“I’m sure I’ll be fine if I just rest a bit first,” I interrupted, not wanting to become an even bigger inconvenience for the very nice gardener-cum-historian who could probably snap my neck with one hand.

“I landed here as little more than what you saw last night. My true form is less cohesive. You wouldn’t understand if you saw it—close your mouth, I’m not finished. I’m not saying you don’t have the depth to understand; we were just created that way. To be unimaginable. But I adapted, like we all did. The world grew up around me, and I found myself circling back to Brazil. Building a life there, in Bahia, several times over. I lived in Portugal too. Spain, Italy, Guatemala, Indonesia. But Brazil was always home.”
Diego nodded. He understood it on an evolutionary level: being born one thing and becoming something else, making a home somewhere new. It was in his DNA. Uprooting, settling, transitioning.

Ariel tipped his head. “You sell yourself?” he asked. Kindly, somehow. Politely.
He laughed under his breath.
“No, I sell videos of myself. Sometimes I livestream too. I know that’s not exactly godly—”
“You mean biblical?”
“Excuse me?”
“Biblical,” Ariel repeated. “I doubt God would take issue with what you do or don’t do with your body. The Bible was written by men—torn limb from limb and poorly sutured by the kings of Mysia. As much as I cherish the Gospel, it isn’t exactly godly anymore. Holy, yes. Important, yes. Inspirational, yes. But it’s the Bible that condemns promiscuity. Not God.”

“Are you a man of God, Diego?” Ariel’s voice carried, beating toward the steeple like wings. Diego stopped. He drummed his fingers on the chipped doorframe. “Ask God,” he said, tossing the words over his shoulder, and disappeared into the hall.

As Hal wore a rather lust-filled expression again, Elwood leaned forward to nibble on his ear. “Perverted Prince,” he whispered. “I sure wonder what His Highness was thinking about to make that sort of face.”
Hal trembled under him. He cupped Elwood’s jaw with a delicate palm whilst he stared up at his guard.
“I was thinking about you,” he said as he kept Elwood’s gaze.
“I wondered what it would feel like, for your cock to ravage me in places that would make my Kingdom disavow me if they knew.”
“Oh.” Elwood winked. “Well.” He scoffed as he kissed Hal’s cheek. “That can certainly be arranged.”
Kaiser on the other hand, seemed less amused. “Respect the Crown, Elwood, you bastard…” he muttered under his breath.

Hal’s attention caught onto Elwood’s nether regions on instinct as the man undressed. Upon realizing this, however, Hal quickly looked away. Have you lost your mind, Hal? The Crown Prince cringed. You are being no better than a lowly pervert.

"I'll tell you what I want. Your soul. Close your eyes at night, and I'll come into your dreams and take a sip."

I wasn’t saying they were stupid, but if you put a candle next to their ears, their eyes would shine.

Donovan looked as pleased to be there as a man would be to share space in a cage with a provoked bear, but he wouldn’t leave Jon’s side, either. Not sure who was protecting who, to be frank, but it was cute regardless.

“No matter what, I’m with you,” I say as I tighten my hand around his. Riley’s smile is small but grateful. He’s not alone in this, and neither am I. “And if anyone says anything about us, you’ve probably kicked them around at least once so just do it again.”
I’ll watch and help if necessary, or deliver a few swift kicks of my own after the fact.
“Is watching me physically assault people a kink of yours?” Riley asks.

Just because I don’t like to fight doesn’t mean I can’t. I may be an omega, but I’m still a wolf. If by some chance Shiloh loses a challenge against Garrett, I won’t let Shiloh’s killer breathe one breath that he is denied. He’s still my little brother, after all. “Nothing would stop me.”

“Auro, I don’t think you’re meant to be unhappy forever.” He cupped Auro’s jaw with his off hand. “That’s just too cruel.”
“The world is a fairly cruel place, I’ve found,” said Auro quietly. Alexios’s gaze hardened, but he did not release his hold on Auro’s face.
“You were willing to wait all night alone in a greenhouse for a glimpse of a flower that only blooms for one night,” he said tentatively.
“So?”
“So…” Alexios brushed his thumb over Auro’s cheek, and his eyes fell to his lips. “Perhaps a thing can still be of worth, can still be worth celebrating, even if it’s temporary.”
“But—” Alexios leaned in and brushed his lips to Auro’s, heat sparking between them like a struck flint. It lasted for only the span of a startled heartbeat before Alexios drew away.
“I would rather have you for a season than not at all,” Alexios said.
Auro was so startled he couldn’t form a reply. He had never been kissed before. Ever.

“And you never saw him again?”
“No. But there’s still a faint mark left from the bite.”
“ Really ? May I see it?” Reed asked. His eyes sparkled with fresh enthusiasm. Roger smirked, and dragged his finger along the collar of the bathrobe.
“It’s in a location inappropriate for the dinner table, I think.”
“Oh, yes, of course. I apologize for the impertinence,” said Reed, and sat back.
“I didn't say no ,” Roger clarified. “I’ll show you when we're alone.” And a lot more than that.
Reed glowed. It reminded Roger of a little boy eager to go out and play. He suspected it was only deeply ingrained British manners that kept him from insisting they jump up from the table to go away and look.

“Let’s go enact a little justice, shall we?”
“Certainly. But Tan, I’m putting this out there now. Apprentices are not like cats. You can’t just keep collecting them. Anything over two apprentices at once is a no.”
“Oh, so I can collect as many cats as I want?”
“That is absolutely not what I said.”
“That is absolutely what I heard.”

A burly man unsheathes his sword to attack first. I’m not trained in this kind of fighting or in any kind really, but I’m stronger than they are and faster, with a wolf’s instinct for survival and skill at taking down prey. I’ll just think of them as beavers. Big, scary beavers. With swords. On second thought, maybe I should run.

My body is on fire, and all I want to do is burn.

“You said before that you don’t want to know if you have autism. Can I ask why?”
The question seemed personal, but I didn’t mind. I preferred people to be blunt because I never understood the need to beat around the bush. If everything was out in the open, then there weren’t any miscommunications.
“Because I don’t trust my community not to treat me differently.” I pursed my lips in thought, gathering words in my head before I spoke again. “The world is quickly going backward, and I’m scared that if I’m diagnosed as autistic, I could have my rights taken away. It’s probably a baseless fear, but look at how some states are treating trans people. They’ve already started on mental illness as well. I’ve heard stories of autistic parents losing their children. While I don’t have to worry about that with Alex, I do have a career I love, and I can’t risk that. All it would take is one person in the department to assume I couldn’t do my job, and they would find a reason to get rid of me. Maybe not tomorrow but eventually.”
He placed his hand on top of mine.
“We’re in New York, though. You’re safe here. There are laws to protect people.”
“Am I safe?” I tilted my head and stared at him seriously. “People in other states thought they were safe, too. Trans people thought they were on a course to acceptance in general. So did drag queens. Safety is always in question for the trans community, but until recently this country seemed to be on track to being decent to all our citizens. There was a lot of work to go, but I thought we were moving in the right direction. Now, I’m scared for our future generations. I’m scared for me.”
He kissed my cheek, and I sighed, leaning against his lips. “Don’t be afraid. We’ll fight. Gay people have always existed, Micah, and they’ve tried to shove us back into the closet a thousand times. We won’t let them win.”

“Okay. So, if you’re after someone to watch a movie with, I’d love to.”
“What?” I stared at him, and his smile widened.
“Netflix and chill, what do you think?”
He waggled his eyebrows, and my cheeks went hot again. I rubbed my face in embarrassment, and he laughed.
“I know what that means,” I whispered, feeling more giddy than I’d expected. “I’m not that old.”

Gravir l’Everest en solitaire ! On dirait un projet fou, rêvé dans un bar, à la f in d’une longue soirée… Mais Maurice Wilson était abstinent, ne fréquentait aucun pub et voulait vraiment voler jusqu’au Tibet, atterrir sur les pentes inférieures de la montagne, continuer à pied et devenir le premier homme à atteindre le sommet ! Il n’avait aucune expérience de l’alpinisme et ne savait pas piloter, mais il pensait que là était son destin et que Dieu guiderait ses pas sur les rochers et les glaciers himalayens.J’ai entendu parler de Maurice Wilson pour la première fois un jour de l’an, alors que j’étais en vacances avec des amis en Écosse. Recroquevillée sur un divan, avec du thé et des crêpes, après une marche glaciale, je parcourais un livre sur l’Everest, donné à Noël par un ami. Soudain, une photographie jaunie éveille mon attention. Elle montre Maurice Wilson, debout devant un petit biplan. Il a les mains sur les hanches, un casque en cuir sur la tête, il porte des lunettes d’aviateur et f ixe la caméra avec un léger sourire narquois. Je lis le passage qui le concerne et quelque chose chez cet homme me frappe. Son projet insensé peut-être, ou alors d’avoir été si loin sachant que la plupart des gens – dont moi – l’aurait pris pour un fou ou encore nos racines communes du Yorkshire.

“Oh damn,” I murmured, watching with wide eyes as High Lord Crossbody writhed around on the mat dramatically, hips thrusting up into the air and heels digging in as he pretended to be in immense pain. Except it just looked really sexual, which was probably the idea. The crowd was loving it. I’d watched professional wrestling a fair amount as a kid. Had it been my sexual awakening? Probably, looking back.

Was this a Mafia thing? All the ‘employees’ seemed to be dressed in sharp suits. Oh god, was this one of those things where billionaires got together and hunted the ‘ultimate prey?’ Was I going to be chased through the basement by a smartly dressed businessman with night-vision goggles and a crossbow?

This was the best kidnapping of his life, and he wanted to stay wrapped up in it for as long as possible.

If it turned out Doc knew I had a knot, moving wouldn’t be enough, not unless there was a cabin in hell for me to shack up in. It was rude to think about what might be in his pants but comforting to think he might have something weirder down there. Tentacles. Something with teeth.

I was glad there was vocabulary now for all sorts of attractions, words that encompassed myself and others. The solidarity that came from proudly proclaiming I was a gay man. But I also knew labels were imperfect, that there were some things that couldn’t be put into words. I hoped Camron found solidarity somewhere.

The second the three of us are wrapped around each other, it’s relief and happiness. It’s sunshine after a rainstorm. It’s clarity in my heart and calmness of my mind. I’m beginning to realize that zing, that powerful and overwhelming feeling of serenity and peace only happens when we’re all together. The only time I’ve felt this alive in the last two years has been with them.

That's my selfish desire: to be missed.
To have him fear missing me.