Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
brENEK
I knew Jamal wouldn’t be satisfied with letting the issue go and walking away. From the way he spoke, he played fairly, and they took his coin anyway. I would be angry too if someone did the same to me.
As evening closed in, the time to take action drew closer. Idrull had no intention of staying once the sun was set, not after the night prior. If we wanted to attempt to get Jamal’s coin back, it would need to be soon. But how to do it without Jamal getting involved and getting hurt?
“I can see what you’re thinking,” Torgrind murmured. I braced myself, assuming he’d complain or tell me it was a bad idea. He surprised me when he spoke his next words. “We need some way to distract him. It isn’t safe for him to follow.”
I grunted in agreement, eyes drifting toward the town only a short distance away. We would return one more time for water before leaving. It would be the best chance to sneak away and retrieve Jamal’s coin, but I didn’t know how to make that happen without Jamal following us.
We’d spent the day distracting him from his upset, learning the card game he loved and sharing stories about each other.
He didn’t go easy on us, so he got more information than either of us did, but after I set to distract him with flirting and Torgrind did the same, it was a lot easier for us to gain the upperhand.
A part of me wished to return to that. We could keep him occupied until the clan left, and once he was astride a stallion, he couldn’t get down on his own.
He’d have to go with us. But I knew how unhappy that would make him.
He was unhappy enough the past few days. I didn’t want to add to that.
“Should we leave him with Yngvar? He likes him,” Torgrind suggested.
“He likes his ale,” I countered with a snort. “Do you think it would be a good idea to let him drink before riding?”
Torgrind’s expression tightened. “No, but I’d prefer him drunk and distracted than in danger.”
“There has to be a better idea.”
“I don’t see you coming up with any,” he countered with a scowl.
We were gearing up for an argument, and neither of us were paying attention to Jamal like we should have been.
We’d left him alone for privacy as he used the trench, but neither of us noticed him sneaking off behind our backs toward town until Garrun mentioned it, his voice gruff with annoyance. “Your troublemaker just ran off.”
We both spun around, noticing the trench empty, and Jamal sneaking off toward town.
Cursing under my breath, I hurried after him with Torgrind right behind me.
We’d learned to run in the sand and easily caught up with the smaller man, who couldn’t match our stride.
He screeched in protest when I snagged him around the waist, hauling him back and away from the town’s gate.
“Let me go! It’s my coin! I want it back! Let me go!”
“Varakai…” I tried to get his attention over the sound of his protests, but he wouldn’t hear me. When I set him on his feet, he tried to shove past me and nearly got away with it before Torgrind gently grabbed his elbows and pulled him back.
Growling and fighting, Jamal only had eyes for the town. I stepped in front of him, but the only way I could think to get his attention was to cup his cheeks, drawing his lips to mine.
He stilled, surprised, but my distraction did its job. His fingers combed through my beard, dragging me closer to him, and he hummed a happy noise when our lips parted and his tongue slid against mine.
When he pulled back, he had a smirk on his face, and he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Torgrind stepped up behind him, cupping the back of his head and turning him in his arms enough to capture his lips.
Jamal let out a startled sound, but his reaction to Torgrind was much the same as it was to me.
He twisted, giving the kiss his full attention, and threw an arm around Torgrind’s neck to draw him closer.
It was only his hand still clutching my wrist that stopped me from picking a fight with my clan brother.
He wasn’t choosing Torgrind. He wasn’t choosing me either.
Unless I planned to claim him, I needed to accept that he wasn’t just mine.
The thought annoyed me, I didn’t want to share him with my rival, but when Jamal broke the kiss with a breathless smile and immediately pulled me closer for another, I let it go. For now, I had the beautiful man’s attention. That was all that mattered.
Jamal laughed when Torgrind and I both got more demanding, neither wanting the other to be the last to kiss him. He broke the kiss, grinning at us, and stepped out of range, holding each of our hands to keep us close.
“I might be adventurous, but out in the open is a little too adventurous even for me. We’ll get my coin, and when we set up camp again, we’ll find some privacy. I want to experience barbarian cock.”
Torgrind and I shared a glance. From the way it sounded, he wanted us both to be there. I wrinkled my nose. “We have no interest in fucking each other.”
That made Jamal cackle, shaking his head, his soft curls brushing over his cheeks. “That’s okay. I want you to fuck me. I can handle you both.”
He said it with such surety, I didn’t doubt him. I still didn’t like the idea of sharing him, but it was either that or not have him at all. Idrull made it clear if we fought over him again, he’d ban us from getting near Jamal for the sake of clan unity. I’d take what I could get.
“Brenek and I can get your coin,” Torgrind began, only for Jamal to cut him off with a scowl.
“I’m coming, too! It’s my coin! They’ll lie about how much they owe me!”
My brows furrowed. “Tell us how much, and we will get it back.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, lifting his chin primly. “No. Take me with you. If you don’t, I’ll just follow you anyway. You’d have to tie me up to keep me from going.”
From the look on his face, Torgrind was seriously considering that option. I bit back a chuckle at the outraged look on Jamal’s face, switching to our mother tongue to speak with my clan brother.
“If you want to enjoy what he offers, I suggest not saying whatever you’re thinking right now. We can keep him between us. He’ll be safe.”
Torgrind shot me a dirty look. “He’ll be safer with the clan. I’ll take his anger if it means keeping him safe.”
I understood his caution. With the number of thugs that had threatened Jamal, it would be better if we fought together. But neither of us wanted Jamal in the middle of that. And having him there would be a distraction we didn’t need.
My gaze shifted toward the group already heading for the town to refill water we would carry with us. I narrowed my eyes on one particularly protective brother. “What if we ask Tyos to join? He can watch Jamal while we handle the casaks who stole his money.”
Torgrind followed my gaze, nodding once. Of all our clan brothers, Tyos was the most protective. Nothing and no one would come between him and his charge. And since I noticed his bondmate had stayed behind in the camp, he wouldn’t be splitting his focus.
“What are you two scheming?” Jamal demanded with a stomp of his foot. It was less effective in the sand but still adorable.
I tipped my head toward Tyos. “We will ask our clan brother to join us. You will stay back with him while we handle the thugs. Otherwise, Torgrind will tie you up and leave you with the Clan Mother. She will keep you in line until we return.”
His mouth fell open, scandalized by the thought, but seeing as neither Torgrind or I would back down, he acquiesced with a scowl. “Fine! But if either of you tries to make me stay outside or something, there will be no bedding later! I’ll find someone else to show me the magic.”
It was not a threat I would take lightly.
I nodded solemnly to show I understood, and Torgrind matched my expression.
With a clearer plan in place, we stopped Tyos before he entered town, telling him of our intentions and asking him to come along.
A single look at the wrapped bandages on Jamal’s arm kicked in his protective instincts, and he nodded sharply, following behind us as we headed for the tavern.
I hadn’t lied when I said the brigands weren’t around when I’d come to town earlier. I’d fully intended on confronting them myself, hoping to give Jamal back his coin and earn his favor. Bringing him along had been the last thing on my mind.
“If Idrull finds us here, he’ll have us on trench duty for months,” Torgrind murmured. “Let’s make this fast.”
I nodded once in agreement as we stepped inside, coming to a halt when I noticed we weren’t the only clan brothers who’d come here. Yngvar sat at the bar, his back to the room, while a familiar group of casaks surrounded him, jeering at him for his lack of sight.
“Not so tough now, are you?”
“Did your clan abandon you? I know I would.”
“You’re pathetic.”
“They’re going to die,” Tyos commented. “You might not want to get involved. This won’t take long.”
“Let’s send them a message, shall we?” the leader from the night prior said. “Next time they’ll think twice before threatening us.”
I agreed that Yngvar could likely handle himself, but when the leader grabbed him and pulled out a knife, I refused to allow my clan brother to face it alone.
I moved to join the fight, Torgrind at my back, and went for the one closest to me.
Between the three of us, it wasn’t a long fight, not when the criminals fought so poorly.
It almost didn’t feel like enough to assuage me after the way they’d hurt Jamal.
When the fight ended as abruptly as it began, I heard Jamal whisper from where he was half hidden behind Tyos’s back. “That was hot.”