Page 10 of Dewitched

Without a word, Owen hurried into the bathroom, returning a moment later with two fluffy towels. He held one out with an apologetic grin.

“I don’t have any dry clothes that will fit you.”

“That’s okay.” Fenix took the towel, but instead of drying himself off, he draped it over Owen’s head and gently worked the material across his hair. “I’m assuming you have clothes that fityou.”

Owen chuckled. “Obviously.”

The sound loosened the knot in his chest, and he smiled as he patted the ends of the towel over the male’s angelic face. “Go change. You look like a drowned rat.”

Owen laughed again at his teasing. “But I’ll feel guilty if you have to be the only one in wet clothes.”

“I’ll survive.” He didn’t like the chill to Owen’s skin, and the pink that colored the tip of his nose worried him as well. “Go on.”

“What about you?”

Since he’d already assured him that he would be fine, it took Fenix a moment to decode the question. When he did, his heart swelled, and a tiny thread of relief coiled inside him.

“I’ll wait right here.”

Seemingly satisfied, Owen took the used towel, offered him the clean one, and headed back toward the bathroom. At the doorway, he stopped and spun around with wide eyes.

“Seneca!”

“She returned to the castle.”

“Oh.”

His eyebrows drew together, and his nose scrunched. This information seemed to concern him for some reason, but Fenix couldn’t guess why. The expression lasted only a moment, though, before he shook his head and continued into the bathroom. He’d barely crossed the threshold when he whipped around one more time and marched back into the room.

“I forgot my clothes.”

Fenix couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched him crouch down to dig through a suitcase at the foot of the bed.

“I know, I know,” he mumbled. “I’m a mess.”

“You’re adorable.” Without thinking, Fenix reached out to muss his damp hair.

His head snapped up, his eyes widened again, and his lips began to move soundlessly. Before Fenix could work out what he’d said wrong, let alone rectify it, Owen grabbed some clothes, rushed into the bathroom, and slammed the door behind him.

Left alone, he shook his head and sighed.

He was still trying to understand how things had gone sideways so fast when Owen burst back into the room. He still wore his wet tee and jeans, but he’d removed his shoes, socks, and jacket. Stopping a short distance away, he blinked up with big, owlish eyes through his water-stained lenses.

“I felt…when you…I felt…”

Well, it didn’t tell him much, but he could work with it. “What did you feel?”

“When you touched me just now.”

He still didn’t have a clue what the guy was trying to say, but he nodded encouragingly. “Tell me.”

Instead of an answer, Owen shuffled closer and lifted his arm. His fingers curled slightly in hesitation, and his hand shook as he reached toward Fenix’s chest. Right before making contact, he looked up, his gaze beseeching.

“Can I?”

Confused but willing to play along, he nodded again.

His touch was tentative at first, barely a brush, but eventually, he stretched his fingers out and pressed his palm flat over Fenix’s heart. Then he jerked back, cradling his hand to his own chest as if he’d been scorched.

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