Page 14 of Mytho Investigations: Side Stories

Mason was expecting more questions as soon as he got in the car. Even though he’d taken the magical aspirin, he felt like shit. His body ached as if he’d put it through a brutal workout, and he had the kind of headache that could only be attributed to too much alcohol and not enough sleep. When he got home, he planned on falling into bed.

“You’re in yesterday’s clothes, so I’m guessing you didn’t sleep in the hall?” Sean asked.

Mason glanced at Sean in the rearview mirror. He sat in the back with Troy, which meant the passenger seat was pushed all the way forward to make room for the ogre’s legs.

“Did you resist elves in uniform?” Troy added.

He did not need to be teased by Sean’s oversized ogre boyfriend, but he couldn’t lie either. He didn’t know what he should do about Vlash. Nothing was the smart answer. It was best to leave it as one perfect night.

“I did not,” he confessed.

“And?” Sean leaned forward.

“And it was a perfectly lovely night.” And morning after. And there was no blaming that on the wedding, magic, or candle.

Vlash glanced at him as though he wanted to fuck him or kill him, and either was fine. He’d never thought he’d enjoy someone gripping his hair like that, but apparently, when Vlash did it, he was into it.

Lovely probably wasn’t the right word to describe the night. Intense? Consuming?

“That’s it?” Sean pressed.

“I’m not ready to date. I have shit I need to sort out.” And Vlash had more. For a man who hadn’t had sex in ten years, he hadn’t forgotten any tricks. What had he said about being married for eighty-three years before that?

Half of what they’d talked about was kind of fuzzy.

Sean grinned. “I wasn’t expecting you to find a boyfriend. Do you feel better?”

He took a few seconds to answer that because he wasn’t sure if he was in the post-hookup afterglow coupled with a hangover or if he felt better about ending it with Bud. It was the right thing to do, but it still hurt. Today, it didn’t hurt as much.

If Vlash could want him, and Vlash was burn-his-fingers-hot, then other men would, too. “I think I do. Or will, once I’ve gotten some sleep.”

He didn’t know how long the good feeling would last. Just because it was he who’d made the wound didn’t make it any better. It only reinforced how stupid he was for not doing it sooner. Bud hadn’t seemed upset on the phone, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t. Mason would’ve preferred an emotional reaction so it seemed as though he mattered. Instead, Bud had stared at him through the screen and demanded the ring back. He'd wished Mason luck in finding someone who’d tolerate his mytho-hugging friends. Bud only tolerated them in public; Mason couldn’t imagine bringing him to the wedding. He'd have said something inappropriate and started a fight.

So they were spending Christmas apart. Bud was going to see his family, and Mason was seeing his mother and sister. In the New Year, Bud planned to collect his things and the ring. It was all very cold. He’d once liked the way Bud had been levelheaded and calm about all things except for mythos. And if he hadn’t become more anti-mytho over the years, it would’ve been fine, wouldn’t it?

On the surface, maybe. But beneath, Mason saw how he hadn’t been happy for years. Being single wasn’t as terrifying as he expected.

“Did you at least get the elf’s number in case you want to repeat?” Sean asked.

Mason laughed. “There will be no repeat, and no, I didn’t ask for his number.”

“Why wouldn’t you repeat it if you both enjoyed it?” Troy asked.

“Because some things are best left as one perfect event.” And he didn’t want to spoil it by asking for more.

CHAPTER 8

It was midafternoon by the time Vlash was able to leave the winery that doubled as the king’s palace and army training ground.

The king had enquired if he’d enjoyed the evening, to which he’d simply said that he had. His cousin had regarded him with narrowed eyes as if he wanted to say something.

“Don’t,” Vlash warned. He didn’t want well-meaning advice because he might take it. And then where would that leave him?

“We are all being forced to move on. We even have a human knight.”

Vlash clamped his teeth together. “I do not see you moving on.”

“I am older than you.”