Hexbreaker by Jordan L. Hawk

Author:Jordan L. Hawk
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: magic, police, witches, historical romance, gay romance, new york, gay fantasy, shifters, victorian era, familiars

Chapter 15

Tom’s limbs seemed to go numb. Who was this man? And why the devil hadn’t Cicero mentioned him before?

A sort of creeping dread settled in his belly. He’d never asked if Cicero had other commitments. He’d assumed a man with a lover wouldn’t suck someone else’s cock in the back room of a questionable resort, let alone spend the night in his bed. But what had Cicero said, when he spoke of the anarchists he knew, some of whom were probably in this very room? About their beliefs in free love?

Saint Mary, he’d been a fool.

Cicero pushed the other man away. “Noah, I told you before I’d come to your party.”

“I know, but I’ve missed you terribly.” Noah all but pouted. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come.”

Cicero twined his arm through Tom’s. “I’ve been busy,” he purred, glancing up at Tom through thick lashes. “Have you had absinthe before, Thomas?”

At least Cicero had pushed the other man—Noah—away and laid claim to Tom’s arm. Maybe Tom had read things wrong, and they weren’t lovers after all. Maybe Noah just wanted to be. Or maybe it was just the way these people acted amongst themselves, away from the public eye.

“Nay,” he said, resisting the urge to grab Cicero and make for the door. Or the window, whichever got them out of here the quickest. Things had been so much simpler back at the apartment, when they were alone together.

“Then let’s introduce you to the green fairy,” Cicero replied with a wicked grin. He led Thomas to the table where a number of bottles of absinthe waited, along with an absinthe fountain filled with ice water, slotted spoons, a bowl of sugar cubes, and several stacks of hexes.

Cicero released Tom’s arm to prepare their drinks. He placed a slotted spoon on each glass, then added a sugar cube. The fountain dripped the cold water over the sugar into the absinthe; when it hit the spirits in the glass, the liquor went from poisonous green to a sort of cloudy mint.

“Hex, darling?” Cicero indicated the cheap paper hexes. “They amplify the hallucinogenic affects of the drink. It can be very entertaining.”

Tom shook his head quickly. One of the other partygoers tutted loudly. “Your friend needs to relax,” he told Cicero.

Cicero gave him an unfriendly look. “And who are you?”

Apparently Tom wasn’t the only newcomer in the bunch. “Augustine Van Wyck,” he replied, not bothering to hold out his hand to shake. “Our new mayor is my cousin.”

“Several times removed, isn’t that right, Auggie?” asked Leona, strolling up to refill her drink.

Auggie scowled. “Yes,” he muttered.

“I’m abstaining from hexes myself tonight,” Cicero said. He handed Tom one of the prepared drinks. “Mazel tov.”

The stuff tasted like licorice and was utterly vile. Tom nearly spat his back into the glass, only choking it down with an effort. “Mmm,” Cicero said, sipping his. “Good, isn’t it?”

The evening only went downhill from there. The crowd ebbed and flowed, and soon Cicero had been swallowed into it, drawn into an argument about poetry by some of his friends.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.