by Megan Derr
"Well the feeling is mutual." Harren reached up to touch his cheek, thumb rubbing at a spot high on his cheekbone. "Bit of ink or something here." When had his voice gotten all low and gravely? Cadmus's shivers this time had everything to do with wanting to taste the man. "Would it be wrong to steal a kiss?"
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't, and it would have the added bonus of scandalizing your daughter."
Harren laughed, then gently reeled him in, cupped his face with both hands, and leaned up to take Cadmus's mouth in a warm, lingering kiss that tasted of coffee and cinnamon. Oh, there went any chance of focusing on work today. Cadmus clung lightly to him and returned the kiss with fervor.
Drawing back, Harren rubbed Cadmus's lips with his thumb before reluctantly drawing back. "Much as I would love to stay and see firsthand how much you like the uniform, I'm afraid I really must be going."
"I understand. I hope your day is as calm as is possible."
Laughing again, rueful this time, Harren replied, "You and me both. Thank you. I'll see you later. I'm sorry again for the family squabbling."
"No apology necessary. Have a good day. Feel free to stop by and attempt to seduce information out of me, Chief, if you have another free moment."
Harren froze—then laughed loud and long, and oh what a beautiful look that was on him. He swooped in and stole another quick, hard kiss that left Cadmus breathless, then took several steps back. "Yes. I will keep that in mind. I really must go now. Farewell, dear toymaker, have a good day." With visible effort he turned and strode from the shop.
Outside, he spoke to a stunned-looking Serena and jabbed a finger at the waiting carriage. With more of that surprising meekness, Serena climbed inside and a moment later they were gone.
Cadmus sighed and hopped up to sit on the nearest counter, scrubbing at his face while excitement, elation, and nervousness twisted and tumbled through him.
It had been a very long time since he'd been interested in anyone, romantically or sexually. In three hundred years of life, he'd only had four lovers. One a human who'd died of old age, one an incubus who'd died of illness, one a kitsune with whom he was still friends, and the last a goblin he'd been glad to see the last of.
Part of him was leery of becoming this closely involved with humans again. They were the controlling power of the world, with most paranormals relegated to the nooks and cracks, allowed out only in those places where they added to human lives: pleasure houses, providing luxury goods, unique entertainments, and other such things. But they were never nobles, never real authorities.
Most days, that was easy enough live with. Dragons especially preferred to draw as little attention as possible. Too much attention resulted in people wanting to cage them, use them, and ultimately kill them in an attempt to take something that could only be given.
Other days, the frustration ate away at him. On those days, Cadmus buried himself in his work until he could face the world again. The world would change one day, but persons other than he would be the catalyst and the leaders.
Nothing good ever came of putting dragons on the stage. He had a long list of ancestors, and other dragons, as testament to that.
He'd much rather think about kisses and dancing. What he should wear. It had been a long time since he'd wanted to please anyone but himself, let alone impress them.
Returning to the back, he settled at the station where he'd prepare the jewels, meticulously faceting each one that he'd already spent hours selecting. Once those were ready, he'd move on to final assembly of the mechanism itself, then the final piece. So many pieces, they would be a beautiful treasure when completed.
By the time he was finished, every bit of him was stiff and sore, but he trudged upstairs to his bedroom with a satisfied smile and a curl of anticipation for all he would accomplish on the morrow.
*~*~*
There were times Cadmus wished he had more in the way of friends. But outside of occasionally spending a few hours at the tavern with some of his fellow shopkeepers or jewelers or the gremlins who made his parts, he was content to keep to himself. Dragons usually were; it was part and parcel of their hoarding nature. Even if he had been a more sexually and romantically inclined person, seeking such things often instead of rarely, dragons were not quick to let people close.
Close meant hoarding, and hoarding was dangerous to all parties.
As much as he was looking forward to the soiree and all that might come after, he hadn't ever really expected Harren to return his interest and wasn't completely prepared for it.
For binding himself to a human again, for the pleasures and pains that meant.
But he couldn't convince himself to back out of it either, and it had been so very long since he'd cared enough to take the risks.
Though there was also a niggling part that remembered that look on Sula's face, hated to cause him pain even if Sula's feelings for Harren were not really Cadmus's business. He still had not decided what to do about that matter.
And he wasn't going to decide now. He was allowed to enjoy himself, wholly and selfishly, for one night.
If only he could decide between the green jacket or the pink. He looked at the clock, which told him another ten minutes had passed. Cadmus worried his bottom lip, picked up the pink jacket, set it down and chose the green instead, then set it down and went back to staring hopelessly.
Oh, for goodness sake, if he wasn't ready by the time Harren arrived, it would seem like he didn't care or was scatterbrained, and neither of those would do. He picked up the green jacket and shrugged it on, then left the room before he could change his mind yet again.
He'd just reached the ground floor when the doorbell rang, and he strode eagerly across the shop and let himself out.
Harren was striking in his uniform but positively stunning in his formal dress, black and white trimmed in silver, a beautiful opal nestled in the silver lace at his throat. He bowed over Cadmus's hand. "Good evening, dear toymaker. You look beautiful."
"Thank you," Cadmus murmured. "You're quite the sight yourself."
"You make it hard not to take liberties," Harren replied. "Shall we to the soiree before my own people have to arrest me for misbehaving on the street? I would never live it down."
Cadmus laughed and took the arm he offered as they walked the short distance to the waiting carriage. He climbed inside and wasn't at all disappointed when Harren settled next to him rather than across. He was warm, and the scent of cinnamon and honey lingered, reminding Cadmus of waking to his mother's cinnamon bread, enjoying it with a cup of coffee and a soft-boiled egg. "So how was your day?"
"Long," Harren said with a sigh. "I'd rather not spoil my mood or yours. Which reminds me: I am hopeful tonight will go well, and we might spend even more time together, but you should know my job means I am called away frequently. And I do mean frequently. Morning, noon, and night. I am rarely able to eat a meal or sleep through the night. So if you think that will be frustrating for you… well, I thought I may as well warn you now before either of us becomes too fond." He reached up and gently cupped Cadmus's face, rubbing is cheek with one gloved thumb. "I don't understand how I danced with you and did not try to coax you into an empty room."
Chuckling, turning into the touch, Cadmus said, "You were distracted. Kind and attentive, but distracted. I think a case or something was bothering you, though I never got you to say."
"Probably," Harren replied with another sigh, slowly pulling his hand away. "I am like a dog with a bone when a case is bothering me, and now that I am Chief there are usually at least a thousand of them on my mind, or so it feels. But that is more than enough about me. How was your day?"
"Quiet, thankfully. I just started a new commission, an elaborate cherry tree piece."
"That sounds pretty." Sadness flickered briefly across Harren's face. "Sharon and I were married in the spring, beneath blossoming cherry trees on her parents' estate." He grimaced. "I am sorry, I should not—"
"I have two dec
eased lovers to my name." Cadmus said with a smile, resting a hand on Harren's arm. "You are not going to cause hurt or offense by talking about your late wife to me. She must have been a wonderful woman, to be held in such deep and abiding memory. She is clearly a part of your hoard, as we dragons would say."
Harren smiled. "Well put." He leaned in and brushed a feathery kiss across Cadmus's mouth. "I do not think I've ever been the young one in a relationship, though I am as ever the small one."
Cadmus laughed, loud and bright. "Well it's a thrill for me not to be the small one, so I'm afraid you'll get no sympathy from me on that point."
Smile turning into a playful grin, Harren replied, "Fair enough." His kiss that time was anything but soft, and when he pulled away as the carriage stopped, both of them were flushed and mussed and panting. "Shall we dance, toymaker?"
"Lead the way."
Harren helped him out of the carriage and offered his arm. A half-hour later they were through the receiving line and enjoying glasses of wine while they waited for the dancing to begin.
A familiar large, handsome figure caught Cadmus's eyes. "I believe Lord Paali is coming this way."
"What?" Harren turned to follow his gaze and smiled as Paali reached them. "Good evening, Paali. I didn't know you would be in attendance."
"Nor I, until the last moment, when I decided I really needed to get out of the house before I strangled the son I do actually love very much." Paali swept them a playful bow. "How are you this evening, Master Toymaker?"
"Very well, my lord. Yourself?"
"Very well, indeed," Paali replied. "Especially since I am reasonably confident my son will not be inducing a blinding rage this evening."
"Don't get too hopeful. They're very good at proving us wrong," Harren replied.
Paali cast him a look. "Do not ruin the good mood I've worked so hard to achieve, Imperia. But I shall leave you to your flirting and wooing. Do come play cards at some point, though. I get bored playing everyone else."
"Cheating them, you mean."
"A gentleman does not cheat at cards," Paali said, drawing himself up and looking grandly affronted. Then he grinned. "He merely plays by rules no one else knows about. Ta, darlings." He swept them another ridiculous bow and vanished into the crowd just as strains of music filled the ballroom.
Harren offered a hand, which Cadmus accepted happily, still grinning from Paali's antics.
The one other time he'd danced with Harren, he'd declared it the best dance he'd ever enjoyed. But it was left soundly in the dust by the thrill of dancing with Harren while having his full attention—full and ardent attention, every spin and turn and step bringing another feather-soft, fleeting touch, one or two kisses to his temple so quick and light Cadmus would have thought he'd imagined them if not for the pleased look in Harren's eyes.
Eventually they paused for refreshment, and Cadmus didn't mind at all when Harren guided him to a soft bench tucked away in a semi-private nook. "I hope you are enjoying yourself," Harren said softly.
"I'm concerned that's not obvious," Cadmus replied.
"You seem happy, but I fret all the same." Harren laughed ruefully. "My mother suffered her whole life from an excess of anxiety, and I inherited the trait. My job does not help, but I like what I do too much to quit."
Cadmus smiled and leaned in to brush a kiss across his cheek. "I see. Well, be assured, sir, I am enjoying the evening thoroughly. You are wonderful company and an excellent dancer."
"This is the finest night I've had in a very long time. I'm aggrieved that we danced before and I paid no attention. You should have swatted me."
"You were rightfully preoccupied," Cadmus replied with a laugh. "But if you are so bothered, let us resume dancing." He leaned in slightly. "Although if you are weary of dancing, you're welcome to find other means of making it up to me."
Heat filled Harren's eyes. He closed the remaining space between them and stole a lingering kiss that tasted of sweet red wine and that ever-present hint of cinnamon. Cadmus growled softly and teased his fingers through Harren's hair briefly before they drew apart. "Shall we dance?" Harren asked, voice a touch breathless.
"Please."
Harren rose and offered Cadmus a hand, then pulled him up and in, leaning up on his toes to steal another quick kiss before heading back to the dancefloor.
Halfway through their sixth dance, just as Cadmus was about to say they should return to his rooms above the shop, an unfamiliar voice called out, "Chief! Chief Imperia!"
Sighing, Harren stopped and led Cadmus from the dancefloor, squeezing his hand gently in what Cadmus assumed was an apology. Before either of them could speak, the source of the shouting appeared: a young, red-faced man with the stripes of a trainee on his crimson jacket. "Chief!"
"Calm down," Harren said. "Let's adjourn somewhere else so you don't turn the stomachs of all these fine people." He turned to Cadmus, regret filling his face. "I am sorry."
Cadmus smiled and dared to kiss his cheek. "I was warned, and I told you I was fine with it. Go do your job, Chief. Come see me at the shop when you can. Thank you for the evening."
Harren smiled, squeezed his hand again, then all but dragged the young man away.
From behind Cadmus, a familiar voice said, "Shall we dance, toymaker, or would you like an escort home?"
Cadmus turned, smiling as he replied, "Hello again, my lord. I would not mind another dance."
Paali offered a hand and led him back to the dance floor. "You're a wonderful dancer. I'm distraught we've never danced before."
"That's kind of you to say, my lord."
"Please. I do not waste my time saying things I don't mean—the luxury of being both a spoiled brat and a bit of a family embarrassment."
Cadmus's brows drew down. "I am afraid I do not understand. Why would you be an embarrassment to anyone?"
Paali smiled. "Now who is saying kind things? I am not really my father's son. I take after my mother in appearance, so it's hard to tell, but I am not even wholly human."
"Ah," Cadmus replied, more confused than ever.
"I tell you because if you are going to keep company with Imperia, then you'll see me quite a bit, and I'd rather you hear of my sordid history from me than the rest of these gossipmongers."
"That I do understand," Cadmus replied, though now he was dreadfully curious about Paali's parentage. Nothing about him had hinted he possessed paranormal blood. But even more than most paranormals, dragons disliked such questions, so he certainly wouldn't ask. "I'm long inured to gossip, my lord. Be assured I would have heeded none of it. You should hear all the things people love to say about dragons."
Paali's teeth gleamed. "Greedy. Selfish. Secretive and sly. We have that in common, dear toymaker. Sly as faeries. Though only one of us is even remotely fae."
Cadmus faltered a step. He stared at Paali as they recovered, shaking his head as Paali laughed. "Are you having me on, then?"
"No, no, though I was hoping to surprise you. I am half faerie, despite my ridiculous size and coloring."
"Indeed." Faeries had extremely dark skin, not quite true black, but so close it may as well be. They were all tiny in stature, so spindly and short they'd make even Harren look hefty.
As the dance finished and Paali led him from the floor, Cadmus said, "My lord, forgive me, but you seem oddly friendly and forthcoming given that you must, on some level at least, resent me."
Paali looked at him in surprise as he handed off a glass of wine from the nearby buffet table. "Resent you? Why would I…" He drifted off and turned away with a sound that was part laugh, part sigh. "My, my, am I becoming so apparent then? How pathetic." He sighed again and drained his wine. "I am forty-two years of age, with a son just turned nineteen. My best friends are my ex-wife and Imperia. I am plenty adult enough to know that you are not to blame for my unrequited feelings for him. I've never wanted anything but his happiness. This is the first time I have seen him this happy in a long time. I could never resent yo
u for that. If you are to be his lover, then I'd rather we be friends."
"I would like that too," Cadmus said softly, head spinning, heart pounding. All these years and it still took his breath away at times to see how quickly life could change. One commission and now he had both a new lover and a tenuous new friend.
Though it did not sit well with him to be standing between Harren and Paali, whatever Paali said about not minding. But what was he supposed to do? Suggest they share?
Cadmus ruthlessly shoved away the delightful but highly inappropriate thoughts that filled his mind of Harren between them, moaning their names and pleading for more. He gulped down his own wine, hoping his cheeks were not as red as they felt.
But the quirk of a brow and the inquiring smirk on Paali's mouth said that hope was in vain. "Something on your mind?"
"Nothing really," Cadmus replied. "My thoughts got away from me."
"Sounds like they would be delightful to chase," Paali replied but did not press, only set their wine glasses aside and offered his arm. "Shall we depart for the evening, Master Toymaker? The soiree seems to be quieting down, all the good cardplayers have gone home, and I do not want to be trapped here by our hostess and her tireless tongue."
Cadmus smothered a laugh as he took Paali's arm and they slowly made their exit. Once they were outside, he said, "Thank you for keeping me company. That was kind of you."
"What are friends for? Imperia is probably convincing himself he is the greatest of villains for having to leave you so abruptly, the silly man. He'll be a bit happier to know I was there, though probably terrified about what stories I will tell you about him." He winked.
"Oh, well now you have to tell me a story—or will have to soon, rather. I would not want to keep you standing here."
Paali scoffed. "Did you think I was going to allow you to walk home?" A carriage came to a stop in front of them and a footman on the back hopped down to open the door and assist them inside. Once they were on their way, Paali said, "Sadly, the best stories would take too long for this short trip. But I do have a good short one. We were eleven, twelve at the time. We were at my father's country estate for the summer, Imperia having come along with me from school since, well, neither he nor his parents were eager for him to be home. The day was unusually hot, utterly miserable. You could have cooked an egg on the cobblestones, and possibly a steak. So we went swimming in the pond. Naked, of course. Now it happens this lad from the village that I'd made mad happened by and saw us. I don't remember what I did, something stupid no doubt, though I believe he started it." Paali grinned. "Children being children, he decided to have his revenge by stealing our clothes. And of course we were not going to stand for that, so we chased him. Through the field, past my father's house, and right on down the road into the village."
