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He'd told her he lived all over. He'dnotmentioned that he didn't stay in place for very long. Grace couldn't quite explain why her stomach had tightened and clenched as she read and reread the text message, over and over again. Hadn't she been telling herself for the past week that she didn't want a relationship? That she wasn't looking for love? Why then should it matter?Because you liked him. He's the first person you've actually liked in a long time. And now he’s gone. Suddenly she felt ridiculous in the flimsy sundress, for the way she’d taken extra care with her hair that morning, for the berry-colored lip gloss she’d worn.He’s not interested and you’re a fool.
A low thrumming was the only indication that she was wrong. The buzzing of a high-voltage wire, growing in intensity as her head whipped around in the gathering darkness, the sound only just registering when Merrick suddenly appeared before her, dropping from the sky in a graceful landing, making her shriek in surprise.
“Sorry,” he gasped, gripping her by the shoulders as she wobbled on the gravel. His antennae danced in the lamplight as she reeled, red eyes peering down in concern. Surprise quickly gave way to pealing laughter, and once she started it was impossible to stop, leaning into his strong arms as she shook with mirth. He could claim it was an urban legend all he wanted, the way he'd appeared like some giant winged menace was more than just a bit disconcerting.No wonder humans make up stories!
“I-I got turned around out in the field, and I didn’t want to be walking around lost all night if you were waiting. I-I wasn’t sure if you were, I thought you might have left, but I didn’t want to keep you if—”
It wasn’t easy hauling him down to her, but somehow she managed, silencing his adorable stammer with her lips, needing to feel his heat and smell the warm, smokey smell of him to banish her insecurities. It worked, particularly when long, tapered fingers buried in her hair, his small fangs catching her lower lip as she broke off the kiss.
“How’d you get lost?” she gasped, nuzzling her cheek against his fluffy mantle before dropping down from her toes. “Did you wander into the corn or something?”
His smile was grim, and red eyes flickered to the light out in the distance. “Your boss told me to hang a left at the mouth of the corn. I knew it wasn’t the way we’d come in, but I naively thought he was sending me on a shortcut.”
“To the left of the corn field? But that’s—” She clapped a hand over her mouth to hold in another wave of laughter as Merrick shook his head disdainfully. “That’s the pig enclosure! Callum, you old goat!”
“I smelled them before I got too close, fortunately. Quite a charmer, he is.”
Grace winced. “I heard him yelling at you. Just think, you could have had an inside source on how to butter him up, but you decided you like surprises.” Bending, she retrieved a flat of empty berry pints and her flashlight, finding his red eyes traveling up her body as she straightened, warming her with their garnet glow. "But I need to have a word with him about how we treat guests."
Merrick waved off her suggestion. “He wasn’t so bad . . . stubborn, but not unwilling to hear me out, which is more than I can for the gryphon I met with earlier today. Iwilladmit I've been remiss in my belief that centaurs were part horse, though. Mules. Stubborn, cranky mules. Who knew? You look beautiful, by the way.” He drew forward slowly as he spoke, lightly smoothing a lock of hair behind her ear, making her shiver beneath his soft touch.
“Better not let him catch you saying that, stubborn mules have quite a kick.”
The sounds of crickets and frogs receded in the wake of her thumping heartbeat, anticipating his lips meeting hers as he lowered his head slowly. Her face tilted up, her eyes slipped closed,expectancyweighting the air . . . Instead, his fangs nipped at her earlobe, and she was glad for the hand she still had on the table at her back. Tris was right, she decided.Here for a good time, but not a long time. Make the most of it.She still didn't like the way her heart quivered at the thought of him flying out of her life nearly as abruptly as he'd flown into it, but her heart had made mistakes before. Sleep with him, get it out of your system. Then you can decide whether or not you want to see him again. She was not enthused over her Tris's suggestion of a compiled list, but a short-term fuck buddy might be just what she was looking for.
“Well, let’s not waste time talking about him, then. We have berries to find.”
♥?♥?♥?
––––––––
“It’s not that I didn’tlike living in the city, but I don’t think I could go back, at least not anytime soon. My parents are still there, but they live on opposite sides of town, and I didn’t really have anyone I was close to anymore, not close enough to make me stay.”
Grace bit her lip and glanced away, unsure if her words made her sound as pathetic as they made her feel. For someone who was self-admittedly awkward and antisocial, he had a way of asking questions that cut to the quick, bypassing all of her sunny defenses.
She hadn't moved away so much as she'd run away, but how could she admit that as a grown woman? That she picked up and left her life behind to start anew, that it had been easier to forge new friendships than to deal with the isolation she'd felt amongst those existing ones? People didn't talk about marital problems, at least her friend group hadn't. You either had a glossy, perfect, social media-ready life with well-coiffed children and beach vacations, or you were divorced. Ladies' night outings and online dating andgetting back out there. There was no middle in either situation. No one admitted when there was trouble at home, or talked about separations, or arguments, or therapy. Newly divorced was only acceptable with a haircut and a new wardrobe and a zeal for finding a new true love, and Grace had possessed none of that. Running away from her life had been a relief, and she couldn't talk about that either.
Instead, she grinned up at the handsome mothman, leading him back to safer conversational waters. "So you said Cal was receptive to your suggestions? How many things will we need to do?"
"What about your ex-husband?" Merrick pressed on, undeterred. Grace pursed her lips and scrunched her nose, gazing up at him, earning a lopsided smile in return, his antennae twitching. "I'm being horribly nosy, aren't I?"
"I don't know if I'd sayhorriblynosy," she conceded, matching his grin. "I guess it's probably normal to ask, right?" Grace paused, considering what she ought to say, what would sound better than 'I ran away from home and filed for divorce through the mail.'The truth. Just tell him the truth.She didn't have anything to hide, nor did she owe him anything. The berry tray was supported a few feet away on one of the cannily designed little stands Caleia had created, the pint-sized containers already heaped with the dark, sweet fruit. It would be time to leave soon, time to move on to the evening's next activity, and Grace was committed to ensuring that he was not the only one absent of clothing. She was ready to break the seal on their brief acquaintance; wanted a return to the heat of those two nights when he was outside her window. And if he needed a little bit of conversation to get him there, she thought, she would do whatever she needed to help him get it up.
"I left to get away from my ex-husband. And he wasn't my ex yet when I left. I guess I really didn't do anything the right way, but it just seemed like the easiest way at the time. The best decision. And it was, really. I really do love the life I've built here, and if I had to go back and redo things, I don't think that I would choose to do it differently. I probably would have left earlier, that’s it." Grace glanced up, taking in his furrowed brow and narrowed eyes. "It wasn't abusive, if that’s what you’re thinking," she said quickly. "At least, not physically. It just . . . wasn't healthy."
"Not healthy," he echoed. "I don’t want to make you talk about painful things, but is there someone I need to drop off a bridge somewhere?"
"See, Iknewyou had a thing about bridges! 'Urban legend' my ass." His laughter was a low hum, a deep acoustic buzz she felt beneath her skin, a sensation she thought she could get used to. "You don't strike me as the violent type, you know."
“Oh, I’m not,” he chuckled, tightening her stomach with its low vibration, the resonance of which went right between her thighs. “I’m a lover, not a fighter . . . ” As he spoke, a berry was raised to her mouth, pressing enough to burst the juice across her lips in a wet smear before dragging it down her chin. “ . . . but there are exceptions to every rule.”
The berry finally found its way into her mouth as she grinned up, letting him admire his handiwork. “That’s good, I don’t care much for fighters.”
"And your ex was a minotaur, right? There's a minotaur who works here, I saw him as we were heading out to the field.”
“There is,” she agreed, plucking a berry from the nearest bush and holding it up to his mouth, shivering when he grazed her fingertip with one of those fangs. Heat coiled through her at the wet, warm feel of his mouth and the sudden memory of that delicious, sucking pressure. When his long-fingered hand spread over her hip, she decided to try pushing her luck. “He’s a good guy . . . he’s been trying to fuck me for the past two years. Got pretty close a few weeks ago.”
The hand at her hip tightened and his eyes flashed a darker red as he tugged her closer.
