"What willwe do about Birsha and Rooksgrave Manor?"
Jonathon had my leg up on his bare lap, my skin still silky soft from his massage, my sprained ankle warm and tender from his careful treatment. Neither of us had bothered dressing for the day, and Jonathon had done his best to teach me to play chess. I'd done a much better job of teaching him to play checkers.
"We…" he said, the both of us staring at one another for a beat, and he laughed. "We've sent word to Magdalena about our suspicions, but for now, the most concrete thing is that Birsha has seen you, and well…there would be no one in that theater who wouldn't covet you after last night. My knowledge is secondhand, but Mr. Tanner has made Birsha's acquaintance."
"Really?" I asked, sitting up on the chaise.
"Mm. Birsha tried to collect him. Mr. Tanner is a unique subject and, I think, impossible to kill. But disinclined to be owned."
"Unless it's by diminutive young women who have inclinations for being well fucked," I added, grinning at the shocked laughter that burst out of my tidy gentleman.
His eyes flashed green as he glanced back at me. "Quite. And it was at one of his houses where Tanner met Auguste."
I sat up at this revelation. "Wait. It was?"
"Mm. Not to either of their tastes," Jonathon said calmly, holding my stare.
Auguste had said he'd had lovers. He'd told me as much. Was it there at one of those cruel houses, or was that where he'd found a meal?
"So he knows who I'm with," I continued.
"And what house you're from, if he didn't already," Jonathon finished with a nod. "Magdalena has already frozen the manor from new guests, and her wards will be stronger and more targeted if she knows the threat. He wouldn't tell you himself, but Mr. Tanner isn't the sort of man anyone wants to cross. So Birsha will have a great deal to think about now that you've…you've claimed us.” His voice went soft and fond again at that, hand stroking up and down my calf as we both fought our giddy smiles, staring at one another.
"Auguste will be up soon," I said, glancing out the window as a lamp was lit on the street. The sky was turning a deep blue above the buildings.
"Will you wake him as you did me?" Jonathon teased.
My eyebrows bounced. "Can I?"
Jonathon grinned. "You haven't tried it yet?"
I shook my head rapidly. "I don't even know where in the house he is."
"I do."
There was something wicked and teasing in Jonathon's stare, and I bit my lip, scooting closer and leaning in. "Have you woken Auguste the way I woke you?"
Jonathon leaned in too, lips brushing over my cheek on their way to my ear. "He wakes hungry." My eyes widened and Jonathon drew back, studying me. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Tell me everything. Or better yet, show me!"
"It was an accident, actually, and just a bite…or two. But we've…helped each other out. As friends. He's not of much interest to Mr. Tanner, but I can't help but be curious about his condition."
Jonathon looked as though he was about to go into a medical discussion I wouldn't begin to understand, so I interrupted him. "Can I watch?"
Jonathon's laugh barked out again. "If I can watch first. Come on, I'll show you his hiding spot." He stood from the chaise and held out his hand for me to take, leaning in to whisper in my ear again. "But we can't let Cork see us. She guards him like a Doberman."
"He won't mind?" I asked, already on my tiptoes, heartbeat in my throat, either from the excitement of sneaking to Auguste or maybe the idea of watching my men together.
"Has Auguste ever minded you offering yourself up to him?" Jonathon asked, and I laughed in answer. "We'd better hurry, we probably only have a little time left till he wakes."
I hadn't seen a great deal of Auguste's house while staying. Only enough to know Auguste was both elegant and wealthy in a way I couldn't quite wrap my head around. Jonathon guided me through the upper hall, past a lavishly decorated sitting room, right to the end where there seemed to be nowhere else to go.
I gasped as Jonathon reached out to the half-panel wall, slipping his fingers under the border and pulling it like a latch, the entire wall swinging silently inward on a hinge. He grinned over his shoulder at me, eyebrows rising.
"We're mysterious creatures, love. We can't help but appreciate a secret panel. Follow me."
I bit my lip, giddy excitement twisting with the eerie dark of the stairwell we entered. I pushed the door shut behind me and froze in the blackness that surrounded us.
"Jonathon?" I whispered.
A pair of vivid green eyes appeared in front of me, making me jump, and then a familiar hand took mine. "It's all right. Mr. Tanner and I can see. You're safe."
I could barely make out Jonathon's features, but his voice was gentle and his other hand cupped my hip, guiding me carefully down the stairs. In the dark, it seemed to go on endlessly, and my heartbeat was loud in my ears, echoing with our steps and my catching breaths.
"You enjoy being a little frightened, don't you?" Jonathon asked.
I swallowed hard and nodded, and he hummed with thought.
"Auguste enjoys the hunt. The two of you could make a game of chase. And I already know how well you perform under command," Jonathon continued.
He was manipulating me, coaxing out my excitement, filling the darkness with visions of me at Auguste and his mercy.
"Ezra promised to surprise me with fucking," I murmured, and Jonathon chuckled.
"Oh, we'll care for your interests, little one," he said with a growl.
There was a warm light finally appearing, and I sighed as we reached the bottom of the stairs at last. Jonathon's eyes dimmed to blue and he reached a hand up, grazing his knuckles over my cheekbone.
"All right?"
I nodded eagerly, and he mimicked me.