"You’re asking a lot of questions about him," Asher pointed out dangerously.
Nikolai eased up at that, he would rather this didn’t turn bloody, not before he found out what was shoved so far up Asher’s ass, it touched his tongue piercing.
"I couldn’t be more disinterested in your little boyfriend," He was quick to reassure the antsy Mafia King. "Right now," He tagged on.
Asher shot him a dead-eyed look at that. There was a time when Nikolai was very much interested in Caspian.
He knew it was probably best that he got to his feet and walked right out.
But all that waited for him back at his club was a scolding from Jael, and his tortuous thoughts about Caspian, so he wasn’t exactly eager to return.
"Since you’re here for a social visit, we might as well have small talk," Nikolai went on, signaling towards one of the men essentially blocking off Asher’s exit.
Asher didn’t try to correct the other Mafia King’s assumptions about his visit again.
A social visit was a far better option than the actual reason he had wandered here.
The man he had signaled disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a solid gold tray holding a liquor bottle.
He dutifully poured him a glass before resuming his position, a ball of ice bobbing softly in the shot glass.
"And that includes the reason behind your shit mood," Nikolai went on like a picture-perfect host.
This was the first time he was seeing so much life in Nikolai’s eyes, it was almost like the other Alpha fed off his misery.
"A divorce lawyer would give better relationship advice than you would," Asher said bluntly, reaching for the drink offered him.
"It wasn’t a compliment," Asher cut him off.
"If you’ve got nothing worth my while, fuck off back to your turf. I’m not babysitting you." Nikolai’s voice lost all the polite host quality it previously had.
Asher’s response was to pour himself another shot. If he was having a miserable day, Nikolai had to have the same.
Caspian had known what Jael’s answer would be when he called him.
He had decided on a walk partially to have reason to talk to Asher but he hadn’t even been able to reach the Alpha.
As he got dressed for his walk, it dawned on him that he hadn’t picked out any of the clothes in his steadily growing wardrobe.
For someone who was forced to wear his old clothes from when he was still young until recently, it made him frown.
He previously hadn’t minded wearing whatever, as long as it covered him up, but doing a little shopping for himself wouldn’t hurt.
At least he was certain that Asher wouldn’t mind at all.
It was hot out so he wore a little black top, that showed off his waist, freezing in front of the ceiling-high mirror when it fit a little too snugly on him.
He had to turn from side to side to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
A smile broke out on his face at the fact that he had started to put on a bit of weight, he needed to stop looking like a sickly Victorian child.
And about as strong as one too.
He pulled on shorts and ran a brush through his hair, it was sunny outside and he had never worn the array of colorful designer sunglasses he had.
So there was only one thing to be done.
Caspian didn’t plan to go very far, just a short trip down the road he had walked on with Asher and then back.
Being cooped up inside the mansion couldn’t be healthy, his skin was already so pale it looked ashy.
When he went to put on shoes, the thought of going on a walk in heels was so comical that he almost did it just for fun.
It was strange to leave the mansion all alone without the company of either Asher or Jael, his sunglasses resting on his hair as he walked down the driveway.
He almost expected to be stopped and he wasn’t?
Two of the men anxiously approaching him made him slow down, a frown growing on his face.
"Is something wrong?" He asked first, he had gotten confirmation from Jael so he was a little confused.
"Yeah, no..." One of them nervously scratched his neck.
"We uh... Jael assigned us to be your bodyguards." The second man was able to string together a full sentence.
"Right," He accepted, knowing firsthand how dangerous being involved with the Mafia was.
"I’m just going on a walk down the road, I don’t think you need to come with me." He informed them, walking forward.
It wasn’t after he was let past the side gate that he turned around to find the men walking a respectable distance from him.
He could make a fuss and have them return but they were just doing their job.
Although two huge intimidating men with firearms strapped to their bodies kind of detracted from his nature walk, he could be accommodating.
He wore his sunglasses properly and continued on like the bodyguards weren’t there.
The warmth of the sun on his pale skin made him wince at how he would be tanned when he got back.
The top he wore showed off a bit of his waist, so there would be tan lines literally running around his middle.
He walked forward with purpose until he got to the tree he and Asher and stayed under for a while after it started to rain that night.
He had no idea how he recognized the tree, it had been dark and raining heavily.
But he did, and he made an immediate beeline for it, walking off the road running between miles of woods.
It was all owned by Asher anyway so he wasn’t worried about trespassing or wandering somewhere dangerous.
He only spared the tree a passing glance, trying not to think of the memories of that night because he was already red from exertion and the sun’s strength.
Raunchy thoughts wouldn’t help his already outrageous color pallet.