Текст книги "Heat for sale"

Автор книги: Ursa Dox

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“You’ll be growing quickly. Clothing will be uncomfortable. Your body will be preparing for birth. You’ll drip slick and you’ll lactate—make milk—

even before the baby comes. And you’ll be like this”—Heath gestured at Adrien’s hard cock—“anytime I’m near you. Which is why there will be times when I give you a break and let a servant care for your non-sexual needs, like bringing your meals and cleaning up your space. That’s for your welfare and the health of the baby—so you can concentrate enough to eat something aside from me.”

Adrien licked his lips, his eyes going back to Heath’s crotch, wishing for another few spurts of his semen. Nothing had ever tasted so good. He desperately wanted more.

Heath smiled down at him. “You are still such a filthy, cock-hungry slut for me. Worth every cent for your mouth alone.”

Adrien blinked up at him, dazed and still achingly hard. He smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Now take hold of yourself, and stare into my eyes. I want to watch your face when you come.”

Adrien wanted to beg Heath to touch him, to finger his asshole and then fuck him mercilessly, but he couldn’t look away from Heath’s commanding gaze, so he did as he was told. He took his hard prick in hand and worked it quickly, staring at Heath’s gray eyes as he did. He watched the shade change, growing darker with renewed lust, and when he felt the charge in his balls, the oncoming rapture of orgasm, he struggled to keep his eyes open and fixed to Heath’s, but he managed.

“Please!” Adrien cried as the cum surged up his shaft. “Fuck me, sir!

Please!”

“I’ll fuck you, Adrien,” Heath said, his voice dark with promise.

“Tonight. You’ll be so full of me, I’ll take you so deep that you’ll taste me in

your mouth.”

Adrien cried out, his cum striping over Heath’s shiny shoes, white and slick and copious. His back arched and his hips pumped forward, as shot after shot of come flew from his swollen cockhead. He felt his womb clench inside, balling up hard in response to his orgasm, and the tension of that and the teeth-rattling pleasure left him spent and exhausted at Heath’s feet.

One of Heath’s hands threaded into his hair, and the other gently trailed over Adrien’s ear, touching the shell and then the lobe before releasing him.

“That was beautiful,” Heath said. “Normally, I’d have you lick the cum from my shoes, but I don’t want to risk your health with germs or bacteria.” He smiled softly. “You have my child in your body. We have to be careful with him.”

Adrien nodded, eyes bleary. He panted and ached, suddenly horribly tired.

“Crawl into bed,” Heath said, as though reading his mind. He guided Adrien into the soft, fluffy whiteness. “Get comfortable. Rest.”

Adrien’s eyes drooped, but he kept them open, marking the contrast between the rough nature outside the window and the sleek suit on Heath.

“I’ll send Simon to make dinner after you’ve had time to nap.” He ran fingers through Adrien’s hair, making him sleepier. He spoke like he was telling a bedtime story, soothing and calm. “Then, tonight, after my meeting in the city, I’ll come here and pleasure you until you pass out.”

Adrien shivered with anticipation, his cock twitching with interest despite the intense orgasm he’d just had. It wasn’t heat; it wasn’t compulsory, but it was a lush, heady need all the same.

Heath went on, “This will be your life until you give birth. Please enjoy this respite. Unless you have another child one day, you’ll never get a chance like this again.”

He kissed Adrien’s forehead and then stood, adjusting his cock beneath his perfect trousers. He pushed a button on the wall, and shades lowered over the skylights, darkening the room while still leaving the soft glow of the blurry green woods outside. “Until later, little one.”

And then he was gone, leaving Adrien drowsing on soft sheets, surrounded by a glimmering green forest and the sound of a babbling brook echoing through the solid glass walls.

Chapter Ten

HEATH HATED TO leave Adrien when he’d only just arrived, flushed with pregnancy hormones and looking so beautiful. He positively ached to strip down with the boy and run his hands over every inch of him before fucking him into senseless submission.

Unfortunately, he had a long-scheduled business meeting with his friend Felix Sanchez he needed to attend first. The very same Felix who had once bragged about having the highest bid for Adrien’s first heat and tempted Heath into looking the auction up.

Watching the sunlight shatter against the high-rise glass all around him as his driver took him to Felix’s offices in the city, Heath bristled now at that memory. Felix had seen the naked photos of Adrien from the auction site, too. A lot of men had. And while there was nothing shameful about nudity, and Adrien had a beautiful body he should be proud of, right now that body was Heath’s to protect and care for. He couldn’t tolerate the idea of anyone else, except perhaps his favorite old servant Simon, looking at it.

He sighed, tugging at his hair, and then used his fingers to get it back into position. He didn’t want to look out of sorts. Felix would ask questions, and questions were something Heath didn’t want to answer right now. Not from Felix, and not even from old, devoted Simon.

Speaking of Simon, he had already tutted at Heath for impregnating Adrien at all. And that had been before he saw the boy walking through the castle with Heath and had instantly recognized his likeness to Nathan. Heath had been lucky to get out of the castle without Simon boxing his ears for, as he’d put it, ‘twisted perversions.’

Heath understood what Simon was on about. He was playing with fire of every kind. Not only was he covering himself in emotional lighter fluid, but he was also potentially torching a decade-long truce between himself and his younger brother, Lidell. A truce achieved because Heath had never managed to procreate.

But now he had.

And there would be hell to pay for that if Lidell had anything to say about it. And he would. Eventually. Lidell had always wanted Clearwater passed to Ned, his auction-born child. A brat with no ambition beyond throwing parties and fucking omegas through heats—and throwing parties centered around fucking desperate omegas outside of heats.

Not that Heath could chide the boy about that. He’d been much the same at Ned’s age. What alpha hadn’t been? Sex-obsessed pleasure-hounds. But Ned’s little group of friends were privileged beyond the telling, and Heath didn’t know if Ned would ever grow out of it.

Regardless, Simon had every right to be annoyed with him.

Making a child with Nathan’s son was both everything Heath had dreamed of when he’d schemed it and nothing at all like he’d imagined. He hadn’t explained to Simon that Adrien had qualities Heath admired for their own sake, and, well, he’d be hard-pressed to even list for Simon what those qualities were, since they mainly involved the very intimate details of how Adrien took being fucked, the sounds he made, and the way he trusted Heath so completely. Something Nathan had never done.

Simon would say he should have gotten to know the boy better before taking this step. But they had four months before the baby came for that, didn’t that? That was part and parcel of why omegas were kept separate from the rest of society while they gestated—to promote a bond with the alpha. If the alpha wanted a bond, that was. Many didn’t. And he hadn’t planned on wanting one, but…

God, he was tired of his own brain. He just wanted to go back to the castle, fuck Adrien, and hold him while they dreamed up names for their baby. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so. Because the car had arrived at Felix’s office building.

The driver opened the car door for him, and he stepped out into the sunset. Heath shaded his eyes before slipping on sunglasses and walking purposefully into the Sanchez Holding Company offices, where he took the elevator up to Felix’s private rooms at the top.

Felix was a big, beefy redhead with strong arms and thighs. He looked great in a suit, like he could take a man apart limb by limb while simultaneously making trade deals with the leaders of the fifteen nations of the world. His features were strong and had a patrician air to them, which gave refinement to his big build, and his eyes twinkled with humor and

intelligence. He was also, for better or worse, raunchy as all hell.

“So you fucked that kid through his heat, huh?” he asked as soon as Heath walked in. “Paid a fortune to do it, too. Damn, friend, I hope he was worth it.” He gripped Heath’s hand hard and shook it with a salacious grin on his face.

“He’s pregnant,” Heath said. He’d kept the news mostly to himself, aside from the doctor he’d put on retainer for Adrien’s well-being, and Simon, of course. But he knew if he didn’t tell Felix now, the man would say something that would make Heath put a fist in his face, and that wouldn’t be pleasant or profitable for either of them.

“Oh, he wasn’t just a pleasure fuck, then?” Felix said, blinking in surprise. “And here I thought you had simply made time for a sensual holiday for two.”

“No,” Heath said firmly. “I’m making an heir.”

“I bet Lidell is thrilled to hear that.”

Heath groaned.

“Oh, Lidell doesn’t know, does he?” Felix shook his head and cackled, his neck extending back with his glee. “Sweet babies in a basket, Heath!

What’s going on with you?”

“Business first.” Heath shot his cuffs and sat down in the chair opposite Felix’s desk. “Fill me in on this investment you’re so sold on and convince me to give you the money for it.”

Felix smirked but didn’t argue. He knew Heath well enough to know that pissing him off now wasn’t a good personal or business choice.

The rest of the meeting ran quickly.

“I do appreciate you coming in today,” Felix said once the ink was dry on the agreement and Heath had put a large sum of money at his disposal. “As usual, I couldn’t do what I do without you.”

Heath shrugged. He’d inherited his family’s fortune when his parents died, and he had more than he could ever spend. He’d found over the years that money didn’t buy happiness, and, if he had his way, he’d spend more time in the woods and less time cutting deals. But he also knew the world around them was going to shit, and if he wanted to make a difference in it, then he needed allies like Felix to fight the good fight, build the good buildings, fund the right work, and organize proper charities. For fuck’s sake, he wasn’t going to do it himself, now was he?

He stood up, straightened his suit jacket, and said, “I have things to attend to at home. Raincheck on those drinks, friend.”

“And by ‘things to attend,’ do you mean a pregnant omega?” Felix asked.

Heath adjusted his tie. He should have known Felix wasn’t going to let the subject go. They’d been friends too long, and Felix knew too much about his family’s dramas to not see how Lidell was going to take it and to not wonder what prompted Heath to burn that bridge after all these years.

He cleared his throat, uncertain where to start. Should he tell him all the justifications he’d made up after the fact? Or the truth?

“He was a luscious young man,” Felix said. “I was willing to pay a lot to have his heat. I have a few children already, as you know, all of them living with their omega parents because I have no patience for young ones. But if I’d won him, I’d have paid to breed, too. He’s handsome and intelligent. I get the urge. I do.” Felix tilted his head. “But, Heath, it’s not like you.”

So the truth, then.

“He’s Nathan’s son,” he said. It came out sounding strangled. He hoped Felix didn’t notice. He hadn’t meant to give so very much away with so few words.

Felix’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “He’s what?”

“Nathan’s son. His only living descendent. From his first breeding.”

Felix stared at Heath and then headed to the liquor cabinet by the wide windows looking out over the city. “No, you’re staying for a drink, because this? This is madness.”

Heath almost balked, but Felix approached him with a finger and a half of brandy and a worried glimmer in his eye that spoke of true friendship. Heath sighed and took the liquor.

“Your favorite brandy,” Felix said.

Heath took a sip.

“Now, sit down here on the sofa,” Felix said, guiding Heath toward the area of his office reserved for more casual conversations. “You’ve impregnated your dead lover’s son,” Felix said, and Heath had to admit it sounded quite bad when put like that. “Does he know?”

“Who? Nathan? As you stated, he’s dead. Of course he doesn’t know.”

“Don’t be purposely obtuse. That won’t work with me. You know I meant the son. The omega you won.”

Heath sighed, then took another hearty swallow of brandy and raised a

brow.

“He doesn’t know,” Felix concluded, sitting back with wide eyes. “Do you plan to tell him?”

“I don’t see why I should.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Why would I tell him something like that? It’s not important in the scheme of what we’re doing together. He’ll be gone after the child is born, take the money and…” Heath trailed off. That’s what he’d expected Adrien to do. It’s what Nathan would have done. But Adrien wasn’t Nathan. “There won’t be a reason for him to ever know. Even if he chooses to participate in the child’s life, he won’t be around for long. He wants to be a professor.” He shifted uncomfortably.

Felix lifted a brow. “And if you fall for each other during the gestation period?”

“Unlikely.”

Felix blew out a low whistle. “I fell for two of my boys’ omega parents.

They didn’t fall for me.”

“That’s brutal,” Heath said, throat tight.

“Yes. Well, what do you plan to do?”

Heath took the rest of his glass down in a fast gulp. It wasn’t good form, but he didn’t care. He needed the burn of alcohol to clear his mind. Or muddy it. He wasn’t quite sure which. “I suppose a lot of it is up to him. How well we get on between now and the birth will play a big part. How much of a role he wants in the child’s life. How much of a role he wants in mine.”

“You? Raising a child alone? No. If you want my advice, let him raise the little booger, and you just leave the castle and the fortune to it. Be done with the whole thing after the heat. If you don’t fall in love, all the better.”

“I know you don’t enjoy fatherhood much, Felix, but I think I’ll take to it quite well. He’ll be part Nathan, and I always wanted that.” And part Adrien, too. He no longer seemed only a Nathan substitute, after all, but his own, sweet, trusting person who made Heath feel all alpha.

“Fine, fine. But you intend to let this boy decide what part he’ll play in this child’s life without ever telling him why you knocked him up to begin with?” He lifted a brow again. “That seems unfair.”

“Adrien is—”

“Ah, yes, Adrien. I’d forgotten his name.”

Heath huffed, annoyed by that statement. How anyone could forget anything about Adrien was beyond him. The boy was exquisite, and in bed he made the sweetest, most desperate noises while coming on Heath’s knot. He cleared his throat and adjusted his pants.

“What does Simon think of this?”

“He doesn’t like it.”

“I should say not. The old bugger must be worried that he’ll have to change nappies and sing the baby to sleep when this omega goes trotting off with all that money to, as you say, travel the world or finish his schooling.”

Heath frowned. “I’ll hire a nanny for the child.”

“That was Simon’s job, wasn’t it? Your nanny.”

“And now he’s my general keeper. He doesn’t find it a very fun position.”

“At least you aren’t throwing ragers with the president’s youngest son anymore or keeping omegas on retainer for heat orgies like you did in university.”

“I’ve known you too long, Felix. You have all of my worst secrets on speed dial.”

“I also have your best interests at heart. I suppose there’s no undoing it now. The boy is well and truly fucked in so many ways, and you’ll have to deal with whatever comes.” Felix shrugged.

“Yes.”

“And what if the baby’s not an alpha?”

“Call me new-fangled, but I don’t see why an omega or beta can’t inherit.”

“You wouldn’t. But Lidell will. He and Ned will take it to court to get an alpha back in power after you’re gone.”

“If Lidell outlives me, perhaps he would. But Ned is too lazy. He’ll take whatever money is offered and run. Besides, we’ll fight those battles as they come.” Heath nodded firmly. That was the ticket. Take everything one step at a time. Don’t overthink anything. Nothing was certain yet.

Felix shook his head and downed the last of his drink. Then he stood and said, “Well, don’t let me delay you further. I’m sure your handsome omega is at home right now just aching from all those sweet pregnancy hormones for a good, long, fu—”

“Don’t,” Heath said sharply. “Don’t talk about him like he’s a common whore.”

Felix zipped his lips, but his eyes flew wide. “Good God, you’re in over your head,” he said as he showed Heath out. “Half in love already. He’s not Nathan, you know.”

Heath shook Felix’s hand as he opened the office door. “He isn’t. And somehow I find him all the more appealing because of that.”

On the drive home, anticipation thrummed in him. He thought over Adrien’s arrival earlier in the day and the eager way the boy had stripped for him and gone to his knees. He supposed they should have talked a bit more about the expectations between them, but he’d been overwhelmed with protectiveness and then lust.

It struck him as strange that Adrien knew so little of what to expect from pregnancy, but he seemed to recall Nathan telling him that the man with kind eyes, the one who’d bought his breeding and with whom Nathan had left his son, had been a religious sort. Adrien had confirmed as much in what he’d said about it all. Many religious sects were incredibly backward in their ideas of omega rights.

Regardless, it thrilled some dark, possessive part of him to know that he would be the one to teach Adrien. It was the same part of him that had been thrilled to take Adrien’s virginity, his first heat, and to breed him, too. In some ways, Adrien already felt more his than Nathan ever had.

Chapter Eleven

ADRIEN WOKE UP from his nap hungry and a little disoriented. The sun had gone down and the glass-walled room, which had seemed almost like a fairytale when he could see into the green, leafy forest, now seemed somewhat threatening and gloomy.

He was a little cold, too.

He put on his glasses, relieved by the room coming into focus. His clothes were still where he’d left them on the floor, but Heath had told him not to wear them. Would he really care? He wouldn’t want Adrien to be chilly, would he? That probably wasn’t the best for the baby. He might catch a cold.

Or was that just an old tale?

He got out of the fluffy bed, found his glasses, and pulled on his jeans and T-shirt. Sometime during his nap, someone had come into the room with his luggage, and that felt a little creepy. He glanced around, noting the door to the hallway was shut, though there were human sounds coming from outside it. He hurriedly went through his things until he found a soft, warm hoodie and pulled it on.

Then, still unnerved by the growing darkness of the forest and the creaking of the swaying trees outside, and driven by the gnawing in his stomach, he cautiously opened the door and stepped out into the creamy, concrete hallway. The light shafting in from the skylights above was an amber color now, and some electric lights had been turned on in various corners of the hallway.

He followed the sounds of cooking and the scent of something delicious until he stepped into a wide, open area that housed a very comfortable-looking living room and a big kitchen. There was a circular window encompassing one full end of the room and which looked out onto a spacious flower garden and a gazebo near a bridge that passed over the brook. There were even some twinkling lights hung in the ornamental trees, and that, for some reason, surprised Adrien more than almost anything else all day. It seemed such a twee choice for a gruff alpha like Heath.

“Hello!” a cheery voice called from within a pantry built into the thick wall of concrete. A balding, gray-laced head, sporting merry twinkling eyes and a happy smile peeked out from the pantry door. “I’m Simon, and you must be Adrien.”

Adrien wrapped his arms around himself, still a little cold, and cleared his throat. “Hi.”

“Yes, hi,” Simon said, almost laughing. He stepped out of the pantry wearing an old-fashioned butler’s uniform, which made Adrien blink as well.

“You’re cold, I take it? I told him that we’d need to put heaters in that room, but he thought the pregnancy hormones might make you too hot.” Simon tutted. “I’m always right, you know. And you can tell him I said that.”

Adrien smiled timidly, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I am cold, yes. And hungry.”

Simon swung open the refrigerator door and pulled out a tray. “I’ve got you covered, lovey. Have a seat here at the counter. Let’s fill you up. Can’t have you or the baby going hungry while you wait for dinner.”

“Oh.” Adrien walked toward the counter that separated the living area from the kitchen. He sat on a stool. “If I eat all this, I’ll be too full for dinner.”

“That’s what you say now! But there’s no rush. You have all evening to eat. Heath wants you fattened up. He’s worried that you’re too thin.”

Adrien looked down at himself, noting how the hoodie and jeans hung on him. “I’ve been sick lately.”

“From the baby,” Simon said knowingly. “Being here with Heath will fix that. There are soothing properties in the… Ah, well…” He flushed and waved vaguely. “And the pheromones, too. You’ll be more comfortable now that you’re with us,” he finished up with a happy smile.

Adrien accepted the glass of water Simon pressed into his hand, as well as a handful of supplements.

“Vitamins. Everything the doctor ordered to grow a strong child.”

He swallowed them, feeling oddly childlike, and memories of the time he’d been sick with a terrible illness swept over him. He remembered his father praying by his side, refusing the doctor’s orders for medications, until, finally, so frightened that Adrien might die, he’d given in and let the doctor give him the handful of pills that helped him get better.

In a way, his father’s worst fears about the medicine came true. His return

to health at the hands of science had been part of why Adrien eventually stepped away from the religion his father had adhered to so blindly. His youthful infatuation with the handsome doctor might have also inspired him to consider leaving their little town, but it was the magazine the doctor left behind with photos of art from around the fifteen countries of the world that had inspired him to go to college.

Something about Simon reminded him of that sickness. The caretaking, perhaps. The scent of roasting vegetables, maybe.

“When will Heath be back?” he asked after he no longer felt like he would fall off the stool in hunger.

Simon smiled again, shoving a big casserole of some kind into the oven.

Adrien’s mouth watered, even though he’d just consumed half the plate of cheese, meat, and bread that Simon had set out in front of him. “He’ll be here soon, I imagine.” He glanced toward another big steel-and-wood clock. It somehow looked more appropriate in this room, built into the earth beneath the castle as it was. “He hated to leave you, but he’d agreed to this appointment before he knew you were coming today.”

“It’s all right,” Adrien said. His cheeks heated as he remembered the way they’d spent the very short time they’d had together before Heath had left.

“Let me light a fire in the big oven down the hall. It will warm the walls.”

He smiled again. “I’ll also call for some small heaters to be put in your room.

I’ll be right back.”

Once he was alone, Adrien stood up and explored the space. It didn’t look anything like the part of the castle he’d followed Heath through to get here. It was like a rabbit’s den: cozy, nesty, warm. And the light from the sunset cast a glow against the creamy walls, making Adrien relax. His breathing came in steady, soothing waves.

He ran his fingers over the low, soft couches and the similarly comfortable-looking chairs. There were throw pillows, some big enough to be chairs in their own right, a comfortable chaise, and several ottomans.

Additional books lined one wall of this room, but there was no entertainment center that he could see. Fluffy rugs felt nice under his bare feet, and he sighed as the heat from the oven, wherever it was located, kicked in and the room seemed to embrace him with warmth breathing through invisible vents and the walls themselves.

“Yes, make yourself at home,” Simon said, returning to find Adrien

testing out the couch. “And if those clothes start to bother you as the room warms up, take them off. Heath will be worried to see you dressed.”

Adrien blushed. “You mean I should…? With you here? I don’t know.

It’s, ah, that’s…”

Simon waved a hand dismissively. “Do what makes you comfortable, lovey. As the pregnancy progresses, your skin will become more and more sensitive. Just know that I’ve seen many a naked man in my life and find them, in general, highly unremarkable. You are completely safe with me.”

Adrien mumbled some vague response and grabbed a book from the shelf, feigning extreme interest in it to prevent any more talking or thinking about his body or nudity. Or his skin being sensitive. Or his body changing.

He still hadn’t allowed himself to think much about any of that.

“I apologize that I’m so late.”

Adrien’s heart kicked, and he looked up to find Heath walking toward him from the door that led out to the hall. He wore his suit still and looked more handsome than the last time Adrien had seen him, though he still missed the beard.

“I see you’ve met Simon.”

Adrien started to stand up, but Heath put out a hand to stop him. “Stay comfortable.” He frowned. “You’re wearing clothes.”

“I was cold.”

“I told you,” Simon said from the kitchen where he bent to pull the casserole from the oven again. The cheesy, delicious scent made Adrien’s mouth explode with saliva and his stomach, which had seemed so full only moments ago, groan with hunger.

“Did you start the big oven and have heaters put into his room?”

“I did.”

“Yes. Thank you. I can feel that it’s warming up in here.” Heath tugged at his tie and tossed his coat onto a nearby chair. He rubbed his hands through his hair, messing up the perfectly coiffed darkness, leaving it a handsome, shaggy mess that fell into his gray eyes. He removed his cufflinks and folded his shirtsleeves up his forearms, revealing the hairy, ropey muscles that Adrien suddenly remembered gripping in the throes of heat.

He flushed, his cock growing thick in his jeans and his mouth pulsing with more saliva. He glanced toward Simon, embarrassed to be aroused in front of him.

“Take your clothes off,” Heath said. “Your body needs to breathe.”

“I can breathe with my clothes on,” Adrien said, putting his chin up. He wasn’t going to be naked and hard in front of Simon, no matter what Heath said.

Heath regarded him thoughtfully, but clearly decided not to push the issue. For some reason, Adrien had the impression that the discussion wasn’t over, so much as shelved for another time.

“The food is prepared, the heating issue is resolved, and I believe the two of you should be alone.” Simon straightened his uniform and put up his chin, his jowls wobbling a little in a friendly sort of way. Something about Simon was so comforting to Adrien that he almost hated to see him go, but at the same time, if Heath was going to insist that he get naked—and the other things Adrien wanted to do did require nakedness—then he supposed it was best if Simon left.

“I’ll be back in the morning to make his breakfast, see to the laundry you’ll no doubt make”—this was said in a cheeky way that made Adrien squirm, but didn’t imply any discomfort on Simon’s part,—“and, of course, make sure that he gets some fresh air and sunshine while you’re at the office.

In the meantime, I think I’ll go home, read a few chapters of a nice spy novel, and toddle off to bed.”

Heath tore his gaze from Adrien and smiled softly at Simon. It was, perhaps, the first time Adrien had seen this sort of expression on Heath’s face. He seemed fond, almost like how a child looked at a doting parent.

“Sleep well, old man.”

“I’ll sleep however I damn well please,” Simon said haughtily. “There are some things in life you can’t control, young man.” Then he left without a backward glance, while Heath gazed after him, chuckling under his breath.

“So that’s Simon,” Heath said when he finally turned his attention back to Adrien. “He was my nurse, then my tutor, and then my only real family after my parents died.” His lips twisted. “Well, if I don’t count my brother, and I don’t.”

“You have a brother?”

“Younger. We don’t get along. Regardless, Simon runs my household now. Though, until you leave, his main duty will be you.”

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” Adrien said. “I’ve lived on my own for a long time now.”

“Right. Since your father’s death.”

Adrien nodded, his throat going dry. Something about the way Heath said

‘your father’ felt strange, and he couldn’t put his finger on why. “I’ve lived in the dorms at the university. I can manage.”

“The dorms. I see. I believe the dorms provide you with meals and janitorial services. Think of Simon as a friendlier, more personal version of that.”

Adrien didn’t think he could treat the old man the way he’d treated the cafeteria workers and janitors at the university. To be truthful, he’d barely given them a second glance or ever offered them a thanks. He frowned. It was possible he was a complete dick.

“He’s nice,” Adrien said softly. His stomach growled again as the scent of the casserole Simon had made drifted through the room to him. “This place is…nice.”

Heath laughed, short and curt. “It’s the only nice part of this ridiculous castle. And it should be. I made it myself. Or hired it to be made, rather. I’m afraid that aside from splitting logs for the fireplace at the heat cabin, I don’t do much with my hands.”