The Goblin King's Lovers (8 page)

“
That’s a tall order,” Eva
said. “I love you, Davin, but I told myself it would never happen.
You’re so good to me, but in the way a brother is good to a
sister.”

That hurt, and Davin looked down as he
remembered Lorne saying the same thing.

She turned to Lorne. “I care for you,
but I don’t feel the same thing for you. I had no idea you felt
anything but friendship for me. It’s all too much to take
in.”

“
Will you think about it?”
Davin asked. “You can have all the time you like.”

“
If I say yes, it will be
as you said?” she asked.

Davin thought about relenting, but
instead he nodded. “Yes. The three of us. Together in every
way.”

More tears fell. “You’re my dearest
friends.” A sob escaped. “I can’t explain how confused I
am!”

Davin moved quickly and pulled her to
him. She gave in for a moment, but then she drew away.

“
Please, I need time. My
emotions … too much. Just too much.”

Lorne came forward, but he did not
touch her. “You’re in love with Davin, but I’m only a friend.
You’re shocked he loves you in return and perplexed by the way I
complicate matters. Am I right?”

Eva nodded. “I don’t want to cause
pain, but I can’t consent. I’ll think on it, but … I care for you
both enough not to give false hope. I don’t know if I could do
it.”

Davin felt the tears falling down his
face, and he tried to wipe them away. But Eva saw them, and the
pain in her eyes was like a knife.

“
I have to go.” She rushed
to the door. “Please don’t seek me out. Please.”

Davin broke down when she slammed the
door. He collapsed in Lorne’s arms. “I never imagined anything like
that.” He looked into Lorne’s face. “How can you love someone so
stupid?”

Lorne had tears in his eyes as well,
but they never fell. “You mean someone so rash and melodramatic?”
He shook his head. “The question’s stupid. I love you the way you
are, flaws and all. I was stupid not to put my foot down and go
about this another way.”

“
I don’t want to marry
anyone if she says no.”

“
See?
Melodramatic.”

Davin buried his face in Lorne’s neck.
“Don’t tease me right now. I can’t take it!”

“
All right. Get it all
out. You can’t attend your celebration with a red face and watery
eyes.”

Davin felt sick, heaving as he tried
to stop crying. Lorne patiently held him, lowering them to the
floor. The man who held him had always cared for him so perfectly,
and Davin felt foolish for ruining their proposal to Eva. When his
tears had stopped, he pulled away and moved a few
inches.

“
I’m sorry.”

“
For crying?” Lorne asked.
“You’re upset. Don’t apologize.”

“
I’m only half thinking of
myself. She’s upset, but we can’t go to her. We can’t help
her.”

“
She has to do this on her
own. You can’t make her marry us.”

“
Why did you make that
offer?”

“
Because I couldn’t bear
to see you like this, to see her as she was when she ran out of
here. I would do it to bring the two of you together.”

“
I couldn’t.”

“
Would you prefer to be
without her?”

Davin sighed. “No, but what are we to
do?”

“
What the woman we love
asked us to do. Give her time, don’t seek her out.”

Davin stayed silent, as he didn’t
think he could do that for long.

Lorne cupped his face. “I’ll see to it
we do exactly that. Keep you in line if I must.”

“
Father will ask
tonight.”

Lorne caressed his cheek. “And we will
tell him she needs time. No matter how long she’s been here, she’s
human.”

Lorne’s touch soothed him, and he
kissed his yabito’s palm. “We should’ve been more affectionate in
front of her, made her curious.”

Lorne sighed. “It isn’t just about the
sharing, and you know it. You can’t make her love me.”

Davin nodded. Lorne rose and helped
him up, pulling him toward the bedroom.

“
You need to bathe and
change,” Lorne said. “I’ll speak with your father.”

Davin nodded again. “What about our
present for Eva?”

Lorne looked at the small box sitting
on the desk as they entered Davin’s bedroom. “It’ll have to wait.
She needs space.” Lorne kissed his cheek. “Get ready. I’ll return
soon.”

Once Lorne was gone, Davin stripped,
but his eyes kept drifting to the box. He moved to the desk and
opened it, gazing down at ring he’d commissioned for Eva. It was
like an engagement ring, which he’d learned about from the other
humans. A large pink stone nestled in a silver rose, and he knew it
would be so beautiful on her finger. He’d hoped to slip it onto her
finger tonight, but now he probably wouldn’t even see her. He set
the ring back in its box and turned away, anxious for Lorne to
return so he wouldn’t be alone with this pain.

* * * *

Eva slipped out of the celebration and
into the garden. Everyone clapped and cheered for Davin, whose gaze
had been searching the crowd. She couldn’t look into his eyes now,
but she’d had no choice but to come to his celebration. Nika
wouldn’t have understood without an explanation, and right now Eva
didn’t want advice from anyone. The king’s words from moments
earlier rang in her ears.

When my son weds, I shall
step down and prepare myself to amuse and delight my beautiful
grandchildren.

Davin wouldn’t become king until he
wed. Being king here was nothing like being a monarch back in her
world, a world she hardly remembered now, but she knew Davin would
be a good king, so it was something everyone looked forward to. He
already helped his father every day, and the people loved
him.

She loved him.

“
Why did neither of them
ever say anything?” she whispered to herself.

One Elari and a couple of humans had
even courted her, all three of them seeking Davin’s approval first
because of their close friendship. The prince had given it each
time. And Lorne, who found fault with everything and everyone
still, had not objected either. Yet she did remember that Lorne had
deferred to his prince, and Davin had told each man “if the lady
will have you, you have my blessing”. They’d all been nice and
handsome, but she’d declined an official courtship from each of
them in turn. Davin and Lorne had been noncommittal about that as
well. It made her angry as she thought about it.

Eva sat down on a stone bench and
looked up into the sky. Davin loved her—it was the one thing she’d
wanted more than anything for seven years. But he also loved Lorne.
They were lovers already. Thoughts of the two handsome men touching
brought heat to her cheeks, and she tried to banish the images.
Yes, Lorne was handsome. He was a dear friend, but it was not the
same.

She heard people coming and moved
away, closer to one of the windows. She plucked a flower and toyed
with its petals as she watched everyone. Lorne came into view,
standing against the opposite wall and watching people dance. He
held a goblet in his hand, and the fingers of his other hand traced
circles around the designs on the side. He drained the drink in one
swig, which was unusual. A servant refilled it, and he downed that
as well.

Eva bit her lip and found a page. She
sent the boy in to fetch Lorne. Sitting by the pond, she tried to
focus on the water, clasping her hands to keep them
still.

“
You wanted to see me,
Eva?”

The soft whisper made her breath catch
in her throat. She turned and looked up at Lorne, who no longer
appeared as detached as usual. He gazed at her expectantly.
Gesturing to her left, she asked him to sit down, and he
did.

“
Yes, Lorne. I can already
tell I’m ruining this night for Davin. His smiles to the crowd were
fake, and his eyes kept hunting for me.”

“
Of course they did. He
loves you.”

She looked into his eyes. “You’re
always blunt, but I can tell you’ve had far more to drink than the
two cups I just saw you down.”

Lorne looked away, embarrassed
perhaps. “Well, he’s not the only one in pain.”

“
You’re not doing this
simply to please him? You really love me?”

Lorne looked back at her. “Yes. I do.”
He pushed a strand of hair off her forehead and kissed her temple.
His lips moved down a few inches to her cheek. She shivered, and he
pulled back. “I adore you, but you’ve every right to be shocked. I
hid it because I had no idea he wanted you too. I didn’t want to
influence him. We’re both fools for never discussing it. We were so
happy with one another it just never came up.”

“
That’s my concern,” she
said, forcing the words past the constriction in her throat. “Your
love for him is so blatant. How did I ever attract your attention
at all?”

“
When I saw you in Nika’s
arms, you looked so lost and frightened. It felt like a fist
wrapping around my heart. I couldn’t rest until I knew you were all
right. I made a mess of helping you and watching over you though. I
frightened you.”

“
You got better. We’ve
discussed that. Settled it long ago,” she said with a slight
smile.

“
You tugged at my heart
right away. I know there’s no logic to that, which used to bother
me, but I’ve stopped questioning it. I love you. I love him. And I
want to see the two of you happy.”

“
But he said no. He won’t
let you step aside.”

He nodded, his hand coming up to
cradle her face. “Do I repulse you?”

He didn’t. His long dark hair and pale
skin contrasted beautifully, and his well-muscled body was hard to
ignore. She’d noticed how attractive he was many times. “No. You’re
as beautiful as Davin is. But it’s not that simple for—”

His lips met hers, and she gasped.
Lorne seemed like a completely different man now, and Eva found
that she liked it. She kissed him back, nervous yet excited. She’d
kissed a few boys and a few men, but none of them had been as
skilled as Lorne. He took possession of her mouth and molded her
body to his. When they parted, she noticed him
trembling.

“
We’ll be gentle and never
do anything you don’t desire. Your pleasure will be our goal, both
in our bed and out of it. You’ll want for nothing, and our children
will be so loved.”

The declaration took her breath away,
decadent images and new emotions whirling within her. “You can’t be
Lorne. This must be a trick.”

“
I’ll change. I swear it.
Don’t break our hearts.” His lips crushed hers this time, and she
gave in without hesitation. She’d spent years dreaming of kissing
Davin, yet Lorne was the one seducing her. His words tugged at her
heart. She’d never seen him so emotional, never imagined he had
passions that could fuel anything but anger. She pushed on him
gently, and after a moment he drew back, searching her
eyes.

“
Let me be clear. I’m not
reluctant because of you. I hesitate because I fear hurting one or
both of you, hurting myself.”

Lorne nodded. “What can I
do?”

She thought quickly. “Find another
page and have him send Davin out to me. Don’t tell him we
spoke.”

“
I can’t lie to him. Ever.
Not even to protect him.”

“
I’m not asking you to.
Just don’t tell him until after. That’s why I want you to send the
page. All right? He’ll tell you everything later, I’m
sure.”

Lorne nodded again. “Yes.” He kissed
her one more time, briefly, and then left her there.

She managed to gather herself by the
time Davin came to her a few minutes later. He was at her side
immediately, pressing close. She didn’t pull away, but he did seem
to remember himself and back up when she looked at him and
pointedly noted his closeness.

“
Forgive me. I didn’t
expect you to be willing to see me so soon,” Davin said.

“
I had many hours to
think.”

“
Ask me anything, tell me
anything.”

She already knew what she wanted from
him. “Why me?”

“
Because I love you. You
make me happy. I’m always delighted to be with you, and I feel the
same joy when I see you with Lorne, dancing or talking or
laughing.”

“
Things are good between
you and Lorne … physically?” Heat rose to her cheeks, but she
wanted to know.

He nodded. “Yes. Just holding his hand
excites me. When we touch, I’m so happy.”

She’d always seen it but had never
realized their bond went so deep. Now she felt like laughing at her
own blindness. “I see.”

“
And I think of
you.”

She hadn’t expected that. Could he
mean what she thought her meant? “When you touch him?”

“
Yes. I imagine you with
us. Yesterday, we made love for the first time. It was beautiful,
but I kept picturing you. I suppose saying so is lewd, but I don’t
care. As much as I love him, we aren’t complete, not
yet.”