CHAPTER 303: CHAPTER 303: THE DINNER

Lucas eyed the plate as it was set before him: a neat curl of greens, a brush of sauce, and a portion so careful it looked like art instead of dinner. His lips twitched. "This isn’t food, Trevor. It’s... a suggestion."

Trevor’s smile came easy, warm instead of smug, as he reached for his wine. "You’ve had worse suggestions."

Lucas let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as he prodded delicately at the arrangement. "Mhm... true, but I’m still picky enough to judge it and its ancestors."

Trevor leaned in, resting his forearm against the table, his eyes soft on Lucas. "I think you’d find a way to judge anything. Even me."

Lucas’s grin curved, sly and unrepentant. "Oh, I do. Constantly. But you get points for being handsome and paying for dinner."

Trevor’s hand brushed lightly across the table, fingertips grazing Lucas’s where they rested on the linen. "And for loving you?"

That stilled him for a moment. Lucas looked down at their hands, then back up at Trevor. Slowly, he turned his palm, catching Trevor’s hand in his own before lifting it. He pressed the faintest kiss against his knuckles, green eyes never leaving his. "...Well. That one’s harder to compete with."

For a heartbeat, the world seemed to pause. The city lights glittered beyond the glass wall, the hum of other voices faded to nothing, and all Trevor could see was Lucas, his green eyes steady, his lips brushing soft warmth against his knuckles.

Trevor’s composure shifted, the sharp lines of the Grand Duke giving way to something far gentler. His violet eyes softened, glowing with a warmth that rarely escaped in public. He adored this, adored when Lucas reached first, when his mischief quieted into something intimate and unguarded.

"Lucas..." Trevor’s voice was low, the single word carrying more than any vow. His thumb brushed slowly across Lucas’s hand, savoring the claim and the tenderness alike.

Lucas tilted his head, a smirk tugging at his lips again as if to disguise the vulnerability in his gesture. "Careful. You look like you’re falling in love with me all over again."

Trevor’s lips curved, softer than smug, though no less certain. "I am."

The reply stole Lucas’s breath for a moment. He tried to roll his eyes, to summon another quip, but the warmth in Trevor’s gaze held him still. His chest tightened in that familiar, aching way, like being seen too clearly and loving it despite himself.

Lucas finally managed a crooked grin, his thumb brushing against Trevor’s ring. "...Well. I’ll allow it. But only because you’ve bought me dinner."

Trevor chuckled, quiet and deep, leaning a fraction closer over the table. "Every time you take the first step, you undo me. You know that, don’t you?"

Lucas blinked, his smirk faltering just slightly before returning. "Someone has to keep you in check, Your Excellency."

Trevor’s smile deepened, though it was softer now, stripped of the duke’s edge. "Then don’t ever stop."

Lucas arched a brow, feigning exasperation as he leaned back in his chair. "You say that like it’s easy work. Keeping a Grand Duke in line should come with hazard pay."

Trevor’s gaze lingered on him, violet eyes shining with something far from his usual smugness, something steadier, fuller. "You get my love as payment."

Lucas blushed. "You... are too good at this."

Trevor’s thumb traced the back of Lucas’s hand again, the touch slow as though to underline every word. "I’m just honest."

Lucas tried for another smirk, but it came out crooked, softened by the warmth flushing through his cheeks. He glanced down at their hands, at the platinum ring gleaming faintly under the chandelier’s light, and then back up at Trevor with something quieter in his eyes. "Dangerous honesty, coming from you."

Trevor tilted his head, watching him with the patience of a man who didn’t need to win the exchange. "And yet you never walk away from it."

Lucas huffed, a laugh slipping free despite himself. "That’s because you’d follow me, smug bastard. Across the city, across the world, probably even into the afterlife."

Trevor’s lips curved, calm and certain. "Of course I would. You’re my mate. There’s nowhere you could go where I wouldn’t find you."

Lucas swallowed, his throat tightening around the reply he almost didn’t want to give. His green eyes lingered on Trevor’s, steady, unflinching. "...Then I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t want to go anywhere."

Trevor’s expression softened further, violet eyes warm enough to eclipse even the glittering city below. He lifted Lucas’s hand, brushing a kiss against his knuckles with the same reverence Lucas had shown him minutes before.

The quiet between them lingered even as the waiter reappeared, moving like a shadow, replacing the delicate first course with something richer. A cut of rare meat, seared to perfection, rested in the center of the plate, garnished with herbs and a careful drizzle of dark sauce.

Lucas eyed it, lips twitching. "Ah. Finally, something that resembles actual food and not a watercolor painting."

Trevor’s mouth curved as he set his glass down. "Satisfied?"

Lucas lifted his fork, turning the meat slightly so the light caught the seared edge. His grin grew sly. "Oh, I’d say this is... promising. But you do realize..." he speared a bite neatly, pausing just long enough to let the anticipation hang, "this is dangerously close to becoming foreplay."

Trevor’s laughter was low, warm, sliding over him like velvet. "I’m starting to regret that we are not in the manor."

Lucas nearly choked on his bite, green eyes snapping to Trevor with a look that was equal parts scandalized and amused. "Trevor," he hissed, lowering his voice as though the candlelight itself might tattle. "We are in public."

Trevor only leaned back in his chair, utterly composed, the faintest glint of mischief in his violet eyes. "And yet you’re the one who called dinner foreplay."

Lucas groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I was joking."

"You weren’t wrong," Trevor murmured, his gaze steady, warm, and far too intimate for the setting. "But I’ll behave... until later."

Lucas shook his head, but his lips betrayed him, curling into a crooked grin as he tried to spear another bite. "Gods, you’re impossible."

Trevor lifted his wine again, calm and patient, the picture of composure save for the way his thumb brushed idly against the stem of the glass as his eyes lingered on Lucas. "And still," he said softly, "you keep me."

The line slipped between them quieter than his teasing, but it landed heavy in Lucas’s chest, stealing the reply off his tongue.

So he did the only thing he could, rolling his eyes, his smirk crooked and unsteady. "You’re lucky I like the food."

Trevor chuckled low, satisfied. "I’ll remember to order double portions then."