the tiny room in total silence. The next stop was the computer room and his fingers flew over the keyboard. The sight of a message from Val made him truly smile for the first time that day—maybe for the first time in his entire life. He read the short message quickly then typed a reply, assuring the guy that he’d be ready to bring security down once they were in position. The timing had to be perfect, because there would be no second chances. Merlin resolved to be in place when needed and trusted that the others would be also.
The entire round trip took less than two minutes. When he slipped back into Jacko’s room, Mateo was cooing and doing his best to make sure the man stayed oblivious to Merlin’s absence. The moment the boy spotted Merlin’s return, he picked up his pace and used some unseen magic to get the guy off within the next minute. Merlin used the opportunity to fix the recording on the console. A moment after he finished, Jacko made his usual obscene noises from coming. Mateo was off him and back by Merlin’s side before the man went silent. The next thing they heard was snoring, which didn’t surprise Merlin. He’d been to this party before. This time, though, he had no more work to do, so with a jerk of his head, he and Mateo left the guy still lying with his condom-wrapped dick hanging out.
“Well, that was different,” Mateo said in a whisper. “Will he be mad that we aren’t around when he wakes?”
“Who knows?” Merlin replied using the same tone. “We’ll find out on our next visit.”
Mateo gave him the side-eye. “Will I be joining you?”
“That’s my…preference.” He almost said ‘plan’ then figured it might give away too much if anyone cared to listen.
Mateo paused to give him a solemn look. “Whatever you say, I’m there. I mean, you did keep me from being savaged by all of those assholes, so I guess I owe you,” he added in a louder, more aggrieved voice. Good, this human fully understood what was going on.
Merlin felt an odd and sudden rush of emotion, humbled by the trust he saw in the human’s expression. “You got that right. I’ll, ah, take you back to Dafydd. You shouldn’t tell him anything. It might upset him, and the last thing I need is to bring some mewling cunt to my Master when he wants his pleasure. Only the Master gets to make Dafydd cry. Do you hear me?”
“Sure.”
“Besides, you don’t want to complain about the time you spent with Jacko. He has eyes on your room and can listen in if he wants. If you piss him off, I’m not going to be the one to take a beating for it.”
“I understand.” Mateo slowed again and grabbed his arm. “I do.”
Merlin nodded once. “Great. That will be better for all concerned.” Secure in the knowledge that he had an ally, Merlin continued on his way with Mateo keeping pace without being forced. It was a relief to not have to do all of this on his own. Thank God those idiots had tried to kill Dracul. The situation couldn’t have worked out better, and if his luck held, by this time the next day, the rescue would be in full swing.
* * * *
The plane was spacious, sufficiently so that everyone could carve out some piece of it for privacy. The couples onboard certainly were, and they were taking these last moments before battle to find comfort in each other. This was nothing new to Alun, fucking having been almost a spectator sport back in Dracul’s castle. And unlike those times, no one was crying or pleading for gentleness. These humans were finding as much pleasure in their coupling as the warriors were. That made it almost easy to block out the sights, sounds and smells and get some rest himself. The only real distraction was that he wasn’t alone—by choice. Craig had given him one—of course he had. The man would have sought out another place to lie down if Alun had told him to. It was the fact that it was entirely up to him that had made it almost easy to agree to have the company. And he could stretch out on his back without having to cram against Craig’s body, because Craig was on his side, taking up as little space as he could. Plus, he’d given Alun the outside, so