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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

G wil stretched out. He’d slept like the dead, which was an analogy he wouldn’t use in front of some members of the paranormal communities due to their sensibility and general lack of a sense of humour. His groggy mind acknowledged the presence of someone sitting on the edge of the bed and it took several moments to realise it wasn’t Hyax, but Solivatus.

“Wake up, sleepy head. We’ve some things to discuss.”

He struggled to sit, the thought of the reaction Hyax might have if he were to find Solivatus in his current position, was not a pleasant one. Hyax might be trying to be reasonable, but this would set off the fireworks.

“Give me a minute and I’ll get dressed.”

Solivatus smirked. “You’re fine as you are. It’s not like I’ve not seen it all before.”

“Doesn’t mean you get to see it now.”

He chuckled and stood. “Fair enough. Get dressed and I’ll wait in your sitting room.”

Before dating Hyax, Gwil would never have had the balls to push back against Solivatus, so it was kind of liberating to do so now. The expectations of his status were so engrained in him he would’ve never thought to have challenged them.

He dressed quickly and joined Solivatus. It was one thing to brush him off, another to keep him waiting. “So, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong per se. We’ve set up your background for the infiltration, and I wanted to check in on how you’re feeling about the whole situation.”

Gwil sat in a separate chair rather than next to him on the sofa. “It’s fine. A little apprehensive about the speed at which everything’s progressing, and that they’re going to make me look like someone else, but I’ve done undercover work before. To be honest, given no one knows who I am, I wonder why they’re bothering to change my appearance.”

“I wouldn’t say no one knows who you are. Dating a royal fae, against their parents’ wishes no less, is going to give you an element of notoriety.”

He hadn’t considered it from that angle. “I suppose any link back is dangerous.”

“Pretty much, with both Sebastian and Liam heavily invested in this, you can be pretty safe in saying it’s not allowed to go wrong.”

There were times when he had wished to be better situated in terms of being recognised in vampire society, now faced with what might go down if they failed, Gwil thought he might want to go back to them not knowing he existed. He could find a nice cave in Wales, live off sheep and not come back to civilisation for a few hundred years.

“Do I have a complete backstory? The sooner I can learn who I’m playing the less likely I am to fuck up.”

“You don’t do yourself justice, Gwil. You’re good at what you do.” Solivatus winked. “You’ll ace this and imagine the favours you’ll be able to call in.”

Gwil wasn’t about to risk reminding the likes of Sebastian and Liam that they owed him. “We’ll see.”

Solivatus spent a moment doing something on his phone. “I’ve sent you the details of your new identity and questionable life choices. Robin is the one who has a dick for a boyfriend. Sebastian rather liked the idea of having him behave as less like his real self as possible.”

“Surely that’s just asking for trouble.”

“Robin’s a brilliant actor, he should’ve been on the stage, not making stars. He’ll be able to pull off the lovestruck dweeb who’d be willing to look past his boyfriend cheating on him and infecting him with something nasty during a bit of dark hocus pocus shagging.”

Gwil groaned. “Couldn’t you have come up with something more believable?”

“I’ve heard far worse bullshit spouted and arsehole behaviour forgiven in the name of love. Honestly, you giving him a mutated version of the Nosferatu virus is one of the tamest things we came up with. Consider yourself lucky.”

He didn’t feel lucky. “Right, and if I’m a complete bastard, why am I putting up with a wimpy streak of piss?”

“Money, why else?”

Gwil had once been driven by money, not so much after he’d been turned, but the 1920s had been a glut of overindulgence and decadence and he’d been frustrated by his inability to accrue the wealth it had been hinted he’d be able to amass. It had led to some bad decisions, which was why he thought his alter ego could be considered as willing to put up with a subpar partner for the right financial persuasion.

“Is Robin’s character as rich as the real Robin?”

“No, we need a little verisimilitude.” Solivatus grinned. “Robin is beyond wealthy, and him no longer shagging about has caused some serious grumblings already from folks who thought they’d have had a chance at him, and it’s only been a few weeks.”

Gwil had heard the stories about Robin. “I wouldn’t have believed he was so devoted to Prince Simon if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Anyone can feign a wedding and lovey-dovey nonsense for a few hours, but not the concerted effort being this upset over Simon would take.”

“The fact he’s willing to change his face and pretend he’s the put-upon boyfriend of a fuckboi talks volumes. That level of devotion is rare.”

Hyax had said they had a bond and had explained as best as he could to Gwil, but it went well beyond his understanding. Unfortunately, Hyax hadn’t been the most patient of late so Gwil decided he could cope with knowing the basics.

“Then he’ll be playing a rich kid with a hankering for a bad boy? I’ve seen that plenty of times.”

“Yeah, half the wannabe vamps want to be turned because of that premise.”

It wasn’t just humans with a craving for immortality. Too often, there was something about having rich parents and no sense of the value of money that turned people into gullible idiots. “It’s not exactly my usual modus operandi.”

“But you’re good at what you do, Gwil. You’ll cope. Read through the briefing docs, get a measure of who William Carpenter is meant to be.”

At least he could go by Will, which was close enough to his real name that he shouldn’t get caught out. “I daresay I’ll cope, Hyax won’t be too happy with the scenario, though.”

“I have factored that in, a bit. You’re cheating on Robin still, with a bloke called Mal and he just happens to have the same contact details as a certain blond bombshell, so you being in touch with him while you’re away should unwrinkle his wings.”

Gwil hadn’t seen that coming and he was surprised at Solivatus’s insight. “I’m sure that’ll go a long way. I’ll still need to discuss it all with him and make sure he doesn’t worry over nothing.”

Solivatus tutted. “I did want to talk to you about your pretty fairy. He seems to have a bug up his arse, and I want to check what was going on.”

Hyax was a bit touchy about Solivatus. The conversation they’d had about Gwil and his sire had cleared the air to some degree, but the Metra problem just compounded the issue and Hyax was trying to deal with the situation as best he could. Then there was the whole matter of it not being announced yet.

“He is a royal fae, the bug up the arse could be considered the default setting. Although, he did have a couple of moments recently. Daft to think he’d feel insecure over me.”

“He obviously loves you, and you him. Must be nice. Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure, or that I’d want it, but you do.”

“I’ve liked him for a while. Now I don’t want to think about not being at his side.” It was strange to make that admission to Solivatus, a man who, for the majority of their interactions, had been high on the carnal spectrum.

“He’s been calling you the Prince’s Beloved, so it begs the question why the fuck he’s marrying someone else.”

He hadn’t expected Solivatus to know. He would need to play this down. “Since when did that become common knowledge?”

“It isn’t, but I keep an ear out for my favourites, and if I hear a whisper, then I’ll follow it through and find out as much as I can.”

Gwil wouldn’t have thought himself a favourite. He didn’t want to talk about their Metra problem, but he also knew Solivatus wouldn’t let it lie. “He doesn’t have a choice, and it’s not like I’m a dark earl and it would be some major slight that would put the fae at odds with the Vampire Council.”

Solivatus sneered. “You’re one of mine, and your sister is the Dark Duchess of Linden.”

The issue was he had great connections, but he wasn’t from the top drawer himself. “You’re great, and so’s Penelope, but I’m a hanger-on.”

“I get what you mean, but leave it with me, I’m sure I can exert some influence. Might not be enough to stop a wedding, but I daresay you being the right sort in the future might help facilitate a divorce.”

He didn’t know what Solivatus had in mind, but he wasn’t about to say no, as he had limited options to improve his own social standing in the vampire world. “We both hope Hyax’s association with the Elementa will be temporary, I think there’s something fucking dodgy going on.”

“Your instincts are top-notch, Gwil. Trust them, and I’ll do a bit of discreet digging myself.”

Another offer of help he wouldn’t refuse, but he didn’t think he’d be revealing that titbit to Hyax just yet. Solivatus was helping Gwil, not the fae, and depending on what he discovered, Gwil would need to coach the narrative so Hyax didn’t cause his balls to tingle in an unpleasant way, as vampire interference in fae business would be a problem, even if it hadn’t been Solivatus.

“It might be nothing. Fae politics are worse than vampires’.” He didn’t believe it, he was pretty convinced Metra was a skeevy bastard up to no good, but he decided not to reveal Hyax’s past with Metra or the games being played by Sitial—that fucker was on his hit list too.

“Leave it with me.” He patted Gwil’s thigh and stood. “I like Hyax, he’s good for you, but he needs to respect that we’ll always have our own connection. Not that we’ll act on anything, he needs to show you he trusts you. Just like how you’ve done over this Metra bollocks.”

“I’ve no reason not to trust him.”

“Metra is a beautiful man. Are you telling me Hyax isn’t tempted to have his consummation cake and eat it?”

Solivatus didn’t give Gwil a chance to rebuff him, he was already heading out. If there hadn’t been a past between Hyax and Metra he’d have been more worried, but that was more about his own feelings of inferiority than anything Hyax had done. Hyax had countless offers and never acted on them, and Gwil had begun to embrace the smugness that came with being the chosen partner of a man like Hyax. He had a fucking proper love match, no political machination or magic bond had got them together, and he wasn’t going to bollocks it up because he could be a mopey twat.

The subject of his thoughts arrived, and he couldn’t remember a time when Hyax had looked so tired and rumpled. Gwil raced towards him. “Are you all right, you look like you’ve been hit by a bus.”

“Is that some quaint sort of human idiom as I wouldn’t be standing if twenty tons of automotive metal had taken a swipe.”

Hyax was fluent in British slang, so this was him being a grumpy arse. “How about being dragged through a hedge backwards instead?”

“Probably more fitting.” He yawned and stretched. “I’m tired and being a shit. Sorry.”

Gwil pulled him close and held him tight. “You need a cuddle.”

Hyax nuzzled his hair. “When you’re right, you’re right.”

“Have you made progress or is this a pit stop?”

“We’re at a natural break, I’m going to grab some sleep. Once we have the test subject, we can make a few tweaks and we’re done.”

Gwil pulled back—Hyax must’ve been sent to collect him for the final push. “Where do you need me to go? Still in the cellars?”

Hyax snorted. “There was no fucking way I was going to let you be used as a plaything. Gwil, I wouldn’t allow that.”

“But you need a vampire.”

“Yes, and we can get some insignificant bloodsucker out of a nightclub. They can pull someone off the street for all I care, but it’s not going to be you.”

Gwil got the sense he’d been the guinea pig in the original plan and Gwil was glad Hyax had stood up for him. “Thank you. And I suppose if it does something to me and I can’t go undercover then that sets back the rescue in another way.”

“I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, I just put my foot down.” He shrugged, and Gwil loved that Hyax was only thinking about him and not the case they were working. “You have the plan for the mission?”

“Yeah, Solivatus sent me more details, and I’ll share those with you. Me and Robin are going in as boyfriends. Robin’s a rich kid who’s forgiven his cheating partner—me—for infecting him with a mutated Nosferatu virus.”

“You’ll have to act as if you’re together.”

“Nothing overt. I’m playing an arse stringing him along for his money and he’s being oblivious. Pretty much as far from the real Robin as you can get. I’m also cheating on him with a guy called Mal, which is you, so because of that we’ll be able to stay in touch.”

Hyax knew he wouldn’t be able to stop Gwil from doing this, but Gwil hoped the basis of the sting and being in contact meant he’d deal better with it. “I’ll read the info. I know Robin won’t overstep, but I do want to ensure you know how important you are to me.” Hyax crowded up to him. “You’re mine, Gwil.”

He had to admit he loved this side of Hyax’s possessiveness. “Then perhaps you’d better make sure that I have no delusions otherwise. Hyax’s eyes flashed gold, his desire one of several things that could trigger the reaction.

He didn’t think they were going to make it back to the bedroom and while Gwil had no issue of fucking over the back of a sofa or across a table, he knew Hyax was tired. He would need to recharge and Gwil thought that apart from a bit of magical lubrication, he’d be happy to take the lead. With a gentle shove, he pushed Hyax and he landed on his back on the sofa. Gwil pulled his T-shirt off and stripped away his jeans, boxers and socks, leaving him naked, his cock standing proud.

“You riding?” Hyax asked with a grin, his voice breathy and his expression eager.

“You fae are lazy fuckers—someone has to take the lead. Wanna get me some lube? Gonna work myself open on my fingers, let you watch and then sink down on your cock.”

Hyax had various involuntary noises that drove Gwil wild, but the low growl accompanying him being turned on without being able to think straight was one of his favourites. A pot of the lube they used when Hyax didn’t use magic to prep him would do. Today Gwil wanted things the old-fashioned way and Hyax wasn’t one to argue as long as he got laid.

The lube was a special edition from the fae realm, it had a secret ingredient that added an extra level of zing and was slipperier than any he’d used before meeting Hyax. He was hard and desperate, needing to move this on. He straddled Hyax’s legs, facing away from him so he would have the best view. For years most of his sexual relief had come from his own hand or toys, he’d not had a regular partner between Hyax and Oliver so Gwil knew how to please himself. This was about getting ready for Hyax, he wouldn’t bring himself off, he would get his pleasure with Hyax buried deep inside.

Gwil coated a couple of fingers and began to work them into him, the burn minimal and the sensation heightened by the noises Hyax made as he watched. The stretch was good. He’d never considered himself to be on the exhibitionist side, but with Hyax as an audience, Gwil performed as well as the folks working the podiums at the Kitty-Fang-Club in Soho.

Gwil didn’t need more, what he needed now was Hyax. He wasn’t the most graceful of men but he managed to turn without falling off the sofa and scooted up so he was in the perfect position to ride Hyax.

“You’re fucking glorious,” Hyax panted as Gwil lowered himself onto his cock.

He took a moment to adjust once Hyax was fully inside. He loved the feeling of being filled, loved that it was him who was making Hyax feel so good. Hyax placed his hands on his hips and Gwil began to move up and down. The position was perfect as Hyax wrapped his hand around his cock, he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He sped up his movements, Hyax’s cock angled just right, making him see stars as he nailed his prostate. Gwil cried out as Hyax milked him through his orgasm before coming inside him with a shout.

He collapsed forward, Hyax pulling him in for a deep and messy kiss. The next few days would be filled with uncertainty—he might not be able to speak to Hyax often and they would both be worried about the other. But at least for now he was safe, wrapped in Hyax’s arms, and there was nowhere he would rather be.