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Right, I was in a snakey cocoon. For warmth’s sake.
Now, I was sweating balls.
“I’m awake,” I said groggily, patting the basilisk on the side. Or butt. I supposed there was no way to know what part of him it was at that point. “You can release me.”
He slowly unwound, and I found myself standing in the middle of a large circle of green grass. I’d been asleep long enough for his body heat to melt all of the snow under him, apparently.
And… I was still naked.
Remmo left me in the circle after shifting to his man form, and he strode over to the edge of the lake. When he returned holding a bundle of black fabric, I realized he’d been retrieving my clothes for me.
“Thanks.” I flashed him a small smile, accepting the clothes even though I was terribly sweaty. The only way to take a shower would’ve been to jump back in the lake, and that was a no-go.
“You look uncertain,” he observed.
“I’m sweaty.” I made a face, dropping to my butt on the grass without putting the clothes on. “And I don’t know what to do now, since the healing lake didn’t work.”
“You don’t feel any better?”
I considered it.
When I thought of Teris, there was only a tiny bit of that lingering embarrassment. No attraction, no sadness. Some regret, yes, but not regret that he hadn’t wanted me.
Regret that I hadn’t ditched his ass sooner.
“Maybe I do,” I finally said.
“Would you like to talk about it?” He sat down next to me on the grass, keeping his eyes on the lake out in front of us even though I was naked next to him.
I knew that wasn’t a rejection of any kind. He had made it clear that he was attracted to me, but since the moment was sort of emotionally intimate, he was being respectful of my space. Our bodies didn’t touch at all, and I knew I could just tell him no if I didn’t want to talk about it.
But I’d never really talked to anyone about my feelings for Teris. I kept my guard up, always.
Something about Remmo made me feel like I could let it down a little.
“Mostly I just wish I had stopped caring sooner,” I finally said. “When I think about the way I kept waiting for him to change his mind, the way I kept offering myself to him… I just feel embarrassed.” The words were barely above a whisper.
Remmo stayed quiet.
My face heated. “I was so stupid.”
“The only stupid one in the situation was the male fae who wasn’t interested in the perfect female who offered him everything.” Remmo’s voice was low, and calm.
My eyes stung a little.
“He knew, when he formed that bond with you, whether or not he wanted to mate with you. He was the one who said no, time and time again, so he was the one who should have broken that connection when he realized that he didn’t want what you clearly did. You should be proud of yourself, for your honesty.”
“Have you seen the pity everyone looks at me with?” I asked him quietly. “They don’t think that.”
“What you’ve seen in their eyes is not pity, Iloli. It’s respect and mutual understanding. Do you not think we understand rejection? Nearly every male fae has waited in line to meet a woman who didn’t want us—sometimes for days, or weeks. Are we not more pitiful than you, when you only sought to deepen a mating bond with a man who had already accepted you enough to start it in the first place?”
A moment of silence passed between us.
My thoughts and emotions were all over the place.
As difficult as it was to wrap my mind around, I could honestly see his point.
It would take me time to feel the same way though, I guessed.
