Page 23 of Goblin Candy

Candy knew exactly what she was doing when she provoked my chase instinct. But I must admit that I strategically missed the mark by allowing her the opportunity to take control of the hunt. But she did such things to me… I nearly disgraced myself. The desire to release my seed into her hot sheath, breed her, and claim her as mine had been overwhelming.

Soon.

I nod in greeting to the human at the desk as I leave the hotel, my senses stretching out the moment I’m outside the protections I’ve set around the building hosting me. Assured that there is no fairy picking up my trail with the mind to poach my mate—not unheard of between goblins and fairies—I continue toward my female’s home, making only one brief stop for coffee so that I am not empty-handed when I show up at her door.

The smell of pumpkin spice coffee is tantalizing but nothing like the delectable scent of my well-bred and satisfied mate that rolls over me the moment she opens the door to stare back in surprise at me through a sleepy haze that still clings to her. As much as I want to fall upon her and lick her from ankle to cheek and taste every inch of her, made all the easier for the fact that she is wearing little more than her oversized shirt boasting some ghoulish creature, I manage to refrain and hold the coffee out to her.

She doesn’t see it because she peers at me curiously as she smothers a yawn behind her hand. “Grimsal, don’t you ever sleep?”

I wonder if it is a rebuke for showing up so early, and I feel a momentary pang that I might have woken her from much-needed sleep. Perhaps it is too early. I was so eager to see her that I didn’t bother to note the time other than the fact that the sun is in the sky and not hovering along the horizon. But then her hand lowers and the smile she turns on me is filled with such genuine pleasure to see me as she opens the door further to invite me in that I relax and lift the coffee higher, giving it a small jiggle.

“I thought perhaps you might enjoy this.”

Her eyes drop down to it in surprise, and her smile widens. “You brought me coffee?”

“Pumpkin spice,” I confirm. I give the cup a confused look. “It doesn’t really smell like the pumpkins we were carving, but it does have a delicious fragrance to it of various sweet spices.”

She chuckles and relieves me of one of the cups I’m carrying and steps around me briefly to shut the door behind me. I turn, unable to help following her with my eyes. She is mussed and flushed still from sleep, and all I can think is how much I wish I had been here to enjoy those moments of her waking at her side rather than arguing with a carved pumpkin.

Breathing in the aroma deeply, Candy takes a long sip and sighs with satisfaction. I immediately follow suit, the flavors bursting and dancing over my tongue in a delightful way that prompt me to tip my cup back and gasp at the hot trail scorching my throat. But oh, so worth it. All the while, my mate watches, her eyes dancing with amusement. I know I probably just made myself appear somewhat foolish to her but I love that she never seems to judge my behavior which—although perhaps strange for a human—is normal for a goblin.

“I can’t tell you how much it warms my soul to see someone love coffee as much as me that they’d risk burning their tongue and the lining of their throat for it,” she observes with another small laugh. “Can’t say I haven’t done that many times myself,” she confides with an impish smile that is altogether charming.

“Your world does hold many things that I enjoy,” I admit easily. “A few of these are coming into the fae world, but it is slow and often requires adjustments to be able to work in a world powered by magic. There is only one place I know to get coffee, and that is an orc village. Thankfully, that clan is not the least friendly of the orc clans of the area,” I chuckle.

Candy’s nose wrinkles. “Only one place for coffee—at all? No offense, but that sounds pretty horrible.” She cocks her head. “Though now that I think about it, the short period I did the work exchange, I didn’t see anything that resembled coffee, but I assumed it was an elven thing since they seemed to have a great enjoyment of teas.”

I nearly choke on my laugh amid another much smaller sip of coffee and shake my head. “Elves are a strange lot, mostly because they don’t care for anything that they don’t invent themselves. I doubt you will see many human things in their kingdoms at all even now,” I explain at the questioning look she gives me.

“Ah, well I’m glad that goblins are far more open-minded.” She gives me a smile over the rim of her cup.

“Goblins chase experience and pleasure, among other things. I’m afraid that of all our fae brethren, we are the most attracted to the human world. Outside of the fairies, that is,” I add with a scowl.

“Fairies? You mean actual winged little people?” She gives me an incredulous look but startles at my bark of laughter.

“That almost makes them sound cute,” I observe. “No, my sweet, not quite. Pixies are small and can be difficult creatures to deal with for their own reasons, but they are nothing like fairies. Don’t mistake me, they are not wholly bad,” I quickly amend before she gets the wrong idea. “Their attraction to your race is very much like that of goblins—natural perhaps since we our races are close in kinship to each other—but the rules they play by are dangerous and often not very kind to humans. There are many who take human mates whom they love deeply, and then there are many cruel ones, especially among the lords and ladies who see humans as lesser sport and breeding stock.”

“And you say they’re not bad,” Candy mutters in wonder.

“Not completely,” I agree with a crooked smile. “But good to be wary of. Besides, you don’t need a fairy prince. You have me!”

The tension eases from my mate, and she smiles up at me, her eyes dancing with a happiness that I would wish to put there and see all the rest of my days.

“That I do,” she agrees. “And it’s the day before Halloween. I’m assuming you have no other plans for today?”

“I am yours to do with as you please,” I agree, stretching my arms out from my sides in invitation as I place myself at her mercy.

I expect her to pounce with the way she’s suddenly looking at me, but she shakes her head and heads toward her room, leaving me to follow after her. Admittedly a bit disappointed at that. I glance at the large spider waving its legs at me from its enclosure as I pass and shudder. I hope that my female never comes to encounter one of the giant spiders that inhabit the deeper forests that thrive in our mountain valleys. I would not enjoy her realizing how much we are prey for creatures such as that if given the size to hunt, kill, and consume us. It unnerves me that she keeps a miniature creature as a pet, but I suppose it is suitable enough for the mate of a goblin.

Trailing Candy to her room, I note that she hasn’t quit speaking the entire time though she’s disappeared into her closet.

“The scavenger hunt is done every year and it’s completely wild,” she explains as she rummages near the back of her closet. “It’s pretty much the last big thing around here before the party on Halloween night. Everyone dresses up, and we have to go through town grabbing whatever fits as closely as possible to the list of mayhem that we’re given. I think this year’s theme is witches and we are supposedly gathering ingredients for our ‘witches brew.’ It should be a lot of fun! Ah, jackpot!”

She emerges from the closet and tosses something long and black in my direction that I catch haphazardly out of the air. I peer down at the fabric curiously.

“What is this?”

“Your costume, sir witch,” she chuckles as she pulls out another that is similarly black but has far more lace and ruffles. “Extra points are awarded if you arrive in the appropriate costume for the theme, and I’m determined to win this year.”

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