Page 58 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

Arvus snorted and grabbed Molun’s arm and towed him out into the hallway, shutting the door firmly behind them.

Perian laughed. “So?”

Nisal was grinning. “You are such a tease. I love it. Early morning is your best bet, apparently. Leaving his room on the way to breakfast.”

“And you know where his room is?”

“I do now,” Nisal said. “I’m pretty sure it’s now being assumed I have designs on the man.” They shrugged. “He seems nice enough, and heispretty.”

“Right?” Perian was nodding. “I’m not actually certain it’s normal to have this many pretty people in one place together, but I’m so very grateful for it.”

“Agreed,” Nisal said with another smile.

They described how to get to Chamis’s room, confirmed what time he was usually at breakfast, and now Perian had a plan for tomorrow.

Then he and Nisal headed out into the corridor and put up with Molun’s good-natured attempts to find out their secrets.

Arvus put a hand on his arm as they reached the dining hall, and he fell silent just in time. Perian liked watching their dynamic. It spoke of a great deal of familiarity and trust.

While they ate, Perian was careful not to spend much time looking at Chamis, so as not to make anyone suspicious. He continued to flirt with Bennan because that was easy,and he could actually watch it putting the other man at ease. Yes, this was definitely a way that Bennan expressed himself and interacted with the world. It would throw him off to have Chamis not respond to it.

Perian was still sure there was something there. If Chamis didn’t want to do anything, Perian swore he would leave it alone. But if theycouldbe together butweren’tbecause they each thought the other person didn’t actually want them… Perian wasn’t going to stand by and let that continue.

Chapter Eleven

It was a noisy, boisterous dinner, and when Perian asked if Onadal was looking forward to Delana being back, silence actually rippled out from where they were sitting.

Perian mouthed the word, “Wow,” at Onadal and said without missing a beat, “You must be looking forward to easily coordinating all your training again.”

Smoothly, Onadal agreed, “It will be nice when everything is back to normal.”

Everyone went back to dinner like the moment hadn’t happened, and Perian had to work really hard not to gape at them. Seriously? Did they have cucumbers for brains?

“Back to normal,” he agreed. “I, too, am looking forward to everything going back to normal.”

Molun volunteered, “By which he means lots of sex with Brannal.”

Someone inhaled wrong across the table, started to choke, and had to be pounded on the back by their neighbor. Molun dissolved into laughter.

Perian agreed, “Well, yes, that’s part of our normal routine, thank you for bringing it up in public.”

More laughter rang out, and Onadal shot him a fleeting grateful look as the conversation passed on to other people who were looking forward to seeing friends and loved ones, and from there to trips people had taken, and Perian just sat back and listened.

At any questions that headed his way, he explained how he had grown up on a secluded estate with his father and had never done much traveling, just occasional trips between here and his estate until what had turned into this extended stay here at the castle.

“Would you like to travel?” one of the Warriors asked, a short, dark-haired woman with amber eyes. The square beads in her hair were bright green.

“Maybe one day,” he answered. “I think I’d prefer to travel with friends and family.”

Molun volunteered, “That is his way of saying he wants to travel with Brannal.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Perian shrugged. “What can I say? I have no complaints about the time we spend together.”

Everyone assumed he was talking about the sex, and there were lots of laughs and nudges. Perian wasn’t totally sure if Brannal would want his colleagues to know all about cuddles by the fire and horseback rides and reading books together and tea in the morning and being curled up together in bed, so he let the assumption stand.

Dinner broke up, and Perian waved goodbye to Bennan, who almost missed it because he was following Chamis with his eyes as the big man hurried out of the room.

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