“Sure.I mean, I guess, I’m open.”Kai sounded anything but excited about that.He gestured at the floor to Fian’s left.A broken jar of red jam had been shattered close to the threshold, the source of the earlier noise no doubt.“Let me just clean that up.”
“You didn’t aim for the head.Too bad.”Fian stepped over the shards.“Actually, I can clean that up for you, Kai.You look shaken, and the glass is sharp.You could cut yourself.How about you sit down and oversee me cleaning this?I promise, I’m great at taking direction.”
Fian saw a hopeful flutter in Kai’s eyes, the seed of a larger emotion.However, because of that strangling spell that was still going, it never grew, fizzled out to nothing.
“I…that’s really nice of you.Thank you.”He turned, pointed to the counter.“I’ll…I’ll take a seat over there.”
Fian saw a folding chair there, nodded.“Excellent.”
“Okay.”
Kai made his way over.He still held on tightly to the jar of jam, though Fian wasn’t sure Kai was even aware.Fian hated that this wasn’t a dream.In a dream, there would be no magic to overcome, and getting closer to Kai to hold and comfort him would have been easier.
But that’s the thing, when a demon wants a human, the demon has to get used to working his charms in the human realm.Kai has to want me more than he wants any boring human.He has to pick being with me over ignoring all demon-kind, at least that’s what everyone says.
Fian was ready and willing to make Kai want him like that.“Where are your cleaning things?”
Kai had unfolded the chair and sat down on it heavily.He looked up, appearing disoriented for a heartbeat.The spell was still climbing, climbing.
“T-there.Behind that door in the back.”
Fian nodded and closed the front door behind him.
“All right.I’ll take care of this.”
10
Whydidhehaveto come here?That asshole.
The scene with Nick replayed in Kai’s head.He’d felt so good, so right, so much better earlier, and then like the hangover after a really nice party, Nick.It wasn’t so much Nick’s existence that bothered Kai but that Nick seemed to insist to make it overlap with Kai’s existence.I don’t even really care anymore that he cheated on me—he can fucking cheat.It’s just that I don’t want him.Any of it.His touch, his stupid smile, him talking to me…
The crunching of glass interrupted Kai’s thoughts, and he looked up to watch Fian handle the jam that had shattered on the floor, skillfully moving it and all the shards onto the dustpan.
“It felt really good throwing that.I’m sorry I’m making you—”
“You’re not making me, I offered,” Fian said.
He smiled at Kai, and just like yesterday, Kai was struck by how attractive Fian was, stormy eyes and wavy hair, and that really nice smile.
Back in the water he looked…well, he looked a lot different in the water.
Kai felt heat rise to his cheeks even as Fian went back to cleaning, making it efficient and quick.Kai realized he was still holding on to a jar of elderberry jam,The Elder of Berries,he’d called it, and put it on the counter in front of him, his hands trembling.
Maybe I should call Nick?Just to make sure he’s all right.To apologize.What I did was…it was…
Glass crashed into the trash can behind the counter, and Fian was there all of a sudden, putting a hand on Kai’s knee and giving it a squeeze.
“Hey.Look at me.You’re white as a dead coral reef.”
“Huh?”
Fian shrugged.“You don’t look good.No!I mean, you look so good, but your color is wrong.Notwrongwrong, it’s still the right color, but you just turned very, very pale.It’s because…well, it’s because of that ugly barnacle back there.”
Kai blinked a few times as if he were shaking off a dream.Fian’s hand was warm on his knee.“You grabbed Nick by the collar.”
Fian lifted his chin.“I did.”His eyes opened wide.“That didn’t scare you, did it?He was in that door, blocking your exit, and I didn’t care for the way he was talking to you.I don’t, uh, throttle people.I mean, not for no good reason.Should I make you some tea?”
“You…don’t throttle people for no good reason?”
