by J. R. Ward
Chapter Eighteen
Qhuinn had never been good at waiting. And that was when shit was going okay. Considering he'd just lied twice about where John Matthew was?
Not a happy camper.
As he loitered at the hidden door by the grand staircase - so he could duck into the tunnel if anyone came by - he had the best view of the foyer you could get. Which meant when the vestibule's door opened, he got an eyeball full of his absolutely favorite couple: Blay and Saxton.
He should have known his luck wouldn't have had it otherwise.
Blay held the way open, like the gentlemale he was, and as Saxton stepped through, the bastard tossed a lingering, half-lidded stare over his shoulder.
Man, that kind of "look" was worse than the pair of them sucking face in public.
No doubt they'd been out for a nice meal and then gone back to Saxton's place for a little play of the sort that was hard to have here in the mansion. Total privacy was not something you could find on a bet around the compound -
As Blay removed his Burberry coat, his silk button-down pulled wide, and showed off a bite mark on his neck. And on his collarbone.
God only knew where else he had them. . . .
Abruptly, Saxton said something that made Blay blush, and the slightly shy, reserved laugh that followed made Qhuinn want to throw the fuck up.
Great, so the slut was a comedian, and Blay liked his jokes.
Fantastic.
Yup.
On that note, Saxton went up the stairs. Blay, on the other hand, came around the -
Shit. Qhuinn wheeled away and lunged for the door, hands scrambling to get the latch free.
"Hi. "
Qhuinn's hands stilled. His body stilled. His heart. . . stilled.
That voice. That soft, deep voice he'd heard nearly all his life.
Straightening his spine, he fucked off the escape idea, turned around, and faced his former best friend like the male he was. "Hi. Have a good night?"
Shit, he wanted to take that one back. As if the guy hadn't?
"Yes, and you?"
"Yeah. Good. John and I went out. He's back now, and we're going to go hit the weight room. He's getting changed. "
Tough to know whether the lying or the burn in his chest was making him so chatty.
"No Last Meal for you?"
"Nah. "
Cue crickets in the background. The Jeopardy! theme. A nuclear bomb - not that Qhuinn would have noticed even a mushroom cloud at this point.
God, Blay's eyes were so damned blue. And. . . holy crap, the two of them were actually alone. When was the last time that had happened?
Oh, yeah. Right after Blay had hooked up with his cousin for the first time.
"So you've taken out your piercings," Blay said.
"Not all of them. "
"Why? I mean. . . they were always, like, you, you know?"
"Guess I don't want to be defined that way anymore. "
As Blay's brows popped, Qhuinn's kind of wanted to do the same. He'd expected something else to come out of his piehole. Something like, "Meh. " Or, "Whatever. " Or, "I still got 'em where it counts, don't you worry. "
After which he could honk his package, and snort like he had balls the size of his head.
No wonder Saxton seemed attractive.
"So, yeah. . . " he said. Then cleared his throat. "So how are things with. . . you guys?"
Cue second trip to the heavens for those red eyebrows. "I'm good - we're. . . ah, good. "
"Good. Ah. . . "
After a moment, Blay glanced over his shoulder, toward the door into the butler's pantry. Clearly, it was the beginning of a back-away.
Hey, as you leave, Qhuinn wanted to say, will you do me a favor? I think my left ventricle is on the floor, so don't step on it as you pull out? Thanks. Great.
"Are you feeling okay?" Blay murmured.
"Yeah. I'm going to go work out with John. " He'd already said that. Fuck. This was a train wreck. "So there you go. Where you headed?"
"I'm going to go. . . get some food for Sax and myself. "
"No Last Meal for you guys, either. Guess we have that in common. " Someone bust out the pom-poms and cheer for the team. Yay. "So, yeah, enjoy yourself. Selves, I mean - "
Across the foyer, the vestibule door swung wide and John Matthew came in. "Son of a bitch," Qhuinn muttered. "The bastard is finally back. "
"I thought you said he was - "
"I was covering. For us both. "
"You weren't together? Wait, you get caught without being with him - "
"It was not my choice. Trust me. "
As Qhuinn beelined for Mr. Independent, Blay was right with him, and John took one look at the pair of them and his ahh-satisfied expression got ghost sure as if someone had booted him in the ass with a nine iron.
"We need to talk," Qhuinn hissed.
John glanced around like he was looking for a bunker to jump into. Yeah, well, tough balls for him; the foyer was essentially empty of furniture, and the dumb bitch couldn't jump far enough to reach the dining room.
Qhuinn, I was going to call -
Qhuinn grabbed the guy by the back of the neck and shoved him face-first into the land of pool and popcorn. Just past the threshold, John pushed free and went gunning for the bar. Picking up a bottle of Jack, he ripped the thing open.
"Do you think this is a fucking joke?" Qhuinn jabbed at the tattooed tear that was under his eye. "I'm supposed to be with you every second of the night and day, asshole. I've been lying for you for the last forty minutes - "
"It's true. He has. "
As Blay spoke up from behind, it was a surprise. And kind of nice.
I went to see Xhex, okay. Right now, she's my priority.
Qhuinn threw up his hands. "Great. So when V is stabbing my pink slip into my chest, you can still feel good about yourself. Thanks. "
"John, you can't light-head stuff like this. " Blay went around and grabbed a glass, like he was afraid their buddy was going to suck the bottle down whole. "Give me that. "
He took the booze, poured a healthy dose, and. . .
Drank it himself.
"What," he muttered as he got stared at. "Here, take it back if you want. "
John took a swig and then stared into space. After a moment, he shoved the Jack in Qhuinn's direction.
Rolling his eyes, Qhuinn muttered, "At least this is the kind of apology I'll accept. "
As he took the bottle, it dawned on him that it had been ages since the three of them had been together. Back before their transitions, they'd spent every night after training in Blay's old room at the guy's parents' house, pissing away the hours playing video games and drinking beer and talking about the future.
And now that they were finally where they'd wanted to be? Everyone was going in a different direction.
Then again, John was right. The guy was properly mated now, so of course his focus was somewhere else. And Blay was having a rockin' good time with Saxton the Slut.
Qhuinn was the only one pining for the GODs.
"Fucking hell," he muttered to John. "Let's just forget it - "
"No," Blay cut in. "This is not okay. You cut the shit, John - you let him come with you. I don't care if you're going to be with Xhex or not. You owe this to him. "
Qhuinn stopped breathing, focusing everything he had on the male who had been his best friend and his never-been lover. . . and the ever-after that was never going to happen.
Even after all the things that had gone on between them, and all the fuckups on his end, which were legendary, Blay still had his back.
"I love you," Qhuinn blurted into the silence.
John lifted up his hands and signed, I love you, too. And I'm really fucking sorry. This thing with Xhex and I has. . .
Blah, blah, blah. Or, Blah, blah, blah, as the case was with the ASL.
Qhuinn wasn't hearin
g a thing. As John went on and on, explaining his sitch, Qhuinn was tempted to interrupt and cop to not just what he'd said, but who he'd said it to. Except all he could think of was Blay coming in with Sax, and that f-in' blush.
It took everything he had in him to look at John and squeeze out, "We can work it out, all right? Just let me follow you - I won't look, I promise. "
John was signing something. Qhuinn was nodding. Then Blay started pulling away, taking a step back and then another and then a third.
More conversation. Blay talking.
And then the male turned and strode out. To get food. To go up to Saxton.
A low whistle made him shake himself and focus on John.
"Yeah. Sure. "
John frowned. You want to have a parking ticket stapled to your forehead?
"What?"
Sorry, I had a feeling you weren't tracking. Guess I was right.
Qhuinn shrugged. "Look at it this way, I don't feel like coldcocking you anymore. "
Oh, good. Bonus. But Blay is right. I won't do this again.
"Thanks, man. "
Drink?
"Yeah. Good idea. Great one. " He headed around the bar. "Matter of fact, I'll get my own bottle. "
