Page 4 of Tell No Tales
Each question became more panicked, and Klaus's breath had sped up again.
"No, you're not dead," Vadim whispered as another wave of pain surged through their new bond. He bore it, assuming the alternative would send it back to Klaus and hurt him even worse.
Klaus's breathing evened out again. "Good," he whispered. "I like it here. With you."
Vadim didn't dare ask him what he meant as he drifted back to sleep. He needed the rest.
Besides, what did Vadim care? It wasn't like the seeker would ever want him in return. Even now, Klaus's sleeping thoughts were full of dread as he dreamed of being trapped in the hold with the sailors.
Klaus deserved to live. Vadim would do his best to cure him of his ailments and set him free. Once he'd liberated Klaus from Coryn's tenterhooks, Vadim would ensure Klaus lived a life of luxury on Aquarion, far from the worries of war.
Chapter 1
Vadim
Vadim knew how he was going to die. Two weeks of sharing a mattress with Klaus would succeed where many had failed. If he didn't aspirate on his own vomit from rocking back and forth with the ship, lust would kill him.
"We have much to discuss," Klaus had said when they'd spoken outside their trunks in the hold. They had yet to discuss anything since Klaus had pulled Vadim into their makeshift cabin and closed the door.
A beam of light widened as it stretched from the bottom of the door and across the mattress, now draped with what should have been Vadim's sail bed.
He was only there because Klaus asked him to stay. He should have sought one of the open sails in the crew's section of the hold. Instead, Klaus had suggested they share the bed and lay back-to-back.
Vadim had done what Klaus said. He'd taken the side Klaus had not already claimed for himself and slid beneath the sail for more heat. His long undergarments were skintight, but the weave would keep him warm. He wore a loose nightshirt over the top for modesty's sake, and to add an extra layer of insulation. He thought his new healing power would help, and it did to a point, but his blood still ran colder than the other weavers on the ship.
Klaus must have been cold, too. Vadim heard the rustling of clothing from his side of the mattress. He closed his eyes and tried to stop the pounding of his heart. The sound of his own pulse drowned out the waves splashing againstStarlight Specter'ssides. She was going at a good clip, too. Tovey and Stan's wind weaves overnight would do well to get them halfway to the Equis Islands by morning.
Though there was little for him to do, Vadim wished he were back on deck. It was too soon to offer to fish for them. Their stores were full for the trip to Hearthstone. They would run out of meat eventually, but with Frost aboard, it wouldn't spoil.
With Olivia as first mate, Vadim wouldn't be called to navigate, either, though he could split their time by a third. He would propose it to Olivia on her watch. If he mentioned it to Efren, the man would keep Vadim from the helm out of spite.
That left Vadim no choice for tonight, though. Over the last six months, Vadim's opinion of sharing his cabin with Klaus had shifted. At first, it had been a minor inconvenience. Then, when he'd initiated the life link to keep Klaus alive, it had become a sleepless burden filled with the seeker's random thoughts. Now, it was somewhere between a guilty pleasure when Klaus was asleep and a temptation when he was awake.
Klaus was awake now, and Vadim's pulse continued to thunder in his ears. He dared a look over his shoulder as Klaus sank down on top of the sail. He was naked, his lithe body on display from the slim planes of his back to his firm ass. He pulled his knees up and touched his heels to the fleshy roundness.
Klaus had always been handsome in a delicate way, but now that he was healthy, he had ascended to godhood in Vadim's eyes. Instead of rot and decay, he now smelled like fresh rain and cloves. Vadim couldn't get enough.
Klaus looked over his shoulder and caught Vadim staring. "Comfy?" he asked.
Vadim quickly averted his eyes to his side of the cabin.
"I can make you more comfortable," Klaus said, "if you want."
Even the sound of Klaus's voice, low and sexy, had Vadim squinting his eyes shut and trying to calm his heart rate. Klaus couldn't help how he sounded. He'd worked at the pleasure houses in Landale for too many years, and his request promised more than sleep.
That couldn't be what Klaus had intended. Klaus hated weavers, and he hated Vadim most of all.
"You said we had much to discuss." Vadim tried to keep the accusation from his voice. Klaus had many interesting habits, nakedness among them. Vadim couldn't blame him for it. Vadim would be more comfortable in his flesh if he weren't always so damn cold.
Klaus wiggled closer until they were back-to-back. He was so close, his warmth seeped into Vadim's skin immediately. Gods, sharing a bed was always so unnerving, but Vadim had done it enough to know it meant nothing. He'd shared sails with plenty of navy sailors. He would treat Klaus the same way.
Klaus didn't seem to mind the touch, which surprised Vadim. Before they'd gotten to know each other onImperial Fool, Vadim had assumed he liked being passed around to the wind weavers. He'd quickly learned that was a ruse to keep the wind weavers from killing him once they'd had their fill. Klaus didn't like to be touched, but Vadim had made a point of touching him in front of his crew, so they left him alone.
"Are you warm?" Klaus asked. "I can move closer."
The question brought Vadim out of his reverie. "Yes, thank you. I'm fine. What did you wish to discuss?"
"I did something stupid."
