Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

There were fresh pajamas and clothes on the end of the bed when Everest returned to their room.

"I'm sure they aren't up to your standards, but it's something." Cadel held up the flannel pajamas.

Both sets were identical, and Everest suspected someone had been sent to a nearby department store. Possibly Hackman. He ran his fingers over the fabric. A cheap department store.

He had gotten used to a bit too much luxury and quality, but he was fucking allowed it. And if anyone knew how hard he worked, not only in this life but in many others, they wouldn't deny him.

"They'll do. I'm sure you'll want to protect your modesty." He gave Cadel a grin. "Did you end up eating enough?"

The staff had placed the platters on the sideboard in the adjoining room and while the witches drank their after dinner coffee, the shifters had been allowed to eat.

"Yeah. If you hadn't given me those bread rolls, I was eyeing up the woman sitting next to you."

"She looked bony, not worth eating. "

Cadel's lips turned up in a sly grin. "That may be true, but she enjoys being eaten by her shifter."

"Really? They usually treat shifters like little more than talking animals." He sat on the end of the bed and took off his shoes and socks, placing them to the side, ready to be put on in a hurry. Jacob and Orion should be in the city. And if Jacob was any good with the finder magic, they should be on their way.

Not to rescue them. Not yet anyway.

"Did her shifter tell you that?" Everest pressed, hoping that someone was still listening.

"He didn't need to; the scent of her pussy was all over his face."

Everest frowned. "Was he compelled to do that?"

"I don't know. And without talking to him, I wouldn't be able to find out. That is, of course, assuming he's allowed to remember."

Everest grunted. That was another reason he hated the binding of shifters. No one should have their free will removed. As much as he wanted to ask what else Cadel had noticed, he didn't because he didn't want either of them to rail about shifter binding. Everest had to appear as though he agreed with the whole thing and he wanted them in his country.

He wasn't na?ve enough to believe there were no Shadow Board members in Mont de Leucoy, but those who lived there kept a low profile. However, if there were too many of them, they'd create trouble.

"I'm going to brush my teeth. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day." While he'd been waiting over two centuries to see Olier again, he worried how the meeting would go and what condition his brother was in.

He gathered up the pajamas and toiletries and shut the bathroom door after him, needing a few minutes on his own. Dinner was exhausting because he'd wanted to scratch at the past and needed to fight to stay in the present. He was lucky his nose hadn't started bleeding.

When he came out of the bathroom, Cadel had used a spare blanket to make up a bed on the sofa. He was already in his pajamas. Or the pants anyway. He hadn't bothered to put on the shirt, which gave Everest a very nice view. He wanted to run his fingers through the dark hair on Cadel's chest and down the central line of his abs to where a trail of hair disappeared into the blue pajama pants, drawing his attention to what the pants should be concealing.

Cadel cleared his throat, and Everest let his gaze drift back up. They both knew he'd been looking, so there was no point in pretending otherwise. He lifted his eyebrows.

"We have already discussed where you sleep." And he didn't want to be in bed alone tonight. He needed to feel Cadel against him, keeping him in the present.

Cadel pressed his lips together and tilted his head, and for a moment, Everest thought he was about to argue. This was not the time or place to reveal any weaknesses. Then he smiled, and his tongue flicked over his lower lip. "Very well, sir."

Everest's jaw dropped. The tongue and the use of sir while he stood there wearing only those pants…

Cadel's eyes glinted. That had been deliberate. He hadn't been about to argue about where he was sleeping. He'd been assessing Everest's condition and had rightly guessed that he needed something to think about.

One move to checkmate. Cadel had him.

But did Cadel really want to play? Or was this part of keeping him safe? "I think you can play chess far better than you let on."

"We can find out over tea in the morning." Cadel pointed to the chess set on the coffee table.

Everest walked over and picked up a couple of pieces, testing the weight. They were metal, but they were cheap. "I prefer my set."

"It's the same rules, be it plastic, stone or wood." Cadel put two bishops between his fingers and made a fist, turning them into weapons.

Everest nodded, glad that Cadel was on the same page as him. The more items he requested, the more likely it was they'd give him something they thought innocuous. Giving someone a chest set was always a dangerous move. He put his hand over Cadel's fist and took the pieces from him. "We'll play tomorrow."

"I look forward to it, sir."

Everest bit his lower lip and gave in to the need to touch Cadel. He placed his hand in the middle of the lion's chest. The heat of his body flooded Everest's blood, and his heart kept time with Cadel's. "Do you?"

Or was Everest as bad as the witches, forcing a shifter to do his bidding?

Cadel covered Everest's hand. "I do. Though I admit before you, I had little interest in playing chess."

"And why is that?"

Cadel could've walked into any gay nightclub and had men begging for his attention. No doubt when he walked into any nightclub, he got attention.

"Because checkers are easier." There was no mistaking the delicate, musky scent of arousal clinging to Cadel's skin. He did want to play.

Everest laughed.

Cadel was wittier than all of his other bodyguards put together. And for a couple of heartbeats, he wondered if his attraction was more than only the game of getting Cadel naked…of winning and getting what he wanted .

If he leaned in and kissed Cadel now, it would be returned. Cadel wanted him.

The game was over, and he could claim his prize.

But he didn't want it like this. Not here and not now. Then when?

Cadel lifted Everest's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. His eyes were dark and hungry, sharing the same thoughts. His voice was little more than a whisper. "Go to bed, sir."

Everest closed his eyes and stifled a groan. There was nothing he could do to stop the blood rushing to his dick in expectation. "I prefer to give the orders."

Cadel leaned in, and his lips brushed Everest's ear. "You wouldn't be happy if I said nothing, but yes, sir." He inhaled against Everest's neck, making him shudder. He lowered his voice. "You smell delicious. Are you sure you want a hungry lion sleeping in your bed?"

"I have never been more certain of anything." He wanted to do so much more than sleep. "I haven't forgotten your promise."

He hoped Cadel remembered what he was referring to.

Cadel released him and stepped back as if nothing of importance had been said, putting up that invisible barrier. "I'm going to brush my teeth."

They both needed a few minutes, or they were going to make a mistake.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do." Everest pressed the witch's hands to the bed and leaned in to kiss him. "You've seen inside my mind."

Together, they'd explored many of Everest's previous lives, seeking truths and wisdom. Like his brothers, he kept a memory witch, though this time, he was a bit more than a pet witch. Though he was not a fated mate, either. He wasn't sure if phoenixes got them, as they were as much witch as they were shifter.

"Bind with me. So our magics are one."

Everest frowned. He was sure they hadn't spun through any of those memories together, but he knew they existed because his brother had spoken to him about the dangers of getting too close to a witch, having explored that past with his own memory witch.

"What do you mean?" The heat of the moment dissipated. Everest stared down at his witch, his lover, the man he trusted with his mind.

"It's the same as fated mates, but we control magic to make it happen."

"What is wrong with the way we are now?"

"Don't you want to access your memories freely? If we are bound, you'd be able to."

Everest bit his lip. His brother had left that part out when explaining why it was banned magic. "And what do you get?"

"My magic will be stronger because I'll be able to access your strength." He tried to twist out of Everest's grip and failed. "We wouldn't need your brothers. We could rule."

He didn't want to rule, and he needed his brothers; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to be reborn. Only another phoenix had the heat to hatch him, could explain what he was, and how to shift. The idea of being separated…he swallowed. He couldn't imagine anything worse than being alone.

He gripped the witch's wrists tighter. "Where did you learn this magic?"