Forrest laughed heartily. “Oh, you’d hate her. She’s ridiculously gorgeous. She has this beautiful, long, silky black hair. The most intriguing grey-lavender eyes you’ve ever seen. The freckles along the bridge of her nose and cheeks are downright adorable. She has an ample backside that you just want to bury your face in. If that wasn’t enough, you’d be done when you realized how thoughtful and empathetic she was.”
By this point, he was sitting on his knees in the tub, holding my hands, staring up at me with a look full of adoration.
“She sounds terrible,” I said as I threw the cloth back at him. “Your back is all done. Need anything else done while I’m here?”
A mischievous smirk spread across his face. “Actually, yes. I just thought of this fun role-playing game we could play, where you’re a sea captain, and I’m a stowaway you’ve caught, and we need to negotiate payment, but I have no coin.”
I laughed. “Forrest, as much as I love sleeping with you, I do have some things I need to take care of today.”
His bottom lip stuck out in an exaggerated pout.
“I have to go into the village and meet with Violet. I haven’t heard from her, and I want to ensure everything is all right with Fiona.”
He stood up in the tub, exposing himself and his half-erect cock. A throbbing sensation between my legs began almost immediately upon looking at it. This man was the ultimate test sent to me by the Mothers Above to prove how pathetic and weak I was, and how little self-control I possessed.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself. “I’d like to come with you, if that’s all right. It’d be nice to see Violet again. Plus, I still haven’t visited the village. I think enough people have seen me at your home by now to recognize me as your boyfriend.”
My entire body froze as soon as the B-word left his mouth. “My boyfriend?”
He stepped out of the tub and walked up to me. “Well, what else would you call me?”
I stared at him blankly. “I don’t know. Maybe just the random guy with no memory who lives in my home and occasionally sleeps with me.”
He gave me his best offended face. “Who occasionally sleeps with you? I would say it’s quite frequently.”
I smiled at him, worried about how he would react to my next words. “Labelling what we are is not important. If anyone asks you about it, you can say that you’re my special friend from the South.”
He appeared completely unaffected by my words. “I like ‘special friend.’ It has a certain mystique to it,” he said with a flourish of his hand.
“Perfect.” I leaned in for a kiss. “Now get your beautiful, muscular ass in that bedroom so we can get this whole issue of your ship fare settled before we have to leave.”
His cock twitched beneath his towel, and a gigantic smile spread across his face as he saluted me. “Aye, Captain!”
Chapter 9
It was a cool, crisp, sunny fall day. The sun was shining high above the snow-capped Mount Morningstar. The snow from the previous week’s cold snap had melted away. The leaves on the trees were various shades of yellow, orange, and red. Birds flitted about, noisily calling to one another. Children ran around playing with their friends in the fallen leaves. We couldn’t have picked a more picturesque day to leave the cottage and walk to the village.
“When all you deal with is the worst parts of everyone’s life, their illnesses, their sadness, their anger, their loss of hope, it can be easy to forget to take the time necessary to pause and look around, reminding yourself just how breathtaking this place can be,” I said as we rounded the corner to the village square. “It isn’t all just a never-ending pit of despair.”
Forrest reached down and intertwined his fingers with mine. “It is lovely, but it’s not as breathtaking as you are,” he said with a genuine smile, a single dimple appearing on his cheek.
“You need to take it easy on the romance books, Forrest. They’re turning you into a walking, talking trope.”
He pulled me close so we were nose to nose. “You say it’s the romance books. I say a very alluring muse has inspired me.” Then he gave me a soft kiss on the lips, and we carried on.
I couldn’t help the silly grin that spread across my face and the flush that rushed to my cheeks. Who was this fae man, and why did he have this effect on me? It was almost enough to make meforget about the unsettling feeling I had regarding Violet and Fiona. Almost.
The village square was as busy and lively as ever. The smell of baked goods floated through the air while the sounds of haggling and bartering rang out from all directions. At the top of the village square stood the ominous, imposing sanctuary. Before I realized what I was doing, I instinctively looked over and made contact with the beady eyes of Maxx. He had been standing on the steps of the sanctuary, watching over the people of the village like a hawk. If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot. Hatred, loathing, and rage were rolling off him in waves. His piercing stare was unsettling. My body had a visceral reaction to it. I immediately dropped my gaze and looked away while dragging Forrest toward Violet’s shop.
Forrest tugged on my hand, pulling me closer to him, and whispered, “Is that him? Is that Maxx?”
I kept my eyes down and my body moving, afraid that his stare would draw unwanted attention to us. “Yes. That’s Maxx. It’s hypocrisy of the highest order that someone so hateful and evil has the nerve to stand up there on those steps and spew nonsense about piety and purity to the rest of us. I hope the Eternal Night does exist, solely for him. When his miserable existence is over, and the realm is rid of his rotten soul, I hope he festers in the Night’s lowest levels, never knowing another second of peace for all eternity.”
The sight of that monster had sent me into a spiralling rage. I had to get my emotions under control before I said or did something that I would deeply regret. It was one thing to run my mouth off when I had no one to worry about but myself, but it was another thing entirely when I ran the risk of endangering Forrest’s life as well. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to him because of my lack of impulse control.
We entered Violet’s store, and it was uncharacteristically quiet. Violet was one of three tailors available in the village and was easilythe best of all three. It wasn’t uncommon to see several people at once crammed into the tiny store, buying clothing or bringing in items for mending.
I turned to Forrest. “Something is not right. It’s never this quiet here.”
