AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The animals who reside in the woods are not bound by that rule.” I step into the pants, acutely aware of my cock bobbing, and Dela watching it, as I wrestle the garment upward over my wet skin. Finally, though not easily, I am able to tuck my cock aside and zip up. “Not the shifters who live among us; they won’t harm you, even in their animal forms. The lesser beasts, if hungry or feeling threatened, would not hesitate.”
A shiver ripples through her, and she wraps her arms around herself. “I was so grateful to be safe from malice, I never considered not being safe from the environment.” She turns toward the waterfall and sighs. “Guess I won’t come out here again.”
Now that my lower body is covered, I join her by the water’s edge, the need to protect her from any and all things building inside me. “Safe from what malice?”
“I shouldn’t have said that.” Her bright eyes dim, and she turns her head away, staring off at the waterfall.
“Was it untrue?”
“No, it’s true,” she says, her voice quiet, as if far off in the distance. “Impossible to believe when I look back on it, but I’m here, surrounded by proof that impossible things are true.”
I have inquired about Dela’s arrival in Fate’s Falls. Not directly, those are not questions for a customer to ask a coffee barista. Not when the customer is a hell-born demon, and the barista is an innocent human. I asked the Minotaur. If Constantine had information, he was unwilling to share it.
“You can trust me.” Looking down at her, I wait to gain her attention. “If it is within my power to deliver, you have only to ask.”
Her eyes widen. “Do you mean for revenge?”
The thought of delivering vengeance in Dela’s name stirs sensations in me unlike any I have experienced. For her, it would be more than fulfilling my purpose. I would do it to please her. “If you wish for it, even silently, I will ensure you are satisfied.”
She gives me one slow blink, then a smile pulls at her lips. “I don’t want revenge. And it’s a good thing you can only hearthosethoughts, or I’d be in a heap of trouble.”
Humans’ wishes for revenge come to me without bidding; I do not have to listen for them. This has not prevented me from opening my mind, hoping to hear Dela’s voice in my head. Day and night, I find myself probing, searching for even a small wish from her. And have encountered none.
“I would like to know your thoughts,” I say. “I assure you there will be no trouble of any quantity.”
A short, sweet laugh leaves her smiling lips. “I don’t think that level of disclosure falls within the nature of our relationship. No matter what Shay says.”
“Who is Shay?”
As Dela tilts her head, sunlight paints her hair with streaks of gold. “Shay Winterlock. Another barista at The Brew. We both work the dayshift; she’s always there while I’m there.”
“I have not seen her there.”
“Raz.Come on. You’ve never seen the other coffee barista?” When I fail to respond, she sighs, then continues. “The really beautiful woman with long, curly hair, green eyes, smooth brown skin, nice boobs, a great butt, and legs for days?”
“I have not noticed her.”
Dela rolls her eyes. “Okay, this is ridiculous. Shay’s gorgeous and it’s literally impossible that you haven’t noticed her all the times you’ve been in The Brew. There’s no shame in admitting you find a woman attractive.”
“That is your true feeling?” I ask. Humans are notorious for deception, both intentional and subconscious.
“Yes, of course.”
“I am attracted to you. Your beauty is all I see.”
The openness of Dela’s eyes and lips indicates I have spoken out of turn again. Though she is not trapped by the duties of her workplace, her options of escape are limited, nonetheless.
“You are disturbed by my admission.”
“I’m…surprised,” she says. Though her voice is calm, her physiological responses are not.
“I have tried to rid myself of the attraction, but it has not been within my control. I will speak to the Minotaur who owns the establishment where you work and have him restrict me from entering. As I have no need of anything from town, you will not have to see me again.”
“What if Iwantto see you again?”
The quickening of her pulse is visible in the column of her delicate neck. “You are frightened.” Unable to resist, I place my fingers over the beat, eliciting a gasp from her full lips.
She captures my hand before I can draw it away, molding my fingers to the gentle curve of her neck. “I am, but not of you.” Her gaze briefly drops to the space between us. “Okay, maybe onepartof you.”
