The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun by Scarlet Hyacinth Read Free Book Online Page A

Nicolas the next day. For the moment, he’d just get some sleep. After all, Nicolas wouldn’t hurt his dad. Right?

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Chapter Three
A few months later

    Splash.
    A vein twitched in Nicolas’s forehead as the cold water hit him from behind. He should have expected this. His instincts had told him to get ready for something, but still, he’d wanted to see Garth. The man worked too much, and Nicolas wanted Garth to relax a bit.
    Apparently, this had been a bad idea. He should never have come here in the first place.
    Childish giggles reached his ears through the haze of anger.
    Nicolas dumped his keys on a coffee table, turned, and smiled tightly at Garth’s kits. They’d stopped trying to create traps in the halls when it had become apparent that he was too quick for that. Now, they just attacked him outright. “Wow, cold water. Always so refreshing.
    Thanks, boys.”
    Preston and Corbin gave him twin looks of amused pleasure.
    “Don’t mention it,” Corbin said cheekily. As the older boy, he was always the leader in the pranks the kits pulled on Nicolas. Preston tended to simply follow his brother’s indications.
    Nicolas would have liked to tell them something, to shout at them and explain they shouldn’t act like this. Perhaps they didn’t like that Nicolas was dating their father, but there were boundaries that needed to be set, and the kits’ rudeness was getting out of hand. But he had no authority over them, and they were the proverbial apple of their father’s eye. Besides, even if he hated to admit it, he liked the boys.

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    They’d been amazing in the beginning of his relationship with Garth.
    He couldn’t understand their change.
    “What happened here?” Garth asked. He was coming out of his office, and Nicolas immediately regretted his initiative. Garth had far too many problems for him to have to worry about Nicolas’s disagreement with the kits.
    “Nothing,” he answered. “The children and I were just playing.”
    Garth’s expression darkened, and he glared at the two boys as he reached their sides. “Go to your rooms,” he said. “You and I will talk later.”
    Looking a bit apprehensive, Preston and Corbin took off and headed toward their rooms. As soon as they were out of earshot, Garth sighed and hugged Nicolas. “I’m sorry about this, love. I swear I don’t understand what’s going through their little minds sometimes.”
    Nicolas broke away from the other man’s embrace. “Don’t,” he said snappishly. “You’ll get your clothes wet.”
    With a sigh, Garth released him. “Come on. Let’s get you showered and changed.”
    Nicolas nodded and allowed his lover to lead him to his room.
    Once the door closed behind them, Nicolas tore his clothes off with a disgusted huff. As a rule, moistness didn’t bother him. In fact, the hummingbird inside him reveled in wet environments. What pissed him off, however, was the intent behind the prank, the very idea that he was rejected by the two most important people in Garth’s life.
    “They’re just kits,” Garth offered in a low voice. “They don’t mean anything by it.”
    Nicolas controlled his temper and turned to look at Garth. He knew the man was biased in judging his sons, but how could he not be? Still, he didn’t think he could bring himself to say anything comforting and understanding right now. His mood had been dark all throughout the day, with nightmares plaguing his restless sleep the night before. His coming here had been not only for Garth’s benefit.

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    Spending time with the lynx usually helped, but since the kits had grown cold and rude, it only seemed to make things worse.
    Acknowledging his own bitchiness, Nicolas didn’t say anything.
    Distantly, he noticed some humidity had gotten on Garth’s clothes, making the garments stick to Garth’s muscled body a bit. Nicolas forced himself to turn away before arousal could overcome