Page 37 of Adored
“That was the original for The Duke of Gordon when he was at war way back when that’s what they wore into battle. My father loved that armor. He had it shined twice a year.”
“In case he needed it?” Gamble asked, grinning.
Poe found that amusing.
“Yeah, in case he needed it. You know, to fight the dragons we keep in the basement.”
Gamble took Poe’s hand and kissed their joined knuckles.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said, feeling the man tense. “I meant what I said, Poe. I can live here. This place is fascinating. I’m not going to run from it.”
That was good to know.
Only…
Poe was struggling.
“I lied to you,” Poe said.
Gamble stopped moving.
“About?” he asked.
“I do believe in ghosts. They live here,” he said, being honest with his partner. “And they haunt me. I’m going to struggle with that.”
Oh, he knew about ghosts. That was for damn sure.
Gamble wanted to be there for him.
“Will completely redoing this place make it harder or easier because I can live in a box. I’m easy, Poe.”
He didn’t hesitate.
“I don’t want to be haunted by my parents and my brother. I know they kept Hemmingway’s room the same, but I can’t bear to be around it too much. He was my identical twin, Gamble. I lost a part of me when he was killed.”
He hugged him.
“I got you, Poe. We’ll redecorate the whole place to make it easier for you. We can put Hemmingway’s things away. We can do whatever makes it a smooth transition.”
He was relieved.
“Thank you, Mate.”
“Well, I am your mate,” he admitted, winking at him.
And he wanted to be his husband.
“How about you show me the rest of the castle?” he asked, wanting to move this along for Poe’s sake. He saw him struggling.
He needed a distraction.
Poe nodded.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “You had to have a rough day of travel yesterday with the horses. We can grab a bite to eat.”
He actually was.
Gamble couldn’t remember when he ate last. It had been a mad rush to get to Poe, and food had been inconsequential.
