“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re not a virgin are you?”
Tynan was only just becoming comfortable with asking questions. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer them. “It shouldn’t matter if I am,” he growled. This had completely spoiled the moment.
“But you’re not?”
“No.”
“So what do you do on the lonely nights when there isn’t a convenient incubus around to fuck?”
“Oh.” Tynan relaxed again and pulled Kai a little closer. He could finish this conversation without admitting that, in four hundred years of life, he’d only had sex with five men, two women, and now, one incubus, or that a generation had lived and died since he last had a lover. Numbers didn’t get terribly high when you only slept with people you care about. “I usually sort myself out most evenings. And mornings. And sometimes in the afternoon, if I’m somewhere private and haven’t got anything better to do.”
“Oh yeah?” Kai looked very interested now.
“You want me to draw you a picture?”
“I do like those sorts of pictures. Did you never just want someone to be with like this?”
Kai would have to ask something else awkward just when Tynan was getting comfy. “I didn’t feel lonely, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I guess I am,” Kai said, yawning heavily. He was doing a pretty good job of looking bored, but he was too casual as he said, “You know, I know nothing about you.”
Tynan didn’t enjoy talking about himself. The only thing he had to hide was the thoughts he’d been having about Kai for the last few days, but that didn’t mean he felt comfortable laying himself bare. “Not much to tell. I’m a bounty hunter. Bit of a loner I guess. Nothing you don’t know.”
“You’ve got no family?”
“Mum died when I was born. My dad is Ostus.”
“God of justice?”
“That’s right.”
Kai frowned. “Your dad is the god of justice, and he couldn’t pull strings to get you a better job than bounty hunting?”
Justice had no time for nepotism. In fact, Justice didn’t have much time for his kid at all. “He’s never been around much,” Tynan said with a shrug.
Kai returned to his position beneath Tynan’s arm. “Well,” he said, pragmatically. “Fuck him.”
They snuggled for a while, then made their way back downstairs to finish their meal and settle down on their pile of cushions by the fire. Kai started out on the floor, but somehow he soon ended up on Tynan’s lap, leaning back into his arms.
“If I wanted a pet, I’d get one,” Tynan said, pulling Kai close and leaving a kiss on his forehead.
“If I wanted to be kept, I’d find a richer man that you,” Kai replied, snuggling down into the embrace.
Tynan chuckled. He felt good right now. Being with Kai was making him feel good. “Are we going to go on like his all night?” he asked.
“Oh, I think so,” Kai said, and they settled down for the evening.
Chapter Thirteen
Kai was going to have to fuck immortals more often. Long after Tynan had fallen asleep, he was awake marveling at the new sensation.
He felt powerful in a way he never had before and wondered if this was how he was supposed to feel. He had been living off little gulps of life force his whole life and never knew what it was like to be well fed. The feeling was sublime.
And this had proved to be a fun evening. Tynan had released him, fed him, and Kai was thanking him the only way he knew how—sex and companionship for one perfect night, and maybe a little of the next day as well. He was eager to see if he was at his peak or if another round with Tynan would make him feel even stronger. Whatever the outcome, it wouldn’t be much of a chore finding out.
He fell asleep and woke to find the bedroom was filled with sunlight and Tynan lying next to him reading a sensational pamphlet from the lodge’s small collection of reading material.
“Hey sleepy,” Tynan said softly, giving him a smile. It looked like a good fuck and some snuggling were all it took to turn the enormous grumpy bastard into a kitten.
“Morning.” Kai wriggled over to Tynan and found there were crumbs in the bed. “What’s the time? Have I missed breakfast?”
Tynan tossed his pamphlet to the floor and pulled Kai into his arms for a kiss. “I thought I’d provide,” he said, hands exploring parts of Kai that had been untouched for several hours.
But Kai wasn’t hungry for that anymore. He wasn’t going to say no either, but he did want something less ethereal first.
“I caught last night’s dinner,” he said. “I think it’s your turn to run out and get me something. Perhaps some eggs, if you can find a nest.”
Tynan pointed to a dresser by the door. There was a jug and a plate there, with some of the bread they’d made yesterday and an open pot of preserves. “Eat. I can wait.”
It looked so far away from the soft bed they were currently occupying. Kai nudged Tynan and, wide-eyed, asked, “Will you get it for me?”
Tynan gave him an indulgent smile. “Of course, lover.” He fetched the food and then went to sit in the window alcove and read his pamphlet.
Kai ate silently, wondering what to make of Tynan. He’d expected to be told to piss off and get his own food, but Tynan wasn’t just feeling soft this morning.
On the one hand, if Tynan had a crush that would be to Kai’s advantage. He’d make a good bodyguard and an excellent food source. Kai quite liked whoring, but it had its downsides too. He’d have given it up for more intellectually stimulating work if he’d not needed sex so much. Tynan could be Kai’s ticket to a new life and a new career.
On the other hand, Kai was still adamant he didn’t like Tynan.
Not very much anyway. He’d reminded himself of that several times the previous evening when he was snuggled in Tynan’s arms.
Tynan was a dick who had repeatedly insulted him as well as arresting him for a crime he didn’t commit.
And all that good stuff he’d done—the respectfulness towards Kai’s body, and releasing him—that didn’t mean he was worthy of affection. That was basic stuff, Tynan had said it himself.
Anything that felt like Kai liking Tynan was in fact just his survival instincts kicking in.
Kai absolutely did not like Tynan.
At all.
Well, perhaps a little bit.
At least they’d be parting company soon.
Tynan shifted suddenly, and Kai wondered if he’d been speaking aloud. “What?” he said innocently.
“There’s someone out there.” Tynan was crouched down now, peeking over the ledge to see outside.
“Who?”
“Bandits. Those three bastards from the camp and five, six, seven more.”
Well, that could have been a lot worse. “Is that all?” Kai said, relaxing back down on the bed. “They should be easy to fight off.”
Tynan stood “They’ve got torches,” he muttered. “I don’t think they intend to fight.” He was out the door moments later, stark naked still, snatching up a decorative sword and throwing it to Kai as he ran past the bed.
Kai was never one for weapons, but he was strong enough to fight with his fists, even when the attackers were armed. He didn’t like doing it, hated it in fact, but it would have to be done. He did, however, prefer to fight with his clothes on, and he quickly struggled into his leather trousers before rushing downstairs and outside.
Tynan stood on a bench in front of the lodge. His left side of his body was dedicated to punching and kicking the two men who were engaging him, while the right was pointed toward the others. Four men had torches, and the rest were carrying straw to use as kindling.
“Douse!” he shouted, and the torches hissed as they went out, sending up large plumes of smoke into the air. The arsonists tried to run, but much to the surprise of everyone present, the wolves came out of the woods and joined the fray.
“Get inside!” Tynan shouted at Kai, a
nd Kai did as told, quite happy to get away from the carnage. He ducked back in and bolted the door behind him, then hurried to the window to see what was happening. From his position, he could see the wolves tearing into the bandits two to one. Others were moving towards Tynan and Kai wasn’t sure whether they were going to fight his opponents or fight him. He couldn’t see from the window.
There was a loud thump against the wooden wall back where Tynan had been. Kai didn’t think twice. He was at the door and out just in time to see Tynan fall from the bench and crack his head on a log.
“Tynan!” Kai shouted, running to him. He had no idea whether these were Wolfram’s pack but he sprinted into the battle regardless.
“He’s with me!” he shouted. “Don’t hurt him!”
The wolves drew back and let Kai get to Tynan. “Are you alright?” Kai asked, falling to his knees beside him.
“I’m alright,” Tynan said. “But I’m angry.” Then he passed out.
It was a bit of a blur after that while the wolves picked off the bandits. It made Kai feel sick, but he couldn’t walk away now. Tynan wouldn’t die, that was impossible, but the wolves would have a good go at it if Kai left him.
Eventually Wolfram approached in human form. “I called them off,” he said, “But they tried it first. I think even they are surprised by what they achieved. They couldn’t knock him over last time.”
Kai remembered. He looked across to the bench which was now splintered and cracked. They’d obviously destroyed Tynan’s footing rather than fought with him directly.
“Thanks,” Kai said. He put his hand on Tynan’s chest and felt the steady rise and fall. “Will you protect him for me while I go fetch our things?”
“No,” Wolfram replied. In the time it took for Kai to roll his eyes, he had transformed back into a wolf again.
So Kai sat in the cold, amidst the smell of blood and fresh corpses and the sounds of human flesh being torn from the bone, and waited for Tynan to wake up.
Chapter Fourteen
Tynan wasn’t where he expected to be when he woke. He’d been having a dream about the islands, and conscious that he’d been attacked, his slumbering self had assumed he was dead, of all things, and this was some sort of reward. When he woke to find himself exactly where he had been, he felt strangely relieved.
“Kai?” he said, sitting up and rubbing his head.
“I’m here,” Kai said scrambling up next to him. Tynan realized they had been lying side by side.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It wasn’t much of an attack. No one harmed me.”
“Where have they gone?”
Kai nodded his head to one of the corpses. “It was brutal,” he said. “The wolves got all ten of them.”
Tynan wrinkled up his nose. Looking around, he saw the bodies littered the area.
“They’re going to start rotting soon,” he said with distaste. “We should get a pyre set up.”
Kai shuddered. “Leave it. The wolves will eat their way through them quick enough. Let’s just move on.”
They got up off the floor and went inside to fetch their things. Tynan had brought in everything from the cart and stabled his horse around the back of the Lodge. He was grateful for that now. They’d need the cart to get them wherever it was they were going to go. Where were they going?
“We should decide what we’re going to do in the long run,” he said as they filled a box with jars of preserved food in the kitchen.
“You’re going to let me go, aren’t you?” Kai asked casually. He took two jars of pickles from the box and slipped them into his bag.
Tynan felt his heart stop. But it started again, faster but still there. “You’ve been free to leave since I took your cuffs off,” he said, oddly proud of himself for doing a damn fine impression of a man who didn’t care whether Kai went or not.
“Good. I think I might go to one of the islands. There’s less chance of being recognized out there. What about you? You’re going to need a story when you turn up without me.”
“I hadn’t thought about it. I guess I’ll say you got away.”
Kai grinned at him. “Thanks again for this. Hey, you won’t have to arrest me if I take a bag of possessions from this place, will you? Just blankets, a pillow, some more soap. I didn’t get much from the brothel, and this place is abandoned anyway.”
“Take whatever you need,” Tynan said, wishing he could ask for his heart back, but it was far too late.
***
They were soon on the cart, heading back out into the woods. It was half a day’s travel at most to the outskirts, and not much more to the road afterward where they would split up.
Obviously the previous night had meant nothing. No surprises there then when you thought about it with a clear head, but Tynan had been taken in at the time, and his ego was bruised now. That smarted more than the head injury and would last much longer, but at least he knew where he stood now. If they’d stayed another day, he would have only embarrassed himself all the more.
Kai was strangely quiet. Days of almost nonstop chatter had trickled off to silence again. Good. Tynan had spent plenty of time wishing Kai would shut up. Now he was going to enjoy the peace, and not worry at all about Kai’s welfare or what he might be thinking.
He was probably thinking about sex. Who was Kai going to get it from when they parted?
And he was probably thinking about food and water. These things were needed for survival after all.
Chances were, he was thinking about how bloody easy it had been to get Tynan into bed, and what a soppy bastard that had turned him into.
They reached the edge of the wood, and the cart moved out into the bright afternoon sunshine.
“Shall I take you to the road?” Tynan asked, even as he brought the horse to a stop.
Kai looked across the fields and shook his head. “I’ll walk it and do a bit of foraging on the way.” He turned to Tynan and gave him half a smile. “Goodbye. Thanks for releasing me.”
Tynan grunted a response and waited for Kai to jump down and fetch his things. The window of opportunity for saying something was getting smaller and smaller, but he waited for Kai to speak first.
It didn’t happen. Kai pulled his bag onto his back and headed off out into the fields without a glance backward.
“Kai!” Tynan called.
He looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry I arrested you.”
Kai shrugged. “Could have been worse. Are you sorry for calling me an annoying little shit?”
“Are you sorry for being one?”
At least Kai laughed. “Goodbye Tynan,” he said, waving over his shoulder as he walked away.
Tynan waited several minutes, watching Kai make his way across the fields and waiting for him to come back. He didn’t.
“He’s gone,” Tynan muttered to himself, picking up the reins and making the horse trot for the first time in four days. Wiping the corner of his eye with the back of his hand he said, “Good riddance.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dropping Tynan had definitely been the right decision.
Kai didn’t miss him at all as he headed for the road. He didn’t miss those big hands or the worryingly possessive kisses. He certainly did not, and would never miss the way Tynan tried to score points against him, even if Kai was usually the one that started it.
No. Tynan had arrested him for a crime he hadn’t committed, ruined his life, and only released Kai because he valued true justice over a pay day. That was the truth of it.
He stopped thirty meters from the road and walked alongside it for a while. This was the wrong side of the forest for other bounty hunters to be looking for him, and Kai wasn’t too worried by the prospect of being found. He just didn’t fancy talking to anyone else right now.
Dusk was falling when he finally decided to step up to the road and hitch a ride to the nearest tavern. Although he’d snagged some blankets, a night unde
r the stars held little appeal, and he took his chance.
The first two carts ignored him, but the third pulled to a stop, and he clambered up alongside the elderly woman who was driving. “Take me to the nearest inn?” he asked. She nodded, and off they went.
***
It was a rough place, but Kai had been in rougher. He didn’t have much in the way of money on him, but he’d lifted some cutlery from the lodge and had more than enough to get a bed for the night.
A teaspoon bought him a private room, a double bed, and dinner. He ignored the stares of the other patrons and faced down the look the innkeeper gave him when he saw the royal crest on its handle.
Upstairs he undressed and got into bed to eat his steaming hot bowl of heavily spiced mutton stew and a whole loaf of bread. He’d foraged a mass of berries on the way which would do for after. He ignored the fact he had gotten enough food to feed two.
Dinner, then fitful sleep while he worried about his future. Then—
“Kai. What a pleasant surprise.”
Kai awoke to find a man he vaguely recognized looking down at him. He sat up and yawned. This clown was no match for him. He should have chained Kai while he slept if he wanted to capture him. “Bradrick right?” he asked, scratching his armpit.
“So you remember me?”
“Vaguely. You didn’t honestly leave much of an impression. And I’ve no intention of getting to know you now before you start getting ideas.”
Bradrick snorted. “I seem to remember you were a lot more flattering back at the brothel.”
“And I seem to recall you were called… something beginning with G. I’d forgotten it before I’d even gotten off your cock, that’s how interesting you were to me.”
He rolled over, turning his back to Bradrick. He’d hear him coming and could be up and fighting in a moment. This wasn’t like when Tynan had arrived in his room. This time, Kai had no intention of letting himself be caught.
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