Chapter 5
Chapter five
Of all the technologies and conveniences the twenty-first century had to offer, Luka particularly enjoyed the television. Granted, he found modern humor odd and confusing, but he very much liked the magic box that showed him plays and current news.
Sure, it was an extravagance, but then again, so was everything else. The shower with heated water on demand. Comfortable clothes. A warm bed. Clean water and plenty of food to eat.
According to Ruger, most people considered those things basic necessities. To Luka, however, they represented pure indulgence.
And sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder if he deserved it. He had done nothing to earn his good fortune. In fact, most days, he didn’t even leave the cabin.
Ruger hadn’t confined him indoors. Quite the opposite actually. His mate regularly encouraged him to venture outside and explore the Manor grounds. Dinner with Skye Maddock, however, had been enough to prove that no matter how many years had passed, some things never changed.
News had spread throughout the castle, reaching both staff and guests, about his unusual heritage. Though they readily welcomed demons into their midst, most of them believed gargoyles existed only in myth.
Once inside the castle, he had been careful not to make eye contact. He hadn’t approached anyone, and he’d done his best to make himself appear as non-threatening as he knew how.
None of it mattered.
Everywhere he went, the stares followed. Some looked at him with apprehension. Others with mere curiosity. It stung to be judged by his biology rather than his character, but he had become accustomed to such reactions.
Ruger…had not.
Though the shifter hadn’t called it out, he had definitely noticed, and Luka hated how much it had affected him.
Ruger had a smile that could warm even the coldest heart, the kind that made anyone on the receiving end feel like they mattered. Luka loved that smile. To watch it disappear, replaced by a scowl and a furrowed brow had been difficult to witness.
Knowing he was the cause had been nearly unbearable.
He had never opposed having a mate. In large part because the very idea had seemed so absurd. As far as he had been concerned, both the gods and fate had abandoned him on the day of his birth, and for centuries, he had seen no evidence to the contrary.
Then Ruger had found him and literally pulled him from the darkness.
But no one had taught him how to be a good partner. He didn’t even have examples of loving relationships to learn from. At first, he had been content to let instincts be his guide, but as the days passed, he had started to think that alone might not be enough.
How could he possibly make his mate happy when he couldn’t even go out with him in public without drawing negative attention?
“Is that really what you think?”
Luka jerked his head around from his place on the sofa, his heart pounding up into his throat. It had been a long time since someone had caught him unaware, but he’d been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t even sensed Ruger enter the room.
“Welcome back, taavi. How was your day?”
Dropping his leather bag into one of the chairs by the window, Ruger stripped off his coat with a sigh and tossed it on top of the satchel. “A fucking nightmare. I’m going to murder those little assholes before this event is over, and I won’t even feel bad about it.”
For some reason, Luka had the insane urge to laugh every time he heard Ruger threaten violence. Maybe because he knew the male would never follow through, or maybe it was because he just looked so damn cute when he got flustered.
The complaint had become so commonplace, however, that he didn’t have to ask which assholes his mate wanted to brutalize. From their first meeting, Aether and Ivy Celeste had been a constant source of stress and irritation.
“What did they do this time?”
“Aether wants to build a magical volcano in the middle of the lobby. Normally, Ivy would be the voice of reason, but he just wants the lava to be purple.” Trudging around the sofa, he dropped down on the cushion beside Luka and leaned against his shoulder.
“Don’t change the subject. Do you really think you’re not a good mate? ”
Luka hesitated, searching for the right words. “I think your life has changed because I am in it.”
“You’re right.” Straightening, he pressed his palm to Luka’s cheek, urging his head around until their eyes met. “My life has changed since I met you.”
“That is—”
Ruger leaned close, dipping his head and bringing their lips together to quiet him. “It’s better.”
“I believe you think that now, but I will never be accepted.”
“Why do you say that?”
He rested their brows together and sighed. “You saw the way people looked at me.”
To his knowledge, he hadn’t said anything amusing, but Ruger laughed, his warm breath stuttering over Luka’s face.
“They were looking at you because you’re hot.”
Lifting his head, Luka frowned. Sometimes, his mate said the strangest things.
“I was not overly warm.” Ruger had helped him choose his attire for the occasion, and though the style had been unfamiliar, the fabric had felt pleasant against his skin. “And if I had been, they could not have known that.”
Ruger’s eyes danced with merriment as he chuckled again. “I mean they thought you were attractive.”
He understood the explanation this time, but it made absolutely no sense. “I think you are remembering it incorrectly.”
“Trust me, I’m not.” Flopping back against the sofa, Ruger folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. “I was so jealous I wanted to cover your face with the tablecloth so they would stop looking at you.”
“You were jealous?” Because of him. Because Luka belonged to him.
He still didn’t know if he believed it, but he couldn’t stop the smile spread across his face.
“You don’t have to look so pleased with yourself.”
“I am very pleased.”
Ruger snorted. “I see that.”
“You could have. Covered me with the tablecloth, that is. I would not have stopped you.”
“Don’t tempt me.” Without warning, he bowed up from the cushions, move with effortless grace as he brought his lips to hover a breath from Luka’s. “Or maybe, next time, I’ll make sure everyone knows your mine.”
If Ruger wanted him to wear a hood over his head every time he left the cabin, he would. If he wanted him to wear nothing at all, he would. Whatever his mate asked of him, he would give it without complaint.
His current solution, however, was definitely his favorite.
So, it baffled him when Ruger suddenly pulled away, his handsome face twisted into a mask of pain and regret.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, placing his hand gently atop Luka’s arm, right over the glowing fetter. “After everything you’ve been through, I’m sure the last thing you want is to belong to someone.”
“But I do belong to you.” Taking his mate’s hand from his arm, he brought it back to his face and held it against his cheek. “Not as property. Not as a pet or something to control. I belong to you the same way you belong to me.”
“As a mate,” Ruger finished for him.
“As someone to cherish.”
Cradling the back of Ruger’s neck, he pulled the male to him and slanted their mouths together. Passion instantly flared between them, that little spark of desperation that never seemed to fully fade.
Ruger moaned and arched against him, pushing his tongue between Luka’s lips to delve inside. He licked and tasted, teasing him with slow glides and shallow plunges.
Growling, Luka dragged him even closer, holding him steady as he pillaged his mouth. Gods, he couldn’t get enough of him. Every touch, every taste only had him craving more.
So, when Ruger jerked out of the kiss abruptly and tilted his head, Luka couldn’t help but growl in disapproval.
“Wait, is that why you haven’t left the cabin?” his mate asked, quite conversationally, all things considered. “Because you think people won’t approve of you?”
“You have a brilliant mind, taavi.” With another low growl, he dipped his head and nipped his bottom lip. “Sometimes, though, you think too much.”
By the gods, he loved that laugh. Deep, throaty, and completely genuine, the sound of Ruger’s amusement flooded him with pure joy.
“Come on.” Grabbing him by the hand, Ruger shoved up from the sofa and dragged him to his feet. “Let’s go do something.”
“We were doing something.” Something that didn’t require leaving—or clothes.
“Aww, poor baby,” Ruger teased, arching his neck to brush a kiss across his lips.
While welcome, the gesture did little to convince him that they should depart from the cabin.
“Taavi,” he growled in warning.
“That’s really sexy.” Still holding him by the hand, he began backing toward the door, pulling Luka with him. “Why do you call me that?”
“Do you not like it?”
“I don’t know.” Ruger shrugged. “What does it mean?”
“My heart.”
He didn’t know what language it came from, some ancient fae dialect, but he had heard it in a marketplace once from a tiny faerie. Her kindness that day had left a lasting impression.
“In that case, I like it.” Beaming, Ruger pulled more insistently on his hand. “I’m not changing my mind, though. You’ve been inside for days.”
He gave a few more grumbles of protest, just to hear his mate laugh again, though his efforts were half-hearted at best. At the door, he paused long enough to pull on his shoes, then allowed himself to be dragged across the threshold.
“Where is it you want to go?”
“Let’s just walk around the lake.”
He liked that idea much more than a trip to the castle, but it honestly didn’t matter where they went. Wherever Ruger led, he would gladly follow.