Once And Always

Chapter 28

Hello!

A short chapter 'coz meh work...

Happy reading!

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"Good morning, khun luang Tee," Shone said, beaming brightly.

Tee rolled over in Tae's huge bed, a dreamy smile in his eyes. "Good morning. What time is it?"

"Ten o'clock. Shall I bring you one of your dressing robes?" he asked, glancing around at the telltale tangle of discarded clothing and bedcovers on the floor.

Tee's face warmed, but he was too languid, too deliciously exhausted, to feel anything but mild embarrassment at being discovered in Tae's bed with clothes strewn everywhere. He had made love to him twice more before they fell asleep, and again early this morning. "Don't bother, Shone," he murmured. "I think I'd like to sleep a little longer."

When Shone left, Tee rolled onto his stomach and snuggled deeper into the pillows, a soft smile on his lips, ignoring the numbness in his hips and legs. The ton thought Tae Kreepolrerk was cool, cynical, and unapproachable, he remembered with a secret smile. How stunned they would be if they only knew what a tender, passionate, stormy lover he was in bed.

. . . Or perhaps it wasn't a secret after all, he thought, his smile wavering a little. He'd seen the covetous way married men and women often looked at Tae and, since they couldn't possibly have wanted to marry him, they must have wanted him for a lover.

As he thought about that, he remembered how many times he'd heard Tae's name linked with certain beautiful married ladies and men whose husbands or wives were old and ugly. No doubt there had been many 'others' in the khun luang's life before Tee, for Tae had known exactly how to kiss him and where to touch him to make his body quicken with need.

Tee pushed those lowering thoughts out from his mind. It didn't matter how many others had known the wild, pagan beauty of Tae's lovemaking, because from now on, Tae was his and his alone. Tee's eyes were drifting closed when he finally noticed the flat black jeweler's case resting on the table beside the bed. Without much interest, he pulled his hand from beneath the silk sheets and reached out, opening the catch. A magnificent emerald brooch lay inside, along with a note from Tae that read, "Thank you for an unforgettable night."

A frown marred Tee's smooth forehead. He wished he hadn't argued when Tee tried to tell him he loved him. He wished Tae'd told him he loved Tee, too. And he particularly wished Tae'd stop giving him jewels whenever he pleased him. This trinket, in particular, felt unpleasantly like a payment for services rendered. ..

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Tee awoke with a start. It was nearly noon and Tae had told him his meeting this morning would be over by then. Eager to see Tae and bask in the warmth of his intimate smile, he dressed in a mellow lavender shirt and vest with full sleeves gathered into wide cuffs at the wrists. He fidgeted impatiently while Shone fussed with his hair, brushing it until it glistened, then checking and rechecking if there's any speckle of dust in his shirt.

As soon as Shone was finished, Tee rushed down the hall, ignoring the stinging pain in his lower back, then forced himself to walk at a more decorous pace as he proceeded down the grand staircase. Pawat actually smiled at him when he inquired about Tae's whereabouts, and when he passed Ohm in the hall en route to Tae's study, Tee could have sworn the footman winked at him. He was still wondering about that when he knocked on Tae's door and went in. "Good morning," Tee said brightly. "I thought you might like to dine with me."

Tae scarcely glanced in Tee's direction. "I'm sorry, Tee. I'm busy."

Feeling rather like a bothersome child who had just been firmly, but politely, put in his place, Tee asked hesitantly, "Tae—why do you work so hard?"