“Aye?” Having a man apologise for their actions was certainly a first, and he had typically indulged in more than a chaste kiss with them. “Well, apology accepted.”
Darshan inclined his head a little more. “That is not the only reason I came here.” That hazel gaze lifted, barely seen through the upper half of his glasses. “I was worried about you.”
“M-me? Why?”
“I saw you flinch when you heard…” A faint tinge of distaste twisted his lips. “…her. Granted your mother fell upon us like a hell beast, but you had a look in your eye that spoke of enduring far worse than the tongue-lashing she gave. I came here to see if you were all right.”
“If I’m—?” He shook his head, trying to clear it. Was he dreaming? He must be. But Darshan still stood there, extremely real and concerned. No one else beyond his siblings, and occasionally his father, ever expressed any unease over his mother’s treatment of him. “Aye, I’m fine.”
“Was she aware about—” He indicated Hamish in his entirety. “—your preference before we kissed?”
“Preference,” Hamish grumbled. “I’ve never liked that word. It always comes with the intonation that another option is still viable. I’ve a preference for pork over venison, but I’ll eat either. It’s nae the same with this.”
Darshan slowly nodded. “I gathered as much. Allow me to rephrase, then. Is she aware that you like only men? I am assuming it is only.”
“Aye, it is.” Otherwise, he would’ve been married with children like his siblings. “And she is, although she’d prefer otherwise.” He peered at the man. “What of you?” He could assume they were the same, but he had long dismissed the idea of relying on assumptions when came to men’s desires.
“Well,” he drawled “To use your analogy, I am definitely a one-kind-of-meat man.” He looked about him. “If you are all right, then I guess I should leave before I make things harder for you.” He bowed and turned to the door.
“I’m sorry about what she said,” Hamish blurted as the man’s hand touched the handle. “I know she’s a wee bit harsh, but dinnae turn her into a slug or anything.” He peered at the spellster’s face, marking the slight confused furrow forming between his brows. “You cannae do that, can you?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
The tightness in Hamish’s chest eased some. That didn’t erase the possibility of a dozen other gruesome attacks, but it was one less to worry about. I cannae wait to tell Gordon. His brother had always believed spellsters to be capable of anything. “I’m still sorry that—”
“No, no.” Darshan held up his hand. “You need not waste your breath. The fault is mine. I admit it freely and I apologise again for putting you in that situation. I had rather forgotten where I was, but that should not excuse me.”
“But still, what she said was—”
The man dismissed the words with a flick of his hand, his gaze deflecting to skim the room. “I have been called far worse. Being a bad influence is the least of my sins.” He flashed a wolfish grin, one brow arching. “Although, judging by what I heard, you are somewhat less innocent than I thought you were.”
Hamish chuckled. The man really had been ignorant if he had thought, for even a moment, that Hamish was at all innocent. “That I am.”
“So,” Darshan purred. “I admit I have been wondering…” He sauntered across the space between them, slowly stroking the small amount of hair on his chin. “If the naughty prince has been bad before, just how bad does he want to be now?”
Swallowing, Hamish took a step backwards. That the answer of ‘very’ almost slipped from his lips nearly had him bolting for the door. If we’re caught. Well, they still could be just standing here doing nothing. “I hope all this hasnae given you the wrong idea about me. Especially me mum.”
“She was very loud, I will give her that.” Darshan halted before him, his dark brows lowering in thought. “But I think it is more a case of your mother’s tirade over an innocent little kiss that has given me the right idea, namely that you have locked lips with other men in the past.”
“Aye.” Hamish managed, the word little more than a gust of breath.
“And, if I am not mistaken in that you have done something like this quite a few times…” The man’s gaze finally settled on Hamish’s face, those hazel eyes warm, wanting and that little bit uncertain. “Then perhaps, you have done quite a bit more?”
“That too.” Although there would be a lot more bulk to the men he usually rutted with. He would’ve been concerned that Darshan might actually break if they attempted anything, but the vision of the man knocking out Big Billy was still fresh in his memory.
“Well, the mind positively boggles.” He slowly walked his fingers up Hamish’s undershirt. “Just how far have you gone?”
He shrugged, his face warming. Was this how most Udyneans acted around each other or was it just how Darshan did? “Far enough to get me into trouble,” he admitted.
Darshan wet his lips. “I would like to explore this further, if that is what you also want, of course.”
If? This was not a matter of if.
The spellster frowned. Whatever action he seemed to have expected from that declaration, Hamish clearly hadn’t done. “Would you rather not? I would never—” He held up his hands in surrender. “I do not want you thinking you are obligated to a positive response.” Sighing, he hung his head. “My apologies, I am not usually the
