adored Kema, all teasing aside. She had dressed the part of her heritage for the party. All blacks and golds with long lines of ink tracing out from her eyes. She was gorgeous, even with her short-cropped black hair.
Despite the rumors, Kema and Nero had never been lovers. Nor would they be. He wanted someone to serve at his side who could be impartial. Someone who would tell him when he needed to shut up.
He was many things.
He was also painfully self-aware of all his failings.
It was hard not to be. Everybody wanted to tell him all the time. He walked up to the benches and lifted his glass to them in greeting. Hope turned her head slightly in his direction. “Hello, Nero.”
“Huh? How’d you know it was me?” He froze.
“Your shoes. No one here is wearing those loafers but you.” She sipped her wine. “I have very good hearing.”
“Oh?” He looked down at his shoes thoughtfully. “I didn’t realize I had special loafers.” He sat next to her on the lounge and resisted the urge to drape himself over her lap. He would soon enough. He motioned for a waiter to come over and refill both their glasses. Hope quietly thanked the man as he walked away.
“Because I am blind, my other senses have picked up the slack, so to speak.” She reached forward to find a bowl of pitted olives that sat on the table in front of her. She found the toothpicks after a moment and stabbed a few onto the wooden skewer.
“It seems you get along just fine.”
“The bracers help immensely. They tell me how far objects are away from me and if there are any changes. In the car this afternoon, they told me you were holding your hand out and waiting for me to shake it.” She smiled, a playful and teasing twist to her lips.
Nero’s mouth fell open.
Kema laughed loudly. “And you left him sitting there like a fool?”
“I wanted to see how long it would take him to figure out what he had done. To his credit, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.” If Nero wasn’t mistaken, there was just the barest bit of mischief in Hope’s smile as she ate one of the olives from the toothpick.
Kema howled in laughter. “Oh, I love you, Hope! Nero, we’re keeping this one.”
“You wicked little imp.” Nero grinned and rested his hand on the cushion behind her. “Well played.” He tilted his head and placed a kiss on her shoulder in the space between two of the ties on her robe. He would make certain she had all the best dresses to wear, but for tonight he thought it was only fitting she stayed in her priestess garb.
Smack.
He blinked and shook his head, the impact having actually jarred him. “Ow.”
Hope was glaring at him. “Stop kissing me, Nero.”
“Three.” He rubbed his face. “Three times you’ve hit me now. How many more times do you plan on doing so?”
“It depends on how many times you deserve to be struck.”
“You may need to give her a weekly quota, old boy.” Kema sat sideways on her own lounge, kicking her feet up on the upholstered surface. She looked quite pleased as she plucked an hors d’oeuvre from a tray as it passed by.
“When we reach a baker’s dozen, I’ll have to ask for something in return.” Nero stretched out and looked at the sky above. The stars were barely visible due to the light from the city. He missed seeing them all. He would have to take a trip to the country soon for that reason alone. The solstice was coming up, and he loved to host a giant bonfire celebration at his home in the country. He wondered if she would enjoy it.
How sad to not be able to see the stars.
“Are you enjoying the party, Hope?”
“I am, thank you. It sounds like everyone is having a great time.”
“They are. The orgy starts in about a half an hour.” He paused and took a moment to enjoy her look of disgusted horror before he laughed, revealing his joke. She glowered in his direction again. “Sorry. I’m a tease. Trust me, if you could see the senators in attendance, you would know I was joking. The crowd that comes to my orgies are very different.”
“The food is incredible.” She dutifully changed the subject.
He smiled at her dodge and let it happen. He moved closer to her until her arm touched his. She