Jeremy couldn’t believe Rowan’s attitude. He’d been trying his best to win the elf over, but kept getting pushed away. Rowan never seemed to have a problem with his company at any time during the past couple of months. As far as Jeremy was concerned, a very solid friendship had developed between them. He could still remember how Rowan took him under his wing, and became like a mentor to him. Thanks to the elf he was no longer a virgin, and knew how to handle his sword a hell of a lot better than he did when he first arrived on this fairytale world.
Rowan happened to be pretty damn cool for an adult. Jeremy loved his carefree nature, and his willingness to do things with him that other older people would balk at doing. They’d attempted to burglarize a home, placed bets on who could seduce Marz first, and even visited a whorehouse together. Whenever he was in the mood for a little sexual action, a few advances toward Rowan was all it took to make the elf hop in the sack with him. All that changed with the arrival of Soran. Now it seemed like Rowan couldn’t stand the sight of him anymore.
He glared at the elf, who continued to pull on the reins of his horse then turned his thoughts to the raking blonde whore. Somehow, someway, he’d get back at the asshole for turning Rowan against him. If Belald lost interest in the creep by the time they got back to Bizmar, he’d figure out another way to rid him from Rowan’s life. Jeremy was positive that the elf would return to normal once Soran vanished. Of course, Rowan could never know that he had anything to do with the blonde’s disappearance. Hell, if he knew he could get away with it, he’d bash Soran over the head with a nice, big rock and dump his body down the nearest gully.
Patience, he told himself. For now, he’d simply smile a lot, and keep his true feelings of hatred hidden. Then when the inevitable happened to Soran, no one would think to blame him. A sinister grin played upon his lips as he envisioned Kanet's gang giving Soran his just dessert. Rowan wouldn't like spending so much time with the blonde once his pretty face was permanently scared.
They arrived in the clearing to find Xue, Cas, and Eremis staring at them. Jeremy scowled at the demon boy when he tossed him a dirty look, but kept his mouth shut because he didn't have any allies to aid him should Cas get pissed off about one of his snide comments. The horn-headed punk could take him in a fight just as easily as Soran did, and he couldn't rely on Rowan to save his ass.
Once he dismounted, he came face to face with Alexander, who reminded him about the archery lesson. Can we use Soran as a target? He chuckled at the thought then sobered when he met Alex's eyes. "I already ate, so I'll wait for you by the barn."
After taking care of the horse, Jeremy lit a cigarette then sat down just outside the barn door. He munched on a Snicker's Bar while waiting for Alex to finish his dinner and set up targets for his first lesson.
*******
Soran sipped more wine and thought back over some of the things Alex said to him. Maybe he was expecting too much from Rowan too fast. But I never pressured him into making a commitment! Of course, he'd hoped they'd eventually get around to establishing a real relationship, but sensed it'd be unwise to rush Rowan into something like that.
Once they were officially a couple, he would fully expect the elf to remain faithful to him, and didn't know if Rowan was ready to devote himself to one person. It would hurt to learn Rowan slept around with others while sleeping with him as well, but it'd be devastating if he went and had sex with someone else AFTER they made an honest commitment to each other. I don't want him to promise me faithfulness if he's not 100 percent sure he can live up to that promise.
His vision wavered a little after he took another long gulp from the bottle. Since he could never afford to indulge in alcohol in the past, he hadn't worked up a tolerance to it yet. Although he liked the relaxing affect the liquor had on him, he wasn't crazy about the way it interfered with his thinking. How anyone could get addicted to the shit was beyond his comprehension.
The sound of footsteps made his head snap up quickly; Rowan's face came in and out of focus. He rubbed his eyes then stared at the elf in surprise. Why was he here instead of in bed with Darlanta? Okay, I have to stop jumping to conclusions so fast.
His instincts were hampered by alcohol at the moment yet that didn't stop him from sensing Rowan's nervousness. Normally, the elf was an eloquent speaker, but at present he had some difficulty stringing a complete sentence together. When Rowan admitted to being frightened of how he felt about him, Soran's eyes widened slightly. He did his best to shake off the stupefying effects of the liquor then listened intently to the rest of Rowan's words.
As soon as the elf fell silent, Soran threw his arms around his neck and pulled him close. "You were meant for my arms,” he whispered, overcome with happiness. “I do have faith inya Ro, but I stupidly let my own insecurities get inda way of that faith earlier." Oblivious to his slightly slurred speech, he continued. "I shouldn't a broke up withya. I reacted too rashly, and I'm sorry."
He drew their lips together for a slow, sensuous kiss. Several minutes passed before Soran finally pulled away. He grinned while twirling a strand of Rowan's hair between his fingers. "Even if things don't work out wid us, there's somethin' I want you to know, but ya gotta promise you won't freak out on me after you hear what I gotta say."
Instead of promising him anything, Rowan stared at him, a puzzled look on his face. Soran laughed then kissed the tip of his nose before running a finger along his jaw line. He cleared his throat as his green eyes locked with the beautiful blue eyes of the elf. "I love you." Immediately, he shook his head and moved his finger across Rowan's lips, silencing him before he could say anything. "Don't tell me I'm too young to be in love, or that I don't know you well enough to love you cause I don't wanna hear that shit. I know my own heart better than you or anyone else does."
He slid his hands to the back of Rowan's neck then placed soft kisses on his forehead, eyelids, and cheeks. "I know you don't love me back yet, but daz okay." When a hiccup made him lose his train of thought, he rested his forehead against Rowan's. "I think I better eat something cause I feel a little queasy from all the wine I drank." His mouth slowly moved down to nibble on the elf's ear. "After I get some food in me I'm gonna drag you into a tent and remind you how perfect we are for one another...if you have no objections to that a course."
*******
Since Eremis had spent several days kicking his drug habit at Makoto’s cabin, he wasn’t up to date on what might be going on between Rowan, Soran, and Jeremy. He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Cas about much of anything because he was dragged off on this crazy mission the day after Dalo brought him home. Frowning, he listened to the exchange between Xue and Rowan. Why in bloody hell would the elf want to continue the journey to Dara alone?
"He was running away," Xue said. "Not from us, I think, but from someone here."
The healer glanced at Jeremy, wondering if he was the one Xue referred to. If so, Rowan's plan to get away from him certainly didn't work out too well. He watched the elf make his way to the barn then quietly listened to what Alex had to say to Jeremy. When the youth offered to give them all archery lessons, Eremis shrugged. He never really thought about learning archery before. "Maybe we'll join you after we eat."
He dragged Cas to a nearby tree, passing him some food from the sack once they sat down. "Do you have any idea about what's going on with Rowan? And why in hades does Jeremy look so grumpy lately? What went on between those two while I was off rehabilitating?"
