19. Chapter 19

Chapter nineteen

I can’t believe I’m at a real life ball, of all things. My mind is convinced they only exist in fairytales. Like the fey who are swanning around in their fancy clothes.

I’m a simple man. How has my life ended up like this? Fey princes, balls and Buckingham Palace. If I ever get my old life back, I’m never going to complain about anything ever again, I swear!

Give me early morning alarm clocks, rainy skies, rude customers and a hard day’s work. Please. I want it back.

I close my eyes and groan quietly as realisation hits me. My imagination was just picturing untangling myself from Mabon when the alarm clock went off. And giving him a sleepy forehead kiss before leaving for work.

That damn man has seeped into every part of me, and it is ridiculous. Mabon in my tiny flat? Playing house while I sell fruit and veg on my market stall? My imagination is deranged.

My gaze unerringly finds him amongst all the swirling dancers, though if I’m perfectly honest, it’s not like I ever truly looked away. He looks amazing. Elegant, refined. Ethereal. All the things I am most definitely not.

But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to go to him. My leash has been carelessly slung around the leg of this drinks table. It’s absurd as well as insulting. One firm tug, and the whole thing will go flying. Yet here I am, standing quietly and obediently. Like a good boy. It’s enough to make my blood boil.

Suddenly, my attention snaps to a group of willowy fey who are drifting past me. Their green hair is either moving on its own, or caught on a breeze I cannot feel. All three members of the group titter at me.

I clench my fists and ignore them. I’d laugh at anyone I saw wearing these stupid leather trousers, so it’s only fair. Mabon decreed that I shouldn’t wear a shirt, so there is nothing to hide the obscene bulge the trousers are making. I never thought I’d miss my Princess Leia outfit.

The willowy people glide away and I’m standing alone and ignored in the corner again. Except now I’ve lost sight of Mabon and it is making my heart pound. I crane my neck and scan the undulating crowd frantically.

There! There he is. Dancing with Duke Carian. My fists clench by my side. Then I watch in horror as Gwydion sidles up to him. Now Mabon is caught between them and I swear what they are doing is the fey equivalent of dry humping on a nightclub dancefloor. It’s making me sick with worry.

It’s also making me jealous. And now I’m angry that I’m jealous. I don’t want all of these feelings. I just want to be left alone.

But as I watch Mabon laugh and twirl, I can’t help wishing it was me out there with him. I want him to be smiling at me. I can’t see from here, but I bet he is flashing his dimples.

Spinning Mabon around the dancefloor under glittering lights while he beams in delight, eyes sparkling with joy. That would be amazing.

The trio head towards me, so I straighten up. But it is the drinks Mabon wants, not me. I watch as he gulps one down breathlessly.

“You’ve worn me out!” he giggles to the two men crowding him.

Gwydion steps up even closer behind him. Carian runs a predatory finger over Mabon’s chest.

“There you are!” says a soft voice right beside us.

It’s Dyfri. Mabon’s dark-haired brother, and he looks amazing. His lovely hair is all loose and flowing. Glossy enough to catch the sparkling lights. His robes are clinging to his slender body, highlighting his narrow waist and skimming enticingly over his hips.

Mabon splutters on his drink.

Duke Carian turns away from Mabon. “Ah, rhocyn. Are you free tonight?”

A teasing, flirtatious smile ghosts over Dyfri’s lips, but his dark eyes look furious.

“Possibly,” he says sweetly.

Carian laughs, as if surprised and delighted. He tilts his head towards Gwydion. “For both of us?”

Dyfri stiffens ever so slightly. “If you make it worth my while.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem,” chuckles Carian.

He offers his arm, and after the briefest of hesitations, Dyfri takes it. They walk away with Gwydion hot on their heels.

I turn back to Mabon. He is staring after them with a look that can only be described as devastation. But he quickly rouses himself and grabs another drink.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, because this can’t be good, but suddenly Jamie appears.

“Why was Dyfri here and what the hell is he doing leaving with those two asshats!” he demands.

Mabon winces and downs another brightly coloured drink. “Helping me.”

Jamie looks stunned. A little bubble of silence forms, here by the drinks table in the middle of a ball.

“I don’t understand,” he finally says.

“You wouldn’t.”

Jamie huffs and places his hands on his hips. “Well then, explain it to me.”

Mabon gives him a dark look. “You know secrets cannot be shared.”

Jamie pales and falls silent again. The sounds of the ball continue to dance around us.

“Your magic is really strong,” Jamie says quietly. “If Carian challenged you to a duel, you’d win?”

“Of course!” Mabon says far too brightly.

I frown at the same time as Jamie does. Our eyes meet briefly in solidarity, but he keeps his attention fixed on Mabon.

“Are you sleeping with them to keep them happy so they don’t challenge you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Mabon’s voice is high and reedy as he reaches for another drink.

Jamie sucks in a breath. Concern is filling his brown eyes. “If you don’t say no, they won’t know that you can’t.”

Mabon looks sharply away and sips his drink without saying a word

“How can I help?” asks Jamie.

“You can’t,” snaps Mabon.

“But…”

Mabon puts his empty glass down rather forcefully. “You may be married to my brother, but there are limits to your power.”

Jamie pulls a face, but he doesn’t argue the point. Instead, he sighs deeply and runs a hand carefully over his beautifully done hair.

“Is Dyfri going to be alright?” he asks quietly.

“I don’t know,” says Mabon in a small, sad voice that doesn’t sound like him at all.

This is awful. The cruel injustice of it all is gnawing at me. I hate that there is nothing I can do. I’m helpless and this rage is impotent.

Suddenly, Mabon reaches down and unwraps my long leash from the table leg.

“Since I’m unexpectedly free this evening, I’m going to play with my pet!” he announces.

Jamie shoots me a worried glance and I give him a sheepish, embarrassed shrug and smile combo. I don’t know how to explain that I don’t exactly object to being Mabon’s plaything. The nuance of it is far beyond my limited vocabulary.

Jamie’s eyes narrow, but he nods. “Okay, have a good night.”

Mabon grins, turns sharply on his heels and leads me proudly away.

I aim for an air of nonchalance as I place my hands over my groin because Mister Dinky is already getting excited. All my earlier concern and worry has melted away, and my mind has firmly one thing and one thing only running through it. The saying, one track mind is certainly apt. I just used to believe I was above such behaviour.

How has my life come to this?

“ Y ou may eat my ass.”

I stare up at Mabon in complete and utter bewilderment. He led me from the ball, all the way back to his rooms, threw me on the bed, and now he is standing here making wild declarations.

He pulls the tie on his robes and all the soft silks tumble down his body. The sight of naked Mabon is quite something. He doesn’t look real. He looks like art. He should be a marble statue to the glory of the male form, in a museum somewhere. No, a temple. Yes, that’s far more fitting. He needs to be worshipped.

He moves towards me, and I remember what he wants me to do.

“I don’t know how,” I confess.

He pauses and rolls his eyes. “You stick your tongue in my hole. It’s not hard. It’s not as if I expect you to be any good at it.”

My eyebrows rise. I bite back my bark of outrage. Indignation is coiling through me. It has ignited a deep desire. I’m going to eat Mabon’s ass. I’m going to eat ass better than ass has ever been eaten in the history of the ass-eating universe.

Something in my expression makes Mabon smirk. I see a flash of dimples, and then he is moving with a sure and confident, predatory grace. Before I know what is happening, he is sitting on my face and my consciousness is exploding.

This is the single most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me, and five seconds ago I never would have guessed that I wanted this it all.

“You may begin,” says Mabon. “See if you can make me scream your name.”

A deep groan rumbles through me. It reverberates in my chest. It shakes my soul. How is Mabon pulling this stuff from my psyche? It was so well hidden, even I didn’t know it was there. Yet here he is, effortlessly stirring it to life.

My tongue sticks out. Excitement and anticipation are making me tremble. This is going to be the best night of my life.