5
Hal
“Any other questions for me?“
Archer asked.
As Captain Shaw shook his head, Hal drained the last of the vodka from his glass. “Sounds good to me,“
he said. “You think you’ll be able to complete all that before we arrive in Calaitum?”
“Not if I had to build anything from scratch,“
Archer said, “but the ship’s current shields are still solid. A few tweaks and layering on some wards of my own won’t take me more than two days or so.”
“Excellent,“
Hal said. The water master he hired when first purchasing the Pearl Star in a city farther down the coast from New Angouleme made the same claim about the ship’s magical infrastructure, but he’d happily taken advantage of Archer’s trusted expertise. While Hal spent the day in meetings with the ship’s department heads, Archer had scoured the vessel from stem to stern in a sort of magical audit. They’d ducked away to meet the captain after dinner to hear Archer’s report. “Don’t overextend yourself, though.”
“No worry of that.“
Archer finished his drink as well. “And thank you for your earlier assistance, Captain.”
“No, thank you,“
Captain Shaw replied, the three of them standing as one. “You know how to reach me now if any other crew take offense to you being outside passenger spaces.”
“Of course, sir,“
Archer said, grinning. “But I don’t think I’ll manage to surprise Mr. Lind again if he finds me lurking in his domain.”
Hal had been with Ramona in her office earlier that afternoon when the head of the ship’s laundry service called to complain about finding a guest in the nether bowels of the ship. It had taken the hotel director and captain both to reassure Mr. Lind that Archer had no nefarious intentions. “I think he was more worried about chalk dust in the dry cleaning,“
Hal said, leading the way out of the back corner of the observation lounge.
Archer placed a palm over his heart. “I would never.”
One deck down, they split from Captain Shaw after a last round of good nights. He headed for the bridge, and Archer followed Hal down the corridor toward the ship’s stern. “Hold up,“
Archer said, grabbing Hal’s elbow before they reached their staterooms. “Have you spoken to Miles today?”
Hal turned back toward his friend and cocked an eyebrow. “We were all at dinner together.“
His fiancé had seemed perfectly normal during the meal, chatting with Kane and Archer like old friends. Hal was thrilled his favorite people got along so well.
“Not what I meant. Have you had a moment with Miles without anyone else today?”
“No. A certain incident in the laundry facility put all my meetings behind schedule the rest of the afternoon.“
Hal hadn’t even had time to change before dinner, meeting the other three already seated and enjoying appetizers in the dining room. “Why?”
“He and Kane spent most of the day together. Kane mentioned when we were changing that he’d been pretty quiet.”
“Kane’s known Miles for five minutes.”
“I know, I know. But we’ve gotten pretty good at reading moods. I just wanted to pass along the concern. Make sure everything is okay.”
“Miles is a grown-ass man, not one of your hormonal teenagers.“
Hal wanted to shrug off the concern, but neither Archer nor Kane would exaggerate an issue they felt warranted. With a sigh, he added, “I’ll check in with him. And I appreciate Kane’s willingness to hang out with him.”
“It’s not a hardship,“
Archer said, squeezing Hal’s elbow. “Your guy is great.”
“Kane is okay, I guess.“
When Archer laughed, Hal patted his hand. “Good night, dear.”
“Night, hon.”
After Archer slipped into his stateroom, Hal continued down the hall until he reached his own door. With his friend’s words echoing in his ears, he wasn’t sure what he’d find when he entered.
Steam lingered in the air, and moisture fogged the bathroom. Clad in only a towel tied at his waist, Miles leaned over the bedroom’s vanity and carded his fingers through his thick hair as he peered into the mirror with a frown. Hal’s fiancé had concerns, alright, but probably not ones Archer or Kane suspected.
Hal came up behind him, curling his hands around Miles’s hips and pressing an open-mouthed kiss to his naked shoulder. Warmth emanated from his skin after his hot shower, and Hal kept his face pressed near Miles’s neck, breathing deep. Miles had begun using Hal’s body products after moving into his flat, and Hal adored the combination of his chosen scents on his chosen person.
Somewhere in his hindbrain, a smug rumble sounded something like Mine. Werewolves didn’t follow any biological or supernatural imperative when it came to selecting mates, but no one had ever told Hal’s wolf that.
Not that Hal disagreed with the furry idiot. He met Miles’s eyes in the mirror. “Hey, sexy.”
“Not sexy.“
But a smile teased his lips, betraying how much Miles liked the compliment.
Those tiny smiles meant Hal would never stop giving it, no matter how much Miles protested. He spoke only truth, after all. Also truthful, he said, “I hope you’re not panicking about a gray hair again.”
Miles rolled his eyes, probably at himself. “I know you don’t care.”
“Be a bit hypocritical of me if I did.“
Though Hal was still a couple years away from forty, the white wolf genetic variant ran in the male line of his family, and the mirror in front of them reflected his full head of silver-white hair. Like his father and grandfather, he’d lost the last of his brunet coloring by his late teens.
“A guy’s allowed to freak out. My stupid legs already make me feel enough like an old man.”
Disliking the barrier of even a mirror between them for his response, Hal spun Miles around and pressed their foreheads together. He ghosted a gentle kiss over Miles’s lips and said, “By the time you become an old man, I will already be an old man. And I can think of no greater honor or delight than to grow old by your side.”
This time, Miles definitely rolled his eyes at Hal, but then he surged forward. The kiss deepened at once, and while enjoying the wet heat of Miles’s mouth, Hal untucked the towel from his waist. The soft, thick fabric fell to the floor, and he crowded Miles a few steps back until he was pressed between the closet door and Hal’s body.
They’d never had any trouble losing themselves in each other. Hal may not have entered the room with the explicit intention of seducing Miles, but if he’d been the type of man to boast about intimate moments, he’d use Miles’s lack of hesitancy as proof that Archer’s concerns were unfounded.
Miles was fine. Better than fine, when he wound his arms around Hal, gripping the cotton of his shirt at his back to tug him even closer. Any remnants of the conversation with Archer vanished as their kiss deepened, especially once Miles rucked his shirt out of his trousers to get his hands directly on Hal’s skin.
Even standing, their similar height made it easy for Hal to align their hips. He groaned around Miles’s tongue at the blissful pressure of the other man’s strong thigh against his thickening cock.
With a gasp, Miles broke their kiss, slipped his hands up from Hal’s waist to his chest, and shoved.