Page 13 of The Alliance

Near the head of the table where he was sat in a place of honour, Alfie’s eyes went wide. “Wow, you made this all by yourself?”

I shook my head. “Darren was in charge—”

“I just helped out, Prince. You made this dinner for everyone.”

I knew that was a lie, but it made me feel loved to have Darren tell everyone that. We’d done it together. Okay, I did actually manage to cook something without setting a single thing on fire, which was a record, but Darren had been right by my side the whole time. He’d watched over me and I’d never felt so protected or so seen as when he had his eyes fixed on me.

Across the table, Alfie was looking at me with… was that admiration? I couldn’t remember anyone looking at me like that before.

Except Darren, of course.

“I think that’s amazing,” he said.

Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. Nobody else made such a fuss about making a bit of dinner. It’s just it was a big moment for me, that was all.

“It’s not much,” I said.

“It must have taken you ages to learn how to do that. I’ve never cooked anything before. Is it difficult?”

I was about to say ‘no’ but there was a chorus of voices all emphatically saying, “Yes.”

“It’s not that hard,” I said weakly.

Beside me, Darren moved closer and wrapped his arm around my waist. I was encompassed and safe there, in his arms.

Nana gave me a stern look from the head of the table.

“Cooking for so many is a great skill. We’re all very proud of you for mastering it, Prince.”

Luckily, Darren knew me better than anyone and he shifted right at that moment. His grey wings burst out of his shirt with a ripping sound and I flung myself at him as I burst into tears, overwhelmed.

His great wings encircled me, concealing me and cocooning us in a little bubble. He dropped kissesonto my head and murmured quietly so that nobody but us would hear it.

“You see how loved you are here, Prince?”

I was snotty and tear-stained and must have looked absolutely awful but Darren took my chin in his hand and gently raised it so that I was looking into his eyes.

“You’re so beautiful, Prince. Inside and out.”

I lunged at him, capturing his lips with mine. His taste shot straight to my dick and all of the squirming feelings of overwhelm and surprise and worry and pride all got pushed to the side as lust took centre stage.

I was pretty much planning on climbing my big, solid gargoyle and letting him do naughty things to my body but there was a loud and pointed cough from beside us. Inside the cocoon of Darren’s wings, and with his scent in my nostrils and his taste in my mouth, I’d basically forgotten that anyone else existed.

Sheepishly, I drew back and looked up at my mate. He smiled down at me and his handsome face took on a quality I only ever saw on it when he looked atme. There was a softness to him then, totally at odds with his hard, stone exterior.

He took out a tissue and wiped my face – I have no idea when he’d put that in his pocket or why he’d thought he’d need it – and then he dropped a quick peck on my lips.

“Are you ready to go back out there?”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded.

My amazing mate’s wings lowered, revealing the rest of the room. Half of them were studying their plates and the other half were looking on us with amusement twisting their mouths. I began to panic. I hadn’t meant to cause a scene.

Darren said, “Don’t let your dinner get cold. Not after Prince put so much effort into it.”

Nana nodded and everyone began to clatter their plates and lean over to help themselves. I could see several of the Somervilles sitting straight-backed just like Morgan always did, and they were silent and watchful.

Heat spread up my face. I really hadn’t meant to cause a scene.

---