Page 97 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

He was gone before I could reply, and I heaved a sigh of frustration with his prudishness before spinning away to stalk back into the bedchamber.

While I understood that other fey thought differently, and Sage was flustered just talking about it, my people viewed sex similarly to eating and sleeping. So I did not understand his discomfort with such a natural function.

Unless I was missing something? Maybe sexcouldbe somethingmorewith someone who knew how to make it feel that way? There was no denying that things with Sage were already different.Hewas different. I certainly could not see him ever treating me with any of the indifference or irreverence that I’d experienced before. Could sex be just another beautiful thing that my people had managed to ruin for me?

Maybe, and I shivered at the thought, butmaybesex with him would be different too.

Which led me back to his response earlier that had irked me. I was not sure exactly what I had been hoping to hear him say either, but I was left feeling disappointed. Perhaps it was just a growing desire to be close to him and know him, but it felt much more complicated.

I got changed into the clean clothes Asha had given me which turned out to be a simple cotton dress and slippers. I’d thought the bundle was a little small, but considering the humidity, it made sense. There was a saltiness in the air now that I was paying closer attention, so perhaps we were near the sea.

Once I was dressed, I began to wander the tent to look at Sage’s belongings and found many items he had clearly brought back from other courts during his journeys. I was surprised to find a wooden flute and some paintings that I was pretty sure were done in Spring. Sage had not struck me as someone who liked art, although there had hardly been time to learn this about him while we were fending off the Fuath. But considering how much he had said he wanted to see all the worlds, it made sense that he would have so many souvenirs.

And I wanted to ask him about every piece. I wanted to collect little pieces of him the way he had collected all these many treasures.

Sage soon returned with two wooden plates which he took over to the sitting area in the middle of the tent. There was noneed for the fire, the tent was a comfortable temperature for me, but I almost missed the ambience.

I saw his eyes trace over my new dress as I came to sit next to him on one of the pillows. I sat close enough that our elbows brushed, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

I looked at the plate he handed me and was impressed. The hour was late, but he’d managed to get sliced meat that smelled sweet and salty, cheese, and honeyed bread. He’d even grabbed the bottle of wine on his way by the table and poured me a cup while I began to eat. The food tasted richer and sweeter than it had in the village, but it still had a flavour that was distinctly Autumn. I hummed my shameless appreciation which made him smile until I tasted the wine and groaned loudly. “Now,thatis good.”

“And potent, so take it easy,” Sage warned me.

“I am about to face negotiations with the notorious Autumn Prince. I should be indulging,” I objected, but he merely snorted and shifted the bottle out of reach when I shifted toward it.

Before I could object more strongly, he took my empty plate and cup and set them aside with his before suddenly lifting me onto his lap. My thighs parted around his waist, and I blinked at him in surprise as he drew me near and levelled those gorgeous but serious eyes at me.

“I didn’t like being short with you earlier,” he told me, making my brows rise higher.

“You thought that was being short with me?”

“Something was bothering you. I’m unsure what it has to do with my love life, but I’ve tried to be sensitive when it comes to anything that you would rather keep private.”

“You have,” I acknowledged with a demure nod.

“So I want you to try and tell me what’s bothering you. With some respect for my dignity and privacy.”

Not so long ago, I might have outright denied the fact something was bothering me, but the impulse to conceal my feelings did not even impede me with him anymore.

“I feel…” I trailed off, unsure what word to use that would help me suss out his feelings while staying safely ambiguous about mine. In case he did not feel the same, and I needed to backtrack really quickly.

“Jealous?” he guessed, and my eyes widened as they jolted up to meet his concerned gaze.

“It’s not… Yes, but not in the normal way,” I hedged.

“I know,” he said, shocking me.

“You do?”

“I think it is because we areanam. It is not a romantic jealousy but a primal one,” Sage explained, and I nodded at this description.

“Yes! It is… I don’t know how to understand it, but the thought of you with… I don’t like it,” I admitted.

Sage was thoughtful as he considered my admission.

“You were not wrong. About… needs,” he clarified, his voice bashful. “Even if you were very much out of line for asking the way you did,” he added seriously.

“Sorry,” I muttered, lowering my eyes. “I believe we may think about sex differently. It’s just a physical need to me like the need for food or water or sleep,” I explained.

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