Flushing darkly, I throw my boxer briefs into the trash and roughly pull my pants back on, cursing at the state of wrinkled unrest my clothes had become. "Not now, Tiberius." I snap, sharp as redo the buttons of my shirt.
"Bastet was here." Verando tells him roughly, never allowing his eyes to leave me. I hear Tiberius nearly choke, across the room in a whirl of wind that made the table and couch shudder. Often, I'd forgotten the Siren was a form of deity. They could take souls, the devil's work for gods, and mischievous creatures. As his hand reaches for my wrist, he hisses sharply, singing his fingers as he retracts quickly.
"It's cursed."
Verando runs a hand roughly for his hair, "Isn't everything from Eygpt?"
"Now who's being racist?" Tiberius teases before tilting his head with the glimmer of his golden eyes reflecting off the cuff. It felt hot on my wrist, almost threatening to scald me. I back away from him, calming the medal.
"It's meant to keep out evil. Tiberius is pretty damn evil." I retort through my teeth, turning to face myself in the mirror, working on tucking my shirt back into my pants.
"That hurts, you know." The Siren hisses, before turning his attention to my husband. "What does Bastet want with Nic? Why was she here, alone? I always thought gods of Eygpt were a package deal."
For that, I wasn't sure either. She hadn't given away much, beyond that she was enjoying her time on the surface as we had been warned. For over a thousand years the earth had been closed off to the mischief of the gods, it was evident by the Norse influence of the ones we'd dealt with on this plain used to be a battleground on the edges of a free for all.
They were excited to flex their ability once more, and I'd just revealed that the unicorn still existed. "Tiberius, have you ever heard of a man carrying a child?" I change the subject sharply, earning a low growl in Verando's chest yet I ignore it. "You've been skulking around for longer than the earth has turned, what is your experience?"
Glancing back and forth between the two of us, I smirk, he's more afraid of my husband than he is of me. I shouldn't be surprised. Taking a large step away from the gray haired male, he clears his throat. "Keep in mind that this one literally carved me into pieces... but yes, I have. Gods don't always have a woman vessel for their spawn, so they carry their own children in a sense. But then.. the gods are also inbred so say what you will in that instance. Is that what this is about?"
"Nic wants to be pregnant. But he's a damned man, he can't be pregnant, despite the audacity to think that the laws of nature bend to his will." Verando's words cut me, I stiffen, resisting the urge to lash out. We'd just had such an incredible time together, my body was plummeting with exhaustion from finally being allowed to relax.
Tiberius taps his chin, cautiously pacing in a way that would keep him out of the lycan's reach. "Bastet has other motivations behind giving you that cuff and I truly hope you consider that before you attempt to go forward with whatever it is you're plotting. Nothing between a mortal and an entity such as that is free, nothing comes from sheer kindness, the unicorn banned them from this world for a reason and it's a hefty price to consider. Ever read children's books?? There is always a trade."
Turning on my heel to look back and forth between the two, my eyes lock with Verando's and those eyes orbs settle deep into my own. I know he was afraid, this came from worry about me, yet our lives were filled with turmoil. I struggled to want to go back on my desires if it meant ultimately getting what I'd longed for. "You have six children." I almost accuse him.
"I have six children." He repeats back shortly as if it's a reason. That he didn't want anymore, that we were beyond overwhelmed with managing what we had. "Xaiver and Darrius are as much yours as they are mine. I've only sired children, as a man should, and I've no desire to... bloody well go and birth one."
"So I'm not acting like a man?" I wrap my arms around myself as Tiberius taps his watch and leaves us, I knew he needed to get back, I knew that this was the concern of bringing me with him. I was needy at times, I was the only one able to call his attention for any amount of time outside of his 'mission'. Verando steps quickly to the clothing rail, pulling out a new pair of black tattered slim fit jeans.
Shimmying into them, he considers his words wisely. "I'm telling you that I don't understand this." Patience echos in his tone, forcing himself to drop his irritation. "I'm telling you that this side of you worries me because it seems as if you are going to do whatever it is you'd like to do with or without my consent." Fidgeting with his belt and tightening it over his hips, I'm surprised that he'd allow himself to be crammed into low rise, hip-hugger jeans.
Communication is what I'd always asked him for, yet he was trying to communicate with me and I was turning on him because I was upset. It wasn't fair and I knew that. Two women and one man come in as he pulls on a leather vest and I realize he's going out there shirtless save for the vest. Sitting in a chair, one of the women gets to work on fixing his hair into a more messy style. The black roots, blend in a smokey haze out to the gray tips, I shiver at the thought of what lurked beneath.
"You feel out of control enough as it is and I'm pushing you," I conclude, pursing my lips as I cross my arms over my chest. The discomfort of people touching him, dealing with the prep as the other woman darkens around his eyes with a quick set of eyeliner and eyeshadow. I knew it was excruciating to let people be so close, to be so vulnerable as the male lead plucks at the chain and mumbled that they couldn't hide the bruising on his neck.
"You should get more tattoos, Mr.Mercer. This looks awesome." The woman fixing his hair attempts.
Verando says nothing, just watching me in the mirror as I take in the scene of gritted teeth and tension. Exhaling, I quickly resume my roll as his lover, as his protector, and move to stand before him next to the woman doing the eye liner. "Show me how to do that?" I ask. I was the least I could do, if I was going to be making his life difficult, I could help him in any way possible and one of those would be taking over the task of touching him.
My wolf didn't like it either, it would be easy enough to take over the responsibility. Once he was done, Verando turned to get to work on lacing up his boots while I adjust a few of the stray tangles in his touseled curls. "Tiberius didn't ask permission to dress you this way." I attempt to make light of the situation.
One of the women looks surprised, "It's an after-hours set, Mr.Mercer has quite the following of female fans and there's been some pushback that he doesn't sing the songs Tiberius is most known for. This is actually reserved for how they usually dress, but this is the bible belt after all... not very many people want to see full frontal in this state."
My eyes widen as I blink wildly. "Naked?!" I squeak.
Verando scoffs, standing as I take in the way the vest doesn't come past his ribs, leaving it open to expose his chest. The man had never had a problem being nude, it was his preference back in our time. "Darling, he and Keeta have had sex on stage during a concert. They're Sirens, love.." Taking my face in his hands, he presses his lips to mine in a firm yet chaste kiss. "Just don't get used to this... whatever you'd call this outfit. It's absolutely atrocious."
I actually liked it. The male lead hands him a set of fingerless gloves and Verando rolls his eyes heavily. "Rendering these gloves useless to chop the damned fingers off... why have gloves to sing?"
"It's a looks thing, sir..." He retorts, stepping out of the way of the door.
"The word you're looking for is aesthetics. Poorly reason, I should say."
I give him a sharp smack on the ass, flushing as they all collectively stare at me. "Break a leg?" I attempt. Unimpressed by the words of confidence, he leaves me and I move to the rear of the stage to watch from the sidelines. How was I going to do this?
How could I expect him to come over to my side of thinking? How could I think that this would be something that anyone but me wanted? I remembered being a boy, the ladies would all slowly fall pregnant to their husbands and masters, the excitement would bubble through the air and even the servants would be thrilled for weeks to come. It was life, a chance to pass on the name, creating new opportunities with each branch of the tree.
Here, despite the increase in medical care, housing, and comforts, we still were being hunted down by beings beyond our comprehension. While I could see his apprehension, I suppose I was mostly disappointed by the lack of excitement from any one side of our family. Nobody's face lit up at the thought, there weren't perspective guesses of what a child could produce, if he would look like his father or have my hair color. What he'd like, who he'd grow up to be?
There was only fear, questions, and quick backlash at the idea of a man carrying a child and what the child could mean. Leaning my head against the pillar, the press must sense my mood for nobody approaches me for the rest of the night. It hurts me more than I'd think it would to watch him sing with April. The way she must get close to him, to nearly touch him, and the provocative nature of the songs was something I really hadn't paid attention to in regards to who sang them.
I'm nearly asleep on my feet as Verando leaves the stage to allow Tiberius and his band to finish up. He's sweating, panting, out of breath, and mildly intoxicated from a few shots taken on stage. I grip his vest the minute he's within my reach, pulling him down to my height to catch his lips and kiss him as passionately as he'd allow before he had to come up for air.
"Enjoy the show?" He asks, I nearly attempt to tug his vest close with a small frown.
"I feel like I'm whoring you out."
"Nah. It's fun in a sense. Tiberius... Siren's.. an what have you. It's like a.. constant endorphin rush." He manages, panting as he lifts me up onto his body with a stagger. "I'm a little drunk.. and maybe.. just a touch... high? I don't know. I feel fantastic."
Frowning, I stare into his eyes for a moment before wriggling out of his grasp to force him to set me down. "High?" I demand, "What do you mean endorphin rush? Is he using his magic on you?"
Shrugging roughly, he offers me his palms as if to show me he had nothing. "I don't know? I just- you know, work here?" He chuckles. "It feels like ecstasy. I'm gonna crash... suuuuuppper hard though."
Not as if I wanted to question how he knew what ecstasy felt like, but the fact Tiberius was drugging him didn't settle with me in the least. Was that how he got him comfortable being around April on stage? To sing songs that would never cross the warlord's mind as appropriate? A dose of Siren magic could make two strangers fornicate like rabbits, a tiny dose might be enough to relax an uptight warlord for the evening.
"Crash?" I frown.
He moves his hand in a downward swoosh, complete with the sound-effect of a crash at the bottom. "Sub drop." Touching his own stomach, he snickers, taking my hand to place it on his abdominals. "Am I vibrating? I feel... absurd."
"Absurd," I repeat, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You know, for someone who is so capable of taking care of yourself, you sure do put yourself in some ridiculous situations." Patting his chest, I make a mental note to murder Tiberius later and hook my arm with his to lead him out the back door and to our car. It's a thankfully short drive to the suite we were staying in, though getting him through the lobby was increasingly difficult given that he wanted to touch everything.
Allowing him to be free in the suite, I lock the door behind us as he grabs a large jug of water out of the fridge and downs half of it. I can only assume this hadn't happened before, or he would have mentioned it, surely I would have caught on to it by now. The belch shocks us both, and Verando clamps his hand over his mouth with a horrified expression.
Blinking, I can only snicker. "Excuse you."
"I think I'm going to be sick." Hesitating for a moment, I see his face pale. "Scratch that-" Running for the bathroom, I feel awful for my lightweight as I focus on unpacking for our few day's stay. He never wanted to eat after something like this, it was too late to convince myself to eat anything either and we'd had a late lunch.
Climbing into bed, I simply wait for him, sometimes he would come back, and sometimes I'd find him in the bathtub the next day trying to get cool. I'd learned better than to try and influence the way the conclusion worked out. I'd nearly drifted off when he climbs into bed, putting his back to me as I wrap my arm around him from behind. "Are you ok?"
"I'm a terrible human being."
Sub-drop.
"You are pretty much the coolest guy I know. I wish Darrius could have heard that burp."
Groaning, he attempts to scoot away from me but I cling to him with a giggle. "Vile."
"Human." I remind him, squeezing him tightly. He'd had more ups and downs with his emotions since losing Badger. Maybe it was time to consider getting him another dog. It was times like these when I missed the dog's consistent presence and pressure therapy.
"I was so mean to you." He responds, placing his hand over mine to bring it up to his lips, kissing my knuckles. Kissing his back, I curl my body to mold over his, pressing my cheek into his shoulder.
He wasn't. He was just finally being honest. "You can't give me everything I want all the time, it doesn't mean I'm not sad, or that we won't talk about it again, but I appreciate you telling me no. I know how much you hate it."
"I'd give you everything if I could..." The defeat makes me frown, I kiss his shoulder a few more times, stroking his fingers with my thumb.
"Half of your soul, if I do recall." I remind him softly.
Rolling over, I finally see why he didn't want me to see his face as I stifle a laugh. The streaking blackened eyeliner was quite a sight to behold. "Oh my." I exhale. "Do you need help?"
"Yes. Hold still." Rubbing his nose and cheek into my hair, I can only laugh. It would just give me ammunition for which to throttle Tiberius tomorrow.