AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A fleeting pleasure.
But with the person who was the other half of my soul, who I wanted to build memories of intimacy, respect, and love with. Memories that would last a lifetime. I couldn’t wait to share that pleasure with Clawdia.
She is not ready.I reminded myself.
But I will ready myself. I will study how to pleasure her and how to control myself. I will be confident and sure so she will be comfortable.
There was a knock at the door, which startled me into knocking my brow on the showerhead. “Zaide?” Clawdia’s voice rang out, and my soul jumped toward her, a smile spreading across my face just from hearing her gentle tone. “Are you in there?”
“One moment, Little Cat.” I hurriedly washed my body, hopped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around me, and opened the door, eager to see her.
She stared up at me in shock. “That was quick.”
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting, Little Cat.” She blushed, trying not to look at my bare, dripping chest. I moved past her. “It is all yours.”
The door slammed after she zoomed past me. I did a little celebratory dance as I walked back to the bedroom to dress.
She blushed. She finds me attractive. She might not feel our connection as strongly as I do yet, but she desires me.
Feeling excited about the future, I left my room, which I was sharing with Charlie, and moved to the kitchen.
Charlie had rented us an apartment close to the airport. It had three bedrooms and one bathroom. The kitchen and living area combined in the center of the four other rooms.
It was not as comfortable as Charlie’s home or as colorful as Winnie’s, with pale walls and stiff beds, but for our temporary stay, it would do. Having gotten in so late, we’d all collapsed into bed and didn’t speak about our plans, but now that we were here, I wanted to know where the witches were and how we planned to get Savida’s fire back.
In the kitchen, I found Charlie drinking tea at the table. His disheveled hair and the bruises beneath his eyes indicated he hadn’t slept as the rest of us had. He nodded at me but continued to search on his laptop for something.
Daithi was preparing himself something to eat and also didn’t look as though he had slept well. He’d dressed and looked showered and clean, but there was a dimness to his usually luminous skin, and his green hair lacked luster.
He nodded at Charlie, sat down, and ate his food in silence. He was not speaking to Clawdia or myself unless it was to complain. My frustration grew each time my friend blamed me for something I could not have stopped. Not only that, but he was making Clawdia, who was already anxious enough, feel even more unwelcome. Since I was trying to convince her to stay human with me, this was not helpful.
“Where is Savida?” I asked as I found myself a bowl and filled it with cereal as Daithi had.
Charlie sighed and rubbed his face as he looked away from his computer to me. “We went to the funeral director’s this morning and brought him back.”
“He’s here?” I asked, surprised. “You’ve been busy this morning.” I looked at them again, understanding why they looked so tired. Not only had they not slept long, they also would have used a portal to bring Savida back here. That was a tiring journey and use of magic.
Charlie shrugged and looked at Daithi. “Unsurprisingly, neither of us could sleep for long.”
The sound of bare feet padding into the room drew my attention as Clawdia walked into the kitchen. Her hair was still in the messy braid I had put it in the day before, but otherwise, she was dressed in fresh clothing and looked clean and lovely. I smiled. “Are you hungry, Little Cat?”
She gave me a small smile in response and nodded. I pulled her chair out for her and pushed it in once she sat. Her eyes darted around, a blush on her face as I placed the bowl of cereal I hadn’t begun eating in front of her and urged her to eat.
In my mind, I saw a checklist. Already ticked: offer braid as comfort, comb and braid her hair, make her blush. I added a tick for my newest success—feed soul pair. I wasn’t entirely sure this was the best way to make my Little Cat fall in love with me, but I cherished each slight gesture as a sign of our growing bond.
I retrieved the brush we had packed and untangled the tie at the bottom of her braid, then gently combed through her hair. She gave me an odd look but didn’t stop me. She continued to eat her breakfast as I rebraided her hair.
Charlie watched us with an unreadable expression. He then cleared his throat and said, “How are you feeling this morning, Clawdia?”
Her expression fell slightly at the sound of her name. She swallowed and gave him a thin smile. “I’m much better, thank you. I’m ready to be more helpful.”
I stared between them, uncertain why their attitudes toward each other seemed colder despite the warm words.
A familiar beep sounded from Charlie’s computer. He looked down, suddenly alert.
“Charlie?” Daithi asked.
“I’ve got a new location on the witches. They’re in a place called Eskilstuna. They bought a coffee at a cake shop about an hour ago. I have no idea why they would be there, but we can see where that leads us. It’ll only take forty-five minutes to get there if the traffic is good, and we might catch up with them. I’ve got an alert set on my phone if they use the credit card again anywhere else.”
