“Wait,” Adam said, blinking and interrupting the flood of information. “You used your telepathy on humans? To trick them?”
“It was just those few times,” Harry said defensively. “Seyn and I didn’t have any documents or money to get from Los Angeles to London.”
“Have you ever used your telepathy on me?”
“No!” Harry said.
Adam eyed him. His heart insisted that Harry would never do it to him, but the sheer force of that belief made him wary.
“I’ve always wanted you too much,” Adam said slowly. “Wanted to protect you and take care of you from the moment I saw you. I always thought it was bloody strange how badly I wanted to protect a bloke I barely knew. You always felt like mine, even back then. It was so unlike me to fall for someone so hard and so fast.”
Harry blushed and looked very pleased for a moment before frowning and shaking his head. “I swear I didn’t influence you in any way. I swear, Adam.”
Clenching his jaw, Adam looked away. “Go on,” he said. “So you came back the first time because your friend wanted to break his bond.”
“And because I missed you,” Harry said.
Adam pursed his lips. “And then what? Your brother found you and took you both back? You couldn’t convince him to let you stay?”
“I couldn’t stay. He found out about our relationship and was furious that I put our family at such risk.”
“What risk?” Adam said tersely. He still wasn’t sure he believed that Harry had never influenced him in any way. He wanted to believe Harry. He wanted it too much. That made him wary.
He couldn’t help but remember Jake’s words. I don’t get what you see in him. He’s cute, yeah, but there are plenty of cute boys out there. I’ve never seen you so gone over a bloke before.
“Ksar was angry, because I broke several intergalactic and Calluvian laws,” Harry replied, tearing Adam away from his thoughts. “I couldn’t stay on Earth. Sooner or later, I would have been found, and the ramifications for my entire family wouldn’t have been pretty. Legal trouble aside, my family’s social and political standing would have been destroyed if anyone found out about us.”
“Why?” Adam said, bristling. “I know we humans don’t have fancy identification chips and teleporters, but we’re hardly barbarians.”
“I know. I know that. But...” Harry pulled a face. “My species can be a bit... arrogant.”
“Yes,” Adam said. “I met your brother.”
Harry winced. “Ksar can be a little high-handed, but he’s a good person deep down.”
Somehow, Adam doubted it.
“It still doesn’t change the fact that you left because of fucking politics,” he said. He didn’t know whether to laugh or rage.
“It’s not that simple,” Harry said, a look of concern flashing through his face. “The political landscape on my planet is very shaky. There’s a growing faction of telepathically null politicians trying to overthrow telepaths from the grand clans’ thrones.”
“I thought all of your race was telepathic,” Adam said.
Harry shook his head. “Telepathically null Calluvians aren’t entirely non-telepathic like you. They have some passive ability—they can have bonds and familial links—but they’re pretty much useless. They can’t use their telepathy actively, so they’re not classified as telepaths. The t-nulls used to be a minority, but in the last couple of centuries they have become the majority.” His brows furrowed. “There’s a real concern that they might overthrow the current royal families. They just need an excuse to do it. If I remained unbonded, if I remained a Class 3 telepath, I would have been declared dangerous and they would have used my case to prove that telepaths aren’t suited for positions of power. So I went home with Ksar before anyone found out.” Harry looked at him imploringly. “Please say something.”
Adam walked to the mini bar and opened a bottle of whiskey. “So you always knew we had an expiration date. Must be nice.” He didn’t try to soften his voice. He wasn’t in the mood to spare Harry’s feelings. He felt used in the worst possible way. While he was falling for Harry, Harry had always known they had no future.
“I—”
“Why are you here, then?” Adam bit off and took a swig of whiskey. “To fuck me, fuck me up again, and then go back to your top-lofty planet? What happened to wishing me happiness and new love?” He laughed, thinking about the note Harry had left. He hated the fucking thing. Hated it for knowing it by heart.
“I never thought I’d be back,” Harry said quietly. “I thought I’d never see you again. When I returned home, Ksar restored my bond to my bondmate before anyone could find out. I thought I could learn to live with it again. But I... I was wrong.”
Something in Harry’s voice made Adam turn around.
Harry was looking down at his hands. “Please don’t think badly of my brother. He’s not a bad person. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. I’m here only because Ksar worked so hard to make it possible.” Harry caught his bottom lip between his teeth, hesitation flickering on his face. “If it weren’t for Ksar, I could’ve died.”