Page 27 of Suffer No Fools
"What are we doing?" Tovey asked, his voice little more than a whisper.
"Whatever brings joy," Hugo said. "That was the deal you made with Vadim, according to your captain."
"This is guaranteed to blow up spectacularly in our faces," Tovey warned. "Threesomes never work. Someone gets jealous, someone cheats, someone lies..."
Hugo nodded. "We'll have to set boundaries."
"We already have one," Stan said. "Whatever we do with you, we do together."
Hugo frowned. "What if I want to get to know each of you better, on our own?"
"What, like ... a date?" Tovey looked even more appalled than he had at the prospect of being Hugo's permanent bodyguard.
"Yes!" Hugo clapped his hands. "Exactly like a date. What is today?"
Stan had to think for a moment. "Sunday, I think."
"We'll need Monday to get settled in on Aquarion, but Tuesday will be my night with Tovey." Hugo instinctively appeased Tovey by choosing him first. "Wednesday will be your night together."
"Our ... what?" Tovey glared at Stan.
"If this is going to work, it can't be all about me." Hugo's frown had an entire empire's worth of weight behind it. "Don't tell me you kissed him like that, and it meant nothing."
"That's not ... we're not ..."
"Not together?" Hugo crossed his arms over his chest. "If you still feel that way on Thursday morning, we can discuss it together. Over breakfast. We will always eat meals together."
"Always?" Tovey smirked. "You might want to run that by Efren. He sometimes forgets lunch when we're counting inventory."
"I'll be counting inventory with you, then," Hugo said. "I volunteered to join you when you are needed onStarlight Specter." Hugo grinned. "He made me an honorary pirate."
Tovey started to protest, but Hugo silenced him by pointing west over the prow. "It's beautiful."
A sliver of sun hovered on the horizon, with its reflection painting the waves a brilliant red. Even so, Stan couldn't look away from the dazzling men before him. What Hugo asked seemed impossible, but Stan was willing to try.
#
Tovey
After dinner, Hugo watched as Niall warmed the water buckets with a bit of fire magic. Tovey and Stan were under strict orders not to let Hugo try to warm the water, or anything else, while aboardStarlight Specter.Tovey felt Hugo's fire close to the surface, and he watched Niall with fascination.
Then, Hugo faced Tovey, and his breath caught. Gods, Hugo was as dangerous as fire with his earnest gaze alone. Tovey wanted to be consumed by him, though there would be nothing left once Hugo returned to the palace without him.
Once, Tovey had thought he would always have Stan to buoy him when he needed human companionship, but that wasn't fair. He should have let Stan go years ago, but he'd been too selfish and stubborn. This experiment with Hugo would either bring them closer together or tear them apart. Tovey didn't know if he would survive, either way.
Once Niall tucked into the captain's cabin for the night, and Roy and Ray had agreed to cover an extra hour of wind duty, Stan, Hugo, and Tovey stood alone on the aft deck of the ship. The rest of the crew had taken advantage of their leisure time while they'd been anchored on the west side of the island.
Now, Hannah was the only one who could see them strip off their clothes, but they faced the opposite direction. Tovey had never been shy about his nakedness on deck before, but Hugo had never seen him naked, which gave him pause now.
Stan stripped out of his tunic and pants without a second thought. Tovey still loved the solid planes of his broad chest and the thickness of his thighs and calves. Stan had never skimped on physical labor, even though his power gave him the ability to manipulate the physical world around him. If someone wanted a box moved, Stan picked it up with his arms, not with his power.
He waved for Hugo to go first for the shower, when it would be warmest. Tovey expected Hugo to be shy, but he had found confidence with his ice weaves. Either that or he was too worn out from helping Frost to care about modesty or decorum. Stan showed him how to adjust the spout, and then Hugo stepped beneath the spray, face upturned. He sluiced the water back and turned around, letting it soak into his loose black hair. Tovey had promised to braid it for him, fish bone style.
"Do you still have your massage oil?" he whispered to Stan. He'd almost forgotten he'd volunteered Stan to give Hugo a massage while he braided Hugo's hair.
Stan grunted in the affirmative. "If not, I'll steal some from Klaus. It seems he has oil to spare."
Stan hadn't bothered to look at him for the conversation. For once, Tovey wasn't upset. The way Hugo wet his hair and soaped his body was a work of art. Tovey wished he had the artistic ability to draw him like that, completely relaxed, even if he used too much water. Stan and Tovey had to share a bucket, but Tovey didn't mind when Stan helped him rinse the soap from his hair.
