Page 20 of Against the Veil (Endangered Fae #3)

“You get on that. I’ll go deal with His Highness.”

Zack pushed open the door to the master bedroom and wrinkled his nose, discovering just how acrid catnip-drunk sidhe scent could be. “Damn it, Highness. You need a shower.”

Not that the thought of bathing Lugh made him want to run away screaming.

He lay sprawled on his back, covered only to the waist with a sheet, his hard body stretched out on full display.

The thick outline of his erection bulged against the cotton.

Must be having one hell of a dream. God, I’m so stupid.

He had no business thinking of Lugh that way.

There could be no lasting commitment, so he wasn’t starting down that road.

The best he could hope was that they could come to an understanding and go back to a good working relationship.

Yes, damn it, he was still pissed as hell and hurting, but he could put it aside and be professional.

Throwing open the curtains got no reaction. Neither did shaking Lugh and shouting in his ear. Worry crept in on spider feet. Was it possible to OD on catnip? He got a belt from the closet, folded it in half and twitched the sheet back from Lugh’s hooves.

“Sorry, Highness,” he apologized in advance. “But if this doesn’t work, we need to get you medical help.”

He hauled back and smacked the bottoms of Lugh’s hooves as hard as he could, right over the sensitive parts in the center. A twitch and a soft moan gave him some encouragement, so he did it again.

Lugh rolled to his side with a pained groan. The sheet slipped to reveal his perfect, muscular ass. Zack had to fight to rip his eyes away.

“Highness? Can you hear me?”

“Zachary?” A scratchy parody of Lugh’s voice drifted out from where he had hidden his head in his arms.

“It’s me. Should I even ask how you feel?”

“Dreadful.”

“Yeah, well. Serves you right.” Zack turned, intending to get the aspirin from the bathroom, but he didn’t get two steps.

Lugh jerked upright and rolled from the bed where his knees met the floor with a thud. He half scrambled, half crawled across the carpet, and flung his arms around Zack’s knees. “Don’t go, Zachary, please, don’t go…”

What the hell? “Just want to get you something for your headache.”

“Give me but a moment. Please.” Lugh’s grip transferred from his knees to his hand.

“I have hurt you. And wronged you. I did not wish to but it makes no difference. I know the sight of me sickens you now. But I beg you to allow me to make amends. Set me a task, a quest, a series of labors as Herakles had set for him. Anything to mend what lies between us now.”

“Whoa, there, Highness. Getting a little ahead of yourself there. You shouldn’t be out of bed, let alone slaying hydras or whatever.”

“Please, there must be something.”

Zack swallowed against a dry throat, a quagmire of warring thoughts pummeling him.

The hottest male on the planet knelt at his feet, begging for a chance to make things right.

Said hottest male was close to tears, which Zack hated since it always turned him into a pile of nurturing mush.

Not that Lugh ever used his tears to manipulate. He was just an emotional guy.

Aforesaid need to nurture would probably lead to other things, which Zack couldn’t allow. The affair would only last until Lugh’s need to fuck the next mammal with a pulse that caught his eye grabbed hold of him. Shit. I’m such a mess.

Against his better judgment, he reached out with his free hand and stroked Lugh’s tangled hair back from his face. “Come on, bud. Let’s get you back in bed. Let me help you. Then we’ll talk like sensible people.”

“As you wish,” Lugh choked out.

Good a time as any to try out the super-werewolf strength. Zack bent down, slid his arms under Lugh and lifted him like a little kid. The prince was heavy as hell, he could feel it, but he didn’t struggle or strain as he carried Lugh to the bed.

“Now, sit tight. Promise I’ll be right back.”

Lugh stared at him, speechless.

“Side effects,” Zack said as he spread the sheet out over his patient.

He came back a few moments later with water, aspirin and a washcloth, which he handed over in order. “Wash your face off, Highness. You should probably have a real shower with soap and all but we’ll wait on that.”

“Zachary, please sit with me.”

At least Lugh was calmer. Zack drew in a deep breath as if he was about to plunge into icy water, and eased down onto the edge of the bed. They sat in uncomfortable silence, each staring at his own lap.

“Grandmother would have slain you if you had harmed anyone.”

“I know,” Zack said softly, willing to let him get out whatever explanation he needed.

“I could not bear the thought. I only wished to keep you safe when I followed you out into the dunes.”

“Not too bright. I could’ve killed you.”

Lugh took a sip of water. “Yes. I had to take the chance. For you. If you had bitten me, there would have been no lasting harm. I simply hoped to keep you away from the others, to wrestle with you until the sun rose if need be.”

“Yeah, well, you did a hell of a lot more than wrestle.” Zack cringed at the bitter edge in his voice. The hitched, ragged breath from Lugh made him feel like a heel. So much for being professional. “Sorry, go on.”

“It was by chance, in tussling with you, that I discovered the were-beast’s need. No one would be in danger except me and I could keep you from injuring yourself rather than watching you thrash in your bonds until you broke bones or strangled yourself.”

“So you fucked me?”

Lugh buried his face in his hands. “No. I would have hurt you.”

“What then? Come on. Big, tough sidhe warrior should be able to get through this without falling apart.”

“I simply touched you. I…used my hands to please you. Held you tight. Let you have what you seemed to need.” Despite what Zack had said, tears crept out from behind Lugh’s fingers. “It was terrible. To see you that way. To finally hold you in my arms and know…”

“Know what?”

“That you would have no memory of it. That you might hate me for it. Touch without warmth or joy. It was a torment.”

Zack worried at his bottom lip with his teeth. He hadn’t thought of that. Here he’d had some bizarre idea that Lugh had enjoyed sex with the were-beast.

“So…wait. You did climax, right? You did take some kind of pleasure from the whole thing?”

Lugh wiped the tears from his face, though his voice was still heavy and thick. “On a knife’s edge, in fear and even in anger sometimes, the body can commit such betrayals. Sexual excitement can be tied to blood and violence. It does not make it pleasurable. I felt so hollow and empty.”

“And you did this for three nights? For God’s sake, why?”

“It matters not.” Lugh shook his head miserably. “You have no faith in me.”

“Damn it.” Zack took Lugh’s face between his hands and forced his head around. “Of course it matters. Especially when you’re so miserable that you do stupid shit like eat ten tons of catnip. Why?”

Lugh tried to pull away but in his hung-over state, Zack was too strong for him.

He sighed and closed his eyes. “Because…because you are the dearest thing in the world to me, my braveheart. I have loved you from the moment I set eyes on you, standing alone, fierce and defiant, against two fae Champions and an eagle- sidhe with madness in his eyes. You had no fear. You burned so bright. So sure in your convictions. So steady in the face of things you could not have known before.”

“Oh. Guess that explains a lot.” Zack shoved the dizzy warmth from those words down hard.

“Look…I… It doesn’t matter so much how I feel.

Fact is, it wouldn’t work. Great, you love me.

That’s great. But you need variety. They tell me you always have.

I can’t live like that. Start up with you, then wonder who you’re screwing when you’re not with me. ”

A terrible, choked sound caught in Lugh’s chest. Zack eased him back against the pillows, worried he was having respiratory issues. Lugh’s eyes held such anguish when they gazed up at Zack, he was sure his heart would break all over again.

“I have needed ‘variety’ because I have never found what I truly needed before.”

“What’s that, big guy?” Zack asked gently. “What do you need?”

“You. Only you.”

The admission socked Zack right in the gut and sliced clean through all his carefully constructed defenses and his reasonable arguments. Only you. Oh, God. “Lugh…”

He leaned in, meaning to place a chaste, soft kiss on the prince’s cheek.

Lugh turned his head, though, and caressed his lips over Zack’s.

The tender, gentle touch was like a match to California brush in August. He seized Lugh’s lips even as his own were captured, tongues competing to plunder each other’s territory.

Zack moaned as Lugh’s tongue slid over the roof ridges of his mouth, all his years of lonely frustration coming to a high-pressure boil.

Lugh’s hands slid up his chest, fingers shaking in his desperate haste to undo buttons.

“Wait.” Zack caught his hands, kissing his fingertips. “Slow down a sec. This is gonna sound stupid, I know. But I’ve never done this.”

“Never let someone undress you?”

“Um, no.” Zack felt like his face might burst into flames. “Never made love to anyone. I mean, I understand the mechanics. Never had the hands-on training, is all.”

Lugh’s breath hitched as he jerked his head to the side and his hands fell away. “I know, my dear. I’m so sorry.”

“No, no! Oh, damn, don’t get all upset again.” Zack rained kisses over Lugh’s eyes and forehead, trying to distract him from tears. “Just…I’ve waited so long for this.”

“Ah.” Lugh pulled in a slow, shaky breath and his expression shifted to thoughtful. “There should be a sense of occasion then. And I’m not at my best. Perhaps I should clean up for you?”