“Maybe,” Eli said, and dragged Rey in for another kiss. “Let’s find out.”
Chapter
Nine
Eli woke up to a lanky trickster spirit throwing cards on his face.
“Good morning.” Rey beamed as Eli squinted up at him. Rey’s long legs were bare save for his underthings, which bunched up around his thighs, and a threadbare robe was practically falling off his shoulders. He tossed two more cards at Eli, who batted them out of the air. “You’re popular, Ser Knight.”
“Don’t call me that, it’s the ass-end of the morning.”
“Charming. Brush up on that etiquette, Eli. We have nobles to smile at.”
Eli groaned. When he rolled over, a pile of cards fell off his chest and spilled over the messy sheets. He blearily picked one up and held it to his nose. “Lord Beaucourt? No. He once brought his mistress into a party on a dinner tray.”
“And?” Rey asked.
“That’s a level of drama I’m unprepared for.”
“Well, your brother’s married to a former courtesan and lives in a pleasure house. I’d say we’d better get used to drama if we want to woo him properly.”
“Can’t I just stab someone he doesn’t like?” Eli oozed onto the floor. The rush of energy he’d had during the fight withOlivier had left him feeling hungover and sluggish, and he still remembered the way Rey had moaned and gasped as Eli spanked him. He wanted to bask in that feeling for a while.
“You already did that. Variety is key, Eli.” Rey started sifting through the cards while Eli dressed and brushed his teeth. “The Lord of the House of Silver invited us to breakfast in his garden. Absolon Sonnerie, it says. Do you know him?”
“Not in the slightest,” Eli said, dragging a comb through his curls.
“Then there’s no danger of him recognizing you. Here, let me do that.” Rey fluttered over like an indecisive butterfly and took the comb from Eli.
“You’re bossy for a submissive,” Eli muttered.
“This is the part of a trick I like—chatting with people, learning what stories they tell about each other and who has the power to influence them. It’s like a game.”
Eli’s mother used to describe it as a game, too, and the comparison made Eli suppress a shiver. She’d tried to make it fun, for all that she was a dour creature most days. Of course, her idea of fun was to dress Eli up like a doll, threaten to thrash him if he complained, and then show him off to older nobles who smiled at him like he was a pastry warming in the oven—not quite ready to eat, but destined to be consumed.
Now, Eli was just a commoner who had played an amusing trick at a party. He wasn’t sure if that felt better or worse.
“Just look pretty and I can do the talking,” Rey said.
“I’m not pretty,” Eli said. “I’m short and disagreeable.”
Rey looked at Eli through the mirror, and he leaned in and kissed the side of his neck. Eli didn’t know how to react, still unused to such casual touch, and Rey slipped his hands in the back of his trousers.
Eli jumped. “Fuck’s sake, Rey, I thought we had a breakfast appointment.”
“I’m just helping you become more agreeable,” Rey said. His hands slid Eli’s front, and Eli grabbed his wrists.
“I’d be agreeable,” Eli said, twisting round to push Rey back toward the bed. “With you tied to the wall by your hair while the actual nobles drink terrible coffee and gossip about shit that doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t stay bound for long, you know,” Rey said, and slipped free of Eli’s grip. He held up his hands. “Centuries of experience, my dear.”
“That sounds like a challenge.” Eli started undoing his belt, and Rey went red.
“No time,” he squeaked, and disappeared into the bathroom. Eli laughed and tightened his belt again.
Storm clouds hovered over the city as Eli and Rey emerged from the townhouse, but no rain fell. They walked together to the House of Silver, which had mirrors lining the walls and glittering lamps hanging from the balconies. Lord Absolon met them dressed in a magnificently tasseled dressing robe, rings dripping from every finger. He practically oozed charm, and Eli found himself going stiffer and quieter with every clever remark and sly wink, until Absolon stopped mid-sentence, stared at Eli for three seconds of utter silence, and disappeared into the house.
“What did you do?” Rey whispered, as the mirrored door clicked shut.
