Belmont

"What do you want?" I regretted my harsh tone immediately, but I realized it wouldn't make much difference. It was Gaston, for crying out loud—he deserved worse. 

 "Nothing," he muttered, looking away. "Just looking for a place to hang out."

 "Why?" Why the hell did I care? I groaned internally. Maybe it was because he looked like a sad, abandoned Labrador sitting leashless outside a grocery store. 

 "To get away from Lumiere." 

 I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were his golden boy," I replied sarcastically. 

 "Maybe, but I messed up." 

 I continued sorting ammunition boxes onto the shelves, sneaking glances at him from the corner of my eye. "That wasn't exactly your fault," I heard myself say. 

Annoyingly, he took it as an invitation, stepping beside me to hand me boxes from the wooden pallet. "Tell him that." 

 "I'd rather not," I smirked. "He hates me." 

 "Because you stole Clock from him," he stated flatly. 

 I let his words sink in. There was some truth to them. Could it be that Lumiere was jealous? That he wanted Theo all to himself? I felt Gaston's gaze as I sighed heavily. "It is what it is," I muttered.

 "This probably isn't what you envisioned when you ran behind the gates that night in the forest," he said with a smile that nearly earned him a punch. 

 "What?" 

 "Without me, you'd never have met Clocksworth. Would you rather have it that way?" 

 I froze, staring at him. "What?"

 "If you could choose, would you wish you'd never met them? Or would you still walk into that castle again?" 

 I frowned, shaking my head. "I... I don't know." If I hadn't met Clock, I wouldn't be a vampire now. But I also wouldn't have met Alex, Marianne, or... Conor. 

 He bent down and lifted two more boxes. "You love him?" 

 I sighed and shook my head. "It's complicated." 

 "So you'd give him up if you could get your old life back?" he pressed. 

 I let out a weary sigh. "How the hell should I know? It's not like I love being a vampire! Do you? Do you enjoy running errands for others and killing on command?" 

 "No, but you don't do that anymore." 

 "No, but you do, even though you're used to being a leader," I snapped, feeling my irritation grow. "We're just pawns in someone else's game, and I'm so damn tired of being moved around to suit their whims." 

 He handed me another box. "So that's why he doesn't want to lead anymore?" 

 "What the hell do you mean?"

 "Clocksworth. Is he stepping back because of you?" 

 I shrugged. "Maybe. Or for both our sakes." 

 He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Are you sure about that?" 

 I met his gaze, pushing down the guilt starting to stir within me. "Yes," I replied, but the uncertainty in my voice was painfully obvious to us both.

Gaaston shrugged then reached for a stack of papers hidden in his pocket. "Lumiere wanted you to look over these."

I sighed as Gaston stepped further into the room and handed me the stack of papers. "Why?" He shrugged. 

"He didn't say." I started flipping through the invoices and proposals with a groan. Why the hell did he bring these to me? I was halfway through when I realized he was still standing there. "This is going to take a while," I muttered irritably. 

 "I can wait," he replied calmly. I shrugged and tried to ignore him as best as I could, but his gaze burned into my chest. Five papers later, I couldn't take it anymore. I threw my arms up and burst out, "What do you want, Gaston?"

 "I'm just doing what Lu asked me to do."

 "I get that, but do you have to stare at me the whole damn time?" He rolled his eyes and picked up the stack I'd already finished. 

"I don't know how you put up with this stuff." 

 "I don't!" I snapped. "He must really hate me right now." 

 "What do you mean?" Gaston took a few steps closer and suddenly stood by my side. I stared at the pile of papers. 

"This is punishment, plain and simple," I sighed heavily. 

 "What did you do?" He smirked. 

 "As if you don't already know." I shot him a sideways glance, and I could tell my words had hit their mark. For days, I'd noticed Gaston avoiding Lumiere more and more, instead sticking close to me and Clocksworth. Too close for my liking. 

 "I just want your forgiveness," he murmured, lighting a cigarette as he leaned against the wall.

 "Why?" I growled harsher than I intended, feeling my mood souring by the second. 

 "I'm not the same person I used to be, Bel." I shot him a glance over the stack of papers, muttering irritably, "They all say that." 

 "They?" 

 "You, Marie," I sighed, "Clock." 

 He was quiet for a moment. "But you don't believe us," he finally said. 

 "Prove me wrong," I mumbled, opening my laptop to deal with the invoices. 

 "I'm trying." I shrugged. 

"What do you expect, Gaston? A warm hug and cookies?" 

 He flicked his cigarette butt to the concrete floor and stomped on it. "Are you almost done? He's waiting." 

 I stood abruptly and slammed the stack of papers against his chest. "Tell your master he can handle this shit himself." 

 He stared at me intensely before shaking his head. "What the hell is wrong with you, Bel? You have everything you could ever want."

 "Unlike you?" His gaze dropped, and I saw him hesitate. Irritated, I waited for him to answer. But to my shock, he grabbed the back of my neck, and before I could stop him, he pulled me close and pressed his lips hard against mine. Stunned, I froze, barely able to process what was happening. 

I raised a hand to his chest in protest and shoved him away, but I said nothing. There were no words—what the hell was this?! He met my confused gaze, his eyes questioning mine. 

"What the hell, Gaston?" I finally whispered, but the only response I got was a deep sigh before he turned and left the room. "Shit."

Clocksworth

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you." Lumiere looked up questioningly from his paperwork as I walked into his study. "Something doesn't add up. I've been obsessing over it for months, and the only answer I can come up with pisses me off," I continued, dropping into the chair set out for visitors. 

 "Enlighten me, and perhaps I can solve the problem for you." 

 "Ever since we returned to France, all the princes have been keeping their distance. I haven't seen a trace of any of them." I ran my fingers along the armrest and met his gaze. "And I haven't gotten the feeling that any of them want me dead." 

 "Really?" He moved to the bookcase at the far end of the room, retrieving two glasses and a bottle. 

 "Calvos sought me out and requested a meeting," I continued. 

 "He probably realized you were stronger than him," he interrupted, but I ignored his comment.

 "Levi welcomed me and said nothing about any threats from his brothers." 

 "Why would he? He probably doesn't want to be the one to start a civil war." He set a glass in front of me, filling it with the amber liquid, but I didn't touch it. 

 "Lu." I met his gaze. "Was it you who sent the assassins after me in New York?" He sipped his whiskey silently, and I knew I had my answer. Still, I needed to hear him say it. "Lumiere!" 

 He drew in a deep breath. "Yes." 

 With a sigh, I buried my head in my hands, trying to collect my thoughts. "Why?" 

 I felt him step closer, his cool hand soon resting on my shoulder. "Because I needed you here." 

 I shook my head. "You could've called and asked me to come home." 

 "Yes." 

 "But then I wouldn't have started this war for you," I muttered. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

 "You'd already built a reputation for yourself." I let out a heavy sigh and stood, meeting his ice-blue eyes. 

"There are only two princes left." He nodded, and I felt his gaze piercing into me. "I'll help you claim their powers, even if I have to drag them here myself." 

 He raised an eyebrow. "But?" 

 "I'm tired, Lu. So damn tired of all the politics and death." With a sigh, I placed both hands around his neck, pulling him closer until our foreheads rested together. "When it's over, you have to let me go." 

 He inhaled sharply and whispered softly, "But I need you here." 

 "Promise me you'll let me go," I insisted, my tone firm. With a deep sigh, he wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. I felt his entire body tremble, and I knew he was afraid—afraid of being alone. "Lumiere..." I whispered gently. "Promise me." 

 After a long silence, I felt his head move against my cheek in a jerky nod. And finally, the words I'd been waiting for came. "I promise."  

I left Lumieres office with heavy steps. This whole situation made my head hurt and my heart ached. The only person who could make me feel better was Belmont. So I walked over to our room. 

I pause just inside the door, staring at his back. He was so damn beautiful standing there by the window, moonlight illuminating his bare torso. I'd always loved his slender frame, but now he'd grown stronger, and it showed. 

Damn, I'd missed him. With quiet steps, I move closer, letting my palms glide over his back and around his body to rest on my favorite spot on his abdomen—just below his bellybutton. 

My lips traced a slow path across his neck and down his shoulder. "Where have you been?" he asked sharply.

 I sighed between kisses. "I... needed to think." 

 He put down the phone he'd been holding, but I caught the screen lighting up with new notifications. "They've been worried—calling, texting, and..." His words trailed off as I let my tongue run up his neck to the spot just behind his ear. I felt his body shiver under my touch. Damn, he smelled so good. "Theo..." 

 My arms tightened around him, and I moved my mouth closer to his ear. "You too?" 

 He leaned his head back against my shoulder, exposing his throat entirely, and the sight of his long neck sent my pulse racing. "No," he groaned, his voice thick with need, as my fingers brushed over his Adam's apple and squeezed just enough to coax those small sounds out of him that made me tremble all over. "But I had no answers," he muttered, his breathing growing faster and faster. 

 "They'll manage without me for a few hours." 

 A deep moan escaped his lips as my teeth sank into his shoulder. "Theodor...!" 

 I inhaled his scent, ignoring the seriousness in his tone. I just wanted to lose myself in him—I didn't want to listen. But he wouldn't let me off that easily. "They want to know what's next" I keep planting kisses and leaving little bite marks along his shoulder and down his back. "Clock?" 

 "Hush..." I whispered as I unbuckled the belt on his slim black jeans. I couldn't see his face, but I imagined him smiling. Suddenly he turned and my lips brushed the spot just below his navel instead of the small of his back. "I'm done talking for today," I whisper, and soft moans of pleasure was all the response I needed as his jeans hit the floor and I continued my way down.

 The phone vibrated—fifteen missed calls from Lumiere, the screen flashing over and over again. Five messages, then seven, then ten. His fingers tangled in my hair. "Maybe you should answer," he said, his words a cross between a whisper and a low moan. 

 "Not a chance," I grinned, pushing him onto the bed as I strip off my own clothes. "If he wants to be king, he can take some damn responsibility. I'm busy." 

 I knew what he wanted—Calvos was dead, his powers had slipped from Lumiere's grasp. He was probably still furious, and my ignored calls wouldn't improve his mood. I didn't care right now. It could wait until tomorrow. He needed to learn to live without me, I thought, before Belmont's nails dug into my back, and a wave of desire washed away every thought as I entered him.

 Right now, it was just the two of us. Nothing else mattered. "One day, we'll leave all this shit behind, Bel. We'll go far, far away from here where no one can find us." 

 His eyes were hazy with lust, his cheeks flushed as he met my gaze. "We don't need to talk about the future, Theo," he murmured, and it was like a knife to my heart. 

 I pressed my lips hard against his, whispering, "I know," between kisses. 

 The phones kept vibrating, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I wish I'd turned the damn thing off. 

Lumiere would be furious, and I was almost expecting someone to barge in. Minutes passed before there was a pounding on the door. "Belmont! Are you in there?" Masson's voice rings out. "We can't reach Clocksworth... Belmont!" 

 Groaning, I open my eyes and fight the urge to storm out and smash the door down just to shut him up. "IF YOU OPEN THAT DOOR, I'LL KILL YOU!" I roar.

There was no response.

  "You can tell Lumiere we're busy," Bel laughed underneath me before pulling the blanket over us. Finally, it was just him and me again. At least for the moment.