The Englor Affair (19 page)

Payton took a drink and glanced Si’s way. He was deep in conversation with the man to his left. Payton’s heart hurt. His resolve to not see Si was crumbling. What was he going to do?

Turning his head, Simon caught his gaze and smiled as he continued to talk to the gray-haired man.

Payton smiled back and Simon’s eyes nearly twinkled. His eyebrow raised slightly.

For several seconds he held Payton’s gaze before turning back to his conversation.

With his heart in his throat, Payton picked up his wine goblet and took a swig.
It’s
way too late, Pay. You’ve already fallen…hard.

~ * ~

Shutting the door, Simon hurried outside.
Come on, Payton. Where are you?
He was certain this was where Payton had gone when he’d slipped out of the library five minutes ago. Maybe he was wrong, but he’d gotten the impression Payton wanted him to follow.

It didn’t matter, Simon was going to see him tonight if it was the last thing he did. He got the feeling Pay was avoiding him and he didn’t like it.

All throughout dinner Simon had watched Payton flirt with Lord Jared Hawkins.

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spew hatred, hadn’t distracted him from Payton. It had really put his teeth on edge. He couldn’t ever remember feeling like that over any other lover. Normally he’d have simply called the relationship to a halt and gone his own way, but with Payton he needed to know there was nothing between Payton and Jared. Why hadn’t Payton been at the gym last night? Simon rolled his eyes at himself. What was wrong with him? He was acting like a jealous idiot. Payton probably just got caught up in working and forgot about their meeting. Maybe he’d found something new.

The snow crunched under his feet as he stepped off the veranda. He couldn’t help but grin as he took in his surroundings. This had always been his favorite part of the palace.

What did Payton think about it when he came out here? Simon wanted to know. He wanted to share this
with
Payton.

It was beautiful. The lawn was immaculate as usual, even covered with a blanket of snow. In the spring it would be lush and green with grass so thick it felt like walking on plush carpet.

Simon started across the lawn toward the series of slim rectangular pools cascading away from the palace. One pool drained into the next until finally ending in a large round pool with a huge fountain in the middle. It was so quiet and peaceful out here. The only sounds were his own footfalls and the water. The serenity of it eased the apprehension inside of him a little. Beyond the fountain lay a massive hedge maze with footprints in the snow leading up to it.
Ah.
That’s where Payton had gone.

Simon followed the footprint trail into the maze. It shouldn’t take him long to find Payton. The maze was well thought out, but Simon knew it by heart.

There were benches with arbors over them at each dead end, but this was not some easy trysting place for lovers, it was actually made to challenge. Payton had likely analyzed the maze. The man would take very few wrong turns. It wouldn’t surprise Simon if Pay had studied it from the veranda before heading in. He was probably wandering around the maze this very minute with his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

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Weaving around the maze, Simon smiled. Had he ever realized the little quirks of his other lovers? He didn’t think so. None of them had held his interest enough to make him notice.

When he reached the middle of the maze he became aware of the crunching of snow while he stood still. Payton was close. Should he call out? Simon hurried around the corner. The next turn was to the dead center of the maze where the fountain was. The small pool with the fountain came into view and he stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the vision in front of him.

He’d thought once before that Payton looked handsome in evening wear, but once again Simon was taken by surprise at how perfect he looked, even in knee britches.

Simon hated knee britches, and generally thought they were effeminate, but on Payton…

They looked elegant. Even the white hose managed to emphasize his calf muscles instead of looking foppish. The heavy black wool greatcoat covered his stylish black evening coat and delectable arse, but Simon knew they were there. His cock stirred, hardening, remembering how the gold waistcoat had made the yellow of Payton’s eyes practically glow in the candlelight. Simon had had a hard time not staring at Payton during dinner.

Like the night they went to the gaming hell, Pay’s white cravat had been tied in a complicated knot, making him appear quite distinguished. The urge to rumple all that sophisticated perfection along with Payton’s refusal to acknowledge him earlier had set Si’s teeth on edge. Now there was no reason Simon couldn’t take what he wanted.

Demand answers and—

Payton turned and spotted him. Quickly, he averted his eyes to the ground and his teeth caught his bottom lip.

—and kiss the life out of Payton. Simon began walking forward. When he was within two yards of Payton, Pay looked up at him again, his amber eyes heavy lidded.

“Pay?”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t…”

Can’t what? Shouldn’t what?
Simon opened his mouth to ask but Payton let out a deep, shuddering breath. His perfect posture collapsed, his shoulders slumping.

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The need to comfort came out of nowhere. Simon frowned. When had he become so in tune to Payton’s moods? When had he started wanting Payton to be nothing but happy? He wanted answers but instead of demanding them, he wanted to take Payton in his arms and tell him it’d be all right.

“Pay, whatever it is—”

Shaking his head, Payton turned and looked at the fountain, his white gloved hand trailed around the edge of the small pool. “I have to leave in a few days.”

It felt like a physical blow, like someone had clocked him one. Simon shook his head without thinking. “No.” He didn’t want Payton to go, not yet. “We’re working together.

You can’t leave.”

Payton turned back to him, a sad smile on his face. “I need to find a way to tell Nate that we’re on the same side.”

Nate? Oh, the admiral.
“I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him I want you to stay and help.”

“No!” Payton’s eyes went wide, his face drained of color. “He can’t know we know each other.”

Why not?
Simon frowned. Even if the admiral told Payton to stay away from him, eventually he was going to learn that they were working together. “Pay, I—”

Taking one step, then another, Payton groaned, sounding defeated, then launched himself at Simon. His arms and legs wrapped around Simon’s body.

Surprised, Simon caught him out of instinct and staggered backward. He lost his footing and landed on his butt in the snow. Collapsing onto his back, he brought Payton with him. “What—?”

Payton glanced down at him, his black hair falling into his face.

Staring into those yellow eyes, Simon forgot all about the admiral and the IN and Payton leaving. There would be time to talk later. He cupped the back of Payton’s head and urged his chin down.

“Oh.” Payton licked his lips and met him halfway.

Simon took Payton’s mouth with all the ferocity he felt. He was lost. By now Simon had normally tired of other lovers, but his attraction for Payton had only increased with www.samhainpublishing.com 133

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every new thing he learned. He shouldn’t care so much, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

As was becoming his habit, Payton moaned, pushing the noise right into Simon’s mouth along with his tongue. He was still awkward, obviously not having much practice, but he made up for it with enthusiasm.

Whether it was the sounds Payton made or the way he threw himself into the kiss, Simon couldn’t say, but his cock grew hard instantly. He rolled them over until he was on top and pressing Payton into the snow, mashing his erection into Pay’s hip. Rising up, he studied Payton.

The glare from the snow cast an ethereal glow over Payton’s pale skin. His lips were already swollen and red. Growling low in his throat, Simon nipped the bottom one, before going back to cataloguing the beauty beneath him. Payton’s dark hair made such a contrast to the white snow. His pale skin was only a couple shades darker than the ground. The ladies of the ton would die to have such smooth milky skin.

Licking his lips again, Payton raised his head for a kiss. Simon felt the erection pressed against his hip. Payton let out a ragged breath, making a cloud around them, and shivered.

“Are you cold?” Simon asked.

“Yes, and we shouldn’t do this here.”

Shit.
How could he have forgotten where they were? They were concealed by the hedges, but if anyone came looking for them… It was pretty stupid on his part. Simon jumped to his feet, holding his hand down to Payton.

Taking Simon’s hand, Payton got up. He shook his hair, making the snow fly from it, and huddled into his coat. His cheeks flushed pink and he glanced down, his inherent shyness surfacing.

Simon wondered if it would ever truly disappear. He sure hoped not. “I’m sorry, Payton, I lost my head. I seem to do that a lot when you’re around.”

“I know the feeling.” Payton didn’t sound too happy about it either, or maybe it was just because his teeth were chattering.

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At least he wasn’t alone. Grinning, Si reached out and rubbed Payton’s arms through his coat. He liked touching Payton, it was becoming harder and harder not to whenever they were near. “I missed you last night. Where were you? Did you find something new?”

“No, I didn’t find a blasted thing.” Payton chewed his bottom lip and mumbled, “I missed you too.”

Simon chuckled and ran his finger down Payton’s forehead, soothing out the furrow.

He had to have Payton. His body screamed at him to rush them away to his townhouse right now. The only thing that stopped him was knowing that Payton would never follow.

If Payton were leaving—
No,
Simon was going to do his best to convince him to stay.

“Meet me at the gym at twenty hundred hours tomorrow. Dress in civilian clothes again.”

“Why?”

“Payton?” A shout came from the front of the garden.

Who was that?
Simon turned to look, but stopped short when he noticed Payton’s startled expression. His eyes were wide and his face had drained of color. “That’s the admiral. I’ve got to go.” He started toward the palace but Simon grabbed his arm.

“Wait.” Simon wanted to ask so many things, but what came out was, “Meet me tomorrow?”

Glancing toward the veranda, Payton swallowed then glanced back at Simon.

“Okay.”

Simon let go of Payton’s arm and watched him race off like someone was chasing him. He frowned and followed at a much slower pace.
How odd.
How did Payton think he would keep the admiral from learning they knew each other when they were ultimately working together? Eventually Hawkins was going to have to be brought up-to-date on what they’d found out.

What are you hiding, Pay?

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Starry night, leaving Englor and Si is going to kill me.

—
from the journal of Payton Marcus Townsend

“Where are we going?” Payton looked out the lift window, biting his bottom lip. He really shouldn’t be doing this, but his resolve to stop seeing Si had flown right out the window yesterday when he’d seen Si in the maze. He’d been so handsome, and the expression on his face when he’d spotted Payton… Payton shivered. It was possessive and warm and even nearly getting caught by Nate hadn’t stopped him from meeting Si tonight.
I’m either brave or stupid. Or maybe both.
He only had a few more days and he was going to enjoy them. And he needed to figure out how to get Simon and Nate talking without involving himself.

The lift stopped.

Across from him, Si grinned. “We’re here.”

“Where is here?”

“You’ll see.” Si got out of his seat and moved toward the door. “Door open, steps down.” When the door raised, Si alighted and reached back inside. “Come on.”

Payton took his hand and climbed from the carriage. He’d noticed since the other night after they’d gone to the gaming hell that Si had been treating him a little differently.

He couldn’t put his finger on how, but it wasn’t in a bad way. At first he’d thought it had to do with Dru. Simon hadn’t said anything about his relationship with her, but he hadn’t acted like there was anything to the rumors either. So Payton hadn’t thought any more about it. The change had to do with them. Si was more attentive, or at least he was trying to be when Payton let him. It made him feel…special.

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They were in front of a standalone townhouse. It was a lovely Italian styled home with pinkish stucco. Like the townhouses back home it had a narrow width and the other houses were very close to it. It looked to be four stories. The entry had a heavy wooden door and intricate wrought-iron rails on each side of the entry steps. “Are we going to a party?” The house didn’t look as if there was a party going on inside.

After dismissing the lift, Si led him to the steps. “No. This is my place.”

Payton’s steps faltered. His world tilted on its axis. Maybe he really was more than a casual fling for Si. He smiled, his heart in his throat. Si didn’t seem the type to admit something like that if it weren’t true, nor did he seem the type to bring men home.

“Welcome home, Colonel,” a smooth deep voice said as the door opened. “Don’t forget to wipe your feet on the doormat. I’ll not have the foyer all wet for the staff to slip and slide all over the place.”

Colonel? Not Your Highness?
The rest of what the butler had said hit Payton and his lips quirked. Even Jeffers, his butler at home, wasn’t bold enough to talk to the family like that.