“Why do you call him Hawk?”
“’Cause his last name is Hawkins. I’ve always called him that.”
Jeremy shrugged and held up what appeared to be a newly starched cravat. “Listen, I’m starving, do you know how to tie this damn thing?”
Nate groaned, rolling onto his back. “Watch your mouth, Trouble.”
Starting at Nate’s voice, Aiden looked down. “You call him Trouble?”
“Trust me, it will become obvious why in no time.” Nate pushed himself up and kissed Aiden’s lips. Nate crooked his fingers at Trouble.
“Come have a seat, Trouble.”
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Jeremy padded over and crawled up onto the foot of the bed.
Crossing his feet over his legs, he sat, looking at everything but Aiden.
For the first time, Aiden noticed that Jeremy, or Trouble as Nate referred to him, was fully dressed except for the cravat. Aiden felt like an outsider, but it wasn’t the kid’s fault. Holding out his hand, Aiden smiled. “Nice to meet you, Trouble. I hope you will forgive us for having the marriage ceremony without you.”
Trouble’s mouth dropped open, and he looked at Nate then back at Aiden. Finally, he shook Aiden’s hand. “Nice to meet you too, Aiden.”
Nate tugged his arm, pulling Aiden into his chest, and kissed his forehead. He whispered the words, “Thank you,” against Aiden’s skin.
Aiden burrowed closer, feeling a little better.
“Ahem.”
They turned, looking at Jeremy, still hanging on to one another.
“I came in here for a reason.”
Nate groaned. “What?”
Trouble grinned, showing off even white teeth, and held out the cravat. “I need you to tie this so I can go downstairs and get something to eat.”
Nate motioned for Jeremy to come closer. “Bring us some while you’re at it.”
Trouble crawled forward, perching on his knees in front of Nate.
Taking the neckcloth, Nate proceeded to tie it in an intricate knot.
It was very impressive. Aiden couldn’t tie a cravat. “How did you learn to do that?”
Nate’s long fingers slid on the white linen, reminding Aiden of what else those fingers were capable of. Heat filled his lap, his prick stirring again. Following the bare muscular arms to the burly chest, Aiden licked his lips.
“I had a valet show me when I was younger.”
So?
Aiden’s brow furrowed. “I have one now and
I
can’t do that.”
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“If you want, I’ll teach you the next time I try to teach Trouble again.”
Nate finished, patting the cloth, then leaned back. “Trouble, bring us some breakfast back with you, please.”
Trouble immediately started tugging at the cravat. “I’m a fake valet, not a fake butler.”
Nate knocked the kid’s hands away. “Stop it. You’re going to mess it up. And it’s a footman who brings the food, not the butler.”
Growling, Trouble hopped off the bed out of Nate’s reach and tugged on the neckcloth again. “Well, I’m not a fake footman either.”
“Trouble…” Nate grumbled.
Aiden bit his lip to keep from laughing. Nate was right, the nickname Trouble fit this kid to a T. It amazed Aiden that the kid was brave enough to back talk Nate. He imagined even grown men were reluctant to cross Nate.
Nate chuckled and threw his pillow at him.
Laughing, Trouble tossed the pillow back. “Fine.”
Aiden laughed too. He liked seeing this playful side of Nate. The contrast of the commanding naughty sailor in bed and the attentive lover and…well father, was intriguing, sexy. It gave Aiden hope that maybe Nate would eventually decide to retire and stay here with Aiden.
As soon as Trouble left, Aiden reached behind Nate’s neck and pulled his head down for a kiss. He sealed his lips to Nate, his tongue probing.
Moaning, Nate opened for Aiden. His hand clutched Aiden’s shoulders. Slowly he kissed down Aiden’s neck and just as he got there, he stopped and pulled back.
Tracing Aiden’s neck with his fingers, Nate growled. “Aiden?” Nate tugged him forward, making him straddle his lap.
Aiden’s cock jerked at the contact and he leaned in, flicking his tongue over Nate’s lips, his fingers playing with the hair on Nate’s face.
“Huh?”
Nate made a low rumbling sound deep in his throat and clutched Aiden’s shoulders. “Can you draw the man who attacked you last night?”
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Aiden lay on his stomach with his feet curled over his back in the middle of the bed. His pencil flew over the paper with sure, even strokes.
Every now and then he’d stop, his head tilting to the side. He’d make a hmm sound then grunt and go right back to sketching. The passion and intensity was astounding and arousing in the extreme.
It had to be one of the sexiest things Nate had ever seen. It shouldn’t have been erotic at all, but it was, and damned if Nate’s dick wasn’t hard. He groaned and adjusted himself again before pacing back around the other side of the bed.
Sadly, his arousal went completely unnoticed. Hell, he wasn’t even sure Aiden realized he was still in the room as caught up in his work as Aiden was. Nate was tempted to make his presence known, but this was important. They needed to find out who and why someone had tried to murder Aiden.
Nate dragged his attention from the sweet little linen-clad ass and the constantly moving bare feet above it. He’d never seen anyone as deeply immersed in their work. He could certainly see why Aiden’s parents were concerned about his safety if Aiden was always like this, but Nate still didn’t understand their ultimatum. It didn’t matter now, but why didn’t they just assign him a guard to follow him around and watch after him while he concentrated on his art? The man was an artistic genius. Nate was probably a tad partial, but—he took another peek of the sketch Aiden was working on—no, it wasn’t his bias, Aiden
was
amazing.
It astonished Nate the detail Aiden was able to recall and add into the picture. He couldn’t possibly have seen the attacker for very long—he
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claimed to have only glimpsed the assailant in the mirror as he was being choked—but he had specifics down that most people would have missed.
Nate had noticed Aiden studying things before, but he had no idea the extent of his observation skills. Aiden had included minute things, like a faint scar at the corner of the man’s left eye and a freckle on the side of his nose. Nate hadn’t taken note of either of those things, but looking at the drawing, the thug appeared exactly as he remembered.
Incredible.
Aiden sat, dropping his pencil. “Done.” He stretched his arms in the air and tilted to each side. “Nate?”
“Here.”
Turning his head, Aiden smiled, his face softening from the intense expression he’d worn while working. “Oh.” He motioned toward the paper, then held out his hand to Nate. “What do you think? Is it how you remember him?”
Nate took his hand and sat on the bed behind Aiden. Wrapping his arms around Aiden, Nate pressed his face into the back of Aiden’s bare neck and inhaled his scent. “Mmm…”
Aiden laughed, reaching up and running his fingers over Nate’s beard. Last night and this morning, Aiden had kept stroking his beard and mustache, trying to tangle his fingers in it. Nate didn’t think he even realized he did it. Not that he was complaining. He liked Aiden touching him.
Resting his chin on Aiden’s shoulder, he glanced at the sketch again and the hair on the back of his arms stood up.
Even in black and white it looked very lifelike. The sketch was both beautiful for all the skill put into producing it and horrible for its likeness to the person it represented. Nate felt as though he could wrap his hands around the man’s throat and choke the life from him just as he’d tried to do to Aiden. The reminder took some of the edge off Nate’s desire. His hand moved up to Aiden’s throat, rubbing absently. He hugged Aiden tighter with the other arm. “You are unbelievable.”
Turning his head, Aiden smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
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Oh, he still liked that, the self-confidence. It was every bit as sexy as Aiden drawing. “Why did you do this on paper?”
Aiden shrugged, jostling him. “I can’t find any of my screens.”
“Any? How many do you have?” That didn’t sound right to Nate. Had it been anything else he might have considered that Aiden misplaced it, but not his art.
“Three. A large, a medium and a small one.” Aiden shook his head, bumping Nate. He touched the side of Nate’s face and began playing with his beard again. “Actually, I have four if you count the new large screen I bought yesterday to replace the other one that was stolen.”
Grabbing Aiden’s waist, Nate turned him so he could see him better.
“Maybe they’re still in your old room?”
“Hmm…” Aiden began fiddling with Nate’s mustache. “No, the trunk I keep them is in the other bedroom, the one Trouble is using. That’s where I found that.” He pointed to the sketchbook. “My paints, charcoals and easel are still there.”
Nate frowned, catching Aiden’s hand to still it. “Does this happen a lot?”
“No never.” Aiden’s eyebrows pulled together and he began running his thumb over Nate’s fingers. “The first time was the day the weapons were stolen.”
It was too strange to be a coincidence.
Apparently, Aiden came to the same conclusion. Still looking at Nate, he bit his bottom lip. “Jeffers, are any of my screens in the castle?”
“No, milord.”
“Who took them from the castle, Jeffers?” Nate asked.
“I do not know, Lord Deverell. I did not see them leave, I only sensed them.”
“What?” How the hell was that possible? Nate frowned. “That doesn’t make any—”
Aiden nodded and squeezed his hand, bouncing a little. “Yes, it makes perfect sense. After Rupert dropped his screen a couple of years
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back without updating his data on Myron—his house butler—he lost all his sketches. No way was I going to end up in the same predicament. So I instructed Jeffers to update my files whenever one of my screens left or came into the castle. If Jeffers can’t see them he wouldn’t know who took them, but he knows when they cross a threshold leading outside and he can download information from them until they exit the gates.”
Then all of Aiden’s sketches were saved in Jeffers’ memory. Nate grabbed Aiden’s hand and the sketchbook. “Come on, we need to look at your drawings.” He suspected they were about to find not only Aiden’s attacker but who stole the weapons.
It never occurred to Nate that they were both barefoot and missing cravats and waistcoats until they got to Raleigh and Steven’s hallway. He should have realized they weren’t going downstairs. “Why are we here?”
Aiden raised his hand to knock on his parents’ door. “Because the access screen in Cony’s private study is larger than the one in the library.”
Wonderful.
They were half naked—by Regelence standards anyway—
and judging from the looks Raleigh gave him last night, Raleigh already thought Nate was taking advantage of Aiden.
“Father? Cony?” Aiden knocked on the door.
The door flew open. Raleigh immediately started fussing over Aiden.
He was dressed much the same way Nate and Aiden were, with his shirt un-tucked and no cravat. “Aiden, are you—”
“We need to access Jeffers from your study, Cony.” Aiden pushed right past his sire and waved at Steven without breaking stride. “Hello, Father.”
“Hello, Son.”
Raleigh caught sight of Nate, his eyes widening. “Nate? What’s going on?”
Nate and Raleigh watched Aiden round the corner into a room in the suite as Steven came to the door. “Nate.”
“Steven.” Shrugging, Nate handed Raleigh the sketch pad and followed his consort. “That’s the man who attacked Aiden.”
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Raleigh scrutinized the sketch.
The private study looked more like a command center. There was no actual desk, only chairs and a huge screen along one wall. Nate felt like he’d just stepped into a war room. It was all very high tech and didn’t fit with the rest of the castle.
Aiden was already standing in front of the display barking out orders.
After a few seconds, he turned around. Spotting Nate, Aiden grinned. “Do you want to see all of the sketches before the weapons were stolen?”
He stepped up behind Aiden, still taking in the room. “No. Start with the ones you did on that day, then we’ll go back if we need to.” He wrapped his arms around Aiden’s waist, pulling Aiden flush against him, and looked at the display panel.
The picture changed, going through sketches of the docks. They were all very nice. Once again Nate was awed by Aiden’s talent. Nate kissed Aiden’s ear and whispered, “These are good.”
Aiden reached up, his hand absently going to Nate’s beard. “Thank you.”
“What are you two doing?” Raleigh demanded.
They turned their heads to find Raleigh standing in the doorway, his hands on his hips, scowling at them. In his hand was the sketchbook Nate had given him.
Steven came through the door behind Raleigh, his attention on the screen. He pointed. “There. Stop.” He rushed forward, standing next to Aiden and Nate. “Look at that.”
On the monitor was a sketch of the weapon crates being loaded onto a Cargo Hydro-Space Craft.
* * * * *
Aiden closed his eyes and rested his head on Nate’s shoulder. Riding in a lift hadn’t made him sleepy in years. But then he’d never spent all night making love either. “What was your childhood like?”
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Touching his cheek, Nate held Aiden’s head against his shoulder.
“Probably a lot like yours, actually.” Nate’s voice was soothing, relaxing.
It was nice being able to spend time alone with him during the day, even if they were on a mission of sorts. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I was raised on Englor. It’s very similar to Regelence.”
Englor?
It was another Regency planet, he remembered that from his schooling. Did that mean— “Are you really an earl?”