AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How the fae thoughtthiswasn’t sex was a mystery! Thank the Goddess and G-d that these things we did weren’t sexenoughto result in our having an actual wedding.
Afterwards, Eli carried me to the guest room. I didn’t have the energy to stand. The lashback was equal to the energy used, and I had created an accidental jungle in his bathroom.
“Are you still anchoring in this world?”
I nodded.
“Any urges I ought to know?”
I mustered a grin. “Pretty satisfied,bonbon.”
He laughed softly. “I meant nourishment, but I shall accept that compliment despite you doing the heavy lifting, as it were.”
“Just need to recharge.” I snuggled closer. “Freezing.”
Eli was polite enough not to admit that I failed to tell him just how much magic I’d summoned earlier tonight. I only felt as cold as the proverbial grave because of depletion. I snatched the shirt he had on the side of the bed. I rarely opted to sleep in a shirt, but when I grabbed it, Eli simply pulled it over my head since my arms were too weak to lift the fabric.
“Geneviève?” He crawled into the bed beside me, and I practically crawled on top on him seeking warmth.
“Mmm?” I managed. I couldn’t pry my eyes open. Magic and lashback had left me near comatose.
“Later,” he whispered when I couldn’t rouse myself to reply.
I fell asleep in Eli’s arms, in his guest room, which was one of the many adjustments we’d made to cope with one or the other of our issues. For him, I avoided certain words, iron, and of course, tried my damnedest to accept the six hundred or so rules that the fae lived by. For me, we slept in a guest room, avoided traditional intercourse, and tried to cope with the rules that my biology required. We compromised.
But sometimes, I still woke in a panic. Tonight was one of those nights. A few hours later, I slipped out of bed.
Eli, half-asleep, caught my hand before I was out of reach.
When I looked at him, he met my gaze with sleep-heavy eyes. “You’re safe, Geneviève. If you want to leave me someday, I’ll release you.”
I stayed, concentrating on the logic of his words, the logic of Eli. The fae don’t lie. Eli was one of the most trustworthy people I’d met in my life. He’d risked his life, happiness, and even his ancestors’ memories for me.
He released my hand, and I walked to the window.
“We can figure it all out,” he reminded me, voice soft in the darkened room. “It’s all happened so quickly but—”
“Has it?” I turned to look at him. “We’ve been friends for a few years.”
“And if someone hadn’t tried to kill you, we’d still be slowly building to where we are,” Eli pointed out. “I didn’t choose to rush this. I know you.”
“How long were you planning to wait?”
“How long were you?” he parried. “You talked yourself out of my bed more than a few times before you ended up here . . .”
“I’m in theguestbed,” I pointed out, stressing the fact that it was a guest bed.
Eli laughed. “Of course, my cherry pie.Myguest bed.”
In a move intended to remind him I trusted him, Iflowedback to the bed. In less than a blink, I was back on the bed, crouched over Eli.
He looked up at me. “My bed. Guest room or not, it’smybed inmyhome. You rest inmyarms.”
“I know.” I brushed my lips over him before adding, “Trust me. I know exactly where I am.”
“I wanted forever before you realized it,” he said. “I waited.”
“And here we are . . .” I no longer wanted to do anything quickly. I wanted every last second to last. “You look like cat who’s caught the canary, Eli.”
