Chapter Six
Salem tried for the third time to tie his bow tie. Dodge kept making a mess of it. A growl rose in Salem’s throat. One thing he loved so much about Quest and Dodge was they were giant kids. They made him laugh and allowed his shoulders to relax. Times like now wasn’t one of those times.
“Seriously, Dodge. You have to stop. Shaw will be here any second. ”
Quest curled his lip and looked away.
Dodge bounced on the bed. “Why do you have to go? You should be here with us.”
Salem couldn’t say, really. He just had to see this through. For one night, he had to show the upper crust he wasn’t hiding from them. He just didn’t like them. He went with the easier truth.
“I told Shaw I’d go. He knows it’s just as friends, and I can’t abandon him on such short notice. No one wants to face the sharks alone.”
“Do you want us to go?”
At Dodge’s question, Quest joined the conversation. “ We could get dressed and meet you there. You don’t have to do this with just Shaw.” The way Quest said Shaw’s name left no doubt he didn’t like the guy.
“No.” Salem felt strongly about this. “I’m doing this with Shaw because it’s bad enough I’m doing this. There’s no way I’d subject you to those people, and Quest, you know your mom will be there. You don’t want to deal with that. I promise I won’t stay long. Dinner. A few drinks. I’m out the door.”
Dodge pouted for half a second before Salem had to fix it.
“Besides, this gives you two a few hours to move your stuff down here. ”
Dodge immediately brightened. “That’s true.”
“We could order pizza, I guess,” Quest muttered under his breath, sounding like a moping child.
Salem shook his head. He knew he should find the words to make this right, but he didn’t know what to say. Before he could try, the doorbell rang. “Well.” He took a breath. “Here I go.” Salem headed for the door.
Quest stood and blocked his path. “ Unh uh . Nope. You’re not leaving here without a proper goodbye.” Salem went up on his toes and swiped a quick kiss across Quest’s lips.
Quest grabbed his waist and took the kiss he wanted, stealing his breath and scattering his thoughts.
“My turn.” Dodge practically pounced the moment Quest released him. His kiss was a bit more playful but still had Salem regretting his decision to leave.
Quest moved from blocking the bedroom door. “Okay. Now you can go. We love you. Be good.”
Salem smiled at the fatherly speech. “I love you two too. Both of you behave while I’m gone.
” The innocent smiles he received in return did not set him at ease.
Salem truly did not want the two subjecting themselves to society on his behalf.
He made his way to the front door, ready to get this over with.
Salem was going soft. He should have told Shaw to get fucked.
It had only been a week since Quest and Dodge had begun their new lives as his nightly bedmates.
He shouldn’t risk everything on whatever kept driving him in the opposite direction from them.
He opened the door to a very sexy Shaw. While the guy was always dressed to impress, this was different. He came to slay. Salem couldn’t help but smile. He appreciated beauty as much as the next person. “ Hey. You clean up nice.”
Shaw’s smile grew. Laughter flashed in his eyes. “You too. Are you ready to do this?”
With a nod, Salem stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind him before the boys burst outside like overactive guard dogs. They made their way down the front steps.
“Really, though. You look amazing.”
At Shaw’s compliment, Salem looked his way with a smile.
Shaw wasn’t quick at hiding his hunger. Salem swallowed a groan.
Every time he spent time with Shaw, it felt like a mistake.
He was great… for someone else. The guy was a full-ass adult with a good job and his shit together.
He was a gentleman. Someone out there would hit the lottery in him, but Salem had already scored big. He didn’t need more.
Still, he needed to keep things light. “You too, seriously. I can tell you pulled out all the stops. Tonight must be important to you for some reason.”
They climbed inside Shaw’s car. He didn’t respond until they were on the road. “Prince Noir is my biggest client. He’ll be there tonight with his husband. I have to be at my best. If I ever lose him, my entire clientele will follow.”
Honestly, that set Salem more at ease than anything else could have. Shaw wouldn’t spend the night trying to get in his pants and Salem was good at rubbing elbows with people like Prince Noir. “You’ll do great. I can be charming when I try.”
Shaw’s laughter let him know he got the joke.
Salem hadn’t tried with him. Their ride was never silent.
They got along well. Salem could see himself with Shaw.
Truthfully, that made him a little sad. His heart wasn’t up for grabs, but it was poised to shatter.
Salem held no illusions. Quest and Dodge wanted each other.
Salem was just the excuse they gave themselves to give in to what was already there.
Soon enough, they would push Salem out. He would go quietly since he hadn’t gone in blindly, but it would hurt.
The smart move would be to choose Shaw. Salem would never love him, but love never brought him anything except pain.
Calculating each move was better. Control kept him safe.
At the country club where the event was being held, pictures were taken for online gossip sites and as a way to fluff the ego of rich people.
That was all any of these events were. Rich people sucking each other’s dicks.
When they reached the door, Salem fought hard to control his eyes.
He wanted to roll them so fucking badly.
They were announcing people’s names upon entry like it was an early eighteen hundreds party for the ton.
The ridiculousness of the entire event was next level.
Still, Salem smiled as people stopped to talk only to—no doubt—run away to speak badly of him.
He was relieved as fuck when the dinner portion began.
That was until he realized he was seated across from Quest’s mother.
Luckily, Prince Noir was seated on his left, giving him someone else to focus on, especially since Joesph was also at their table.
Shaw kept ordering drinks and grinding his teeth, leaving Salem to be the one who charmed the handsome prince .
Noir had amazing light green eyes that seemed to cut right through people. His husband looked like a biker, which Salem had heard. Seeing him in person was a bit jarring. He looked like a killer. Salem didn’t judge. He knew the temptation that drew a man to a hardened body.
The light green eyes swung his way. “Did you know, in my country, poly marriage is legal?”
Salem thought that was an odd-as-fuck random statement, but he was still intrigued. “That’s very progressive.”
Noir made a dismissive gesture. “It, of course, started as a way for rich men to marry their harems. Then women began to do the same. When my father legalized gay marriage, it made all forms of poly relationships legal as well. We’re not the only country in the world with such laws, but it’s very uncommon. ”
“Your father sounds like a good man.”
Quest’s mom, Ashley, snorted. “Searching for your next husband? We know you have daddy issues.”
Salem ran his tongue across his teeth. He had known she wouldn’t stay silent all night. “Well, you’re the expert on daddy issues. From what I hear, you’re on your tenth, so…”
Noir’s husband, Lazarus, laughed.
Noir simply looked amused.
Joesph touched her arm. “Would you like another drink?” It was obvious he tried to defuse the situation. It was also the first time Salem had heard him speak all night. When he wasn’t enraged, he had a nice voice.
Shaw scoffed. “You’re too young for her.”
Ashley stood and walked away, looking enraged. Joesph waited half a second before backing his chair from the table and heading in the opposite direction.
“I need another drink.” Shaw jumped ship too.
“And then there were three,” Salem muttered under his breath and polished off his wine.
Noir laughed. “This has been fun. Usually, these dinners are much more boring.”
Salem flashed him a smile. “Shaw said you two would be here tonight. I knew between the three of us we could liven up the place.”
The two men roared with laughter.
Heads turned their way.
Something eased in Salem’s chest. Despite everything else, he still thought the night had been a success.
The prince seemed to like him. He had enjoyed a dig at Ashley.
The boys hadn’t burst in and made a scene.
He remembered there were a few people he liked.
Six out of ten stars. He was beyond ready to get home to his comfort zone.
Salem eyed the room, searching for Shaw.
Considering Shaw’s mood, Salem didn’t think he would be hard to convince to leave.
“May we, and about a dozen royal guards, walk you to your car? I think this party is about to take a nosedive.”
Salem followed Noir’s line of gaze. Shaw had Joesph cornered, having a very animated and obviously heated discussion.
“Damn. He drove.”
Noir’s husband stood. “Even better. We’ll drop you at home on our way. We live down the street.”
That completely caught Salem’s attention. Not only had he not known that, but he also didn’t know why Lazarus did. “Really? I didn’t realize.”
Noir nodded as he stood. “Your late husband used to hold a lot of small gatherings of select people.” His eyes flashed with laughter. “They were much better than this one.”
Salem was hooked. He fell into step with the pair and headed for the door. “I don’t doubt that at all. He was… th e life of the party. I swore he would outlive me.”