Chapter 324: A round about way to a kiss
"Lucian, you oaf, in what world am I sweet?" Cass asked, stunned, and Lucian looked pissed.
"How are you not sweet? You look like a damn blushing bride right now, and honestly, I’m a little angry that you are going to let others see you like this. I know that you have to, but I am now regretting my decisions." Lucian was a snarling man, and Cass realised that he might have played a role in this.
Especially when Ser Hune laughed. Her laughter grew muffled as she covered her mouth with her hand and Cass glanced in her direction. She made a few quick, rapid motions. Her hands resting together by her head, like she was sleeping on a pillow. A sudden, jerky movement as she sat up and patted an empty bed. A sour face as she looked around.
So he was a little testy because he’d woken up in an empty bed. Well, not empty, but without Cass. Cass could somewhat understand why he would be upset. If he had been in the same position where he had been practically guarding another man and had thought he would remain where he left him after exhausting him, so he had laid down to rest and then woken up with the same man gone?
Yeah, Cass would also be a little testy.
Cass cleared his throat. What was the best way to calm him? He glanced at Ser Hune who had, so far, not given him wrong advice. Ser Hune was all smiles before she pretended to kiss someone. Cass felt his face heat.
That was not the right choice right now, especially given his body’s...constitution. If he kissed someone, Cass was worried what else that would lead to. He could not activate himself right now. He had a bunch of threatening that he needed to do. That was the whole point of why he’d let the men ’join’ him.
Cass could feel the silence dragging on, could tell that Lucian was getting more worked up, and that Edgar wasn’t going to step in either. In fact, he seemed curious, and maybe a little upset as well.
Sam was working away, despite everything. A sign of a true professional.
Finally, Cass swallowed some of his embarrassment, not pride, and opened his mouth.
"L-Lucy," Cass started and watched the man jerk. Half of his anger faded with the nickname alone and Cass felt his face warm more as his eyes, all scrunched up in anger, dropped. "I’m sorry I didn’t say anything when I left this morning." Cass slid his gaze to Edgar. "To both of you." He muttered quietly. "I just...needed some time to myself in the morning, and you both looked so tired I thought you could use the rest." Cass fought the urge to cover his face as Lucian and Edgar stared at him.
Both men seemed shocked. Lucian had lost most of the angry spark that had been inside of him, but Cass could tell he wasn’t fully appeased.
"You think this will all be smoothed over if you call me Lucy?" He snarled and Cass flinched. He was right, that was a pretty lame attempt at smoothing things over. Cass dropped his gaze, swallowing.
"It’s not?" Cass asked softly, looking up at him through his eyelashes, worried that the man was going to flare up again. He couldn’t do what Ser Hune was suggesting. One, there were too many people in the room, and two, he didn’t want to activate himself.
Lucian’s jaw dropped and something tumbled to the floor a few paces away. Cass turned his head slightly to see Edgar covering his mouth with a shaking hand. Even Sam paused what he was doing.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Lucian snarled and Cass flinched. So it didn’t work at all. "Cassy Baby, stop looking like that, or else I am going to steal you away and ruin all of your plans. You would not forgive me, but I am half way to not caring about that fact." Cass blinked, his face warm from the nickname. It was a new one that Lucian seemed to enjoy.
"What are you saying? You wouldn’t. I would be irate." Cass told him and Lucian huffed. A puff of smoke poured out of his nostrils and Cass was a little bit surprised he wasn’t even hiding it in front of Edgar’s servants.
Cass’ servants.
"Yeah, I know, so stop fucking tempting me." Cass frowned.
"I am not tempting you." Cass shot back and Ser Hune’s laughter was not appreciated. Lucian’s gaze narrowed.
"Are you meaning to tell me you did that on accident?" He asked and Cass felt his eyes widen while Edgar’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
"Lucy, you know there isn’t a way he would know to do that." Edgar told Lucian softly but Cass didn’t like what they were saying. That they were able to say it to each other without explaining to Cass what was going on.
"What? What did I do? What did I do that you considered tempting? Are you forgetting that I’m supposed to be a bad person right now? Currently?" Cass asked and Lucian huffed.
"I’ve always had a thing for bad boys." Lucian said without missing a beat. Cass felt his mouth open and close.
"Excuse me?" Cass knew his voice had gone high, partially in outrage and because he was flustered. How had this conversation gotten so derailed?
"Hey, what’s a pair of bad boys to a crowd, hmm? A throuple of bad boys? The nobles won’t even know what hit them." Edgar teased and Cass couldn’t take it. He covered his face with his hands, hiding himself from them for a moment as he tried to compose himself. What the fuck was wrong with these men?
"Someone grant me the fucking strength to deal with this." Cass muttered under his breath and Edgar laughed. He didn’t say anything, but Cass could tell that he wanted to. "Either way, Lucy. I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up. I did send Ser Hune, didn’t I?" Cass uncovered his face to stare at him, and Lucian was pouting. Pouting! A fucking dragon, pouting!
Cass ignored the part of him that enjoyed it.
"It wasn’t you though. I wanted to wake you up nice and slow. Have a good morning together, and then some fairy was there, waking me up instead of the fairy that I wanted to see." Ser Hune was bent in half, wheezing in the background and Cass did not appreciate the visual.
"I had to go eat." Cass said, and that seemed to pause both men. Lucian went white, and Edgar pushed away a servant who was putting the finishing touches on him to move towards Cass.
"You had to what? What did you eat?" He asked, clearly flustered. Cass gave them both a strange look.
"I had to go to the tree. Why? Did you think I was doing something else?" Cass asked, almost a little offended. Any anger that Lucian had was wiped away as he shook his head, his arms uncrossing as he took a step towards Cass.
Cass, without thinking, took a step back, and that made everyone pause. Cass’ face flushed.
"Don’t touch me." He said carefully. "Please. I am worried about what will happen." Cass admitted and Lucian and Edgar seemed to realise something at the same moment. They turned, looked at each other, and then Edgar went back to the servants who were helping him get ready.
Lucian’s expression was softer, the anger gone, as well as any tension in his shoulders. Cass had his guard up immediately. He had no idea what his words revealed, but he didn’t like how easily whatever conclusion Lucian had come to had soothed him.
"Cassy Baby-" Lucian started and Cass snapped.
"Stop calling me that. We are in public!" Cass hissed, and watched as Lucian’s smile grew devious.
"Oh, absolutely not. I earned that, didn’t I? The right to call you that?" Lucian asked, scanning Cass’ body even though he was fully clothed. His gaze stopped at Cass’ chest and crotch and Cass felt his face flame. Unconsciously, he raised his arms, covering both areas even though he was wearing clothes. He wasn’t superman. He didn’t have some fucked up x-ray vision.
"T-That’s not how that works." Cass stuttered. "You don’t get the right to call me certain things." Cass defended. Lucian let out a heavy sigh.
"So I don’t get the right to touch you, I don’t get the right to call you cute names, and I don’t get the right to wake up next to you in the morning. This feels like a pretty bad relationship, Cass. Did I do something that you didn’t like? Did I not lick you enough?" Cass let out a squeak of outrage. Edgar gasped, and Ser Hune slammed her hands over her mouth.
"Lucian Draken!" Cass shouted, and Lucian let out a shit eating grin.
"Awe, my full name again? The last time you called me by my first name I-" Cass marched over to him, Sam stepping out of his way as Cass reached up and grabbed Lucian by his collar with both hands. He yanked him down so that they were nose to nose. Cass could feel rage coiling in his stomach. He hadn’t wanted that feeling to be there so early. It was-
That thought left his mind as Lucian pressed his lips against Cass’. It was a quick peck, but the way that it short circuited Cass’ mind, especially because there were other people here, and because Cass’ rage dissolved like cotton candy in water.
Lucian was all petty smiles as he pulled away from Cass’ grip, his hands gentle as he pulled his hands off of him.
"There. My good morning kiss and my make up kiss. Was that so hard, Cass?" Lucian asked with a smirk and Cass blinked, before he slammed his palm against Lucian’s pec. Hard. Lucian actually seemed surprised by the force of it.
"You fucking little-" Cass cut himself off, growling. He wasn’t angry anymore, but he needed to put up a front. He shouldn’t think he could get away with that behaviour, but from the way that Lucian was looking at him, he knew damn well that Cass was alright with it since he could feel his emotions.
"Me fucking little what, Cass?" Lucian asked, a purr to his voice and Cass felt his face flush. He could remember him doing that while he had-
Cass needed to get it together. He needed to get his mind out of the gutter and focus on the task at hand.
"You fucking little twat. If you do that again without my permission, I’m ripping your balls off." Cass snapped and listened to Lucian as he laughed, and Edgar started coughing.
"You can do that." Lucian told Cass, his orange eyes glowing. "But it would only hurt you, wouldn’t it?" Lucian shrugged. "But, I’ll respect your decision. My body, your choice." Lucian said with a devious grin. He knew Cass wouldn’t go through with that threat.
Fuck, did Cass wish that he could, but there was a part of him that worried Lucian would like it too much.