Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
All too quickly, they reached the main sitting area, which was filled with comfortable chairs and couches. As they approached, everyone sitting rose to their feet and bowed.
“Well, this is at least a good start,” West mumbled.
“Oh, my fucking God! They’re real! They’ve even got little crown dealies, but they’re all serious like ninjas!” a young blond man exploded, breaking the silence. He gripped the arm of the man next to him with both hands and shook him. “Do you think they have swords?”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” West muttered, and the sentiment seemed to be echoed throughout the room.
Jin glanced over at Ming Tao, who was just barely holding on to his straight face. Thankfully, they’d had years of practice at not laughing at things in public when they wanted to.
“Actually, Ming Tao and I have an extensive sword collection, and we’ve been trained in their usage since we were three.” Jin paused and smirked. “Would you like me to show you?”
The young man Jin guessed was Alexei dropped to his knees in the middle of the room and held up his hands together as if in prayer. “Yes, please.”
“No!” several people shouted.
Jin’s eyes darted to West, and the poor man appeared as though he was hoping the floor would swallow him up. Wrapping an arm through West’s, Jin snuggled close, his chin resting on West’s slumped shoulder. “I like them.”
West melted into him and smiled. “Thank you, Dianxia.” There was something in that hooded look that made him feel West was saying something more, but this wasn’t the time to ask.
Charlie and West escorted them the rest of the way into the room and introduced them to everyone, though Ming Tao knew one man already.
“Isidore?” Ming Tao gasped.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Prince Jin Ming Tao,” a tall man with dark hair and even darker eyes replied as he bowed to Ming Tao and then to Jin.
“Wait a minute! You’ve met?” Kairo demanded.
Isidore grabbed Kairo’s hand in both of his and brushed a kiss across the knuckles. “His Highness and I were lucky enough to meet at a charity event a few years ago in…Paris?”
“Munich,” Ming Tao corrected. “It was to support after-school art programs for children.”
“You didn’t think to mention it?” Kairo gasped, staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. Jin had to bite his lips to keep from laughing. Isidore made it sound like meeting royalty was a common occurrence for him.
Isidore shrugged. “His Highness must meet hundreds of people every year. Why would he remember our brief meeting?”
“Only because you were incredibly gracious and kind enough to distract those gold-digging women from me,” Ming Tao interjected.
Kairo laid his hand against Isidore’s cheek and sighed. “Baby, you’re amazing.”
“But I don’t understand,” Ming Tao broke in. “You said you were a businessman from Greece. When did you become a mercenary like West?”
“Oh, we’re not all mercenaries, per se.” Isidore chuckled. “Charlie, West, Edison, and Kairo are the mercenaries. Soren is a cat burglar and Alexei is an assassin. Doc Will is a surgeon and dating Charlie. He keeps everyone all stitched up. Max is an archeologist and expert puzzle solver. If you need a treasure found, he’s your guy. He’s dating Ed.”
“Izzie, you’re exaggerating. I just found one little lost tomb,” Max said from where he leaned against a much larger Ed.
“It’s going to be the greatest find of our generation. Just you wait!” Ed countered, making Max blush.
“I’m here because I’m rich and lucky enough to date Kairo,” Isidore claimed with another small shrug.
“Isidore,” Kairo growled.
“Oh! I’m also very good at making sure everyone stays fed and that Kairo doesn’t throw computers at people when he’s frustrated,” Isidore tacked on.
Will sighed and rubbed his eyes. “For which we are all grateful.”
“Guys, maybe we should move this along,” Charlie broke in. “West needs to get the royal family back to the palace before anyone notices them missing, and we need to get our asses in gear if we’re going to get this contract squashed.”
That seemed to be the signal for the group to get serious. They each found places to sit around the room, though Jin was content to snuggle up close to West while Ming Tao sat on the other side of him. And why not? Even if he was lucky enough to marry West, as Ming Tao so blatantly announced, it wasn’t as though he’d be allowed to sit next to West quite like this with other people again.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t as close as he wanted with their arms linked and his head on West’s shoulder, but their arms brushed a little. If he moved his legs a bit, their knees would rub as well. He could smell West’s cologne and feel the warmth that radiated off him.
No.
Maybe he didn’t want his friends to know they had a physical relationship. It was possible that West only saw it as sex and fun, with no real emotional attachment. While he’d said that he’d call Jin “mine” in bed, the man had yet to call him anything other than Dianxia. Even with his limited experience, he knew there was a difference between what happened in bed and what happened in the heart.