Chapter 228: I paid 2 gold for this?
It was a rather awkward way to end the night, since Sir Forsythe was so rigid and emotional in a not obvious way as he was leaving. Cass was also feeling emotional, so much so that he practically forgot about the dragon he was sharing the room with and began undressing near the bed after he had seen Sir Forsythe to the door.
Lucian didn’t say a thing, and Cass didn’t realise what he was doing until he had his pants off, his shirt hanging around his butt. He was literally caught with his pants down as he noticed Lucian’s eyes glinting in the glass of the windows that he hadn’t pulled the curtains over.
Cass’ expression almost looked comically shocked, while a smile crossed Lucian’s expression.
"You forgot, huh? I don’t know if I should be flattered or not." Lucian commented, coming to stand next to Cass. Cass felt his back go ramrod straight, his muscles screaming in protest as his body went on high alert. "No no, go ahead. Continue. I’m a bad boy and I don’t get to touch right now. Punish me." Lucian said, his arms crossed, his pecs plumped up for Cass’ viewing pleasure.
Cass honestly had no idea what to say. So, he finished pulling his pants off. He picked them up off of the ground, tossing them onto a chair nearby before he let out a deep sigh. Then he ran his hands over his face, hiding himself from Lucian’s eyes so that he could just wallow in his own feelings for a moment.
What the fuck was he thinking? How had he forgotten a damn dragon was in the room with him? Not just any dragon, but a dragon who was attempting to woo him, emphasis on ’attempting’. In Cass’ opinion, he was doing a great job at getting him physically interested in him, but not emotionally.
Which was not a good match in Cass’ eyes. It was a rather shitty match if he was honest with himself. He didn’t care much for physical relationships, and cared more about emotional bonds.
"Are you alright, Cassian? Do you need some help?" Lucian asked, trying to sound genuine but Cass didn’t believe him as far as he could throw him.
"I’m more than capable of undressing myself, Lucian." Cass snapped and heard Lucian chuckle.
"Oh, I am aware of that, it doesn’t hurt to offer help, does it?" Lucian was getting too full of himself, Cass was feeling his own emotions and you know what? He said, fuck it, and uncovered his face.
When he met Lucian’s gaze, Lucian’s smirk slowly faded from his face, and left completely when Cass narrowed his gaze and pointed to the ground.
"Now, Lucian." Cass growled and Lucian’s eyes widened, clearly surprised that Cass was doing it. He didn’t question him, or make a scene. He just, dropped to the ground and before Cass could question it, the man was raising Cass’ foot to his lips, pressing his lips against the top of Cass’ foot. It was...an odd sensation, seeing the man like that before him. He was practically vertical on the ground, his body bent at slightly unusual angles.
When Lucian looked up at Cass, his orange eyes wide, Cass wasn’t sure what he expected to find there, but it wasn’t pleasure, that was sure.
"Should I do more? Do you want me to apologise more? I can do whatever you want." Lucian told him and Cass found himself scoffing at the other man. This was...pretty fucking pathetic, honestly, and seeing him like this soothed some of the emotions running wild in Cass’ body.
"No. I don’t want to hear anymore potentially insincere apologies until you realise why what you did was wrong. All of it." Cass said and Lucian swallowed, the pleasure not fading from his eyes.
"Alright. I understand. Do you want to step on me again?" He asked and Cass tsked.
"I already told you, I don’t-"
"But it could feel good." Lucian interrupted and Cass narrowed his gaze.
"I’m especially not stepping on you because you like it, you damn freak." Cass hissed, pulling his foot away. He was now too tired, and too wound up to go to the bathroom and change, so he just said fuck it and turned to the bed. He pulled the sheets back, and then remembered the curtains. He glanced up, waving a hand and watched as the curtains closed on their own. Lucian remained on the ground for a little bit longer until Cass had crawled into his bed.
Honestly? He was a little disappointed.
He was expecting a good bed, a nice bed. That was what people normally wanted when they stayed out in his time, his world, but this?
This bed was no different from the one back in his mansion, and he kind of hated that.
He should just have a bed made to his specifications.
Cass rolled over, turning his back to Lucian and heard Lucian chuckle.
"That upset with me?" Lucian asked and Cass didn’t dignify him with an answer. Lucian chuckled again, his voice coming closer to the edge of the bed until Cass could almost feel the man behind him. "Have a good rest, Cassian. I’ll be here if you need anything at all." Lucian promised, before Cass heard him move away and the sound of the couch dipping.
Cass held his breath, unsure what that meant, but as time ticked on, he slowly felt his body relaxing until he couldn’t fight sleep any longer. He found himself drifting off to sleep, his body curling around one of the pillows with a soft sigh.
~
Cass slept through the night. He woke up groggily when someone gently shook his shoulder.
"Good morning sweetness. Edgar sent word. He wanted to share breakfast with everyone before we headed to the temple. We gotta get up now so that you can get ready." Lucian’s voice was soft as Cass turned, his gaze narrow with sleepy distrust as Lucian chuckled. Cass could barely make him out as he tried to awaken more and felt Lucian push back his hair from his forehead. "Don’t look at me like that. You’re already adorable enough that you make it hard for me to keep my hands to myself, but I am honouring your boundaries. Please don’t glare at me while pouting. It’s just simply not fair." Lucian’s words didn’t make sense.
Cass wasn’t pouting. He wasn’t a pouter.
A knock sounded on the door and Lucian sighed.
"Ah. Here comes the little knight who is keeping an eye on this dragon. I don’t plan to steal you away like the stories, but it seems he doesn’t trust me." Lucian muttered, more to himself than to Cass but Cass did hear him. He was slowly stirring as Lucian marched over to the door and let Sir Forsythe in. "Good morning, Sir Forsythe. I’ve attempted the first rousing of Cassian, but he’s still a little groggy." Lucian told him brightly and Sir Forsythe scoffed.
"My Lord is not a morning person." Sir Forsythe said and Lucian chuckled again.
"You could say that again. He really hates it. I’ll step outside to speak to Edgar’s lackey, and then I’ll be back." Lucian declared without letting Sir Forsythe respond before Cass heard the door open and close, followed by a deep sigh.
"I don’t like him my Lord." Sir Forsythe muttered and that had Cass laughing. Cass rubbed his hand over his face, grumbling as he sat up and tousled his hair with his hand. He looked at Sir Forsythe, who was mostly turned towards him, but still had an eye on the door. He didn’t look pleased, that was for sure.
"What? I thought him beating you up would have had you saying this, not his current behaviour." Cass joked, and Sir Forsythe looked over at his Lord. He stared for a long, long moment before he sighed.
"He acts as if he has certain rights over you. Before I could brush it off as him not knowing better, but I’ve seen how he interacts with others. He knows the lines, he just doesn’t care when it comes to you." Sir Forsythe said and Cass nodded.
"Yeah. I’ve noticed that too. Don’t worry, I’m trying to work on it." Cass told him and Sir Forsythe didn’t say anything. That alone told Cass that he didn’t really believe him. "Help me up. I wasn’t able to undress completely last night due to...reasons." Cass trailed off, hoping that Sir Forsythe wouldn’t say anything about that. He didn’t have to. Sir Forsythe’s look alone spoke volumes and Cass felt his ears warm.
"I should have stayed in the room with you." He muttered and Cass sighed.
"Nothing happened." Cass told him and Sir Forsythe looked at him, but said nothing. He was like a worrying hen. Almost as good as Sam when it came to pestering him.
Cass didn’t speak more on it, just bossed Sir Forsythe around to help him pull on a more elaborate outfit, especially since they were going to the temple today. He needed to look Lord Blackburn best, without having the terrible fashion sense of Lord Blackburn.
A big ask, but Cass was able to pull it off. They were just putting on the finishing touches when Lucian knocked, and then pushed the door open before anyone could allow him in. He froze, realising what he had done, then stepped back out and knocked again.
Sir Forsythe quietly rolled his eyes while Cass called to let him in. Lucian entered again, all smiles.
"Glad to see you are up and dressed. The carriage is waiting downstairs. They called for one of their own. It’s not subtle, big and fancy like the temple is made of money. Are you ready? I asked if they had food that was safe for you to consume, and they had no idea what I was talking about." Lucian said and Cass sighed heavily.
Was he ready to go eat breakfast with the crew before heading to the temple?
No, not really.
Did he have a choice?
Again, no, not really.
Sir Forsythe stepped away as Cass adjusted his cuffs, sighing heavily.
"Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just take my little bag with me and pull out food if I need to. I need to take it with me anyway to put on my ring and gloves." Cass said and Lucian nodded.
"Sounds good. Are you taking the whole crew?" He asked, glancing at Sir Forsythe. He stiffened.
"No. Sir Forsythe, can you tell Sir Sanders and Ser Hune to have a good date and that we’ll see them in the late afternoon? Then come join us in the carriage?" Cass asked and Sir Forsythe nodded. He took off, passing Lucian on his way out and Lucian grinned.
"He really doesn’t like me." He said and Cass gave him a look.
"Would you like someone who manhandles you like you’re a child?" Cass asked and then felt his face heat when Lucian’s gaze slid to Cass.
"Hmm. Only a certain few." Lucian told him and Cass flipped him off. He laughed as Cass stormed past him and swung open the door. He didn’t bother locking it since all of his important things were on his person, in his bag. It was just an empty room at this point, and it would actually be a little fun if someone tried to mess with him.