CHAPTER 8

Verian

VERIAN CLENCHED HIS FISTS under the table, his buzz wearing off and his internal groaning about why the Gods continually chose to vex him returning. It was late, too late. And some people at the table had clearly had their fill.

Vita giggled across from him, seated on the other side of the long wooden table. And whose lap was she on? His good friend, Drusus, of course. Neither seemed to be perturbed by the glare Verian directed their way.

The woman of the night who had been chatting with them earlier had all but disappeared. She had tried to cozy up to Verian when Drusus had turned his attention elsewhere, but he had politely brushed her off .

He had nothing against the woman, nothing against the profession; it just wasn't for him. He preferred to not have to pay for his evening company. Which, in general, was a much more arduous task now that he was a city guard.

Living in a bunk with three other men made it challenging to bring home intimate guests. Not that things had been much better while he was at the training collegium.

Gods, how long had it been? Verian didn't want to think about it. Not with what was happening right in front of him. He knew that letting Vita drink so much was a bad idea. No, he was not the arbiter of telling people how to imbibe, but he was aware she had no tolerance for ale.

After one, she was reaching across the table and grasping for Drusus as he flirted with her. After two, she moved to sit beside him. After three, she laughed as he pulled her into his lap. It infuriated Verian, but it was her choice, and Drusus was his superior officer. It wasn't like he could call him out right then and there.

Besides, Vita was a grown woman. He was well aware she had taken lovers. It wasn't something they purposefully talked about, but she was not shy about mentioning her infatuations or alluding to her steamy rendezvouses. She wasn't a child, but an adult who knew what she wanted, knew what men wanted from her.

Still, it burned Verian as he saw Drusus rubbing his hand up and down her thigh, holding her lower back just a bit too low. Vita had an arm slung around his shoulders, her other hand running a finger along his broad chest as she giggled at his lewd jokes.

He and Vita had never been shy about touching one another in the affectionate way of friends. Touches that surely would have sent Mariana into a tizzy if she'd known, as innocent as they were.

Verian wondered what it would be like to hold Vita like that, to rest his hand on her thigh and feel her weight in his lap. She was beautiful, even as her eyes glazed from drink, her laughter ringing through the tavern like a bell.

And she was hurting. Verian could see the stress in the tension of her jaw .

The foul Praetor. A man he was supposed to follow without question as the leader of the guards and army. How could he respect a man who abused his own employees?

Right now, though, his primary concern was the scene in front of him. He should say something. This was getting out of hand. Vita didn't want to go home with Drusus, did she? Gods, he hoped not. The last thing he needed was one of his brothers in arms, a superior no less, sleeping with the woman he…

The woman he what? The woman he loved?

Of course, he loved Vita. She was his childhood friend, his best friend, and they had experienced so much together. And deep in his heart, he loved her more than that. Imagined himself abandoning the guard and running away with her, starting new lives in a new city.

Fanciful thoughts, but that's what dreams were for, right?

"Ver?" Vita asked, and he blinked back to the present.

"What?" He cleared his throat, trying to figure out what he had missed.

"You're awfully quiet," she said, her head cocked to the side.

The ale flushed her cheeks a rosy pink, and she gave him a broad grin, though it did nothing to staunch his frustration at Drusus' self-satisfied one.

"Just thinking, sweet girl."

She bit her lip into a smirk. "Thinking about what?"

His face grew hot, a sweat breaking out on his brow that had nothing to do with the humidity in the room. Was she reading his mind?

"Yes, friend, thinking about what?"

Drusus was so smug. He ran his hand too far up Vita's leg and she shrieked, squirming as he held her in place on his lap. She laughed again, but took his hand and guided it to a more appropriate spot on her lower thigh.

"Naughty boy," she tsked with a shake of her raven locks.

Drusus licked his lips as he watched her, and it made Verian want to scream .

"Maybe it's time for us to go?" he asked, desperate to stop whatever was unfolding in front of him.

"That's not a bad idea. Should I get us a room?" Drusus replied, winking at Verian when Vita turned her head.

"What do you think, Ver?" She bit her lip again, and he noticed her beautiful eyes sparkling with lust.

Was she really asking him for permission?

Or… wait.

Drusus nodded his head expectantly, as if trying to urge him along.

"I think we could all have a lot of fun." Drusus' voice was gravelly as he stared at Verian, brushing his fingers through Vita's hair.

What the Hells was he suggesting? She smiled sweetly and wriggled her ass along the other man's…

Oh, Gods.

Did Drusus really want to share Vita with him? Did Vita want to be shared?

Not that he was against that kind of arrangement. Just not with Drusus. Not with any brothers of the guard. Besides, he'd always imagined his first time with Vita to be intimate, sensual… and with no third parties present.

No. She was clearly drunk. He wouldn't allow this, wouldn't allow her to be taken advantage of. If she wanted Drusus when she was clearheaded, then so be it. But now? This had to be stopped.

Suddenly, the tavern hushed, quiet murmurs replacing boisterous laughter. Verian tore his eyes away from Vita and Drusus, to a man standing at the door.

Gods, he was beautiful.

Not that he often thought that about other men, or at least had not acted on those thoughts. That was something he had told no one, not even Vita. Something he only really considered late at night when he couldn't sleep, and all of those deeply entrenched feelings floated to the surface.

Regardless, his eyesight was just fine, and it would be impossible to regard the man entering the tavern as anything other than beautiful .

Long, white hair hung down his back in opalescent luster, small pieces framing his pale face. Pointed ears, ruby red eyes, and a vicious frown, though it took nothing away from his beauty.

A vicious frown directed right at their table?

Verian glanced around the pub, then turned to face Vita. Her eyes were wide, an arm still draped around Drusus. She focused on Verian and mouthed three words.

The High Consul .