Page 13 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

C inder Lord-mate Victor Antonov-Daray lifted his chin and grinned as a fallen knight with beautiful brown eyes kissed him. They’d barely separated when a raven-haired sentinel brushed his lips with Victor’s.

Next to Victor, a necromancer-druid hybrid stamped his foot.

“I adore the three of you,” Evergreen Tenebri insisted.

“Please don’t think I don’t. And I’ve thanked our benevolent goddess a million times for bringing you together.

But for Fate’s sake, we’re still in the casino, and you’ve already kissed about a hundred times.

At this pace, we won’t make it to any of the shops before morning. ”

“A slight exaggeration,” drawled Dudley, the sentinel formerly tied to Evergreen’s soul and his current roommate and best friend.

“Slight?” Cinder Lord Phillip Osdraconis-Daray asked. “I have kissed Sparkles six times since we left our suite. That is nowhere near a hundred. And I’ve only kissed Sunshine five times, so I must remedy that situation immediately.”

With a chuckle, Cinder Lord Keegan Hayes-Daray wrapped his arms around Phillip’s neck, and their mouths met.

Inside Victor, the Russian Blue cat he shared his soul with purred loudly as their two mates showed their love for each other.

It was as lovely to watch them as it was to be caressed or embraced by them.

Although their relationship was relatively new compared with the other couples in Victor’s found family, it was undeniably strong, and he was growing to adore Phillip and Keegan more with each passing day.

“Great, kissing is even, can we please go shopping now?” Evergreen pleaded.

“Sunshine, are you ready to shop?” Phillip asked Keegan.

“Yes, we need to find something outrageously sparkly for our mate,” Keegan replied.

“No one said anything about either of you spending your money on me,” Victor argued as he stepped between his tall men and took their hands. “Evergreen, do you know which shop you wanted to start with?”

Evergreen smiled. “I figured we’d find the shopping area and we can pop into each of them. I think it’s past the casino on the right side.”

“Like, every single shop?” Dudley asked.

“Yes,” Evergreen replied. “If they interest us, why not?”

Dudley’s sigh was so long and drawn out that Victor barely held in a giggle.

The sentinel would complain or act as if he wasn’t enjoying himself, but like Victor, he loved Evergreen and was happy to indulge him.

Plus, Victor would bet that Dudley secretly loved to shop but was equally fond of teasing Evergreen.

“Let’s get started,” Keegan suggested. “And if Dudley gets sick of shopping, I’m sure he can find someone else in the resort to hang out with.”

“As a sentinel, I would not dream of abandoning my friends after agreeing to spend the evening with them,” Dudley stated firmly.

Evergreen rushed ahead of the now-walking group and turned to take a few steps backward so he could give Dudley a cheeky grin. “Which is Dudley-speak for he likes to complain almost as much as he likes to shop .”

“Keep it up and everything you want to purchase, I will snatch from your hands and buy it myself,” Dudley said as they wound their way past the other people in their extended family, risking their money on slots or at the tables.

“Why would I object to you using your money on my stuff?” Evergreen asked. “You’d be doing me a favor by keeping something in my account until payday.”

“Because I would not allow you to have any of the things. I would keep them in my bedroom in the bags with the tags still on to spite you.”

“That is diabolical, and I don’t believe you for a second,” Evergreen replied, his gray-green eyes narrowed with pique at his best friend.

“Except Dudley is a sentinel and is incapable of lying,” Phillip pointed out.

Evergreen gasped. “You’re right. Dudley! What is wrong with you? You know what? Keep it up. I’ll tell my mom.”

“It might be worth facing her wrath and listening to her lecture on good behavior,” Dudley said, but his expression was far less convincing than his words.

“What we should do is find Evergreen’s mate so he’ll be busy kissing him. That’ll save Evergreen money and give me more chances to make out with Spicy and Sparkles without him complaining,” Keegan remarked.

“Nope,” Evergreen retorted immediately. “I’ve given some considerable thought to this, and I don’t trust Dudley. It’s not time for me to meet my mate right now.”

“I am an honorable sentinel; how could you not trust me?” Dudley asked, indignant.

“Please do not take this to mean I am not invested in this conversation, because I assure you I am, but we have arrived at the shopping area,” Phillip commented as he halted, and their little group did the same.

“Oh, this shop sells bath stuff,” Keegan enthused. “And sparkly stuff for Victor. Let’s go inside after Evergreen answers Dudley’s question.”

Evergreen lifted his chin and crossed his arms over the pretty sage-colored shirt he’d paired with a tonal damask pant.

“We’ve fought too many times about what our living situation will be if I meet my mate.

If Fate selects me first, I know you’ll move out.

That’s the last thing I want. So, you have to find your other half before me.

I’ll talk your mate into staying in our apartment or letting me move in with you guys if he has a house or some shit. ”

“Spicy pointed out to Dudley that Alaric would recommend he stay with you, Evergreen, because you’re family, and he lives with many people, including us,” Keegan said.

“Which he heard but didn’t promise shit,” Evergreen replied.

“I cannot control Fate’s decisions,” Dudley stated.

“But you can control your choices,” Phillip remarked. “You could promise Evergreen that you will stay together in every reasonable situation.”

“Reasonable to who?” Evergreen asked with the stamp of his foot. “Me or him?”

“I added that caveat because I cannot account for everything in life,” Phillip answered. “It was not to give Dudley the wiggle room to declare that it was unreasonable for him to stay.”

“Easy fix to this,” Victor insisted. “Dudley, you can promise to stay with Evergreen unless you both agree it isn’t working out.”

Dudley closed his eyes for a moment and squared his shoulders as he took a deep breath. It was the sentinel way of pushing away his fear.

“Evergreen, I have only suggested it would be good for me to find my own place because I do not wish to make the start of your relationship difficult,” Dudley said.

“We have watched so many couples fall in love, and it is so often the combining of their different lives that offers the most struggle. How could I live with myself if I was one of the things that made it harder for you and your mate or mates to build something together?”

“What I can’t seem to make you understand is that there are things in relationships that are unnecessary drama,” Evergreen replied.

“But there are also things that must be worked through and adjusting to someone’s family and friends is part of that.

You’re my family. Either they accept that or they hit the road.

It’s that easy. I don’t want to be with someone who can’t find it in their heart to accept that I already have people in my life that I love. ”

“Oh, that’s good,” Keegan enthused. “Think about this, Dudley. Imagine if Spicy and I met Victor and told him we don’t want to live in a busy household full of Darays without ever giving it a shot or listening to his reasons why it’s important for him to stay with his family.”

“Why would anyone not wish to live with the Darays?” Dudley asked. “They are wonderful people. Present company included.”

“Are you insinuating that you aren’t wonderful?” Victor asked.

Dudley frowned. “No, I do not think so. Am I?”

“If you think you are not wonderful enough that Evergreen’s mate or mates would not want to live with you, then you are mistaken,” Phillip stated firmly.

“Okay, this is not how I wanted to learn that some sentinels can have low self-esteem,” Evergreen growled. “Dudley, either they want to have my fantastic sentinel best friend in their lives or they can go ask Fate for someone else. Period.”

“Evergreen has spoken,” Dudley replied. “Okay. I promise to continue to live with you until we both agree it is impossible to stay together.”

Throwing his arms up in the air, Evergreen spun in a circle with a giant grin. “Finally! Now, give me a damn hug and let’s go buy some bubbles for your baths.”

Dudley embraced Evergreen, and Victor tucked in his grin at the redness on the tips of the sentinel’s ears.

“My bathing routine is private, Evergreen,” Dudley grumbled as he followed Evergreen into the colorful shop. The hybrid was already sniffing things in bins and waved his hand absentmindedly at Dudley.

“Sorry, but we’re here with our besties,” Evergreen replied. “They’ll always keep our secrets. Oh, this one smells yummy. Sniff, Dudley.”

Dutifully, Dudley did as he was told. From the corner of his eye, Victor spotted a display of lip glosses and dragged his mates toward it.

“These are flavored,” Phillip said as he dropped Victor’s hand and rushed ahead.

“And they have sparkles,” Keegan enthused. He, too, left Victor to explore.

With a roll of his eyes, Victor followed his men to the glosses and, because they were both tall, had to push them apart so he could squeeze in to look at anything. They were chatting excitably and forcing each other to smell their selections.

Ignoring the pair, Victor found the testers and put a lovely glittery streak of pale pink on the back of his hand.

“We can do that?” Keegan asked.

“How do we get it off when we are finished sampling?” Phillip inquired.

Keegan shrugged. “Wipe it on your pants?”

“Then they will sparkle and smell like a mixture of whatever I smear on my hand.”

To give himself some peace, Victor opened the little bag he’d filled with his money and other necessities for the weekend. He tugged out the convenient travel pack of tissues he’d originally thought could be used to clean up far more interesting things and handed each of his mates one.

“Sparkles, you think of everything, thank you,” Keegan enthused.

Phillip bent and pressed his mouth firmly to Victor’s as the scent of cinnamon filled the shifter’s senses. Man and beast purred internally. “Thank you, Sparkles.”

“You’re welcome,” Victor replied, then sank his fingers into Keegan’s thick red waves and kissed him.

“I love watching the two of you together,” Phillip quietly said.

“Shh, we’re probably already in trouble with Evergreen for kissing again,” Keegan teased.

“I will kiss my mates however many times I want,” Phillip stated.

“Later, Spicy,” Victor insisted. “And we’ll be doing far more than just kissing.”

“Absolutely, now let’s figure out which lip glosses we want,” Phillip said. Victor found his statement hilarious since he was the lone person in their matebond who wore lip gloss.

“Hey, this one smells like coffee,” Keegan enthused.

“Hold on to that, Sunshine, we are definitely buying it,” Phillip replied.

“I already smell like coffee to you both, how does that help?” Victor asked as he took the coffee-scented one from Keegan and noted the color was pretty.

“You’re enriching what you already have, Sparkles,” Keegan said. “Plus, do you see the way it glitters in the light? You’ll be beautiful in it.”

“They have a cake one, should we buy one for the Grand Warlock?” Phillip asked.

“Definitely, I grab everything that fits the people in our family if I’m out shopping,” Victor said. “You never know if you’ll get their name at the solstice, and I want to be prepared no matter what.”

“Or if you have to bribe someone for gossip,” Evergreen remarked from behind them. “Scooch over, Phillip, so I can play with the pretties too.”

Phillip took a step closer to Victor, which gave Evergreen enough room to sniff alongside them.

“Is Dudley still shopping for his baths?” Victor asked.

“Yes, and he is acting like a sentinel. No one needs to draw up attack plans for choosing between two bath salts or whatever. Buy both damn things.”

“This may be why Dudley has more money in his account than you despite your salary being equal,” Phillip stated.

“Yeah, yeah, I spend more. Anyway, should I buy this cinnamon-scented lip balm to fuck with you guys?” Evergreen asked, using the sampler on his hand. “Look, guys, I smell like Phillip. Do you want to ravish me?”

Victor chuckled. “Nope.”

“I can’t, I’m a fallen knight,” Keegan replied.

“You’ve been hanging around sentinels too much,” Evergreen accused. “It’s a joke, don’t take it so literally.”

Phillip turned to Evergreen and glared. Victor barely restrained the urge to bare his teeth as his cat growled in his head.

Evergreen rolled his eyes dramatically. “Oh, for Fate’s sake, I forgot. No teasing Keegan or his mates lose their shit. Please accept my completely sincere and not-at-all-fake apology, Cinder Lord Hayes-Daray.”

“Is Evergreen causing trouble?” Dudley asked as he joined them.

Victor took a deep breath and reminded his cat that Keegan wasn’t hurt by Evergreen’s remarks. The fallen knight was grinning, and his eyes were glowing with their usual sunshine.

“It’s instinct, Evergreen,” Victor reminded him, though neither he nor Phillip could explain why they were so overprotective of Keegan.

“I know, I know. You’d think I’d remember by now to play nice with Keegan. Sorry.”

“We apologize for wanting to kill you,” Phillip said. “Did you decide on a bath salt, Dudley?”

“I took Evergreen’s advice and bought both,” Dudley replied, shaking the bag in his hand.

“Yes! I’m finally corrupting a sentinel,” Evergreen enthused.

“Pretty sure that’s impossible,” Keegan remarked.

“And we may find out that I alone have the power to corrupt them all.” Evergreen chortled. “I’ll have to be arrested. Pick some sexy single fallen knight so I can sleep my way out of trouble.”

“Let’s pick out the glosses we want and see what else we can buy before the night is over,” Victor suggested with a grin for his best friend.

“I was bored while Dudley was debating between his bath shit,” Evergreen admitted. “I cheated and peeked outside. Do you know what’s next door? Shoes. In the front window are a pair of hot pink glittery shoes with your name on them, Victor.”

“Even if they’re crazy expensive, you’re still trying them on,” Keegan insisted.

With a roll of his eyes, Victor grabbed a coffee-scented gloss and one in the soft pale pink shade he’d found first. He’d buy those two for himself and the cake one for Dra’Kaedan.

The night was already fun, but that didn’t surprise Victor.

He was with his mates and their dearest friends; there was no other alternative but for them all to have a fantastic relaxing weekend at the stunning new dragon resort.