Page 49 of Horn of Winter

I grinned. “There’s nothing wrong with fast and furious.”

“No, there certainly isn’t, but I am a man who generally likes to take his time and fully explore his partner and her needs.”

I grinned. “You’ve done that before and can certainly do it again. As many times as you wish, as often as you wish, in fact.”

“And what of the competition?”

“Currently out of the picture.” Which wasn’t a lie even if it felt like one. Until I put the bracelet on my wrist, Cynwrig was not in my life.

“Suggesting I need to do all in my power to ensure he remains that way.” He shifted his grip on my butt, and I couldn’t help but notice the man remained erect. Perhaps someone had spiced our foods with an aphrodisiac, because he certainly wasn’t the only one primed for another session. Our sex life had never been lacking, but this... this was another level of intensity. “Shall we continue this upstairs?”

“If wedon’tcontinuesomewhere, I’ll be most disappointed.”

He laughed and, despite our intimate lock, carried me up the stairs with surprising ease, where we did indeed continue on long and hard into the night. When I finally slept, no dreams hit, which was the first time that had happened since I’d been staying overnight at Eljin’s. A good omen, I couldn’t help but think.

But when I checked the Eye in the morning, lightning flashed furiously in its dark heart. It didnotapprove of being pushed aside, even if only for the night.

That, however, turned out to be the least of my problems. The mother of all headaches hit, and neither copious amounts of tea nor the strongest painkillers Eljin had were cutting it. AndI wasn’t the only one suffering, which suggested maybe it was something we’d consumed last night.

He eventually bundled me into an Uber with the promise to ring me on his lunch break. I closed my eyes as the driver swept into peak hour traffic, which meant it took longer to arrive back home than it usually did. By the time I climbed out of the car, I was feeling nauseous. The cause simplycouldn’tbe having too much to drink—unlike elves, we pixies had a high tolerance for the stuff—but I also hated to think the problem lay with Viridis.

I ran upstairs, stripped off, and headed into the bathroom for another shower. The hot water helped the ache in my head but not so much my stomach, and a few minutes later, I was hunkered over the loo, dripping water all over the floor as I vomited my heart out.

When I’d finally finished, I stepped back into the shower to clean up, then dried off and stumbled into my bedroom, where I fell into bed and a deep sleep comforted by the gentle song of the old building.

The phone ringing woke me who knew how many hours later. I groggily groped for it on the bedside table, then remembered it was still in my purse, which remained in the living area. I swore, flicked off the bedding, and padded out naked to retrieve it.

It was close to three in the afternoon, and it was Mathi rather than Eljin.

“What’s up, Mathi?” I scrubbed a hand across my face. While I felt decidedly better after the sleep, a dull ache remained in the back of my head.

“You sound like shit—everything okay?”

“I think I just ate something last night that disagreed with me. I’m fine.”

“I’m not convinced. What say I collect coffee and a bacon butty from the shop just down the road from you, and we do some research while you eat and recover. We do have a relic tofind, and the council will be wanting a prelim report in the next twenty-four hours.”

“Sounds like a plan.” And there was nothing quite like a thick bacon butty to chase away a lingering headache, no matter what the cause.

“I’ll see you in about twenty, then.”

Meaning he was already on his way here. I hung up, then checked for missed calls. There were several from Eljin, so I sent a text back explaining what had happened, then added that while I felt better, I might stay home tonight. Alone, I was tempted to add, but held off.

Sounds like a good idea, he wrote back.Call if you do want some company. Happy to just sit and watch TV with you.

A vague sense of relief stirred, which probably had more to do with the lingering headache than any desire not to see him tonight.You’ve been here how many times now, and you’ve never noticed how very rarely I watch TV?

Several shocked emojis came back.Then what the hell do you do to relax?

Read. Eat. Drink. Have sex.

Well, if you feel like company doing any or all of those, you know my number.

I sent him a smiley face blowing a kiss, went down the stairs to unlock the door, then hustled back into the bedroom to get dressed. Mathi would definitely take nakedness as an invitation, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with all that right now.

The building’s song announced his arrival as he entered via the main door. I got out plates and cutlery, putting them down on the table as he headed up. The delicious smell of bacon preceded his arrival, and my stomach rumbled in appreciation. Obviously, it had finally gotten over whatever had caused this morning’s upchucking episode.

His gaze scanned me quickly and critically, and came up relieved. “You look far better than you sounded on the phone.”

---