Page 219 of Shadowman
He glares at me and mouths, “Enough.”
I lift my hands, conceding. “Finefine. Who am I to rain on your parade? I’ve only been by your side since you were six…”
“So long as we’re playing byyourrules, right??” he hisses.
Byron turns over his shoulder. “Huh?”
“Nothing,” he grunts.
I chuckle and shake my head.
We stop on the second floor, though the stairs continue up to a third. The corridor is long and dark, housing many doors. But there are voices coming from a room at the end. Following the noise, I believe it’s my turn to sneak ahead.
Spots of dimmed yellow are popping up as I creep to the doorway—they’re lighting candles.The room is spacious and elegant, with decor similar to the rest of the mansion; blood reds and black silk, erotic artwork giving even more of a seductive feel, especially with the flickering candlelight, rain and thunder outside the windows.
Inside, Dr. Love is removing his dress shirt, and Felix is emerging from the en suite in only his boxers and an oversized hooded sweatshirt that readsJohns Hopkinson the front. I turn to Trevel and nod him over.
“Stay close,” Byron commands on a breath.
He slips inside the room while they’re distracted, going for the en suite. With one slick, effortless movement, he’s in.I hate to keep admitting it, but damn… The blokeisvery good.
Trevel and I scurry after him. As soon as we’re all inside the en suite, Byron leaves the door open a crack so we can hear them.
“What’s the plan?” he asks, confident but breathless with exhilaration, despite hisstrictly businessdemeanor.
“Tie them up,” I say.
“We wait until they’re… preoccupied,” Trevel whispers. “And then we grab them and tie them up.”
Byron nods, glancing around the room. “We’ll need something to tie them with… And maybe a weapon.”
They’re both searching for only about a minute. Byron removes the silk ropes used to tie back the crushed velvet curtains, while Trevel’s eyes set on what mine are seeing.
Ooh. Shiny.
At the large clawfoot tub, he picks up a straight razor from the side table. “You take Lemuel. I’ll take The Carver.”
He grins wickedly at Byron, who still doesn’t look happy.Does he ever?He seems invested, although I’m still not positive if it’s for his own sake, or the benefit of Trevel.
Would he really go along with this… all for Trevel?
Why?
The voices from the other room are rumbling laughter and light conversation. What you’d expect from two people who just gotengaged, I suppose. Byron peers through the crack in the door. Whatever he sees prompts him to shoot Trevel a look over his shoulder.
“What are they doing?” Trevel steps forward.
Byron doesn’t speak. He just stares.
Based on that, and the audibly heavy breathing coming from the bedroom, I think it’s quite obvious what’s happening in there.
Trevel slowly steps closer to where Byron is blocking the doorway with his body. My head tilts. But rather than trying to catch a glimpse, Trevel simply grasps Byron by the jaw, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
Rolling my eyes, I busy myself with sharpening my swords, all the while casually peeking at them as their kissing intensifies and they paw at one another. Eyes closed, jaws straining, tongues fluttering. It’s deeply ravenous, with forced quiet keeping them in check.Like in the showers…
Anxiety overwhelms me. Notnecessarilybecause I feel like I’m losing him… It’s not that.At least, I don’t think it is…
It’s just that Icanfeel their connection through Trevel. I don’t want to, but I can. That’s what he tends to forget. Whether or not I’ve been visible to him, I’m alwaysthere… Experiencing it all alongside him. And this connection with Byron is a hell of a lot stronger than it’s been with anyone else. The infatuation is there, yes, but it’s deeper still. Hungrier and moredevil may care. I fear that if he’s not careful, he’ll give himself—and in turn,me—over to this lad.Fully, because Trevel doesn’t do half-measures.
