Page 80 of Tell No Tales
Klaus
Klaus had never been more exasperated with Vadim. They had the opportunity to share a room and a bed, and the death weaver acted like it was the worst punishment Klaus could spring on him. Vadim had been assaulted by Martiz, for fuck's sake! How was this worse?
"Gods, stop thinking so loudly," Vadim said. "I'm blocking you, and you're still giving me a headache."
"Why do you hate me?" Klaus asked. Yes, he sounded petulant, but he didn't care. He folded his arms over his chest and stared at Vadim, as though his glare could elicit a response.
"I don't hate you." Vadim sat on the mattress with his legs splayed across the dusty oak floorboards. He removed the strap of leather tying his hair back and rubbed his temples. "I thought you'd be happy to be rid of me."
Klaus kneeled before him on the floor so he could find his gaze beneath the curtain of hair. "We're a team. Until we rescue Hugo, you need my help."
"I need …" Vadim sighed. "Rest. We should rest. Unless we're really lucky in our search, we won't get much sleep tonight."
Klaus sighed. That was the best he was going to get.
Vadim stripped off his boots and socks but kept the rest of his clothes. Klaus did the same and lay on the other side of the mattress. He turned on his side with his back to Vadim, same as they'd promised to sleep on the ship. He was surprised when Vadim surrounded him, nose in his hair, arm over his chest, a sharp tug pulling him backward until his back rested against Vadim's chest.
"I don't hate you," Vadim repeated as he pulled a blanket over them. Where the blanket had come from, Klaus didn't know. Vadim was always cold, so he had probably packed it in the bag he'd brought with him.
Klaus felt safe in Vadim's arms, same as always. He had fallen hard for the death weaver. He'd probably been in love with him since that first night inImperial Fool'scabin, but he'd been lying to himself since then.
He slipped his heel between Vadim's shins, wanting to be closer to him. Vadim pulled them even tighter together. For a moment, Klaus wished they didn't have clothes between them, but this was somehow more intimate than the amazing sex they'd had. Vadim was still blocking his thoughts, but Klaus felt something else along their link, he was sure of it. Vadim was just as comfortable like this as Klaus was. He wanted the connection, the body heat, the quiet breaths, and gentle press of their bodies. Klaus fell asleep to the gentle puffs against the back of his head.
When he woke, the room was dark, and the mattress was long cold. Vadim held a scope to his eye angled toward the grounds outside.
Klaus donned his socks and boots as quickly and quietly as he could, all while trying to gauge the location of weavers around them. The floor below them had one weaver per room. Their auras were weaker in sleep, and most of them appeared to be deep in slumber.
Klaus joined Vadim at the window. "There's a guard at the front door. Air weaver. We'll need to be careful."
"The tunnel's not guarded." Vadim dropped the scope and draped his arm over Klaus's shoulders. "That's odd. I would think these kids would be more likely to run away, and we always had house mothers watching both doors." He snickered. "Granted, we still managed to sneak out around them."
"Was this your dorm?"
"No." Vadim pointed toward the fireplace, the wall with no windows. "It's that way."
Klaus reached out with his power. "Guards there, too, but no one inside."
"Strange." Vadim kissed the side of his head above his ear, leaving a trail of warm breath in his wake. "The way Milton made it sound, I thought there would be more people here."
"What if they're mundane?" Klaus asked. "Did you see the amount of food the cooks were preparing? It's possible they were making large batches for later, but I noticed something missing."
"Ice," Vadim said as he studied the different auras himself. "Fire is always rare, but there's no one here with ice. Large batches would go to waste unless they have enchantments." He nodded. "Good work, Klaus."
Klaus stood a little taller at the praise. He glanced at Vadim and caught him staring. For once, Vadim didn't look away. Instead, he raised his free hand to caress Klaus's cheek. "You're brilliant."
"I wouldn't go that far."
"You shine with your own aura," Vadim said. "Seeing you with your power is breathtaking."
Klaus snorted. "Tell that to Brigham. He thinks I'm beneath him."
"He's jealous." One gentle tug on his jaw, and Klaus was in Vadim's arms, melting into his kiss. Gods, he could get used to that.
A knock at the door separated them. Vadim moved to open it, and from the way he seemed immediately distant, Klaus guessed he was conversing with Yvette mind-to-mind.
Nola and Yvette waited for them in the hall. Through the open door to their room before it swung shut, Klaus saw Martiz asleep in the corner with one of the twins hovering over him.
"Ray's taking first watch," Nola whispered. "We've left Trin a snack if she wakes before we return. I hope she'll be here when we get back."
