“What?”
He glanced at Craig. “Your book. I imagine you have many admirers and have been on lots of dates. I never had time for such things, not even before… It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” Craig reached out to halt Alun’s progress with the dishes. “I hate the fact that you’ve had so little fun in your life, that you didn’t even think you could help yourself to the ice cream over there in the freezer.”
Alun frowned. “The warriors and the boys like their treats. I don’t need such things.”
“Maybe not, but you deserve them, all the same. In fact, everyone deserves ice cream now and again, except for that Dracul fucker. That goes without saying. May he dine forever on fire and brimstone when this is all over. Aa-a-and we’ve gotten way off track. You were asking if I go out a lot and the answer is no. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had my share of fucking randoms. That doesn’t count, and it’s gotten old.”
Craig leaned into Alun’s face, enough to make serious eye contact but not so much that Alun felt trapped. “Look… The timing on this sucks, although if not for the horror of what happened a few days ago, I wouldn’t have the chance to get to know you. On a purely selfish level, I’m grateful for the opportunity. And I understand that you need me to take things slowly. You’ll find I’m a surprisingly patient man. I can wait. You’re worth it.”
“I don’t understand on what basis you’ve formed that opinion.” He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Did the warriors last night force you into this?”
Craig sighed and leaned away. “Man, first of all, there isn’t much of a ‘this’ at the moment. I wasn’t going to say anything until the rescue mission was all over. My immediate plans were to make sure we both came out of this movie-worthy exploit alive. You’re the one fretting over the future. I can’t stand seeing you worry, so I opened my big mouth and…freaked you out, I guess. All this clumsiness is pure Jefferson with nothing added by anyone else, believe me. I don’t scare easily. All those dudes did last night was make sure I wasn’t preying on you. They care.”
Alun grabbed a handful of cutlery to load into the dishwasher. “I’m in the hive, so of course they do. That’s their job.”
Craig shook his head. “You are a tough nut to crack. That’s okay. I said I was patient and I am. For the record, however, the reason they warned me not to mess with you was totally out of genuine concern…about you. For you, Alun, um… What’s your surname?”
It took a moment to remember. It had been that long since he’d even thought of it. “Evans.”
Craig smiled. “Alun Evans. You matter, remember?”
“I’m trying to.”
“Try harder…for me.” With that, the man had the audacity to kiss him in front of God and everyone, right there in the kitchen.
And it wasn’t quick like before. Craig’s lips lingered against Alun’s, slanting along the seam. It wasn’t hard or aggressive, but it was passionate. Alun felt glued to the spot, unable or unwilling to break the contact. When he sighed at the tingling feeling creeping through his body, Craig darted his tongue inside to explore Alun’s mouth. He’d thought it might be disgusting to be breached in such a manner, but it was nothing of the sort. It was sweet and, at the same time, exhilarating. Down low, he felt the stirrings of passion, something he’d thought himself well past. He was nearly hard when Craig pulled back, nipping at his lower lip right before he broke contact.
Alun opened his eyes and blinked at Craig. “Was that supposed to make me remember something to do? Because I think it caused me to forget my name.”
Craig gave him a lazy smile, a confident one. “My work is done here.”
The man left the kitchen area. It felt as if they had been alone for a few minutes. Slowly, though, the sounds of the others reached his ears. Embarrassed and flustered, he went back to tackling the dishes, except there was nothing left in the sink. He needed to round up more.
“Here, Mr. Alun.” Annika pranced up to him with a handful of dirty plates.
“Oh, thank you. It wasn’t necessary. I was coming to get them.”
“I want to help.” She beamed at him before getting closer. “I would also like an answer.”
There it is. He wasn’t surprised. Sweet as she was, Annika wasn’t one for doing chores, not that anyone expected her to. She was the Queen, after all. “Now isn’t a good time to discuss that.” There were too many others within possible earshot.
“I can think of no better opportunity. No one is paying us any mind, and as matters are in motion, I can’t wait any longer to make my own plans.”
She put her pretty hand with its delicate bones and pink polished nails on his arm. Her grip was like steel. “I need your answer now, if you please.”
He stopped what he was doing and glanced around. She was right. Most of the others were either gone or huddled around the TV screen where Val had put up the schematic Merlin had sent.
“It’s madness. You’ll die in the hold of the plane.”
“No, I won’t. A human would, but I can take the cold and go into stasis for the flight. I won’t need any food or water—or really much air. Bathroom breaks will also be unnecessary. And it’s only nine hours.”
“More if you tack on the before and after. There’s no telling when I might get to you once we land. What do you mean by ‘stasis’, anyway? I didn’t know that was a thing with your kind.”
“It is for Queens. It’s a hive preservation move in times of crisis, like converting young males into queens when there aren’t any females.”
He scoffed. “Oh, how can you know of such things without another queen to teach you?”
“Dr. Harry knows. I’ve been getting tutored by him about all manner of things. I’ve tried it, too, already. It works. It’s rather refreshing, actually, like a nice, long nap.”
“I don’t expect he thought you’d actually use it.” When the girl merely shrugged, completely unrepentant in her subterfuge, he tried some more to talk her out of her scheme. “If you’re relying on my accomplishing things without anyone noticing, it’s doomed. I don’t have what it takes to be furtive.”
“You don’t need to be. No one will be paying attention to you, Mr. Alun. You’re entirely reliable and won’t be suspected of doing anything problematic.”
“And I’m utterly irrelevant. Noticing me would be like paying attention to the rug beneath your feet.” The truth stung, but when she didn’t contradict him, he knew that she agreed. There was something—someone—she hadn’t anticipated, however. The memory of the man’s touch lingered. Alun’s lips tingled with it. “Craig will notice.”
That brought her up short—for about two seconds. “He’s someone you can easily distract, I’m sure.”
Alun gasped and nearly dropped the plate in his hand. “Oh, you’re a proper little madam, aren’t you?” When she continued to simply stand there, staring at him, waiting for an answer, it occurred to him that no matter what he said, she would find a way to go along with the raid. Without him, she would be in even more danger.