Page 4 of Thorn Evermore
“Nathaniel Quill.”
“Nathaniel,” he repeats softly, brushing a bit of mud from my beard. “But you have an accent not from England.”
“Nestor. I’m from Mykonos, but I wanted to blend in here so I made it more anglo.”
“That makes sense. You interest me. Tell me, is it only women you choose to defile?”
My stomach flutters at the question. “No. There are no constraints to my desires.”
“Perfect.” He glances up, his eyelids fluttering, and seconds later, four men descend the stairs.
I don’t know how to explain what I’m seeing, but somehow, the four men are both terrifying and beautiful in a preternatural way. All perfect, tall, strong, and definitely not the typical Bostonian man.
“Who are you?” I whisper.
“My name is Yves Orpheus, and these are my brothers. Alessio, Leander, Eros, and Raphael.”
“Brothers?” They look nothing alike. Yves is far more fair than the others, but different from Eros with his long blond locks. “Why did you help me?”
“Perhaps I have a soft spot for the rule breakers.” He lifts my chin slightly with his fingers. His breath on my face smells earthy and comforting, like walking through the forest on a crisp autumn day. “Tell me, Nathaniel, are you looking for an adventure?”
“Always,” I reply, my eyes lingering on the men behind Yves. “Do you offer one?”
Yves chuckles. “Always.” Turning slightly, he shifts his gaze to the man with long black hair—Alessio, I believe. He looks like the personification of sin itself. “Alessio, I do believeyou were correct in leading us to Boston. Look what we’ve found.”
Alessio smiles, stepping closer. “Promising.”
“What are you saying?” I ask. “Am I some sort of toy?”
Leander laughs softly. He is olive-complected and has dark hair too, but his is thick and wavy, just brushing the tops of his shoulders. “Spirited as well. Perfect.”
“Perfect for what?” I demand, standing abruptly and slightly irritated by their coded discussion.
“I like him,” the blond one says. “He has mischief in his eyes.”
“And desire in his heart,” the last man, Raphael, adds. He is soft spoken, with eyes like honey and hair like silk. So pretty. Where did these men come from?
“Yes, you’ll make a fine addition to our family,” Yves says. “Just in time too. We leave in the morning to head west.”
“And I am to go with you?”
“Seems you need to get out of town,” Alessio says, sounding amused.
“And what sort of adventures wait for us?” I ask.
Yves circles me, dragging his hand across my chest, then my back before he returns, centering me. “Oh, Nathaniel, just when I thought the colonies had nothing to offer us, you literally show up out of nowhere.”
“What do you mean, sir? What do I have to offer you?”
“Perhaps the end of my tireless search,” Yves answers. “Perhaps…” He steps close enough that I feel his breath on my face again, slightly cooler now.
The more I focus on his eyes, the more they seem to glow, and the warmer I become.
“I want you to share my bed,” Yves says. “And those of your brothers if you wish.”
“They aren’t really your brothers, are they?”
“Not in the way you think, but I assure you, we are afamily, forever bonded by blood.” He cups my cheek. “And we want you, Nathaniel.”