“A magical unicorn,” Chander amended before leaning up and kissing Alaric’s mouth. He really liked his lips.
“I think what you really need is to have your head examined.”
“After lunch,” Chander said as he stood up. “And a freaking nap.”
Chapter 35
The following afternoon, Chander was reclining on his worn-out sofa with his feet in Alaric’s lap. He was reading an old book Vadimas had found on dark magic races and watching Alaric surreptitiously as he played with the tablet he’d stolen from Baxter. Alaric seemed fascinated with the device and Chander had already ordered him one of his own so his sentinel would stop whining about having one of his toys taken. He heard the front door open and close before Victor wandered in carrying a basket of what looked like gourmet foods.
“This just came for you, Chander,” the shifter said as he set the container down on the coffee table.
“Who is it from?” Chander asked. Victor handed him a gray envelope. Ripping it open, he saw it was a get-well card from the elders.
“Well?” Alaric asked.
“It’s from the elders,” Chander announced as he eyed the package.
“After over a month, they’ve finally decided to send something over,” Alaric responded. “It’s a little too late to act as if they care.”
“Oh, they care,” Victor insisted. “They came over here pretty often asking about you.”
Chander looked up at him. “They did?”
“Yes, they were annoyed because I kept telling them if they wanted to know they needed to talk to your mate.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Chander replied.
“I have to say they aren’t the most pleasant of people. Especially Elder Sigimund and Elder Drusa,” Victor said. “And do not eat any cookies they bring you. Those were the worst things I’ve ever had in my life.”
“You’re welcome to anything in the basket,” Chander told him.
“I can take it home to my family if you guys don’t want it,” Victor suggested. “They’ll eat anything and this looks like expensive stuff.”
“Feel free to take it.”
“Thanks.” Victor grabbed the basket and headed to his room with it.
“I should have known they’d come sniffing around here for information,” Chander told Alaric.
“Lucky for us, we have Victor.”
“Yeah.”
“I think I have the solution for another one of your problems,” Alaric said after turning his attention back to Baxter’s tablet.
“Wow, exactly how many problems do I have?” Chander asked.
“Too numerous to count,” Alaric replied with a grin.
“Which one have you solved for me?”
“Your hair.”
“My hair?”
“Yes, I think you need conditioner.”
Chander laughed. His hair was always a frizzy mess. “Are you kidding me? I’m lucky when I have shampoo in the house.”
“According to what I’ve read, conditioner is better for your hair than shampoo.”
“Hey, Victor,” Chander called out when his housekeeper emerged from the hallway.
“Yes?”
“Alaric would like you to add conditioner to the shopping list,” Chander said with an amused glance at the Lich Sentinel.
“You don’t use conditioner on those curls?” Victor asked. “Well, no wonder they’re frizzy. Don’t worry, I’ll pick out the best stuff and I’ll get styling products for you too. It’ll be gorgeous.”
Chander grew nervous. “How much time am I going to have to spend dumping styling products on my head?”
“We’ll find an easy routine for you,” Victor promised. “And remember when it comes to product, less is more so no dumping.”
“Okay,” Chander replied, still not sure what the hell he was signing up for. He was about as low-maintenance as it got, but he supposed Alaric had to look at it so it wouldn’t kill him to at least try and tame his mess.
After Victor hurried out of the room excited about going straight to the store to fix Chander’s nightmare hair, he turned to the Lich Sentinel and asked, “Alaric?”
“Yes?”
“How in the world did you figure out I needed conditioner?”
“Baxter taught me to Google,” Alaric revealed. “I typed in crazy hair.”
Chander chuckled. “Crazy hair.”
“It’s very springy.”
“And frizzy.”
“Victor’s going to fix that for you,” Alaric said.
“Can’t wait,” Chander retorted. “If only my other problems were so easily solved.”
“Well, I tried to come up with a solution for your sentinels, but I’m afraid you’re stuck with them.”
“Damn, I would’ve thought the leader of the sentinels would be able to free me from the curse of Bax and Ben.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint.”
“Nothing about you disappoints.” Chander admired Alaric’s strong profile. Alaric lowered a hand onto Chander’s ankle and rubbed it through his jeans.
“We’ll fix your hair and then I’ll be able to say the same about you,” Alaric joked.
“At least I comb mine.”
“According to Ben, my hair is sentinel chic.”
“I suppose you do all wear that messy look,” Chander said. “And I do prefer it to that combed back look you wore when we first met.”
“Who would add a hairstyle to a mind-altering spell?” Alaric asked.
“Someone with a seriously fucked up priority list,” Chander replied. “I wish you remembered more about it.”
Alaric’s green eyes met his. “Me too. My memory is increasing slowly, but I’m nowhere close to recalling my origins.”
“We have a lot of weird shit in common. Neither one of us knows how the hell we got to be the leaders of our races.”
“I suppose those similarities are the reasons why Fate chose us to be together.”
Chander set his book down and sat up. “You know I objected to having a mate in general, that it wasn’t you I was rejecting, right?”
Alaric put the tablet down and cupped Chander’s cheek. “I was planning on hanging around long enough to convince you to change your mind.”
Chander put his hand over Alaric’s. “Good plan.”
Leaning forward, Alaric kissed him. Chander scooted closer and then opened his mouth. When Alaric mimicked him, he slid his tongue along his lip and then went deeper. Alaric showed no hesitation and responded by taking charge. Tilting his head, he gave his mate more access and Alaric took full advantage. It was by far the most sensual experience of Chander’s life, and their bodies were hardly even touching.
“Hey,” he heard Baxter say. “None of that.”
Alaric ended his assault and grazed his thumb over Chander’s cheek. “Go away,” he ordered. Although his eyes were boring into Chander’s, he knew the words were not for him.
“Ben,” Baxter called out. “Get in here. These two need chaperones.”
“Why?” Benton asked as he stalked into the room.
“They were in here making out on the couch,” Baxter informed his mate.
“We really do need to find a solution to your sentinel problem,” Alaric whispered to him before moving his hand slightly so he caressed Chander’s jaw. His thumb skimmed over his lips. Chander was entranced.
“Stop that,” Baxter demanded. “The doctor said no sex.”
Chander’s eyes fell shut as Alaric pressed his lips to his forehead. “I hate them.”
“I wish I had a tranquilizer gun,” Benton complained.
“Maybe if we called Drystan, he’d let us borrow one,” Baxter suggested.
“You aren’t going to tranq Chand,” Alaric stated.
“He’s ill. We’d have to tranq you,” Baxter replied.
“He’s your leader, idiots,” Chander reminded them as he reluctantly pulled away from his mate.
“It’s not fair for him to take advantage of you
in your vulnerable state,” Benton insisted.
Chander rolled his eyes. “I kissed him first.”
“That’s it. He’s getting a chastity belt,” Baxter said. “I’m going to need my tablet back to order one.”
“Too bad,” Alaric countered as he picked up Baxter’s tablet and went back to whatever he was doing on the device.
Lying back down, Chander pulled his legs up to stretch out and Alaric grabbed his feet and replaced them on his lap.
“It’s my tablet,” Baxter grumbled.
“What are you? Five? Learn to share,” Chander told him.
“You’re just pissy because we interrupted your lovefest on the sofa,” Baxter retorted.
“All we did was kiss,” Chander argued, though if he were being honest it sure felt like more than a kiss. Alaric’s mouth—he’d been obsessed with it since he first saw it. Those lips and his agile tongue didn’t disappoint. Just how long was he going to have to wait until they could do more than make out? The question made him internally shake his head—he wasn’t in any shape to do what he wanted with Alaric.
“You need to build up your strength before you start tossing off your underwear,” Baxter insisted.
“Gee Mom, am I grounded?” Chander asked.
“I’m going to point this out because I love you,” Baxter said. “But Alaric is our leader and you’re his mate so that kind of makes you Mom—not me.”
“If you start calling me Mommy, I’m going to stuff you both in a sealed box for at least a thousand years.”
“His threats don’t have the same panache when you know he can’t even cast a spell to pick his own nose,” Baxter told Benton.
“Now I know why sentinels are not spell-weavers,” Alaric observed with a rueful shake of his head. “Imagine wasting magic to pick your own nose.”
“Yeah, he’s had a lot of stupid spell ideas over the centuries.”
“I can well believe it,” Alaric replied before turning his attention to the sentinels. “Now beat it. We’re trying to relax.”
“Nice try, but we aren’t going anywhere,” Baxter countered as he took a seat on one of the chairs. Benton dropped down onto the other. “We’ll just stick around and watch you until Victor has dinner ready.”
“Where is Victor anyway?” Benton asked.
“Procuring conditioner for the Arch Lich,” Alaric answered.
“Huh?” Baxter asked.
“It’s for his hair,” Benton explained.
That got Chander’s attention. “If you knew I needed conditioner why the hell didn’t you say so? You know I don’t pay attention to shit like that. I’ve been walking around with a haystack of tangled curls on the top of my head forever.”
“You’re rather sensitive about hearing advice on how to better take care of yourself.” Benton gave an aggrieved sniff. “I’ve been trying to tell you to put down your books and pay attention to your body for centuries.”
“Now you’ve done it,” Alaric observed.
“I know, I’m an idiot,” Chander responded. “Now I’m going to have to listen to a lecture of all the damage I’ve inflicted on myself since the day I was born.”
“I don’t enjoy lecturing you,” Benton insisted which made Chander want to giggle—something he never did. “But you always leave me with no choice.”
It was time to distract him before Benton really started getting going. “I know, I’m awful and should start seeing to my own needs. In other news, did you know the elders were visiting Victor while I was in the hospital?”
“Are you kidding right now?” Baxter asked.
“Nope, they even brought him some shitty cookies,” Alaric added.
“I hope he didn’t tell them anything,” Benton said.
“Nope, he told them they needed to talk to Alaric if they wanted updates,” Chander informed the pair.
“Yay for Victor,” Baxter exclaimed.
“Exactly,” Chander replied.
“You don’t think they snooped around in here, do you?” Benton asked.
“There isn’t exactly anything to uncover in this place,” Chander observed. “Besides ugly furniture that should have been replaced a few decades ago.”
“We do need to redecorate,” Benton announced as he looked around the sad living room.
“Wait until Chand’s health improves,” Alaric suggested. “The last thing we need to do is have him tripping over workmen and tools.”
Baxter nodded. “It creeps me out to think of the elders in here.”
“We’re here now so we can keep them out,” Alaric replied.
“This is true,” Baxter agreed. “Now we need to discuss sleeping arrangements.”
“What’s wrong with your sleeping arrangements?” Chander asked. He hadn’t noticed any issues between his sentinels, but he’d been so focused on himself and Alaric that maybe he’d missed something.
“You kidding? The only problem with our bed is that sometimes we have to sleep.” Baxter waggled his brows. “No, it’s you two who have the problem.”
“No, I assure you, we don’t,” Alaric replied.
“I was okay with you two sleeping together until I saw that kissfest on the sofa,” Baxter countered.
Alaric narrowed his eyes. “Please keep in mind I can and will kill you.”
“He’s mean,” Baxter told Benton.
“Now you know why Fate thought they’d be a good match,” Benton responded. Chander grinned; he couldn’t agree with his sentinel more. He wished he had been open-minded the first time he’d met Alaric. Perhaps he would have figured out about the spell sooner, and they could have had a couple of months together before he fell ill. It was time to figure out the mystery of his health, because he was tired of giving into his fear of failing in a relationship, and he wanted a long, happy life with Alaric.
Chapter 36
“Do I really have to leave this on for two minutes?” Chander asked before heading down the hallway to take a shower. Alaric smiled as he yanked the sheet up.
“If that’s what it says, then yes,” Alaric called back. He heard muttering but no further complaints, so he guessed Chander was complying with the instructions on the bottle of conditioner Victor had brought home yesterday. It had been a pleasant twenty-four hours. Alaric had managed to steal a few more hot kisses, though they did get caught again by their chaperones which was ridiculous, he certainly wasn’t going to push any further with Chander’s health so precarious. He wouldn’t do anything to harm him.
Hopefully in a few weeks as he grew stronger, they could worry about extending their physical intimacy but in the meantime, Alaric was content to enjoy being close to Chander. He relished being together and when he had woken up, he’d been delighted to find a certain sleeping necromancer pressed against his back. He was somewhat anxious about squishing his small man in his sleep, but he realized that was probably not very likely so he decided to go with it.
Alaric finished making the bed and saw Chander in the doorway peering down at two bottles in his hands.
“Which one of these am I supposed to use first?” Chander asked.
“I don’t know how you expect me to answer that question,” Alaric said. “Take a guess. He only brought you two things to try.”
“Fine,” Chander grumbled before meandering back to the bathroom.
Crossing his arms over his chest Alaric waited for him to return to the bedroom to see how he had fared with his products but a few minutes ticked by and still no Chander. Growing slightly concerned, Alaric strode down the hall.
“Chand?”
“This is crazy,” Chander announced as he turned away from the mirror. He pointed to his head. “Look at this.”
Alaric grinned. Instead of a halo of wiry frizz sticking out in every direction, Chander’s hair was tamed in glossy dark curls with a few twisted down onto his forehead.
“I like it,” Alaric told him before tilting his chin up for a kiss.
“I didn’t think anything could fi
x my mad scientist look.”
“The wonders of styling products,” Alaric observed before taking his hand and leading him toward the kitchen for breakfast. When they got there, the rest of their household showered Chander with compliments.
“Shut up, it’s just hair,” Chander demanded. Alaric noted his cheeks were a little pink. They were obviously embarrassing the Arch Lich.
“I wish he still had to wear his glasses,” Victor said as he handed Chander a glass of orange juice. Chander frowned at his drink. “Then you’d have that whole sexy librarian thing going.”
“Hey, I’m just happy with being a necromancer without crazy hair.” Chander tentatively sampled the juice.
“You know juice doesn’t bite. You can drink it like you would coffee,” Alaric told him.
“No, you don’t get to talk to me during breakfast. Not as long as you drink coffee in front of me.”
“How do you think you could possibly force me to shut up?” Alaric asked.
“I can’t but that doesn’t mean I have to listen to you either.”
“I can think of several ways to change your mind,” Alaric replied.
“Foul,” Baxter said. “No flirting.”
“I’ve made a decision,” Alaric told the other two sentinels. “Unless you are willing to take a vow of abstinence until Chand and I are ready to consummate our relationship, you don’t get to follow us around and annoy the shit out of us.”
“Yeah, that’s a shitty deal,” Baxter countered.
“Then I guess it sucks to be you since I’m your leader and he’s your necromancer,” Alaric responded with a smile full of teeth.
“I’m going to start working on my resume,” Baxter told Benton.
Victor chuckled. “You guys are too funny.”
Alaric knew Baxter and Benton had Chander’s best interests at heart, but his mate was skittish enough about relationships. He didn’t need someone throwing more obstacles in their way. As his partner, Alaric wasn’t going to do anything to hurt Chander, so their worry was misplaced. And if they persisted, he would find a private moment to explain it all to them. But hopefully they were only kidding around and weren’t really going to follow them around breaking up their kisses and cuddles. Of course if nothing else worked, Alaric would ask Chander to do that whole “stick them in a box for a millennium” thing.
Rise of the Lich Sentinel Page 25
