Steal the Moon(51)

Dev brought my hand to his lips. “Are you terribly angry at the way my brother treated you?”

I laughed a little. “Not really, baby. He didn’t mean any harm. I doubt he’ll try it again since he doesn’t fight girls. I was just disappointed it wasn’t Daniel. I thought he had come back. Is he in that coffin?”

“Yes,” Dev replied solemnly. “I believe he intends to use it the entire trip. As you can see this is not a light-tight shelter.”

“It’s more than that and you know it. If he’d been sleeping with us and feeding off your magic, he could handle this light with no problem. Do you know what he’s planning?”

“I believe I’ve figured out some of it,” Dev confirmed.

“Is he going to leave us?”

Dev moved to face me and took my hands in his. “Would it be so bad if it was just the two of us?”

“I love you, Dev. If it were just the two of us, I would be content. Is that what you and Daniel have decided to do?” I measured my words carefully. It wouldn’t be the first time the boys had made life-changing decisions without bothering to consult me. They always had their reasons. Usually it was about protecting me. I also tried not to let them get away with it.

“Keep me out of this fight,” Dev said, shaking his head with a weary sigh. “I do not agree with him but when Daniel decides something, I’m certainly not the one who can dissuade him.”

I felt his pain. He was in a relationship where he felt like the one who was expendable. It was an old wound but quite capable of reopening at the slightest provocation. If Danny walked out, Dev would worry that I would follow him. Dev would also worry that I would blame him for losing Danny. It was a difficult position for Dev to be in, always walking a fine line. The things Felix had said were all coming back now. It was far past time we all made some serious decisions that didn’t involve what side of the bed the boys liked.

I cradled Dev’s cheeks in my hands and stared into the face of my lover before kissing him sweetly. “What do you want, Devinshea?”

It was a question no one thought to ask him most of the time.

His face went still, but he didn’t pull away. “I want you.”

“Is that all?”

It took him the longest time to answer, as though he was deciding just how much to tell me. “I want us. I want the three of us. I want you and me and Daniel. Maybe Daniel doesn’t feel the same way. He didn’t grow up as I did. He didn’t have a brother. I’m happier with one, though the one I have is a bit of an ass. I want you for love and Daniel for companionship. They’re both intimate relationships. I’ve never been as happy as I am when we’re truly together. Daniel doesn’t feel the same way, and I cannot force him to care for me, Zoey.”

We lay back on the bed together, Dev pressing his head to my chest. I let my fingers play in his hair. “I think he cares about you more than he lets on. He’s not great about expressing himself. I don’t know what he’s planning and if you do then keep it to yourself. Confidences between the two of you are just that. I’m not going to ask you to betray him. But I want to fight for him, Dev. I want to let him know he can’t just walk away from us.”

He nodded. “I think you should let him know that. He needs to hear it from you. He loves you, Zoey. No matter what he says, no matter what he has planned, he loves you. He’s being an idiot because he can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

“Dev, we need to fight for him together,” I corrected him. “I want to go to Daniel together and let him know what we need. He owes both of us. We both owe him. I think the first thing we need from him is a promise to talk to us rather than arbitrarily deciding what’s best.”

“I don’t know, Zoey. I might just confuse the issue.”

I wasn’t getting through to him. “Dev, how much do you and Daniel talk about that you never mention to me? How much do the two of you know about each other that I don’t? I’m your lover and Daniel knows more about your background than I do. Does Daniel know how you feel about Padric?”

He hesitated before admitting, “It might have come up in conversation before. I’m not trying to hide things from you.”

I stopped him. “I don’t begrudge you your friendship with Daniel, and I don’t require that I know everything he does. That’s not my point, Dev. I want the two of you to talk. You need each other. That’s why we go to him together. Begin as we mean to end—together.”

“And if he still leaves?”

“Then we mourn his loss and move on with our lives,” I said, hoping beyond hope it didn’t come to that. I couldn’t imagine not having Daniel with us. He was important. He completed us.

“You won’t leave me?” Dev asked quietly, and I knew it was his greatest fear that I would leave and Danny would leave and he would be alone again. He’d had many lovers before me, but I knew that until Daniel and I had come into his life, he’d been lonely.

I forced him to look at me, to feel my will. “I will never leave you, Devinshea. I love you. I’m here for the long haul, baby. Just try to get rid of me and see what happens.” I took a deep breath and decided to be honest with him. “Just so you know, though, I’m still going to make you crazy.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, smiling and pulling me firmly under his body.

I frowned as I looked up at him, hoping he was going to take this little tidbit of information well. “I found Neil.”

“Good,” he replied. “It is past time for him to come home.”

I let out a deep breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “I thought you would be mad.”

“I can be angry with him and still want him home and safe. I always knew you would find him, sweetheart. I think you will find Daniel’s anger has lessened as well. We both want to have it out with Neil, but we want him safe. It’s difficult to kick someone’s ass when they’re dead.” Dev was grinning down at me. “I love you, Zoey. Those you love will always be welcome in our home.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, loving the feel of his weight pressing me into the mattress. “So I get to keep Neil and Lee?”

“I would never be so cruel as to force you to give up your pets. And we’ll fight together to keep Daniel.” Dev lowered his head and kissed me, softly at first but with the promise of more to come.

Albert was going to be so upset with me, I thought as I gave myself over, but breakfast was just going to have to wait.





Chapter Twenty-Two





It was almost eleven by the time breakfast was done. Declan had been quiet throughout, though his manners were back for the most part. He switched his stare from me to his brother often, as though contemplating his next move. I’d begun to suspect that Declan’s pursuit of me had more to do with his brother than any mad desire for my body. If Dev had been willing to share me, it would prove I was just like the hundreds who had come before me.

Padric and Dev had spoken throughout the meal, discussing what had been happening in the sithein since Dev left. I noted that Dev didn’t ask questions about a woman named Gilliana who might or might not be his wife. I wanted to ask about her and any possible child she might have but decided to leave it for a more private time.

After breakfast, I moved into the front room which was now crammed with crap Declan had brought. He really didn’t travel light. There were a bunch of trunks, crates, and boxes. What the hell he needed with everything I had no idea.

“They are gifts to the wolves,” Declan said quietly behind me, reading my mind. “And bribes.”

“For Dev?” I asked, reading his just a little.

“I miss him,” Declan said with a regal nod of his head. “I do apologize if I offended you this morning. I did not wish to recognize that my brother might be ready to take an important step in his life when up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea you existed.”

“I know it seems sudden to you, but we’ve been together for almost two years.” An ornate gold cage was among the gifts. I stared down into it. There was a small ball of fur sleeping peacefully, burrowed down in a nest.

“I was the leader. From the time we were small children, I was the leader and Devinshea followed me. His powers were small and soft. I was strong. I was ruthless. I could protect him. I was the favorite of our people, and the truth is Devinshea was only accepted by the royals because he was my brother.”

“And the non-royals?”

Declan smiled slyly. “Yes, well, they did not really care he was mortal. He was the Green Man. He made their crops grow. Did you know that when Devinshea walks through the fields of our sithein, everywhere he touches turns green and fruitful? He could not hide when we played games because I just followed the footprints in the grass or plants that grew in his wake.” He paused for a moment, his lips turning down. “We need him to come home, Zoey. No one realized how important he was. His pleasant nature made him beloved by the commons and even the bloody Unseelie. They requested him as my mother’s ambassador during recent negotiations. It did not go well when I went instead.”