Feather Fall by Evelyn Elliott

Author:Evelyn Elliott
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 9781634772587
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-04-21T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight: Cheat

CROW’S LEANING, at first, seemed like a joke. Jonathan went along with it mostly because it amused him. In time, though, Crow’s weight became heavier and less balanced, and Jonathan found himself providing more and more support. At last, they passed through the front gates of the city, and they made their way down the street to the Overlook lodging house.

He arranged for a separate room for Peter. The boy could probably use one after everything he’d been through. Crow closed his eyes halfway through the conversation, and he made a sleepy noise into Jonathan’s neck. Prickles shot up Jonathan’s spine.

He gave Peter a key to the separate room, then gently guided Crow into their own room. He helped Crow onto the bed, then sighed and stretched. He unlaced his jacket, stuck to him with sweat. “Damn,” he said, fumbling with the buttons. Crow dragged himself upright. He began to help.

Jonathan held perfectly still, barely daring to breathe. “Become accustomed to slavery?” he asked lightly.

“Mhm.” Crow’s eyes were at half-mast. “Glad it’s over.” He finished unbuttoning, then let his hand drop.

“I arranged for a hot bath,” Jonathan said. “They said the water would take a half hour to warm before they carry it here.”

“Do you mind if I borrow some decent clothes?”

“Go ahead.”

Crow shut his eyes but remained standing. “Thank you for….” He listed to the side. “For all of this.”

Jonathan caught him. “It’s okay. I got you.”

Crow’s eyes flickered open. Black, like obsidian. “I owe you.”

“There’s nothing I want from you.”

There were, in fact, several things. For a second, just a second, Jonathan missed the freedom of being single. Taking whoever he pleased to his bed. For a moment, back at the slavers—for several moments—it had seemed like—

Like what? Like Crow had enjoyed being whipped?

“I’m sure we can come up with something,” Crow said. “I’d hate to seem ungrateful.”

Jonathan swallowed.

It wasn’t his fault he wanted Crow. It wasn’t like he could turn off his own emotions. But wanting wasn’t the same thing as doing. He’d stop himself. He’d hold back. Fidelity was a choice, and he’d abide by it until Regis returned. Simple as that.

“We might not find Regis in time,” Crow said. “I’m not sure how much longer I have left.” He collapsed into the armchair. “Belcane is a rat.”

Crow’s hair lay in beautiful disarray, his body languid and loose. He seemed physically exhausted. Jonathan sat beside him and pushed a mug of water at him. “Here, drink.”

“Are you deaf? I’m telling you something important.”

Jonathan laid his hands on Crow’s shoulders. They both tensed at the same time; he could feel corded muscle beneath his fingers, nothing like the delicate bones of Regis’s body and yet… familiar. Here was Crow, who he knew not at all and yet who he had lain with before Regis. He murmured, “You should go to bed. You’re hurt. You’re tired.”

The tension in Crow’s back ratcheted up another notch. He shoved himself upright and spun around, then shoved Jonathan into the wall.

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