Chapter 17
DAVEN
Where Daven loved living high up in the heart of Zephyr, not far from Umbral park, which sat close to the Academy, Moargan lived more on the outskirts. Still, Daven couldn’t ignore that his cousin’s mansion was impressive.
And crowded.
Guards lounged outside the front door, drinking coffee and chatting. When they saw Daven appear with Ryneth by his side, they straightened and murmured a greeting.
Daven ignored them, too caught up in the moment.
It still felt overwhelming to walk in public with his hand wrapped around Ryneth’s reluctant one. To pull him out there for everyone to see.
It felt fucking great.
Especially here, as they entered the house and made their way toward the kitchen. The sound of laughter welcomed them even before they reached it, together with the smell of fresh bread and syrup.
Daven inhaled the scent and groaned. Good Light, nothing beat the sweet buns, especially when they were still warm. “I hope you’re hungry. I know I am.”
He wanted to head farther, but suddenly Ryneth stopped. “Wait.” Pulling on Daven’s hand, he made him bump into his back. Heat climbed high on his cheekbones.
“Yes? You not hungry, baby?”
“I am—it’s just…” Ryneth’s cheeks reddened further, but his glare was feral.
Daven wondered if the other man was thinking about what had just happened back home. Under the shower. About Ryneth on his knees, flushed and shaken, and now expected to walk straight into a crowded kitchen like nothing had happened.
“I just need a minute,” Ryneth bit out. “Give me one.”
“Sure. I can even give you ten. Especially if you stay this close.” He pulled Ryneth in until their foreheads touched and their chests pressed flush. “You’re still on my tongue, aethera. So sweet.”
Ryneth shoved him, then caught at his shirt and pulled him back in. “This is not funny,” he hissed, voice tight and breathless.
“You’re right.” Daven’s grip tightened, and as he pushed Ryneth against the wall, he leaned in to nibble on Ryneth’s earlobe, mumbling, “Not funny. But it does feel good, doesn’t it?”
“Stop it, you ass. We’re outside your cousin’s kitchen.”
“Then talk to me. Before someone sees us.” Daven pulled back just enough to look at him, but not enough to let go.
“It’s just that I—” Ryneth shrugged, but the color in his cheeks deepened and he clamped his mouth shut. “Nothing.”
Good Light, he made no sense.
“You what?”
Ryneth shook his head, then gave him another shove. “Never mind. Just get off of me, and don’t touch me when we’re in there.”
So that was what this was about? Was Ryneth embarrassed to be seen with him?
Daven didn’t like that one bit.
“So you’re saying you don’t want me to hold your hand in there?” His teeth clamped down on Ryneth’s earlobe and he bit, half annoyed and half turned on. After all, he always liked a fight.
“Stop it, Daven.”
“Perhaps I should put my hand here instead?” Daven’s hand slid over Ryneth’s shirt, down to his groin. “Hm. You’re already hard for me. Want me to suck you again? Drop to my knees here for you for the whole fucking world to see?”
“Stop it, asshole,” Ryneth panted.
“You know what I think?” Daven gave his cock a little squeeze, grinning when the other man hissed. “I think I should perhaps use that pretty mouth more often. Pull you on my dick and just leave you there, by my chair, like a good, obedient puppy. You think you can be obedient, baby? Just for once.”
“Fuck off.”
Daven was thrown back with unexpected force. The static caught him before he could smother it, blue heat cracking over his hands and forearm hard enough to sting. “Ouch. Now I get it. You want it, don’t you? The more I speak the truth, the harder you fight me.”
Ryneth gave him a pointed look, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But before he could, there was commotion at the kitchen opening.
“There they are!” Helianth peeked his head around the corner. He blinked when he caught Daven’s burned shirt. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Nope. Not at all.” Grabbing Ryneth’s hand, he pressed a kiss on his palm. “We were just making up. Now, let’s eat, baby. I bet you’re starving.”
Despite the early hour, it was already busy inside the kitchen. Two guards stood by the window, one of them that asshole Vandor. Behind the stove, Aviel stirred something in a pan, and Moargan was lounging at the bar, looking bored.
His eyes turned sharp when he caught sight of Ryneth. “Good to see you again. And in one piece after last night’s excitement.”
“Moargan,” Cyprian chided. The younger man sat half-hidden behind a large white paper, charcoal in one hand, coffee in the other. He smiled as they walked in.
Moargan snatched the coffee out of his hand and took a sip. “What? I was just being—”
“A jerk. But that’s okay.” Daven took a bite from a fresh tigano and moaned. “Now, this is what we came for. The rest I can ignore. I was fucking starving.”
Aviel gave him a toothy grin. “You look ravaged. Bet you guys had a busy night after you got home.”
“We—”
Before he could finish, Ryneth snapped, “That’s none of your business.”
Aviel whistled low. “Feisty. I like it.”
“Here. Have some breakfast.” Holding out the rest of the bun, Daven forced it inside Ryneth’s mouth when the other man refused to take a bite. “There. Good?”
Ryneth’s eyes flashed when he was forced to chew. Daven made sure he saw him dragging his gaze over his face down to his throat, catching the moment his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Damn system is fucking frustrating,” Yure grumbled from the other side of the kitchen where he sat behind two computer screens.
“I don’t get you.” Daven turned to look over his shoulder. “You’ve got a full mansion at your disposal, and you decide to build your office in the fucking kitchen?”
Yure didn’t look up. “I just sit where everyone else is. This work’s already lonely enough. Did you sleep, Ryneth, after last night?”
“Yeah,” Ryneth mumbled, but he stared absentmindedly into his cup.
Was he thinking about last night? About the first time Daven had fucked him?
“Well, I didn’t,” Helianth admitted. “I can’t stop thinking about that tunnel. Or how the hell Concordant vanished right after.”
Yure didn’t look up from his screens. “They didn’t vanish. Luminary tracked them at a safe distance after they cleared the tunnel, but the ship rewrote its trail once it hit open sky.”
Daven frowned. “So they’re still somewhere over Helion.”
“Most likely,” Yure said. “We just don’t know where.”
Daven’s hand closed around Ryneth’s thigh under the table.
“Then why the fuck was he out there?” he snapped.
“Kylix called us in the middle of the night because Concordant would only talk if Ryneth was there. We knew they’d wipe their trail the second they left.
So why the fuck did we let them go anyway? ”
Moargan leaned back against the counter. “Because Father let it stand.”
That landed hard enough to silence the kitchen for a beat.
“What?” Daven snapped.
“They came to negotiate,” Helianth said. “And they delivered. The chip gives us enough to start cutting Attica out of Helion tonight. Father made the call to honor the departure.”
Yure flicked a screen aside. “They still scrubbed their trail the second they hit open sky, so we lost the ship.”
Daven stared at the screens. “And now we don’t know where they are.”
“No,” Helianth said. “But they’re still in our skies, and they’re authorized to return if they choose.”
Daven’s mouth hardened. “After all that?”
Helianth’s expression turned grim. “They still have five Helion civilians, and they gave their word they’ll stay alive as long as we don’t interfere.
Which we won’t,” Helianth said. “But that doesn’t mean we stop looking.
Yure’s team is still trying to relocate the ship while the rest of Luminary moves on Attica. ”
Yure flicked another report open. “And while we’re doing that, emergency admissions in the lower districts doubled overnight. Overdoses. Same compounds Attica’s been pushing.”
“So they hand us Attica with one hand,” Cyprian said, “while doing what with the other?”
Yure leaned back in his chair. “That’s the problem. I don’t know yet. But whatever they wanted from last night, they got it.”
Moargan set his coffee down. “A warning.”
Cyprian’s gaze stayed on the table. “Or a delay.”
“Or both.”
Moargan looked between Daven and Ryneth, his gaze dropping to where Daven’s hand still rested too close to him. “Well. That’s cheerful enough for breakfast. How’s that going?”
Ryneth stiffened beside him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Daven smirked and reached for another tigano. “It means my cousin doesn’t know how to mind his own business.”
“It means,” Moargan said, not looking remotely sorry, “you two walked in here looking like you barely made it out of bed.”
Aviel choked on his coffee.
Daven grinned. “We didn’t.”
Ryneth shot him a murderous look.
Moargan’s eyes narrowed with amusement. “Right. Then keep your man close.” His tone shifted a little as he pushed off the counter. “And you may want to consider making a public statement.”
Ryneth blinked. “A public statement?”
Moargan lifted one shoulder. “Something official.”
Cyprian didn’t even look up from his sketch. “Ignore him. It’s what I do most of the time.”
Moargan smiled into his coffee. “I’m not ignorable, lover. Besides, I’m just observing.”
Ryneth looked between them. “Observing what?”
Moargan took a slow sip of his coffee. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Helianth groaned. “He means he’s bored and wants drama.”
Perhaps. But… a public statement. Daven hadn’t thought of that until now, and the realization made his stomach tighten as his skin gave a low hum. Milanov had given Ryneth to him, but would he also agree with Daven claiming him for the world to see?
Next to him, Ryneth was playing with his food, clearly caught up in whatever thought was haunting him now.