Page 63 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

“Wonderful!” Lirion nearly vibrated in his seat. He wanted to reach over and pull Fenric in for a deep, drugging kiss to celebrate. After fighting and struggling for so long to save his sister, he finally felt like he was making good progress in finding her. Hugging her in his arms was now only a week away.

Fenric rose to his feet and planted both hands on the table. “All right. Time to get ready for this mission. Rain, rally the skelebabies and get them working on repairs. If you have to steal provisions, wait for the last day. We can’t risk being run off early. Rest of you, pack your gear. Plus, put the house to rights and pack up. I’ll see about getting some of our rent back, along with the deposit. That’ll be easier to do if he doesn’t find the ceiling damaged.” He directed that last part at Belstrom. The somewhat gentle giant hung his head, his broad shoulders slumped. “Malfas, fix Bel’s books and the ceiling. Bel, you’re on cooking duty tonight.”

“What can I do?” Maxie asked.

“How about you head to the ship with Rain tonight? Help him make a list of supplies we’ll need before we set sail.”

Rain threw an arm around Maxie’s shoulders, pulling him in close. “Don’t worry, I’ll turn you into a fine pirate.”

Fen looked over at Lirion. “Are you set for supplies?”

Lirion licked his lips. “Aren’t you the only supply I’ll need?”

Fen snorted, his perfect mouth twisting in a wicked smirk. “I think you’re going to require more than just sex on this voyage.”

“What? He needs sex?” Rain gasped.

Lirion turned his smile on the pirate. “Fen forgot to mention. I’m an incubus. For this voyage, I needed more than a ship. I also needed someone to provide me with a regular hot meal.”

“Me!” Rain’s arm shot into the air so fast, it was a wonder he didn’t dislocate his shoulder. “I volunteer. I am very happy to supply you with⁠—”

“Not a chance!” Fen snarled, cutting him off. “I’ve got that part of the provisions covered for Lirion. You worry about getting us through Dead Man’s Curve alive.” The most delicious frisson of tingles swept through Lirion at Fen’s sharp words.

Wasn’t that interesting?

Was the thief feeling possessive? And why did the thought excite Lirion so much?

All things said, Fenric felt like the meeting with the group had gone quite well. Lirion had seemed cautious coming in, and Fenric sensed some bad history there but didn’t push for answers. He just made the introductions and let things play out.

Lirion might not know these guys, but Fenric did, and he was confident no one was going to do anything Lirion wasn’t comfortable with. They just weren’t the type to be pushy about sex, and everyone in this group excelled in taking people as they were. It was no surprise to him the group just accepted Lirion as he was.

He could tell it surprised Lirion, though. Pleasantly surprised him. Especially after speaking with Maxie, Lirion relaxed, wearing this small smile that didn’t seem to disappear.

Since they’d be traveling and working together for months, between Lirion’s rescue and Fenric’s job, he wanted to make sure they got off on the right foot. Meeting his friends had done that, but Fenric wanted to reinforce it. He also wanted to get some parameters down so neither of them were guessing or surprised later. Fenric hated surprises. Mostly because they had a tendency to bite him in the ass.

When things wound down, he drew Lirion away from the group and up to the second floor. “Hey, so there’s a spare room next to mine.”

Lirion gave him side-eye for some reason. “Thank you?”

“It’s completely up to you if you want to use it.” Why was he getting this reaction? “Honestly, I’d like to sit and have a conversation with you first. I want to figure out what you need, and uh, schedule feedings? If that’s something you’d like to do.”

Lirion paused at the top of the stairs to give him a searching look. “You’re a very organized, rational sort, aren’t you?”

“Guilty. In my defense, someone in the group has to be. You’ve met these guys now. They react first and think later. If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to⁠—”

“No, no, I think it’s a great idea.”

“Then step into my room.” Fenric invited him in with a wave of the arm, closing the door behind them. He didn’t really want his business aired to anyone who walked by the door, after all.

As rooms went, it was pretty standard—nothing fancy. A single bed along one wall with a nightstand on one side, a dresser for clothes on the other. Shaving stand with a bowl in the corner and a single chair next to it. Not much else except for a rare window that gave an amazing view of the coastline.

Fenric toed off his shoes and kicked them to the side, then shed his weapons on top of the dresser, all while encouraging Lirion. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Lirion also dropped his shoes and gear near the door before sitting on the bed, one leg tucked under the other, eyes on Fenric. Nothing could be read from his expression. He seemed cautious, as if he had no idea what Fenric was doing.

To be fair, Fenric had no idea what he was doing, so…

He mirrored the other man’s position and sat on the edge of the bed as well. “First, sex is absolutely on the table if you need it tonight.”