"Miserable and unengaged? As though I couldn't feel my effect on you when I was sitting in your lap," Ryland said, biting his lip against a smile. "I'll grant you miserable, then."<br/><br/>Ryland sensed another jibe at him after the card game and Kethaias had claimed his prize. He<i>would</i>have already known that, yes, and not just from the brief and lascivious kiss Mel had greeted with him. But he himself was very much past the sort of blushes Mel gave to those he didn't know well, even tipsy. If he was obvious about it, too, that didn't bother him. All things Kethaias knew.<br/><br/>He was leaning back with a newly filled cup when Kethaias announced his intention to leave.<br/><br/><i>Feel free to stay with your friends.</i><br/><br/>"Nonsense," Ryland said. He put his cup on the table and motioned for a servant to get their cloaks ready. "What sort of company would I be to abandon you on an outing I invited you to myself?"<br/><br/>The servants helped them into their cloaks and one even came out with them to flag down a carriage for them. Ryland was quiet, breathing in the night air against the lightheadedness he'd gained for drinking, a pleasant buzz against his skin that usually meant the night had just begun and was full of promises.<br/><br/>When they climbed into the carriage, Ryland shut the door and rapped on the wall to let the driver know to start. He kept his feet as the ensemble lurched to a start.<br/><br/>And then with a breath, eased back into Kethaias' lap. This time, facing him, his legs spread and resting on cushions outside Kethaias'.<br/><br/>"And what sort of company would I be to let Mel's kiss upstage me for the high note of your evening?" He slid one hand beneath Kethaias' coat, the other coming up to his jaw, stroking. "You see? I can be jealous."<br/><br/>He leaned forward until the barest fraction separated their mouths, then waited for impatience on Kethaias' part, still teasing. When it came, he finally gave in, and pressed forward.<br/><br/>Ryland wasn't usually chaste anyway, and this time he had a mind to upstage Mel, who had a natural amiable pliability at first that clashed with the wantonness in his less than sober state. But Ryland had a feeling Kethaias had been thinking about this, too, and so he started close-mouthed and gentle, until giving in and inviting Kethaias in.<br/><br/>It was an exchange of sweetness, between the wine and the smoke that had been in their mouths all evening. Ryland kissed back with his own mimicked sweetness, and then alternated it with temptation and fire until he had Kethaias' riled away from politeness.<br/><br/>He used his body, too, pressing close, back arched. Broke off from one kiss to say, "You can touch me--but only until the carriage stops."