So I don’t look, even though I want to.
Stolen glances and private gawking aren’t going to win me anything. Not when Auset deserves better, and especially not when I’d rather memorize every part of heraftershe’s begged me to. I sigh at that thought, both eager for it and painfully aware that we’re not there yet. The little Moonling came back though, just like Tarek said she would. So truly it’s only a matter of time before fairy light dances across her skin as I press her back into my bed. I’ll map her body with my hands while my eyes and mouth trace a careful path over every inch of her. I want her gasps and her pleas, my name on her lips, first whispered and then screamed, while I work her over until she’s dripping with desire.
I can be patient. I hate it, but I can be.
With a grunt, I stabilize the heavy bucket, pulling it away from the frame when there’s enough adhesive there for the back layer of the mold.
“Yes,” I answer, Auset’s tentative question still hanging in the air between us as I work.
I grab a thick board to help level out the mixture, and she moves closer to observe what I’m doing. I like that she’s interested.
“You’ll lie here,” I explain, nodding my chin at the mixture already starting to set in the wood-planked frame. It’s too big for her, I’m used to doing this with Riall and Tarek, but I’ll make it work. “This plaster will mold to your shape and dry. Once you lie down, I’ll place a blanket made out of the same material as the rind that you’re wearing, and then I’ll pour more of the mixture over the front of you to get a full cast.”
Auset nods her head, but the way her teeth worry her plump bottom lip tells me that she’s not completely on board with any of this. I know it’s not just casting this mold that’s making her uneasy, it’s accepting anything from us at all. I wish she could trust that I won’t let anything bad happen to her. I’m all too aware that will take time though.
I know our conversation just now made a dent in some of her doubts and judgments, but I also know I didn’t demolish them completely. I’m certain that our effort to help Auset see past her misgivings is going to be a tricky dance of a few steps forward and then giant leaps back. That’s how it was for all of us when Eacon brought us here. If Tarek, Riall, and I can find family and purpose with each other, Auset can too. I have a feeling it’s going to be a challenge though. Good thing we’re all up for it. The sooner she sees her place with us, sees us for who we really are, the easier all of this will be.
I set the leveling board aside and step closer to Auset until she looks up at me. Her eyes sparkle with uncertainty and warning, and I have to fix my face so the smirk wanting to form there doesn’t get me into more trouble than I already am. I don’t think she’ll be as amused as I am by the way she vacillates between wanting to slit my throat and asking a bunch of questions about what I’m doing and why. It’s fascinating the way she clocks the exits and weapons in the room while also closely watching everything I’m doing just in case the knowledge might come in handy someday. Auset is constantly planning and preparing while also observing and reading a situation. It’s incredible to witness, and it has to be exhausting for her.
“It won’t hurt,” I reassure her as I study her face. I want to reach up and drag a strand of her hair through my fingers, but I tamp down the urge. “Once the plaster dries, I’ll lift off the top layer using the rind barrier, then you can get out. It should only take about thirty minutes to dry from start to finish.”
“And then what happens?” she inquires as she eyes the plaster-filled frame in front of her.
“After that, your part is finished. I’ll attach the two pieces together, fill it with a resin I make from the sap of theliextrees outside, and that will give me the mold I need to start fitting armor and other protective gear for you. Are you partial to any kinds of weapons?” I ask, pulling out my mental list of things I think she’ll like for comparison.
Back in the ludere, and again earlier when Riall was getting a feel for what our little Moonling can do, I noticed that she likes small daggers and close contact hits. I figure Riall, being the overprotective bear that he is, will try to push her to hunt safer by staying out of an opponent’s reach. I, however, am not interested in pushing Auset to do anything other than what feels natural to her. She likes to be close to the kill, and Tarek is the same way, which means the best way I can help her stay safe is to make sure her blades are so sharp that one flick could separate a fae’s head from their shoulders. Then it won’t matter if she’s within reach. The other fae will be dead, and all Auset will need to worry about is the cleanup.
I can easily imagine how cleanup with Auset could become a new favorite pastime. The three of us will be all too happy to help her wash all the blood away and more.
“What? I just list off what I want, and you give it to me?” Auset challenges, and again I have to bite back a grin.
She’s so fucking gorgeous…even when she’s pissed.
“That’s exactly how it works,” I answer.
She scoffs and stares at me for a long pause as though she’s waiting for the truth to rip out of my chest at any moment. When that doesn’t happen, she huffs out a resigned breath and starts to think about my question.
“Daggers, plenty of daggers and knives, is what I’d like most. Oh, and a slew of places to hide them on me, of course,” she mocks as though this is all simply some game.
“Of course,” I parrot back, and her scowl deepens.
“Keep going while you get in,” I command. “This stuff is a pain to pull from the frame, and I’d rather the hassle be worth it,” I tell her, tilting my head in the direction of the plaster.
Auset watches the frame for a minute longer, like she’s waiting for something to jump out and bite her. Nothing does, and she sighs.
“Fine,” she agrees, and it’s clear how much the capitulation pains her.
Auset presses her palms to the table as though she’s about to push herself up onto it, but before she can, I move in behind her and pick her up. She yelps in alarm as I wrap one arm around her back and the other beneath her knees. I freeze, surprised by my own actions. I don’t know what in the Crowns just came over me, but I pause, waiting for—and fully expecting—her to strike out at me or demand that I put her down. She does neither, which is even more confusing. I look down at her face, and I’m surprised to find her looking up at me, her pupils dilating as she does and her chest rising and falling rapidly, like we’ve been running for weeks and she’s working to catch her breath.
“I thought you might need help,” I offer awkwardly, and I want to slap myself across the cheek so I stop acting as though I’ve spent too long sniffing plaster fumes.
Auset’s unique scent suddenly overwhelms all of my senses, and I find myself pulling her even closer so I can breathe in the hints of night-blooming snowdrops, sun-warmed leather, and the fresh scent oftistleaves. It’s an unusual combination, and yet it makes perfect sense for the enigma in front of me.
I hold Auset tighter than I have any right to, like I’m trying to show her that in my arms is where she was always meant to be. I can see that she doesn’t know what to think about this, but she’s not trying to stab me, so I take it as a win. She’s yet to discover this about me, but I always get what I want. And I want my mate. I don’t care how long it takes or what I have to do. I’m tenacious in my focus and drive when I want something. I never give up.
The draw to her already morphed from enticing interest to unquenchable need when she almost died back at the ludere. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her before I’d ever had her, which forced me to admit that I wanted her in a deeper sense. It was then that I stopped pretending that she was nothing more than some forbidden conquest and instead started to see all the ways that we were destined to fit together. Tarek, Riall, and I have been ready for more. We all sensed that there was a missing piece waiting out in the world for us, and then all at once, there she was.
“Did you do this for Riall and Tarek when you needed molds from them?” Auset asks, a cheeky gleam in her moonlight-soaked eyes. Her plush mouth is tilted up in a sexyI see through youkind of smile, and I find the corners of my own lips ticking higher to match hers.
