Page 26 of Changeling
It’s easy to forget how much he doesn’t know. “Witches aren’t necessarily bad, no, but we don’t know these two. We don’t know why they’re here, only that they’ve broken our code by not obtaining permission.” Tears glimmer in his eyes, so I keep chattering to fill the silence. "Most creatures aren’t all good or all bad. Just like humans, some are wonderful, others are terrible, and most fall somewhere in between.”
“Except faeries, though.” He huffs out a sigh. “We’re all terrible?”
Touché. I dodge. “There aren’t many of you in this realm.”
“People keep telling me that.” Frustration leaks into his tone. “So where are the others? Do they have their own realm? Why am I not headed there instead?” He plucks a decorative pillow from his nest, sets it in his lap, and fiddles with the embroidery, no longer meeting my gaze.
I take pity on him and inch closer. I have to when he’s so dejected. “Legend tells us they do have their own realm, Luminia, but that the gates have been closed for thousands of years. You’re stuck on this side, I’m afraid.”
He clutches the fancy pillow to his chest and rests his head on top of it.
“Don’t you mean I’m stuck in this room?”
My heart goes out to him, but it’s not my fault. The streets hold danger. “That’s only temporary.”
“I don’t mean to complain, especially since you’ve offered me a safe place to stay when you don’t even want me here. But…” He stares at me with honeyed eyes, failing to conceal vulnerability.
“But?”
“I’m lonely. And my thoughts are all heavy and dark. Without any distraction to hold them off, they’re overwhelming. I can’t…” A flustered sigh escapes his parted lips. “I just can’t.”
Poor Sebastian. He’s been through so much. An urge to reach out and comfort him hits me. I know I shouldn’t, but my body moves without my head’s consent. I put my hand on his shoulder as I sit next to him on his messy bed. This close, his scent is mouthwatering.
Sebastian stills, then leans into the touch. “I’m not sure which is worse, the thought of being alone in this room all night or the possibility of being nabbed by witches.”
My tail circles his waist like he belongs in its embrace. Damn tail. “Witches are worse.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to be in my head.” He fingers the sensitive nub on the end of my tail that’s settled in his lap. I twitch with delight. He can’t possibly know how good that feels.
Against my better judgment, I make him an offer. The only thing I have to give. “Would you like company for the night? To distract you?”
His pupils dilate to twin pools of oil-slick black. A rose flush creeps up his cheeks. I stare at his mouth, alluring even hanging open while he considers his answer.
“You’re”—he looks me over from head to toe—“hungry?”
He misunderstands. Sebastian thinks I’ve offered myself when I only meant to bend my rules and allow him an incubus companion. Annais, perhaps, would make a good fit. Ever inventive at bed play, he’d be a quality distraction from even the most intrusive of negative thoughts.
But the faerie’s correct. I am hungry. And his divine smell tickles my nostrils. Beautiful even in his rumpled sleepwear, Sebastian would be a delicacy worth savoring. Can I really give him up to Annais when I want him for myself? I could chase away his grief with kisses and banish his dark mood under cries of ecstasy.
He wants it.
I want it.
It’s a terrible idea. Right?
Sebastian squeezes my thigh. When did his hand get there? I have to stop my legs from parting.
“Are you?” he asks.
I’ve forgotten the question. “Am I what?”
Curiosity lends a sparkle to the intensity of his gaze. “Hungry?”
He must see the answer written on my face. It makes him bold. Sebastian shuffles from beside me, climbs into my lap, and straddles my waist.
“Yes,” I hiss the word through eager lips, suddenly burning to make the acquaintance of his. I grab his slender hips and tug him closer.
Stars, but he feels good. The solid warm weight of him is perfect against my thighs. The way he undulates his body to tease mine is a temptation I’m powerless to resist.
