Page 51 of What Whispers in the Dark
Directly against the nape of his neck.
A horrifying realization slowly crept in as averyfamiliar scent whirled around him, heavy with the scent of the sea, unwashed sweat…
Stars. No.
Aiden.
Mortified, Thalon went wholly rigid. Not daring to move an inch as the male’s breathing behind him—against him—stuttered.
Thalon stiffened evenmore, if at all possible. He twisted his neck, throwing a glance over his leathered shoulder to witness the absolute horror of a position he woke up in. Aiden was curled up behind him, his mermaid-tattooed arm draped over Thalon’s hip, banded around his waist …spooninghim like an oversized, homely castle cat.
And to make matters worse, a clothed muscular leg was hooked over his own, another laced between his knees, as if they were bonded lovers?—
No.
No!
No, no, no, n?—
Something shifted outside the open threshold, its doorway long gone, crunching snow beneath light footsteps and spotlighting the nightmarish scenario heprayedwas only a hallucination but knew wasn’t.
Aiden, who most certainly wasnotsleeping anymore, must have felt his panic. As soon as Thalon so much as twitched—to run—to shift away—to get asfarfrom him as possible—those half-human arms tightened around his waist, locking Thalon in place.
A breath tickled his ear. HefeltAiden’s mouth curve upward. “Ever wake up next to a handsome devil?” came that sleep-heavy, rough morning voice.
Thalon snarled at the taunt as a figure darkened the doorway, curled his fingers around the rolled white sleeve on his brother’s arm, andpushedto no avail.
How in Firekeeper-filled-hell?—
“Don’t you two look cozy.” A slow, smug grin crept up Jade’s face as she leaned against the doorway and unwrapped her red cloak from her shoulders, shaking out water droplets with asnap.
Of course—of course—he would be caught in such a position. And by Aiden’s wiggling, closing any speck of distance between them and burrowing into his neck, he no doubt was pleasuring in Thalon’s torment.
“No—no!” Thalon objected, attempting to detach Aiden, but somehow the halfbreed had acquired considerable fae strength overnight. The rock—his head—he’d blame his loss of fortitude on that… “This is … we’re not…”
Jade chuckled like she was in on Aiden’s scheme.
He growled in her direction, “You left me here with him?”
Her smirk turned positively reptilian. “You looked like you were having a moment,” she shrugged, “didn’t want to interrupt whereverthatwas going.”
Thalon opened his mouth, stirring with a slew of profanities and objections, but it was Aiden who cooed, “Where exactlyisthis going, Thally?” And nuzzled his face between Thalon’s shoulder blades as if fluffing his pillow for a long night’s sleep.
Staring at the ceiling in search of salvation, Thalon called on every one of his last Earned for strength not to strangle him and suffered a deep, steadying breath. “Don’tcall me that,” he snapped. “Now let mego.”
“Mmm,” Aiden hummed but didn’t move. “Alin?”
“Do not?—”
“Lin-y-pie?”
“You have three seconds to release me, or I’ll shove my sword so far up your ass?—”
“Oh,kinky.”
Thalon paused. His face betrayed nothing as he hauntingly turned to meet Aiden’s smiling face.
It quickly fell. “Oh—oh no. Wait—wait! We can talk about this …we can talk about th—” Aiden shrieked louder than a startled goat as whatever forces had stolen Thalon’s strength severed their hold.
