We ended up in the lounging room. Eros sat on one of the chairs and made Zephyr sit on his lap. I was glad I only had to sit beside Caerus.

"Have you decided if you're going to the party, Caerus? It's been years you know," Eros asked and placed a hand on the small of Zephyr's back. I felt sorry for him, but his face was like stone, speaking only when it was necessary.

"No," Caerus answered curtly and crossed his arms. I just stared out the window with my knees to my chest, wishing I could be watering the poppies.

"But now you have Kellen! That's the entire point of it!" Eros gasped, I blinked in confusion when my name was said.

"He's still too disobedient to flaunt in public," Caerus gave me a stupid grin and I huffed in annoyance.

"But that's why it's fun," Eros rolled his eyes in exasperation, but I was still slightly confused by the concept of the party.

Caerus turned to me.

"Kellen, do you want to go?" He phrased it as more of a flat rhetorical question.

I did not know the correct answer.

"I don't know what it is, can I leave now?" I returned in the same irritated tone and looked him dead in the eye.

Caerus turned back to Eros.

"He doesn't want to," I just wanted to go outside instead of being in this stuffy room.

"You can't let him decide, Caerus!" Another eye roll.

"I still need to water the poppies," I muttered between them, thinking no one was listening.

"You're growing poppies?" Caerus asked and turned back to me. Now I rolled my eyes.

"I grow a lot of things, you just never bother to look," I replied and crossed my arms.

"Hey- hello. I was talking," Eros cut in, I drew my attention back to him and slumped my shoulders forward. "I might even overlook Zephy coming to visit on occasion."

That drew my attention.

Caerus opened his mouth to refuse, but I cut him off.

"We'll come," I stated, Zephyr looked at me with wide eyes and gave me a slow shake of his head. But I wanted to know why Zephyr was hanging around me.

"Kellen, you don't know what those parties are like, you can't-"

"We are going," I looked him in the eye and stood from my seat.

"See? I knew I liked him," Eros grinned at me and leaned forward ever so slightly. I began walking to the door but Caerus caught my wrist and jerked me back down.

"I didn't say you could leave," he murmured in my ear, in that voice. Deep and sonorous, the one that made my mind fuzzy and my legs weak. At first I didn't even care that he'd pulled me into his lap. Although I was quick to realize and pushed back into my own place.

"Interesting, I bet you were never like that with Thea," Eros remarked and leaned against the back of his chair.

"She wasn't really my type either," Caerus replied without really thinking about it, his attention was focused on the hand he'd slipped behind my back. His fingers played with the hem of my trousers where Eros couldn't see.

"I thought women were too fragile and squishy," I said to Caerus and held eye contact with him. He exhaled quietly and his gaze flickered to my lips.

"You are fragile and squishy," he retorted and dipped his fingers into my pants. He barely went further than an inch but it still terrified me.

"Well you wouldn't know that, would you master? Because you aren't allowed to touch," I scowled and very obviously removed his hand.

"Well we could all find out very easily," Eros mused and looked between us, "I've always wanted to see you naked Caerus."

I felt my cheeks warm at his proposition.

"On the contrary, Eros," Caerus ran his fingers up my thigh and I shot him an alarmed glance that he so graciously chose to ignore. "The only person I want to see me naked is Kellen."

"Why does anyone have to be naked?" I blushed hard and curled my knees to my chest again so I could hide my face.

"Because that's the most fun you can have," Eros grinned at me and rested his hand over Zephyr's waist.

"I think I'd rather be watering flowers," I mumbled and fidgeted at the uncomfortable turn of the conversation.

"That's adorable, you're just adorable, Kellen," he said in a voice like I was a child, "I'm going to assume you've never had sex before, because if you had your answer would be very different."

"Do we have to talk about this?" I answered and felt my cheeks darken to every shade of red. I pressed into Caerus' side as if he could save me from this awkward conversation. He gave me a wicked smile and slid his hand around my waist.

Not what I wanted.

"Of course we do, I think you and Caerus just need to fuck it out, maybe you could loosen him up a bit," Eros waved his hand as if he'd said the most boring thing in the world. Caerus ran his hand over my hip and gave me a reassuring squeeze.

He wasn't going to fuck me. Thank gods.

"I don't think I... want to, thanks," I felt my heart beat quicken, and I was afraid that everyone could hear it thundering in my chest.

"Then I'm sure I could show you other ways to pleasure a man," Eros offered and I knew he meant the same thing Caerus did when he told me not to swear. I blanched at the thought now that I knew how much larger Caerus was than me.

And the thought of it inside my mouth... I wanted to say it repulsed me. But remembering the sounds of pleasure he made that night, knowing he'd make them again if I were to pleasure him that way.

It was sort of exciting.

But it wasn't like I could ever tell him that, even if I wanted to. Which I definitely didn't.

"I-I..." I didn't know what to say. How to approach that.

"I'm sure Kellen will learn just as well with me," not can learn. Will learn. Even if I knew he didn't mean it, it still send a swirl of emotions through me.

"I don't want to learn with anyone," I answered quietly and Zephyr shot me an apologetic look, "can I please leave now?"

"No," Eros and Caerus answered in unison.

"But it's getting late and I hate it inside," I mumbled and rested my cheek on my knee, looking at Caerus with a pleading expression.

"No." He answered firmly and I sank into myself. This was terrible. I should've just stayed in that stupid closet.

"I don't want to talk anymore," I wished I could just disappear, and if not that curl up in a ball and hide.

So I took the latter.

I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and pressed against Caerus. It was also hard to miss how he puffed out his chest slightly like he had finally won. Yeah right, wait a few hours and I'd be back to avoiding him like the plague.

The only reason I was sticking close was because Eros had made me uncomfortable and Caerus was... familiar. He was comfortable.

So I pressed my face into his shoulder and let the rumble of his voice relax me.

It was only when Caerus began running his fingers through my hair did I realize I'd been falling asleep. I snapped my eyes open to see he wasn't even looking at me, just telling me not to fall completely asleep.

That did not sound good.

If he was keeping me awake then he definitely had something planned for when they left.

"Caerus, I'm tired," I mumbled close to his ear, but he only ignored me and wrapped his hand around the side of my thigh. I shivered at the warmth he emanated.

Eros said something in a smug tone but I was too tired to care.

"Master Caerus," I whined and rested my cheek on his shoulder. His hand tightened on me and I knew I'd picked my word choice correctly.

"Eros, if you'll please excuse us, I'm exhausted," I yawned and turned to him and Zephyr. Zephyr was now lounging on a chair beside Eros and sipping what appeared to be wine with the lazy grace of an immortal. He tilted his head back and spun his index finger in a circle until a tiny whirlwind was forming just above it.

"I do hope you do a bit more than that," Eros grinned, he too, had a glass of wine beside him as well.

I prayed to the gods Caerus hadn't been drinking.

"I've got all night to torture him," oh he had definitely been drinking.

"Wonderful! I'll be seeing you again very soon," Eros crooked a finger at Zephyr who stood and came to his side.

And then they vanished.