Chapter Three
Curran groaned as he regained consciousness. He couldn’t remember the last time his head hurt so badly. Hell, he didn’t think his head had ever hurt so badly.
He knew he shouldn’t have drunk yesterday. What the fuck had he been thinking? He hadn’t even opened his eyes, and the light was already hurting them.
Something shifted next to him, and an arm hooked around his waist. He froze, afraid to open his eyes.
Seriously, what the fuck had he been thinking?
He remembered every single minute of last night, and he wasn’t sure it was a good thing. He’d finally gotten what he’d wanted for years, but at what price? Would Marlin remember them being together? Would he be shocked when he opened his eyes and found Curran in his bed?
Oh God. Curran was going to throw up. He was going to throw up all over Marlin and his nest, and it would be mortifying.
Everything about this situation was mortifying.
What was he supposed to do now? Should he wait for Marlin to wake up?
He couldn’t even think about that right now.
When he did, he wanted to die—although maybe that had more to do with the alcohol he’d consumed.
Either way, he couldn’t wait for Marlin to open his eyes.
He might have wanted this since he was little more than a teenager, but he’d always known he couldn’t have it.
He was Birch’s brother. That was all Marlin saw him as, and Curran had been okay with that, or at least, he’d thought he was okay with it.
Now that this had happened, he didn’t know how he was supposed to look Marlin in the eyes ever again.
Hell, how was he supposed to be in the same room as him?
All of that would be made worse if Marlin opened his eyes right now. He’d probably try to joke it off, or he’d reassure Curran that what happened was a one-time thing and he didn’t have to worry. He wouldn’t understand that Curran didn’t want this to be a one-time thing.
How could he? Curran had never told Marlin he had feelings for him.
He hadn’t planned on ever telling him about that.
He’d thought he’d eventually get over Marlin, but he hadn’t.
He wasn’t sure he ever would, but that wasn’t his problem right now.
No, his problem was that he needed to get out of there before Marlin opened his eyes and things became even more awkward.
Curran finally blinked his eyes open. He regretted it instantly and blinked against the sunlight streaming through the window.
It really fucking hurt, and it was his fault.
He shouldn’t have drunk so much. He should’ve known better than to think he could get away with drinking without consequences.
His mothers had always warned him to be careful, but he used to brush them off because what could happen to him?
He was a good kid. He didn’t drink, didn’t do drugs, barely had friends. They didn’t need to worry about him.
He had to squint, and his eyes started to water, but at least he could see something now. Unfortunately, what he saw was Marlin cuddled next to him.
Marlin’s arm was around Curran’s waist. It was heavy but loose, but it was still effectively holding Curran down. He and Marlin were facing each other, but Marlin’s eyes were closed. He was still asleep.
Good.
Their legs were tangled together. Some parts of Curran’s body felt achy, but considering what he remembered of last night, he wasn’t surprised.
He’d really wanted to enjoy himself, hadn’t he?
Maybe even in his drunken state, he’d realized that last night was probably the only time he would have the opportunity to be with Marlin.
He’d wanted to make the most out of it, and today, he was paying for it.
He pressed his lips together when his stomach churned unpleasantly. He slowly slid his legs away from Marlin’s, holding his breath when Marlin wrinkled his nose.
No one should be as handsome as Marlin was when they were sleeping.
After the night they’d had, no one should look as good as Marlin did, period.
It wasn’t fair that Curran had experienced them together for one night and wouldn’t get to have it again, but he wasn’t sure if it would’ve been better never to be with Marlin at all.
Not that wondering about that would change anything. He’d had a night with Marlin, and it was over. He’d have to deal with it.
He slid his lower body across the nest. Now that his legs were free, he slowly reached for Marlin’s arm.
When he wrapped his fingers around Marlin’s wrist, Marlin snorted and started moving closer.
Curran panicked. If Marlin grabbed him, he wouldn’t be able to leave, and he would die when Marlin woke up.
It would be hard enough to look at the dragon after what had happened.
He couldn’t afford to make things even worse.
Thankfully, he had a solution. He quickly grabbed one of the pillows that had fallen to the side during the night and pushed it between them.
Marlin stopped moving, and Curran held his breath, hoping it was a good thing.
He needed Marlin to stay asleep for at least five more minutes.
He could wake up as soon as Curran was out of the room, but not one second sooner.
Marlin hugged the pillow. Curran held his breath, half expecting Marlin to open his eyes, but he stayed asleep.
When he slept, he looked younger and lighter, maybe because he didn’t have responsibilities when his eyes were closed. He was even more beautiful, which shouldn’t have been possible. How was Curran supposed to get over his crush when Marlin looked like that?
Curran wasted a few seconds watching Marlin, but he knew he couldn’t stay.
He couldn’t afford to. As slowly as he could, he slid to the side of the nest. He was careful not to jostle the many pillows and blankets, just in case.
Marlin seemed to be sleeping pretty deeply, but it would be just Curran’s luck to wake him up as he was sneaking out.
He didn’t. Marlin stayed asleep, even when Curran finally reached the edge of the nest. He didn’t do or say anything when Curran climbed out, stumbling over a pillow.
Curran held his breath, but Marlin was asleep.
Part of Curran was starting to regret that, while another part was telling him to run.
The second part won.
He didn’t even stop in the bathroom. He left the bedroom, relieved he’d been here dozens of times and knew where he was going.
The front door was locked, but the key was on the small table next to it, so Curran didn’t have to worry.
He unlocked the door, placed the key back where it had been, and stepped out.
He sucked in a breath. He’d done it. He’d left Marlin’s bed and his arms, and Marlin hadn’t noticed. Hopefully, he wouldn’t remember the night they’d shared.
Thinking that made Curran feel like an asshole.
He didn’t want Marlin to remember, but he also didn’t want to think about the fact that if he didn’t, what they’d done last night wasn’t right.
Marlin had offered to sleep with Curran, but Curran should’ve said no.
He shouldn’t have taken advantage of how drunk Marlin had been.
Being drunk was the only way Marlin would have done it. There was no other explanation.
Curran felt the sudden need to throw up.
Everything got worse when he got home. He’d hoped to be able to sneak into his bedroom, but his mothers were already awake. They were both in the kitchen, so they caught him the second he walked in through the door.
Alaina frowned. “You’re not in your bedroom?”
“I went for a walk,” Curran quickly said, hoping they’d believe him—knowing they wouldn’t.
Yarra snorted. “If you want to call it a walk, sure.”
“Mom!” Curran protested. “Can we not talk about that?”
“You’re an adult, so I suppose we can skip the questions and the speech.”
“You’ve already given me the speech, anyway.” It had been mortifying.
“Well, I hope you remembered it last night,” Alaina said. She was staring at Curran’s stomach in a way that made Curran uncomfortable. “You used protection, didn’t you?”
Curran glanced down and froze. The fertility line on his stomach was unmistakable. If he wasn’t careful and had sex without protection, he could get pregnant.
He definitely hadn’t been careful last night.
* * * *
MARLIN WOKE UP WITH a smile on his lips.
How could he not? The first thought on his mind was that he and Curran had spent the night together.
Marlin had wondered many times how it would feel to do that, and he was glad he’d offered last night.
Hopefully, Curran wasn’t too hungover, and they could take advantage of the few hours Marlin had before he had to go to work after lunch.
He stretched and extended his arm to the side, frowning when the only thing he touched was fabric. He blinked open his eyes, swearing when the sunlight burned them. It took a moment, but he eventually managed to look around, and when he did, he almost regretted it.
His nest was empty. Curran was supposed to be there, cuddled next to him, but he wasn’t. In fact, he wasn’t in the room at all. It was empty.
As empty as his nest.
He sat up and listened. Maybe Curran was in the bathroom. Marlin had cleaned him up as best as he could last night after they’d been together, but Curran probably wanted a shower. Marlin certainly did.
He couldn’t hear anything, though. There was no sound of water or anyone walking around. There was no sound at all. The only thing he could hear was himself, which didn’t bode well.
Where was Curran?
Marlin groaned when he sat up. His stomach roiled, and he told himself that this wasn’t the moment to throw up. What if Curran was hungover? What if he was curled up on the bathroom floor, feeling sick?
Marlin got to his feet. He grimaced when he stumbled, but the sense of urgency he felt wouldn’t allow him to slow down. He made his way to the bathroom, still blinking at the sunlight, still hoping Curran would be there.
He wasn’t. The bathroom was empty, and there were no signs that it had been used since last night. The sink was dry, as was the shower.
Curran had left. That was the only thing Marlin could think about as he leaned against the counter.
He’d thought he and Curran had finally taken a step into a relationship he’d wanted for years, but apparently, he’d been the only one to feel that way.
He hoped he and Curran could talk this morning, maybe agree to be together, but instead, Curran had left before Marlin had even opened his eyes.
That was all Marlin needed to know, wasn’t it? He thought they could talk, but it was clear that Curran didn’t want to talk. If he did, he would have stayed.
He swallowed. He couldn’t afford to wallow.
He had to go to work in a few hours, and he needed to clean up and eat before then.
The thought of eating anything made him want to throw up, but he didn’t have to think about that just yet.
He could focus on other things, push Curran to the back of his mind, and focus on returning to what his life had been before.
There would always be a before from now on, wouldn’t there? There would be a before Marlin found out what Curran felt like under him and around him, how he felt like cuddled in Marlin’s arms.
Marlin groaned. He needed to stop. He wasn’t a lovesick teenager. He was an adult and the king’s bodyguard, and he had work to do.
Reminding himself of that was enough to push him to get into the shower. He started with cold water to shock himself out of his maudlin thoughts, then went on with his business. He washed up, brushed his teeth, and put his room to rights. Once that was done, he left his rooms.
He wasn’t surprised to see that the hallways were almost completely empty on his way to the dining hall.
Most of the clan was probably still sleeping off the hangover, and those who weren’t and had to work today had been smart and hadn’t drunk much, unlike Marlin.
He couldn’t regret anything that had happened last night, though.
He’d had an opportunity he’d never thought he could have, and he couldn’t regret that.
Not yet, anyway.
The smell of food as he walked into the dining hall made his stomach churn.
He paused and waited, relieved when he didn’t feel the need to run out the door.
If he was going to work, he needed fuel.
Killian would probably close an eye if Marlin was too hungover to work, but Marlin couldn’t do that to his friend.
He had a job to do, and that was what he’d focus on today.
Someone waving at him caught his attention. He waved back at Taylor, one of the humans who’d recently moved in with the clan. He was sitting with his brother Palmer.
Marlin couldn’t say he and the brothers were friends, but they were friendly, and he didn’t want to sit alone this morning. After grabbing his food, he walked toward their table, relieved to see it was still just the two of them sitting there.
“That was a party, wasn’t it?” Taylor said.
Marlin groaned. “Please don’t talk so loudly.”
Palmer laughed. “Taylor has always been great with alcohol, but the same can’t be said for most of us. You’re okay, Marlin?”
“Not really, but I’ll be fine. Just give me time to eat something.”
“And drink water.”
He sounded worried, which Marlin thought was sweet. It would’ve been easy for Palmer to dismiss him since he was a dragon and Palmer hadn’t been trained in dragon anatomy and healing, but he was here to learn, and he was always eager. “I promise I’ll drink some water.”
Palmer nodded. “Good. I wouldn’t want to have to tell the king that his bodyguard couldn’t work today because he was dehydrated and hungover.”
“Killian wouldn’t care.”
“Probably not, but you would.”
That much was true, which was why Marlin started eating even though his stomach felt like it couldn’t take it. He felt like shit, but that was his own fault, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to pay for that, especially not Killian. “I’ll be fine,” he muttered.
Palmer smiled at him. “I’m sure you will be. And if you’re not, you know where the infirmary is. Come find me, and I’ll give you something to help.”
That was good to know, but it was the only good thing about the day so far. It would get better if Curran were to reach out, but something told Marlin that he wouldn’t.