Page 24 of Castor

“Because you’re hot as fuck.”

“Are you always so honest?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have a reason to lie.”

“Well, look while you can.” Kyo closed his eyes. “Tonight’s all you get.”

“Why?” I danced two fingers across his toned belly. “Sex doesn’t have to be complicated. I’m cool with no-strings fun.”

The truth? I didn’t want the night to end. I told myself it was because the sex had been so great, but I felt there was more to it. I just couldn’t figure out why.

Kyo’s gaze settled on me. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

I wanted to press the issue. Ask him why he was so damned stubborn. Instead, I let the subject drop. Plenty of other guys would love to take a ride on my cock.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“A little over three hundred years.”

“Ah, you’re just a baby.”

Kyo scoffed. “You sound like my brother. He thinks I’m a child who can’t do anything right.”

I trailed my finger down his rib cage. “I know one thing you definitely do right.” That made him laugh. I liked the sound of it, a bit raspy but musical too. “So you don’t have a good relationship with your brother?”

“Why do you care?” Kyo held my gaze for a moment, then sighed. “Our relationship could be better, I guess. He became king when my father died. That’s when he enacted the law that water dragons were to remain hidden from the world. Because of the war my father started, our numbers were dwindling fast. So Tatsuya did what he thought was best. Kept me locked away. Living with him felt like a prison.”

“Is that when you left and started working for Simon?”

“Kind of. I left home about fifty years ago and traveled all over the world. Those travels led me here to Echo Bay. I lived here for about a year before I bumped into Simon. I was walking through town when I saw him juggling two overstuffed boxes, about to face-plant on the sidewalk. I rushed forward and grabbed one before he dropped it. He invited me inside his shop, blabbing about how valuable the items were and how thankful he was to me for helping.”

Kyo looked up at the ceiling, tucking an arm behind his head. The other rested on his bare stomach. “And I don’t know… something came over me. The history in every item, the care with which Simon took with everything in the store, his sincere kindness. It felt like home. Well, the kind of home I never had before. When he asked if I was looking for work, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been by his side ever since.”

“Sounds like you love him.”

“I do.” His eyes met mine. “But not romantically. I’d kill for that clumsy human. Die for him. And when he fell in love with Galen, I was glad. He deserves to be happy.”

“What about you? Are you happy?”

His gaze hardened. “Areyou?”

“As happy as I can be with the hand I’ve been dealt.”

“What hand is that?”

“I’ve been a warrior pretty much my whole life,” I answered. “Trained from when I was just a boy, and then I was thrown into a war against not only Lucifer, but my father as well. It took a toll on me. Changed me. After Lucifer was defeated, my brothers and I were ordered to protect mankind. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for happiness. So I take pleasure when and where I can find it. Like now.”

Kyo breathed out a laugh as I pulled him into my arms. “You forgot to mention being kidnapped by demons and thrown into a fighting pit. Your plate has been full lately.”

Memories slammed into me of being chained in that cell in the underworld as Belphegor hovered over me, his fingertips digging into my skull as he sifted through my thoughts, searching for the mansion’s location.

And then I remembered the images he’d projected into my head of Gray dead on the ground, his small body broken and bloody. Galen and Simon lay in each other’s arms, eyes open but not seeing. Raiden. Bellamy. Their limbs were ripped off and tossed into a pile, their bloody, decapitated heads then shoved onto sharp wooden pikes. Alastair had been gutted and Daman sliced in half.

“Castor?”

I focused on Kyo, confused about where I was for a second.

“You okay?” he asked.