Chapter 15

Kaine hadn’t meantto spill quite so much of his guts and put them on display. But once he started talking to Quentin, it was too easy to let the truth out. Which was how it was supposed to be between mates, and he understood and made correct guesses, and he wanted to help—if only to sate his own curiosity about the library.

And once he stopped talking, there would be no reason for Quentin to be in his office, and he’d have to let him go. Once he walked out that door, Kaine had no idea if he’d ever see him again if things went badly…

He didn’t have the strength to let him leave, even though it was the right thing to do. The right thing by who? Him? Quentin? The country? The world?

It was too much.

The right thing for them was to be together, and to make the most of the time they had.

Quentin nodded slowly as if turning everything over. He wasn’t an agent, but he was smart. “I can see how that might be a problem. And humans might also take to hunting witches and shifters.”

“No might about it. Humans will fight back, and it won’t be pretty. That’s what I’m trying to stop.”

“Next time, you try to save the world, just text me or something.” Quentin forced a laugh and glanced away as if embarrassed that he’d made a fuss.

“You had every right to feel hurt, and I will try not to do that again.” But there was no time to sit and digest the news and discuss it the way they could’ve been if they’d been at his estate. They could have hiked and talked, and drunk hot chocolate by the fire. Made love and figured things out, until they both understood what was going on, and their bond was strong, and they could both use it. That’s what he wanted.

It”s what Quentin deserved instead of this flyby, with his fingers crossed, while hoping for the best. He didn’t want to be the person who was always promising it would get better because there was no guarantee that it would.

There was always some crisis, though this was the first one which had a global impact. It was the biggest thing he’d ever worked on, and he was sure it was for Dalmon.

“Let’s take tonight just for us,” the whispered words fell off his lips as soon as he thought them.

“You’ve got things to do. I don’t want to be the reason this all falls over.”

“For the moment, I’ve done everything I can. I was going to go home.” He’d been thinking of taking Quentin to his estate for a few weeks after, but they could escape to somewhere much closer and steal a little time. “But we could go to the castle instead.”

“Are you gonna sneak me in? Your brothers won’t find out?”

“I have my own rooms…” The idea sprouted and grew tendrils that wrapped around him. “I can say I have an important guest staying who needs protection. The staff won’t say anything. Though they might be cross that I didn’t give them much notice.”

It also meant taking Quentin out of play. But he’d be safe in the castle, away from the operation and danger.

Kaine hated staying at the castle, mostly because he wasn’t part of the royal family this time, so even though the rooms were his and had always been his, he was achingly aware that he didn’t belong there. Tonight, though, there was nowhere else he wanted to be. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Quentin’s lips.

The moment they touched, all he wanted to do was keep going, especially when Quentin opened his mouth, and his tongue flicked over Kaine’s lips, igniting the heat in his blood and sending a jolt of lust to the tip of his already hard dick.

“I need to make two phone calls.” Another kiss.

“What about Orion?”

He would still be waiting. No doubt Orion would appreciate the night off. “Two phone calls and a quick chat, and then I’m all yours.”

Neither phone call took long. One was to call Frederick, his driver, to bring a secure car around. The other was to tell housekeeping he needed his rooms prepared. He didn’t bother informing Everest, as he didn’t need to know. With luck, they wouldn’t cross paths. Not tonight.

Tomorrow, he would think of something.

Quentin sat on the two-seater leather sofa to the side of the office, perched on the edge, as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. For a heartbeat, it was tempting to join him and claim him on the sofa. But he wanted more than a quick fuck, and he didn’t want a psychometric witch to come in and see what they had done or for a shifter to come in and smell it for the next two weeks.

He drew in a breath, and he resisted the urge to walk over, run his fingers through Quentin’s hair, and kiss him on his way to opening the door. Orion was on his phone, leaning against the wall. He was halfway down the corridor, no doubt to make sure he didn’t hear anything or smell anything.

His tongue flicked over his lip as he looked at Kaine, and a small frown formed. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I’m taking him to the castle tonight. I have my driver coming.”

“And tomorrow?”

“I’ll let you know. Enjoy the evening with your mate.”

Orion held his gaze for a couple of heartbeats, then gave a single nod and put his phone in his pocket. “Do you want me to walk him to the car so you aren’t seen leaving together?”

“That’s a good idea. Thank you.” They were only going to be apart for a few minutes, but it already felt like forever. He stepped back into his office, and Quentin was already standing with his hands shoved into his pockets. “Orion will see you to the car. I’ll be down shortly.”

He studied his mate. The hurt and anger might’ve subsided, but some turmoil remained. He reached along the bond, or at least that’s what he thought he was doing, trying to examine the sensation and what it meant.

Quentin frowned. “What are you doing?”

Kaine paused. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. It feels a little more serious this time…leaving with you, I mean. And I’ve only ever been to the bit of the castle open to tourists. Am I going to be in trouble?”

“No.” A couple of quick strides was all it took to be close enough to hold him and kiss him, and he knew it was a mistake because now he didn’t want to stop. This kiss was hungrier. And when Quentin’s hands ventured out of his pockets to grab Kaine’s hips, he didn’t resist. He let himself be drawn close as his fingers tangled in his mate’s hair.

Quentin rocked his hips, grinding against him. “You should’ve kept the door closed.”

He’d left it open, thinking that Quentin would walk out.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. “That will be Frederick.”

But they didn’t pull apart. It had only been five days, but it felt as if it had been so much longer now Quentin was in his arms. Five minutes was nothing. He placed another soft kiss on Quentin’s lips and then forced himself to step back.

“Go. And I will lock up here.” He took another step back. And then another before he turned around and walked to his desk, where he had spent far too many hours over the last two days.

Quentin paused in the doorway. “If you’re not there in ten minutes, I’m coming back up.”

Kaine smiled as he shut down his computer. “I will be there.”

He checked the ward on his computer and his desk. Then he checked the window. No one had tampered with them, but then he didn’t expect them to. This wasn’t the target. The target was two blocks away. Another modern, bland office building that most people overlooked because of the magic protecting it. But that was where the security system for so many companies and countries was housed. It was where people worked on updates and patches and modifications so that it worked for whatever purpose the company wanted.

And they were still doing that.

But none of their changes were getting pushed through unless he vetted them and then applied them to the real working version. He had someone going through all the previous updates. How far back did they look? Or had the Shadow Board been there from day one, waiting for an opportunity?

If Quentin had noticed a resemblance between him and the king, perhaps whoever had Olier had also seen something and had worked out their secret.

Technology had made all kinds of things possible. It also made hiding that much harder, especially as a royal family. If they’d been commoners, it would have been so much easier to disappear.

But as commoners, they would have lacked the power centuries ago to build a country where being paranormal was safe. He locked his office door. Even security was a double-edged sword.