Bomber turned to his lover, Henri, and caressed his face as he was sleeping. Henri stirred under the touch, took a deep breath, and slowly turned over in the grass. Henri smiled, his eyes still half-lidded with sleep. “How long was I out?”
“Long enough for me to clear this tent of carnies,” he said. “No show here tonight.”
“Except us,” Henri said, reaching up to put a hand around the back of Bomber’s head, pulling him down for a kiss. Bomber kissed him back, the taste of iron on his tongue. “You fed.”
“Not like I could let a good Strongman go to waste, once I got that bucket off of his head.” Bomber shook his head, “Fuuugly.”
Henri laughed, looking around for his clothes. “It must be time for you to go.”
Bomber nodded. “I need to stay at Paragon tonight, check on the Rack, make sure it’s surviving without me.”
Henri let his hand linger on Bomber’s face. “They would have called you otherwise.”
“I have to feed them, Henri,” Bomber said with a sigh. “There’s a lot of people there under my control.”
Henri sat up. “Did you do that with the people here in the Isles too?”
Bomber looked anywhere but at Henri. Henri’s thumb made circles around Bomber’s strong jaw. “It’s the only way I know that will keep them loyal.”
“You haven’t done it to me, and I’m loyal.”
“You’re different,” Bomber said immediately. You’re my lover.
“Am I really?” he asked, a slight twinkle in his eye. “I’m just as human as they are, falling to the same charms as they do. And you -are- charming, all on your own.” His hand went down to Bomber’s neck, then to his bare chest, and lingered there.
“I guess you’re right. But I want to be sure that they’ll defend me if the time comes.”
“I have a feeling that they would. You don’t need to bind them to your will.”
“Maybe not,” Bomber said, kissing Henri again, ending this conversation. “Let’s get dressed and I’ll bring you to your barracks.”