Belladonna

about reaching her mothers house in time for the midday meal meant she'd checked her larder while he'd been washing up and had found it a bit too bare.
    Which made him wonder if that was due to a lack of attention on her part or a lack of means to keep food on the table. Maybe he could offer to till some ground for a kitchen garden. Of course, after they were married, he could —
    Whoa! Slow down, lad. Just because your heart has settled on the matter doesn't mean she's thinking of sharing home and hearth with the likes of you.
    "I don't think my mother is serving meals out in the garden today," Glorianna said, sounding amused. "If you want food, we have to go into the kitchen."
    "What? Oh." How long had he been staring at that garden while he'd been dreaming up a future that...
    You won't grow old together, some part of him whispered. Except in your dreams.
    Why not? he asked that shadow self, feeling defiant. No one else has put a ring on her hand. She might settle for the likes of me.
    "Michael?"
    Pulling himself out of the argument going on in his head and heart, he smiled at her without answering the "what's wrong?"
    question he'd heard in her voice. They hadn't gone more than a few steps when he stopped again and studied the trees and the shape of the land. "I think I was near here early this morning."
    "If Sebastian was your escort to the bridge that led to Sanctuary, you were" — Glorianna turned slightly and pointed — "less than a mile from here m that direction."
    "That ripe bastard," Michael muttered.
    Her green eyes chilled, warning him off.
    "You have feelings for him." Seeing the truth of that scraped at him enough to ignore the warning chill. "When he was whispering to you in the moonlight, did he mention he has a wife?"
    "Well, he was whispering," she replied with insincere sweetness. "I may not have caught everything he said."
    Michael clamped his teeth together to keep from saying something that might have her showing him the door before he ever got the chance to know her —or for her to know him. Because he wanted to know her, both for himself and for ...
    Ah, Caitlin Marie. Now that you're lost in a world gone mad, I finally found someone who might understand your heart.
    When they reached the house, Glorianna opened the door just enough to poke her head inside and ask, "Anyone flying about?" He didn't hear an answer, but she swung the door open, stepped inside the kitchen, and said, "Sebastian, darling, when you were whispering sweet nothings to me in the moonlight, why didn't you tell me you had a wife?"
    As Michael stepped into the kitchen, he registered the presence of other people in the room, but his focus was on the ripe bastard sitting at the table looking much too much at home. It gave him a mean pleasure to see Sebastian turn red and choke in response to Glorianna's words.
    "Daylight!" Sebastian said when he was able to breathe again. "Who would have said a thing like… Oh. You."
    "Yes, it's me," Michael said, approaching the table as Sebastian rose to face him. "Despite your little trick this morning, you haven't seen the last of me yet."
    "That's obvious since you're here," Sebastian replied.
    "And it's obvious to me that your kind have no respect for the marriage vows."
    "My kind? My kind? I wouldn't be slinging mud if I were you, Magician. Your kind takes off his wedding ring when he comes to the Den and pretends he doesn't have a wife, but we figure it's better to have the succubi play with the randy human goats than have those men making promises to girls in their own landscapes. The girls would get their hearts broken — or worse; the succubi just give those men what they came for and lighten their pockets in the bargain."
    "And you think that's honorable?"
    "It's honest."
    "That's enough." A black-haired, green-eyed man wedged himself between them and shoved hard enough to push Michael and Sebastian back a step.
    Two against one, Michael thought bitterly. Brothers or first cousins, if the family resemblance was anything to go by. But if he was going to get a beating, he was going to take one last jab at earning it. Looking at Sebastian, he said, "You shame your house and your family."
    Cold fury leaped into Sebastian's eyes. Michael braced for whatever a pissed-off wizard would do to him. And then ...
    "Why is everyone shouting?" Lynnea asked, stepping into the kitchen.
    Michael took a step back, distancing himself from the interrupted fight. How long had she been standing