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.They could create a masterpiece withnothing but a stone and a piece of fish.That might’ve been a slightexaggeration, but it wasn’t much of one.The gray man bowed.“Your pet and the new human are alreadyseated at the table.” He paused.“They’re drinking that acid-tastingEoean liquor.” He might’ve said swill for the look he was givingwhen he said it.“Makes one miss Tannaran wine, eh?” Maybe they could havesome imported.“This is a harsh, riotous place,” the gray man huffed.“Even thefood is tough as Tannaran tree bark.”“You will grow used to this place,” Yanai said, patting the grayman on the shoulder.“Remember that this is my pet’s home.We willall make adjustments.”Yanai stepped around the gray man.“Please, straighten up theoffice and then find your own meal with the others.”“Yes, lord.”He made his way to the eating room that was located adjacent tothe kitchen.He stepped into the space and was surprised to see his petand Eric leaning against one another, laughing.The low-lying tablewas only a foot off the floor and an arrangement of pillows in purplesand turquoise took up the entirety of the color pallet.Last meal wasalready stacked on pleasing wood plates at the center of the table andit smelled delicious.He had no idea what kind of meat that was, but itlooked good.The green and yellow vegetables looked even betterthan the rest of the meal.“Have I missed something terribly important?” he asked, tryingnot to be jealous of the happy scene before him.Bound by Desire79“Nope,” Trev said, grinning up at him.“Sorry, we got a bit goofywith the Yuko.Eric had never drank, and I thought a shot or twowouldn’t hurt.We got a little buzzed.Nothing supper won’t help.”“You are intoxicated.”“Little bit.”Yanai’s lips twitched.“You can’t be a little bit intoxicated.Youeither are intoxicated or you are not.”Trev grinned.“Okay.I am.”“Then let me feed you so you can sober.We have a discussionthat needs to be conducted.”“Right.”In Tannara tradition, he always served his lover first, and tonightwas no exception.He placed three of the meat slices onto his platebefore adding vegetables and something that looked vaguely likeTannaran round rice.“Where are the forks?” Eric slurred.Trev shook his head.“Tannara eat with their hands.No utensils.”“What about soup?” Eric asked, looking scandalized.Trev tapped his squat round bowel.“Yah pick it up and suck it.”Eric erupted into a giggling fit.Yanai rolled his eyes and placed the plate he’d just made in frontof Trev.He hesitated.Did he consider Eric a guest? If so, he servedhim after himself.If he considered him family, he served him before.Decisions.Decisions.“Go ahead and serve him,” Trev said, clearly reading his mind.“He’s family now or near enough.”His lover had a gentle spirit.He’d formed an attachment to theother human already, despite being furious with him to begin with.“Very well.” He got out enough food for Eric and passed it to him.The younger human devoured his plate, raking the food into hismouth like he was starved for it.Yanai blinked.Hungry little thing.80Jana DownsFinally, he made his own plate and ate in silence as the twohumans joked around.It was easy to see that they would be friends inthe near future.Trev looked over at him.“Did you have a good workday?”“I had a reasonably productive workday.I don’t know if good isthe correct word for it.” He took a bite of the white meat.Hmm, this isgood.“What sort of meat is this?”“It’s called chicken, lord.We can buy some of the livestock at themarket if you enjoy it.”“Yes.”“What did you do with your day, pet?”Trev shrugged.“Painted a bit, set Eric up with the tutor, and had aheart-to-heart with myself.” He seemed steadier already, less tipsy.“Idid discover some very interesting things about the house and some ofits technical equipment.I’ll show you after our talk.”“Very well.” He sipped at his drink.It was a pale-green liquid andhe really didn’t care for the creamy taste.He wrinkled his nose andpushed the cup away.“Don’t like the para milk?” Trev asked, sipping his own drink.“Not especially [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]