dancing as he hummed an unfamiliar tune. “That’s beautiful.”
“Something my mother used to sing. They died four hundred and fifty years ago but I swear I can still hear her singing to my father’s cittern.” Alec explained when I gave him a curious look. “It was similar to a guitar. It had a longer neck and more slender body. His was carved with gothic style faces.” He shuddered. “It actually scared the crap out of me as a boy.”
“Where are you from?” Sometimes I thought I detected a faint accent to his words but nothing strong enough to hint at his birthplace.
Alec shrugged. “We were peasants in what is now France, near the Italian border.”
“You don’t have an accent, at least not much of one.”
Alec looked at me seriously. “We worked hard to get rid of them. It doesn’t matter as much now but it used to be very bad if you stuck out in any way. Speaking differently would make you seem too different. I saw people burned for having speech impediments. Most paranormals learned how to mimic language and dialects quickly.”
“Why did you…” I let my words trail off because I wasn’t sure I had the right to ask him.
“Why did I bond with Samuel?” Alec smiled at my nod. “You can ask me anything, Becca, don’t worry.”
He was lost in thought for a few moments. “We didn’t know he was any different until he hit puberty. He started to get sickly often then he would disappear. I followed him one day and saw him glamour a girl.” Alec looked at me worriedly. “He only kissed her. It didn’t feed him much but it was enough for him to survive, barely anyway.”
“It didn’t scare you away from him?”
“He’d been my brother for ten years by then. I was scared for him, not of him.” Alec grimaced. “He begged me not to tell our parents.” He looked lost in thought another moment before he continued. “We never did. They died of a fever a few years later.”
“So you only had each other at that point,” I said quietly, realizing how alone Samuel must have felt among humans that would have turned on him in an instant.
“Yes, it’s always just been the two of us. What Samuel didn’t know instinctively we managed to piece together,” Alec said. “I chose the bond because I knew when I died he would’ve let himself fade. I’m so glad I did. We’ve seen wondrous things over the years.” He smiled down at me. “And we found you.”
* * * *
A little while later Alec and I were coming back in from our walk. Thankfully Alec had let me think while we had continued our walk in silence. As I was hanging up the extra coat of Samuel’s I had been wearing Alec broke the silence.
“So are you going to tell me what happened before Samuel left?” Alec smiled at me. “I knew before we left but after what we talked about earlier I thought I’d wait before bringing up another possibly heavy subject.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Huh?”
Alec shrugged. “Samuel went back to town on his own, without one word to me first. That’s kind of a tip off since he hates to go there by himself.”
I focused on his wide chest, unable to meet his gaze. Should I tell him?
“Hey, what’s with the guilty look?” Alec cupped my chin in a gentle hand. “Becca, I know you kissed him. I could smell him on you this morning. That’s nothing to worry about.”
“You honestly don’t mind?”
“Mind?” he asked incredulously. “I’m ecstatic.”
I shook my head. “It’s going to take some time to wrap my head around this ménage idea. I mean I’ve read about them in books but I always liked the ones that had all members involved with each other.”
“Sorry, babe, but I’m not fucking my brother to make it easier to understand.” Alec said, completely deadpan.
I couldn’t hold back my wince at his bluntness. “Point made.”
“Don’t worry about the details, not those kind anyway. The sex is the easy part. Now please tell me what the real problem is,” Alec
“Something my mother used to sing. They died four hundred and fifty years ago but I swear I can still hear her singing to my father’s cittern.” Alec explained when I gave him a curious look. “It was similar to a guitar. It had a longer neck and more slender body. His was carved with gothic style faces.” He shuddered. “It actually scared the crap out of me as a boy.”
“Where are you from?” Sometimes I thought I detected a faint accent to his words but nothing strong enough to hint at his birthplace.
Alec shrugged. “We were peasants in what is now France, near the Italian border.”
“You don’t have an accent, at least not much of one.”
Alec looked at me seriously. “We worked hard to get rid of them. It doesn’t matter as much now but it used to be very bad if you stuck out in any way. Speaking differently would make you seem too different. I saw people burned for having speech impediments. Most paranormals learned how to mimic language and dialects quickly.”
“Why did you…” I let my words trail off because I wasn’t sure I had the right to ask him.
“Why did I bond with Samuel?” Alec smiled at my nod. “You can ask me anything, Becca, don’t worry.”
He was lost in thought for a few moments. “We didn’t know he was any different until he hit puberty. He started to get sickly often then he would disappear. I followed him one day and saw him glamour a girl.” Alec looked at me worriedly. “He only kissed her. It didn’t feed him much but it was enough for him to survive, barely anyway.”
“It didn’t scare you away from him?”
“He’d been my brother for ten years by then. I was scared for him, not of him.” Alec grimaced. “He begged me not to tell our parents.” He looked lost in thought another moment before he continued. “We never did. They died of a fever a few years later.”
“So you only had each other at that point,” I said quietly, realizing how alone Samuel must have felt among humans that would have turned on him in an instant.
“Yes, it’s always just been the two of us. What Samuel didn’t know instinctively we managed to piece together,” Alec said. “I chose the bond because I knew when I died he would’ve let himself fade. I’m so glad I did. We’ve seen wondrous things over the years.” He smiled down at me. “And we found you.”
* * * *
A little while later Alec and I were coming back in from our walk. Thankfully Alec had let me think while we had continued our walk in silence. As I was hanging up the extra coat of Samuel’s I had been wearing Alec broke the silence.
“So are you going to tell me what happened before Samuel left?” Alec smiled at me. “I knew before we left but after what we talked about earlier I thought I’d wait before bringing up another possibly heavy subject.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Huh?”
Alec shrugged. “Samuel went back to town on his own, without one word to me first. That’s kind of a tip off since he hates to go there by himself.”
I focused on his wide chest, unable to meet his gaze. Should I tell him?
“Hey, what’s with the guilty look?” Alec cupped my chin in a gentle hand. “Becca, I know you kissed him. I could smell him on you this morning. That’s nothing to worry about.”
“You honestly don’t mind?”
“Mind?” he asked incredulously. “I’m ecstatic.”
I shook my head. “It’s going to take some time to wrap my head around this ménage idea. I mean I’ve read about them in books but I always liked the ones that had all members involved with each other.”
“Sorry, babe, but I’m not fucking my brother to make it easier to understand.” Alec said, completely deadpan.
I couldn’t hold back my wince at his bluntness. “Point made.”
“Don’t worry about the details, not those kind anyway. The sex is the easy part. Now please tell me what the real problem is,” Alec
Similar Books
