Page 49 of Master Wolf

Drew’s heart twisted painfully. “Come on then,” he murmured. “Let’s get you into bed and warmed up.”

Lindsay nodded and his hands went to his drawers, pushing at them ineffectively.

“Want them off?”

Lindsay nodded, his eyes still closed.

Drew gently brushed Lindsay’s hands aside, trying to ignore his own absurdly hardening cock, and loosened the tie before easing the drawers down past Lindsay’s hips and drawing them off his legs. Lindsay’s cock curled soft, pale and vulnerable against his thigh. Drew felt a bolt of pained affection pierce him at the sight.

Firmly reminding himself that Lindsay was fit for nothing but sleep, Drew pulled the bedcovers back and nudged Lindsay into place, tucking the covers around him.

“How’s that?” Drew asked. “Warmer?”

Lindsay shook his head. “Still cold,” he murmured, through barely moving lips.

Drew knew he should walk away now, but his feet felt as though they’d been nailed to the floor and he ached with a need to comfort Lindsay.

“Shall I stay for a while?” he whispered at last. “Till you’re warm again?”

Lindsay’s eyes opened at that, his surprise plain. “Do you want to?” he finally whispered.

Drew swallowed. “I’ll stay for a little.”

Lindsay nodded. “All right then. But take your shoes off.”

Drew decided to remove both his shoes and his coat, but he left the rest of his clothes on. Then he climbed into the bed behind Lindsay and put his arms around him, drawing Lindsay’s slender body against his own and burying his nose against the nape of Lindsay’s neck.

Something tight and painful eased inside him.

Lindsay gave a contented sigh and the faintest thread of his unique scent, of rainwater-drenched earth, reached Drew, miraculously breaking through the overpowering scents of sickness and despair that clung to Lindsay now.

Drew chafed Lindsay’s goosefleshed arms and drew him closer, enfolding him in a warm, toasty embrace, relishing the smoothness of his pale skin and the familiarity of his lean form, even as he worried over the sharpness of his too-prominent bones.

Although his cock was hard with the pleasure of holding Lindsay in his arms, it was an oddly distant pleasure, muffled by concern and an unfamiliar need to protect Lindsay that did not ease until, after a quarter hour or so, Lindsay’s slim body had finally warmed and relaxed, and his deep even breaths signalled he had fallen asleep.

Even then, Drew stayed where he was, lying there for long minutes.

This feeling—it wasn’t so very new, not really. The perfection of having Lindsay in his arms. But it was something he’d put down to fleshly lusts at the first, and then to the unwanted maker bond Lindsay had forced upon him. It had never been something he had wanted or chosen. Never something that was cause for joy or pleasure.

But now, he wondered. If he could still feel like this with the bond near enough destroyed, what did that mean? His feelings were subtly different now from what he’d experienced before. The blind craving to slavishly follow Lindsay was gone and he was left with something infinitely more delicate, as though the blunt force of the bond had been masking something more human and precarious.

He didn’t know what to make of it, or what to do about it. So, in the end, he did the only thing he could do—he rose from the bed and put his coat and shoes back on. Then he silently left the bedchamber, closing the door behind him as softly as he could, with barely a click.

Downstairs he retrieved his coat and hat and set off into the night.

It was a much quicker journey back to the Assembly Rooms.

When he made his way back upstairs, it was to find Marguerite cosied up to Begg on one side of a small supper table with Bainbridge on the other. Drew had to remind himself that he needed to seem aggrieved at Marguerite sitting with Begg. He tried to fake suspicion and barely concealed hostility as he approached their table, his manner hinting at jealousy even as he politely smiled.

Marguerite glanced up as he approached the table, meeting his gaze.

“You are back then?” she said. Her tone was pure petulance. “I thought you had forgotten all about me.”

Drew smiled apologetically. “I would never, my love. It was only that I had to attend to a little bit of business—I’ll be your devoted servant for the rest of the evening, I promise.”

She pouted prettily and said to Begg, “He neglects me quite shockingly, you know.”

Begg cleared his throat. He might have flushed too, but it was difficult to tell how much of his high colour was his naturally florid state and how much was brought on by embarrassment at being thrust in the middle of a marital row. He pushed out his chair, getting to his feet, and nodded at Drew.