Page 35 of Suffer No Fools
"You saw my rooms in the palace," Hugo said. "I've been stuck in a windowless fortress for five years. This is perfect, and so close to the deck if I want some fresh air."
"Fresh air? I can arrange that." Tovey created a breeze strong enough to stir Hugo's hair.
Hugo laughed and danced toward him, twirling with his arms raised and his robe expanding from the movement.
Hugo caressed Tovey's cheek, and he felt guilty when his breath caught in his throat, the way it did each time Hugo was near. Stan was asleep downstairs in the full bed he'd made for himself after constructing the rest of their beds, too. He'd left the rest of the furniture for later.
Tovey leaned into the touch, even as guilt flared in his gut. He clasped Hugo's hand and turned to kiss his palm before letting him go.
"I should go."
"Wait." Hugo grabbed his wrist as he turned, and suddenly the air between them was too hot. Tovey should have controlled it, but he didn't want to stifle Hugo's power. He refused to control him.
Hugo did well enough controlling himself. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, and the temperature cooled again. "Where should we go on our date tomorrow?"
Tovey laughed. "You mean you don't want to spend tomorrow evening in the giant bed with me?"
Hugo blinked. "No. That's for all three of us, on weekends only."
"Oh. You don't want us alone?"
Hugo frowned. "I thought that was part of your agreement, nothing physical until we're together. Our dates are to get to know each other in other ways."
Tovey laughed at that. "In that case, we should take a boat out fishing."
"That's what you do for fun?"
"It's what I used to do for a living." Tovey grinned. "I know, it would make more sense for a water weaver to run a fishing vessel, since they can call fish into nets, but Vadim's the best fisherman there is on this island, hands down, though you'd never know from how much he bitches."
"He doesn't like to fish," Hugo said. "It's too easy for him. I suppose the same could be said for the water weavers, too. What fun is it when you're calling friends into your nets?"
"Gods, you've got a point," Tovey said. "Have you ever fished?"
"I've been on a boat while fishing was happening, but no, I've never had my own pole or net."
"Good." Tovey couldn't wait to show Hugo the basics. He would ask Stan to point him in the direction of some earth worms, and then they could spend the afternoon fishing off the southern coast.
After a quick check to confirm the house's spectral wards were still in place, Tovey tried to sleep in the unfamiliar, though comfortable, bed. He tossed and turned for over an hour. He nearly leaped to the ceiling when a noise drew his attention to the shadow standing in his doorway. A larger shadow loomed over its shoulder.
"I changed my mind," Hugo whispered. "I don't want to sleep alone tonight, if that's all right."
Tovey assumed Hugo meant he and Stan were going upstairs together. "As long as you sleep," he muttered. He turned over and flipped his pillow over his head, and then he was pulled up by the waist and flopped over Stan's shoulders, his arms flailing.
"You're coming with us," Stan said. "Stop struggling."
Tovey went still for the brief walk through the house and up the stairs, and then he was airborne and tossed onto the far side of the giant bed. It always had extended from wall to wall, but Tovey swore the room was bigger now, which only made the bed that much bigger, too. He lay where he fell, and Stan flopped down beside him.
"You make a lot of noise when you can't sleep." Tovey could just make out the curve of his lips in the light through the window.
"I didn't know frame houses creaked so much," Hugo said. "Everything makes noise. The floor. The walls. The wind outside." Hugo's eyes were wide and round as he lay on Stan's other side. He slid down so he could use Stan's shoulder as a pillow. It was tempting for Tovey to do the same, but he didn't want Stan to get any ideas.
Stan had ideas, anyway. He slid his arm beneath Tovey's head and pulled him into his chest, pillowing Tovey's head on his gigantic pectoral muscle. Gods, Tovey wanted to explore all that vast warmth.
"You can touch me," Stan said. "I won't bite."
"Maybe I will." Tovey grasped Stan's sensitive flesh near his armpit between his teeth. Stan only stared at him, unmoving, until he released his hold. "Gods, how are you so unflappable?"
"Years of experience." Instead of his usual horseshit, Stan kissed Tovey's crown and relaxed against his pillow.
