Delevan

by Catherine Lievens

  Delevan nodded. He was asleep before his dad and Ani left his room.

  * * * *

  Delevan was out like a light, so Blair covered him and gathered his plate and silverware to take them downstairs. He knew Delevan would probably sleep for another few hours at least, so he might as well clean up and talk to Jared and Noem.

  He should have known that while most of the people who’d been in the kitchen earlier would have listened to him, one in particular wouldn’t have.

  Nysys was at the counter, pouting, while Morin was reading a book next to him. They were the only ones left in the room, and when Nysys heard Blair come in, he looked up so fast Blair thought it was a miracle he didn’t break his neck.

  “Blair!”

  The enthusiasm surprised Blair, but he smiled. “Nysys. Why are you still here?”

  Nysys’ pout worsened. “Don’t sound like you’re so happy to see me.”

  “Ah, well, I can’t say I’m not happy.”

  “But you’re not happy either.”

  Morin reached out without even looking up from his book and patted Nysys’ hand. “You know only very few people are able to keep up with you, love.”

  Nysys puffed his chest. “You called me love.”

  That made Morin look up. “Yes. So?”

  “You always say no pet names.”

  “I don’t like you giving me pet names, but I don’t mind giving you some. Unless you don’t like it?”

  Blair took advantage of the fact that Nysys was busy making kissy sounds at Morin to rinse Delevan’s plate and put it and the silverware in the dishwasher. Of course, Nysys’ attention was back on him by the time he was done.

  “What are you doing here? I thought we wouldn’t see you until at least tomorrow. Is Delevan okay?”

  “He’s fine. Sleeping.”

  “And you don’t like to watch him sleep? You should try to be more romantic.”

  “How is watching someone sleep romantic? It sounds more like something creepy to do.”

  Nysys shrugged. “Depends if you’re doing it with creepy intentions. Are you planning to stalk him, torture him, stuff like that?”

  Blair gaped. He still wasn’t used to Nysys, and he wasn’t sure one could ever get used to him. He knew Nysys often asked weird questions and that most people in the pride usually humored him, but it didn’t change the fact that it was weird. “Uh, no. I’m not planning on doing anything to him.”

  Nysys wiggled his eyebrows. “Not anything that’s not sexy, anyway.”

  “How can you go from torture to sexy so fast?”

  Nysys waved. “You’ll get used to it.”

  Morin shook his head frantically while Nysys wasn’t looking and mouthed, “Run while you can! Run!”

  Nysys might as well have had eyes on the back of his head, because he asked, “Morin, what are you telling him?”

  Morin went back to his book and tried to look innocent. Blair was having a hard time not laughing, and it felt good. He slumped on the stool in front of Nysys and crossed his arms on the counter, resting his cheek on it.

  He startled when a hand carded through his hair, unbinding it, and he wasn’t surprised to see it was Nysys. Nysys made a soothing sound and continue to stroke Blair’s hair, and it was oddly relaxing. It shouldn’t have been—Blair barely knew Nysys—but even Blair’s Komodo dragon liked it, almost like Nysys was family.

  “You’re tired,” Nysys said.

  It wasn’t a question, but Blair answered anyway. “Yeah. It’s just... it’s too much.”

  Nysys’ hand stopped for a few seconds, then moved again. “Are you going to leave Delevan?”

  “No. Why are you asking something like that? Do I look like someone who’d leave his mate?”

  “Well, you just said it was too much.”

  “Not that. Not... not Delevan. It’s just, I’m not sure where I stand with him. I mean, we met a few weeks ago, and we’re still at that awkward will he let me kiss him if I try, or will he push me away stage, and I know it’s mostly my fault.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I slept with Ben.”

  Nysys tugged a bit too hard on Blair’s hair and Blair winced, but it lasted only a few seconds. “You did?”

  “Yeah.”

  “When?”

  “Before me and Delevan met.”

  Nysys sighed. “Good. And how didn’t I know about it? I’m the gossip king in the house. I should know stuff like that!”

  “It was just a one-time thing. I mean, I met Delevan a few days after that, and I wasn’t about to cheat on him.”

  “But you think it’s put a stop on your mating.”

  Blair sighed. “Honestly? I don’t know. Me and Delevan talked, and he seems to be okay with it, but I’m still careful, you know? And I think maybe I’m being too careful. I haven’t felt like me lately, because I’ve tried so hard to be good, to keep Delevan happy. Not that I’m a bad guy usually, but I do like to flirt and talk to people, and I haven’t been doing it because I’m scared Delevan will take offense. I don’t want to mess our mating up.”

  “Well, maybe you should talk to him about this. He knows about Benji already, and I don’t think not being yourself will help. It’s obviously not, and you can’t build a good mating with a bad base.”

  “I know. I wanted to talk to him, but then this mess happened, and now I just want him to be fine, and I’ll do anything I can to help that happen.”

  “Including doing what you think might make him happy.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know he’s only going to be angry when he finds out you’ve decided to treat him with kid gloves. You need to be yourself, Blair.”

  Blair finally moved, straightening and looking at Nysys. Nysys’ hand slipped from Blair’s hair and he missed it, but he hoped Delevan would be happy to take Nysys’ place soon. “When did you get so smart?”

  Nysys snorted. “I was always smart. It’s not my fault no one recognizes the genius in me.”

  Morin smiled and patted Nysys’ hand again. “I do.”

  “And that’s why you’re my mate.”

  Blair briefly wondered if Morin was angry at the way Nysys had cuddled him, but he didn’t look like it, so Blair let it go. Being mated with Nysys had to be both complicated and great, and if he had to take a guess, Morin was probably used to letting Nysys do his thing without taking offense. There had only been affection and comfort in the way Nysys had stroked Blair’s hair, and Morin obviously knew it.

  Blair looked away when Morin kissed Nysys, both to give them privacy and because he was jealous. He promised himself to do whatever it took to put his relationship with Delevan on the right track, and had to force himself to stay there rather than run upstairs and wake Delevan up.

  “You know, I wouldn’t have thought you’d be this nice when I met you for the first time,” he told Nysys when he was done sucking Morin’s face.

  “Why? I wasn’t rude to you. Besides, you were too busy making out with Delevan to even notice me.”

  Blair smirked. “Ah, but that wasn’t the first time we met.”

  Nysys frowned. “I’m pretty sure it was.”

  “I told you, it wasn’t. We met last year, actually.”

  “What? When? What did I do?”

  “Mmm, I don’t think I’m going to tell you.”

  “Why not?” Nysys cried out, outrage in his voice.

  “Because it’ll be more fun to let you guess.”

  “You—you’re an asshole!”

  “Aww, come on. You know it’ll be fun.”

  Nysys crunched his nose. “Did we meet in New York?”

  “Nope.” Blair started to get up and Nysys looked panicked.

  “Was it here in the house?”

  “I already gave you your clue for the day. Come talk to me tomorrow if you want another one.”

  Blair walked out, Nysys’ high-pitched voice loud as he st
epped in the entrance. “I hate you, Blair Stanley! I’ll get my revenge, you’ll see!”

  Blair couldn’t wait.

  * * * *

  Delevan didn’t know how long he’d slept, but since the sun was shining, he’d obviously slept through the night.

  He sighed and started to roll on his back, thinking he was alone in bed—even though Blair had been sleeping with him for weeks, one of them was usually up before the other one woke. Instead, his back hit something warm, and when he turned around, he was surprised to see Blair in bed with him. He wasn’t even sleeping. “Dude, are you watching me sleep?”

  For some reason, Blair seemed to find that hilarious. He laughed, and Delevan felt something had changed. Blair seemed freer, like he’d finally let go. Of what, Delevan wasn’t sure, but he wanted to find out. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. I just had a conversation with Nysys last night, and he asked me why I wasn’t up here watching you sleep.”

  “I’m guessing the conversation didn’t end there?”

  “You know Nysys better than me. Do you really think it could have ended there?”

  “Right. How silly of me to ask.”

  Blair chuckled. “So, how are you feeling?”

  “Fine. I needed the sleep.”

  “Yeah, you were pretty much gone to the world. You didn’t even stir when I came to bed.”

  “Not that I don’t like having you here, but why are you still in bed?”

  Blair rolled on his back and looked at the ceiling. “I had a conversation with Nysys last night, and he made me realize just how stupid I was being.”

  “It’s one of his super powers.”

  “I guess.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That I needed to stop being careful and just be myself.”

  Delevan swallowed. “You haven’t been?” And fuck, that hurt. Why did Blair feel like he couldn’t be himself around Delevan?

  “No, I haven’t, and before you start berating yourself, it wasn’t your fault.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Blair sat up and leaned against the headboard. He looked down at Delevan and reached out, burrowing his fingers in Delevan’s hair. Delevan made a small surprised noise, but he didn’t try to move away. This was the most they’d touched since the talk they’d had that first night, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d needed it. His lion agreed and chuffed in his mind, ready to roll onto his back and expose his belly just to have more of those cuddles.

  “It really was me. I was afraid you wouldn’t like the real me after what I told you about Benjamin, that you’d push me away.”

  Delevan looked up at Blair. “Why? I can’t say I was happy to learn what happened with Benjamin, but we talked about it. I’m fine with it.”

  “I’m a flirt, Del. I like it. I like to make people smile, always have. I’m not a joke kind of person, but I flirt, tell people they’re pretty, and yeah, I sleep around. Well, I used to. You know I haven’t been with anyone since I met you.”

  “And you thought I’d have a problem with that?”

  “Some of my ex-boyfriends did. They thought it meant I was seriously trying to get in bed with other people.”

  “As long as flirting is all you do, I’m fine with it. Unless you give someone else more attention than you give to me.”

  Blair chuckled. “I don’t think that’s possible. When you’re in the room, you’re the only one I see.” Delevan snorted and Blair gently pulled his hair. “It’s true. I know we didn’t start the best way, but I want things to go the right way now. That’s why I’m still in bed with you this morning. I’m done trying to avoid you because I don’t know how to behave around you.”

  “And I hope you’re done feeling guilty about the Benjamin thing, because there’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

  “I am. New start?”

  Delevan tried to read Blair’s expression. He wasn’t sure what to think about the entire conversation, but Nysys and Keenan had been known to do miracles when it came to mates and mating, so he wasn’t surprised. Blair seemed honest and eager, and Delevan couldn’t stand to keep distance between them anymore, especially not after what happened with Bradley. He couldn’t help but think about what would have happened if he’d died. Blair would have been left alone—with the impression he didn’t want him. Delevan didn’t want that.

  He nodded. “New start.”

  Blair beamed and slithered down the bed until his face was in front of Delevan’s. Delevan missed the hand in his hair, but what he got in return was so much better.

  Blair kissed him, and it was nothing like the quick kisses they’d exchanged over the past few weeks. Blair opened his mouth right away, his tongue skimming Delevan’s lips, asking for entrance, and Delevan granted it.

  The kiss was slow and dirty, and Delevan knew it was going to lead into something else, something even better, but then Nysys happened.

  “Oh my gawd! You’re making out!”

  Delevan jumped at the high-pitched yell. He instinctively tried to hide himself before remembering he was dressed. He and Blair hadn’t gotten that far yet, but they could have. “Nysys! What are you doing here?”

  Nysys was still wearing his pajamas—pink, of course—and his hair was mussed. He looked younger, almost innocent, as he blinked at Delevan and climbed onto the bed. He wedged his ass between Delevan and Blair, and Delevan didn’t think he looked innocent anymore. “What do you want?” he asked through gritted teeth once Nysys was settled on his back.

  “I’m here for my second clue.”

  “Huh?”

  Blair laughed from Nysys’ other side. “You could have waited.”

  “Nope,” Nysys answered. “I want to know.”

  “Can someone explain what’s going on?” Delevan groused, not at all happy at being interrupted.

  “I told Nysys we met last year,” Blair told Delevan. “He doesn’t remember when, and I said I’d give him one clue every day until he does. Can’t make things too easy on him.”

  Delevan groaned and put his forearm over his eyes. “Shit, we’re never going to get rid of him now.”

  Nysys flopped on his side and faced Delevan. “I’m hurt. Why would you want to get rid of me?”

  “Because you’re nosy and weird.”

  “Aww, I love you too, Delly.”

  “Don’t call me Delly!”

  “Why not? It’s cute.”

  Delevan shook his head. “This is my life, and I’ve chosen it,” he said to himself.

  Nysys kissed Delevan’s cheek and flopped the other way, looking like a mostly dead pink fish. “So, Blair. What’s my clue?”

  “What, you don’t have a pet name for him?” Delevan grumbled.

  “I’ll have to think of one. It’s not easy. Blairy doesn’t sound as good as Delly. Maybe Blay?”

  Blair laughed. “You can call me whatever you want. I don’t care.”

  Delevan could hear the smile in Nysys’ voice when he answered, “I think you’re my favorite. Well, after Keenan, but Keenan is special.”

  “I notice you didn’t mention Morin,” Blair pointed out.

  “That’s because he’s in his own category.”

  “Ahhh, I get it.”

  “Now give me my clue!”

  “Mmm. You had a rather unusual reaction to me when we met.”

  Nysys made a choking noise. “That’s all? You won’t give me anything else?”

  “Nope.”

  “But... I have an unusual reaction to just about everyone I meet!”

  “Not my fault.”

  “You’re evil!”

  “Nah, I just like playing around, and you’re fun to play with.”

  Nysys slapped Blair’s chest and shimmered away. Delevan relaxed against his pillow, wondering if they were going to take up where they’d stopped, but Blair started to get out of bed. “Where are you going?”

  “I have to
go see Ira. We’re supposed to work together today.”

  “Supposed to?”

  “I’m sure I can try to get out of it a bit early. You got hurt and everything.”

  Delevan finally grabbed his phone from the nightstand and groaned when he saw the time. “I need to go to work this morning. I have a group of people coming in.”

  “You should take a day off.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll rest on my free days.” He got up and stretched. He was still amazed he couldn’t feel pain where he’d been stabbed.

  Blair walked around the bed and pulled Delevan into his arms. Delevan squeaked in surprise, and Blair laughed. “I’ll see you tonight?”

  “More like this afternoon. My last lesson ends at four.”

  “Are you up for a very private dinner here in your suite?”

  “As long as I don’t have to do the cooking.”

  “No cooking. I’ll go out and get Indian. You’re okay with that?”

  “Perfect.” Blair kissed Delevan, leaving him breathless when he stepped away. “See you tonight.”

  * * * *

  Blair focused on his mouth and tried to shift only his teeth. It worked better when he closed his eyes, and he knew he was scrunching them, but he’d gotten used to looking a bit ridiculous ever since he’d started working with Ira. He knew Ira had been where he was when he’d learned to shift only parts of his body, and he was a good teacher. He would never make fun of his student—well, almost never.

  Blair felt something shift. He didn’t open his eyes and asked, “So? Did it work?” He opened his mouth wide to show Ira his teeth. Ira didn’t answer, so Blair closed his mouth and opened his eyes, only to find Ira staring at him, his hand on his mouth as he tried to muffle his laughter. “What?”

  Ira lowered his hand and laughed. “Well, you did shift something, although it wasn’t the bit we needed you to shift. As much as I like your Komodo dragon’s nose, it’s not the best thing to use to attack someone.”

  Blair tried to wrinkle his nose, and sure enough, he couldn’t. He tried to look at it and ended up closing one eye. The skin he could see was now greenish and scaly instead of its usual pale tone, and his nose was flatter than it’d been only minutes before.