He nodded and began walking back to the house. With his back turned, I finally noticed the intricate braid patterns tying back some of his long hair. They came together in a spiral knot at the back of his head, while the rest of his hair fell freely below it. No doubt because of his wife’s handiwork after his little conniption about shaving. “I assume you’re here for Cin? She’s most likely woken up by now. I’ll put on some tea.”
“Thank you.” I murmured, following behind him. Looks like he’s not a grumpy sleeper. That’s good news. “Sorry to drop by so late.”
“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “Cin warned me that unexpected drop-ins are common here. So the magic has already been attuned to her family, and now you.”
I hummed and followed him inside. Cin made her way downstairs and greeted me with a tired wave. Then snatched two bottles of wine and promptly threw herself off the couch, her long flowing pink nightdress billowing dramatically around her, before landing in an ungraceful slump around her calves. She held up one bottle and swirled its contents. I took it greedily and slumped into my chair.
Fallon peered in from the kitchen. “No tea then? Perfect, I’m going back to bed.” He said, not waiting for an answer. He retreated back up the stairs, ducking his head to avoid his horns scraping the ceiling. “If you need me, don’t.” He called down.
Cin rolled to her side, bit off the cork from her wine bottle, and spit it out. She took a long sip and sat up to look me over. My friend rested a hand on her cheek, before a slow crooked grin spread across her face. “He blew your back out, didn’t he?”
I let out an aggravated breath and uncorked my own wine. “You should have warned me.” I hissed.
She threw back her head and laughed. Damn near rolling off the couch in her fit. “My love!” She shouted at the ceiling. “I won the bet!”
A loud thud sounded off from the room above. “Damn it!”
I grimaced and nursed my drink. “You two are the worst.”
“I can’t tell you how validating it is to see someone else go through this.” Cin rubbed her hands together in glee. “Tell me everything.” She said, giggling. “Did he live up to the werewolves in your romance books?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I looked back to the stairs to make sure Fallon hadn’t come back down before answering. “He said ‘I see your book wolves and I raise you tentacle play.’”
Cin’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “No!”
“Yes.” I whispered back. “Cin, I’m trying to be calm and collected about this entire ordeal but that man is making me-” I tried to find the right words, but instead just fluttered my arm around like my thoughts would arrange themselves better through interpretive jazz hands. “I’m not OK, alright? I’m alarmed.”
Cin adjusted her matching pink bonnet and settled in deeper in her seat. “Emotional, confused, questioning your moral compass and whether or not you had one in the first place?” She asked.
I pointed my drink at her and slapped my hand on the soft cushioning of her love seat. “Yes, that exactly.”
She pumped her fists in the air and wiggled around in her seat. “This is great. I’m so happy you have a mate, too.”
Guilt reared its ugly head in the pit of my stomach. “That’s the issue.” I began. “We only slept together because it looked like the effects of the love potion were about to give him a heart attack. I’ve got no right getting excited over a man who’s forced to find me interesting. The original plan was to keep it as a quickie and be done with it. But…”
“But?” she pressed on.
I winced and looked away. “Um…The man makes a compelling case for longer sessions. Let’s just leave it at that. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that his feelings could change at the drop of a hat when this is over. He may think he’s imprinted, but it’s best I keep him at a distance while there’s no guarantee.”
“But you already like him.” Cin said. It wasn’t a question. She knew me better than that.
I nodded.
She hummed. “Then are you really saving yourself any trouble by still fighting it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you Brie.” She said, “You’ve got more walls than a kingdom under siege. Any time a man shows up that you take a fancy too, you find something wrong with him and end things before you get too attached.”
“No, I don’t.” I snapped.
She raised an eyebrow. “You broke your last suitor’s heart because you, oh what was it?” She said, tilting her head to the side. “Oh, that’s right, because he ate tomatoes weird.” She said, fixing me with a glare.
I sputtered around my drink. “Who eats a whole tomato with a spoon? Just bite it! That’s a perfectly valid reason to end a relationship.”
She pointed a finger at me, her eyes narrow. “You’re scared of commitment and everyone on this side of Kinnamo knows it. Except this time you can’t run away. Be it an imprint or love potion, Felix isn’t gonna take your bullshit excuses. You can continue to fight this on the grounds of moral hierarchy, but that ship has sailed. You’ve already slept together and from the looks of it, he’s already gotten under your skin. Hell, there’s still a chance he’ll drop dead if you were to stop sleeping with him at this point, so would it really be such a bad thing to see where this goes?”
Frustration bubbled in my throat, making my words come in angry hisses. “And what happens if he loses interest and leaves me in the lurch after this?”
