Page 68 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

Wendall chewed his bottom lip, looking uncertain. “Are you sure? I don’t mind staying if—”

“Go,” I ordered. “Seriously, this is nothing.”

Wendall’s smile made the miniscule work worth it. “Okay. Thanks, Frost. I’ll see you later.”

By way of goodbye, Trinket unwrapped her tail, dipped it in the dirty water, and splashed me.

“Trinket!” Wendall scolded. “That’s not very polite.”

The little scuttlebutt didn’t take the scolding to heart. Tapping her hidden feet, Trinket shifted from side to side, cooing and twittering madly.

“I swear, sometimes you act like you have no manners at all.” Wendall’s words might have been harsh, but his tone was filled with unwavering love.

“It’s fine,” I said, wiping the dirty water from my face.

Wendall shot me a skeptical glance but in the end accepted my capitulation. “If you say so. Thanks again for finishing up.”

“No worries. Go on and get some rest.” I’d heard fairies didn’t need nearly the amount of sleep or rest that other species did. Given Wendall’s mixed human/fairy genes, I had no idea where he fell on that scale.

With a small wave goodbye, Wendall followed Ray through an atmospheric tear. I had no idea where they called home. I imagined it was somewhere in Fairy but wasn’t certain. If someone else knew, they hadn’t told me. Maybe I’d ask Johnny sometime. Right now, I had enough minutiae clogging up my brain.

I spent the next few minutes attempting to quiet my mind. I somehow managed a modicum of success and was finishing the last glass when Leon poked his head through the door and asked, “Are you nearly done?”

“Almost. Just this last one,” I assured.

He came the rest of the way into the washroom and leaned against a nearby counter, doing that stillness thing all vampires had in spades.

My pulse quickened. I couldn’t figure out if it was disturbing or endlessly flattering being the center of someone’s attention. I was straddling the fence, leaning ever so slightly in the flattering direction.

Emptying out the sink and wiping down the area, I finally turned my attention to my would-be paramour. I gave Leon the same attention he lavished on me. I figured mine might be a little more clinical as I was still concerned about his health. He’d fed from me late this morning, before the sunrise, but I doubted it was enough.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. There was no sense beating around the proverbial bush.

“I am always hungry for you,” Leon answered, leaving me confused.

“Are you talking about my blood or something a bit more carnal?” After Leon fed, I’d passed out and had to leave before he woke up. Sexy times had been placed on hold.

Leon smirked and offered up a completely unhelpful “yes.”

I threw my dirty towel at him. It hit Leon’s chest and fell limply to the floor. My face was flushed and burning hot. I doubted my body had time to replenish all the blood Leon relieved me of but there still seemed to be enough to turn my face into a tomato.

Leon’s low chuckle made my toes curl and did funny things to my heart. I didn’t think the heart was supposed to jump rope like mine felt like it was doing. Closing the distance between us, Leon leaned in and nuzzled my neck. I briefly tensed before relaxing into his gentle touches.

“I will never take what you do not freely offer, Phlox. Be that your blood or your body. You hold my leash. I am yours to command as you will.”

“Shit,” I whispered through my disbelieving lips. “That’s a lot of power. I’m not sure I want it.”

“Whether you do or not is unimportant. It is yours regardless of your desires.”

I inhaled, pulling Leon’s scent into my core. My inner shifter rolled in it, purring and making an embarrassing fuss. I spent far more time as a pixie than a Pallas’s cat. My cat was fully on board with Leon’s claim. My pixie side was holding up the show.

I wanted to let Leon bite me. It seemed natural and yet the fear remained. It wasn’t that I was afraid of the pain, it was that I was afraid that if it hurt again, that would mean it would always hurt. I wanted what Peaches described. I wanted Leon’s bite to affect me the same way. Fearing that wouldn’t be the case, or more precisely, confirming that fear, kept me from offering. Right now, I still had hope. If Leon bit down and the pain was the same, that hope would fizzle. I wasn’t ready to take that chance yet.

Pulling away, I said, “I need a shower. I needed one before Trinket’s idea of a goodbye, but now I smell like dirty dishwater on top of my other stink.”

“You smell nothing short of delicious to me, but I understand your desire for cleanliness. Would you like to shower in your apartment or downstairs?”

Leon’s shower was far more impressive than the little cubbyhole in my apartment, but all my toiletries were there, and it seemed silly dragging them downstairs. The way things were going, maybe I just needed to move all my belongings into Leon’s cubbyhole.

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