if anything more charmed that it hadn’t been some gambit, so Alex chalked it up to a win. “The rice is delicious, if a bit odd,” said Alex, changing the subject to one he felt comfortable discussing.
Julian gave it a taste, making a considering face. “I’m not sure I like the inky flavour,” he said, “but it’s definitely interesting.”
“What was it Pembroke said, that it gets boring if lovers like all the same things?” said Alex, getting another bite of the rice. “Not that we’re lovers,” he added, before popping it in his mouth with exaggerated relish.
“Not yet, anyway,” said Julian, picking up his own chopsticks and dipping a tentacle in the tempura sauce. It was a bite-sized curl and Julian ate it that way, popping it all into his mouth and chewing with a thoughtful look. “Mmm, better than the rice,” he declared.
Alex was delighted. “Good,” he said with a wink, and then too up his own chopsticks to have a slice of grilled squid. The flesh was unexpectedly tender, grilled to the perfect doneness with just a hint of charring along the grill marks, and topped with a sweet, smoky sauce that took it from good to sublime. “Oh, this is even better.”
“We’ll see,” said Julian, grinning as he picked up his own slice. His expression went positively blissful, and Alex had to swallow hard at how it transformed him, the lingering sadness vanishing for just a moment while he enjoyed the purely sensual pleasure of eating a delicious new dish. “Mmm, okay, you win. That was better.”
“Told you,” said Alex, and then he made a point to try the tempura. It was good, just as perfectly cooked and the sauce a nice complement but somehow it didn’t quite rise to the level of its grilled counterpart.
They spent a few more minutes just eating, Julian stealing a bite of squid off Alex’s plate when he finished his own first, and Alex retaliating by eating the rest of Julian’s rice. It felt almost comfortable, though he knew it was an illusion, intimacy forced upon them by the situation. “Is it polite to ask how the rest of your Courtship is going?” said Alex, when the squid was gone and all that was left was some rice in the bottom of the bowl.
“Probably not,” said Julian, “but they all find a way to ask in their letters, so you’re not alone in your rudeness.”
Alex chuckled. “That’s refreshing,” he said, shifting so the busboy could relieve them of the dirty plates and silverware, another coming along in his wake to give them fresh place settings. “Usually I stand out in my rudeness.”
Julian laughed. “I expect you stand out regardless, you’re dramatic enough even before you open your mouth.”
“And by ‘dramatic’ I assume you mean ‘ridiculously tall’?” said Alex, taking another sip of his wine.
“Something like that,” said Julian.
Julian was saved from actually answering Alex’s question when the waiter brought them two steaming bowls of soup, one a rich red miso and the other clear broth with thinly-sliced mushrooms floating in it.
Alex waited until the waiter left before asking, “Did we order this?”
“I can’t remember,” Julian said with a grin. “Which do you like more?”
“I’m absolutely positive that this time I’m supposed to defer to you,” he said, gesturing. “We can always try them both and trade off midway or something.”
“Sound good to me!” said Julian taking the mushroom bowl.
Alex’s miso soup proved to be hiding tiny dried bonito fish and bits of seaweed in its depths, and was just as richly delicious as it looked. “Mine’s good, how’s yours?” he asked, watching as Julian plucked a mushroom slice out and nibbled on it.
“Tasty,” said Julian. “I am very fond of mushrooms.”
“Then I’m glad you’ve got that one,” said Alex, glancing around to make sure he wouldn’t be the only one before picking up his bowl to sip at the broth.
Julian smiled and mirrored him, and once again the silence was comfortable as they both enjoyed their food. Alex let himself zone out just a little, listening to the soothing sound of Julian’s magic now that the taint had mostly been filtered out, the gentle hum of the restaurant’s many enchantments and the little pings and chimes of the various patrons’ magic items, none of which put out the sort of malicious noise he’d spent the previous night dealing with.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Julian, setting down his bowl so he could go back to eating the mushrooms one by one. “You’ve gone all distant.”
Alex blinked and flushed slightly. “Sorry, I was just listening to the magic around us, it’s actually a very soothing place, very little discord.”
“Do I still sound, erm, nice?” asked Julian shyly.
Alex smiled and touched his hand, letting himself listen again and just to Julian this time. He sighed softly and nodded. “You sound better than nice, like you’re healing, it gives you more depth where before the surface was all full of grief and it masked everything else.”
Julian looked down, blushing in a very fetching manner, though his expression was a bit sad. “It feels strange to let go of my grief so soon, but I know Cecil wouldn’t want me to let it blind me to my future, either.”
“Cecil loved you very much, it’s written all over the walls of his rooms in every bit of energy the two of you shared,” said Alex quite seriously. “He’d want you to make the best of things, whatever that turns out to be.”
Alex was suddenly aware of the people around them, and it seemed far too intimate a conversation to be having in such a public place.
Julian picked up on his discomfort and smiled wistfully. “Well, at least you let me hog all the mushrooms.”
Alex laughed. “This time, anyway,” he said, and he didn’t even steal one, though he was tempted. He finished off his own soup instead, then sat back and sipped the wine, finding he was warming to the vintage and the way it complemented the seafood.
Julian had just barely set down his chopsticks when their table was once again cleared and re-set, and this time there were only two dishes. The first was a quadruplet
of small crabs which had been cooked whole, and looked almost alive enough to crawl off of their decorative garnish. The second was a simple-looking sushi roll with crab and avocado, and of course the proper accompaniments. “Your third course,” said the waiter. “I trust all is well?”
“Very good, thank you,” said Alex, taking the role of authority again if only to shield Julian from the man’s ridiculous disdain — he was almost as bad as Godfrey.
That amusement got Alex through eating one of the little crabs, which he popped into his mouth whole and crunched up before he could be completely creeped out. It turned out to be exquisitely tasty, rich and deceptively simple. It tasted faintly of the lemon slice it had been sitting on, the oil it had been fried in and a bit of salt and pepper, and the overall effect was a bit like popcorn only with the sweetness of crab instead of corn underneath it all.
“Worth it?” asked Julian dubiously.
Alex made sure he’d swallowed all the little sharp bits of shell and nodded. “Worth it,” Alex assured Julian, watching as he, too, experienced the surprising delicacy.
Julian closed his eyes and popped one of the crabs into his mouth, crunching it up with a dubious expression that turned to surprised pleasure as the flavours hit his tongue. “Mmm,” he said, eyes opening and then closing again as he chewed and swallowed. “Totally worth it.”
“Let’s see how the sushi is,” said Alex, pouring a small dish of soy sauce for them. “Do you like it hot?” he asked, chopsticks poised over the wasabi.
Julian grinned. “I should say yes, but actually I don’t really like much wasabi.”
“Mild on the palate, spicy in the bedroom,” teased Alex, stirring a small bit of wasabi into the soy sauce, then taking one of the six pieces of sushi roll for himself and dipping it in. “I can cope with that.”
“I do like a good hot curry, though,” said Julian, taking a piece for himself.
The sushi roll was good, too, nothing overly special but quite well-made, the rice slightly tangy with vinegar, the crab sweet and genuine, the avocado fresh and delicious. By unspoken agreement they ate the rest of the roll before each enjoying a second little crab, reminiscing about the times they’d had sushi before.