Page 11 of Frayed Owner

Gentle giants… Unless they were provoked. Then I would bet both of them could be fucking scary. But never towards the ones they cared about.

“Talking things out is hard,” he said as he got the hang of it. “There’s lots I’ve wanted to talk about and never known how or who I could trust.”

“You could tell me anything,” I promised.

“You’re the first—well, not the first I knew I could trust. I could trust my friends. But some of them went through the same and have the same burden,” he mumbled. “Sometimes you need to talk to someone outside of the situation to hear that you’re not crazy.”

“Yeah, I know that well,” I agreed. “But also, Clare being here has helped. Sometimes everyone looks at me like I’m too paranoid about my family, but she completely understands.”

“Exactly. That’s exactly it with my friends. But you feel validated with your friends and us now seeing it, right?” he checked.

“Totally. It’s like a level of relief that you guys are saying it’s an extreme level of fucked up helps me understand life better,” I agreed, understanding there was more going on. “I won’t tell, Winter.”

“I know. You’re the first I’ve met outside our circle that I’ve really felt that with. I know—you never teased me with others about what I did—masturbating in your bed about you. You were so quick to save me any embarrassment even if it was small because you didn’t know me well yet, and—people aren’t normally that careful with the feelings of others.”

“Really?” I hedged.

“No. They brush off too much. I do it too. Unintentionally. It’s not even being mean, but—you see things in your own frame of reference. I’m pretty chill and I don’t get upset easily. So I assume others are like that. But others are more sensitive or not so chill. I’ve accidentally hurt people and needed to work on that. You come with that software loaded.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it, frowning.

“What?” he asked quietly after a few moments.

“I think it’s hearing animals,” I admitted. “The familiars mostly. They feel what their witches and warlocks do and would never admit. But the familiars do and all talk. I am dense, but I would hear how easily people could be hurt and upset. How even little jokes or comments would make people not trust each other or put up their armor.”

“Bev, you’re not dense. You just have a different perspective. I talked with Mrs. Reid about—I want to be in the session when she talks magical theory with you on Sunday. I figured out what she did. You arenotdense. You’re actually advanced. You’re gifted. You see things from like ten steps to the left of the rest of us. Please try to understand that.”

“Thanks, Winter,” I whispered, truly touched. I tilted my head back when he was squirting more of the stuff on his hand so it was safe to. “What did you want to tell me? Clearly, I touched on something that made you want to offload. I’m here for you too.”

He kissed my forehead. “I know, and that’s why I think this is something real even if I never saw myself in this sort of relationship with a goddess or sharing a partner.” He tilted my head forward so he could get the next areas, checking that it wouldn’t run into my eyes. “Teddy told you how he got his name, right?”

I flinched. “Not specifics, but just you were scared of the guy who helped you find him. That it made you laugh, and you didn’t have much to laugh about in that orphanage.”

“That’s pretty much the story,” he said quietly as he gently rubbed in the scalp treatment, seeming to get lost in the repetition. “There are witches and warlocks who specialize in finding familiars—sensing them. There are whole firms that scour the planet to find them and coordinate working with young warlocks and wizards to match them up.”

“For a price,” I commented.

He froze. “That sounded a bit judgy when you also charge for your wares, and I’ve pushed you to always remember you should and value yourself.”

I went to pull away, but he grabbed my shoulder and moved me against his chest, hugging me to him.

“What did I say wrong?” he whispered. “Talk to me, Bev.”

“I will, but can I face you? I feel…” I felt better when he let me go and I could turn to him. I actually took the stuff from his hand to continue and have something to do. “People should be paid for their time and effort. Keeping the familiars and feeding them is time-consuming. That should all be paid back and people compensated.”

“Okay then—”

“I think I havemorethan shown that I value people’s time and compensate people well,” I continued. “That was why I wanted to pull away. You didn’t sound like you were being fair to me to jump to me… I pay my employees better than average. You know. You’ve picked up shifts, and now some of your friends work for me.”

“You’re right.” He moved his hand under my chin and pushed until I relented and let him lift my head so we looked at each other. “I’m sorry if it sounded judgmental or I was jumping on you. That’s not what I was feeling. I was confused. I should have said it better and asked what I was missing. Clearly, I’m missing something.”

I let out a slow breath. “Thank you for that.” I worried my lower lip and handed back the bottle to him. “Sorry. I think I’m going to need that—everything was always so volatile. Everything still is. I just brace for being torn down, being dense. It’s hard to…”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. “You need a gentle touch for now. I get it. I’mgladI can give you that.” He let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t think I could, so honestly it’s helped me feel better about myself to see that I’m not such a dipshit.”

I chuckled when he did and moved back to the original spot, putting my head back down again. Then I answered what he’d wondered. “Those companies are owned by top-tier families. I know more because I’ve talked to and rejected familiars. Yes, Teddy is the perfect fit for you, but it could have been another familiar too, Winter.”

“Oh,whoa, that’s a lot to think about.” He swore under his breath. “They rig it and—yeah, okay, I get you. I guess I didn’t think cynically enough for a service that helps people.”

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