Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Everest padded into the bedroom, wearing nothing but the hotel robe, and his hair standing on end from where he dried it. He did not expect to see Cadel sitting on the end of the bed. For half a second, he considered making a comment, but from the look on Cadel's face, it was the wrong thing to do. "Did you tell Kaine everything?"

"No." Cadel looked up from his laced fingers. "If they know you're dying, they will stop you, and I understand your reasons as much as I am able. You will need to tell them. And while I can't demand that you do, all I ask is that you do it before we attempt a rescue. They deserve to know."

Everest snorted. His brother didn't deserve to know anything. Their concern was for the country and all other paranormals, not him. He had always been the expendable one. The spy. The thief. The one who could talk himself into any situation and extract the required information.

He made the hard decisions when Gerrit was too tenderhearted. Kaine and Dalmon were very good with the big picture, with Kaine planning and Dalmon executing the small steps. Mont de Leucoy had been their idea. But they didn't care about the people chewed up in the cogs on the way to their grand plan. He'd outplayed them this time.

When he stopped caring about the immediate impact, it was much easier to think ahead. For far too many lives, all he thought about was what needed to be done now.

"I want to go to bed." As much as he'd like to sleep without dreams, he expected the past to haunt him. Sometimes, the dreams were pleasant. Most of the time, they weren't.

"I'm sleeping here."

Everest put his hand over his heart. "Oh, now you want in my bed?"

"I'll sleep on the floor. But since I'm the only one here to protect you, it's better I'm with you."

"I will not make you sleep on the floor. I'm not that much of an asshole."

"I don't think you're an asshole."

"I'd much rather that instead of pity." Everest dropped the robe on the floor and pulled back the sheets, feeling the heat of Cadel's gaze on his ass. "Shall I move slower so you can have a better look?"

Cadel stood and walked towards the door. "I'm going to have a shower."

"What if I'm attacked while the water is running? You should've bathed with me." Everest sat on the bed, not bothering to pull the sheets over himself.

"You're welcome to wait in the bathroom."

"You're inviting me to watch you?" Everest lifted his eyebrows.

Cadel rested his hand on the door. "You don't need an invitation…"

Everest saw the word ‘sir' form on Cadel's lips, but he bit it back .

"I won't be long. Scream if you need me." Cadel walked out of the room.

As tempting as it was to watch him in the shower, Everest didn't need to torture himself. Cadel would come to him; curiosity filled his eyes even if he hadn't admitted it to himself yet. Everest just needed to wait. For the first time in a very long time, he didn't have all the time in the world.

All he had was now, and those seconds were running far quicker than he was comfortable with. He didn't want to die, even though it would fix things for next time, even though he didn't want to be king this time. Even though he'd barely lived, this life was important, and he needed to remember that.

It meant he had to squeeze everything out of it. As much pleasure and happiness as he could while at the same time doing what he needed…and doing who he wanted.

He made himself comfortable and waited for Cadel to return.

He was glad Bridgeman had refused to come, because Cadel seemed to understand the difference between what needed to be done and what should be done. And they weren't always the same thing.

Bridgeman would have told Kaine everything, and Everest would've woken up to find himself being hauled back to the castle. Kaine would tell him there was another way or a better way and that they could fix his mind. Maybe they could. But he wasn't willing to consider the possibility until he had Olier.

He'd had three years to make peace with dying young.

Sometimes, even knowing that he would be reborn didn't help, and he resented the way he couldn't explore the world in this time. Next time, everything would be different. Perhaps paranormals would live out in the open.

They wouldn't be gods or angels or demons next time around, the way they had been in so many lives before passing into myth and legend. There were gaps, of course, where he hadn't been alive or when he had been too young to hold a memory.

"Is that smile a sign you are coming up with a devious plan?"

Everest opened his eyes. Cadel was wearing a robe. "That depends on if you're wearing anything beneath the robe."

"Do I need to use the belt to tie you up so you keep your hands to yourself?"

Everest let his gaze skim over Cadel. "I prefer to do the tying. Have you ever been tied up?"

"I've been handcuffed."

"I meant for fun, not work."

Cadel's cheeks darkened. "I'm not sure being tied up can be fun."

"That's because you're doing it wrong or doing it with the wrong people. I can make it very fun." The idea of Cadel at his mercy was rather delicious.

Cadel growled, sending a shiver up Everest's spine. An echo of a memory from a different life. The feel of fur beneath his fingertips and a rough tongue on his skin.

"I'll keep my hands to myself, I swear. Though if you keep growling like that, I may not be able to help myself." He flicked back the sheets on the other side of the bed.

Cadel shut the bedroom door and pushed the chair beneath the handle.

"Do you really think we will be attacked?"

"I hope not, but if we are, I want to be prepared." He rummaged through a bag on the floor and pulled on a pair of boxer briefs before dropping the robe on the floor.

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or grateful that you've kept underwear on."

"You can be both." Cadel put his pistol on the bedside table, got into bed, and closed his eyes.

Everest stared at Cadel. The way his long dark lashes swept his cheeks, and the crisp white sheets made his skin seem darker. He wanted to lean over and kiss him to find out how his lips tasted. His heartbeat quickened, and his blood warmed. He wanted Cadel to look at him and pull him close.

Cadel cracked open one eye. "Are you going to watch me sleep or turn out the light?"

"I haven't decided yet," he murmured. This seemed like a moment he should hold on to. It wasn't often he had a beautiful man in his bed with nothing happening between them.

Cadel opened his other eye. "I don't want to tell you to stop."

Everest nodded, understanding what wasn't said. Cadel wasn't ready to move forward. He may never be. Everest lay down and turned off the light.

If he only had six months to live, or less, did he want to spend it flirting with a man who may never want to take it further?