Everything was in order in his front room, but a strange shape poked out of the corner of his bedroom. It was also an unmistakable bright shade of blue. Another one of Avery’s human contraptions, then? Hopefully, she wore pants inside her sleeping tube tonight. He’d hated how his body had reacted with desire for Avery’s bare legs—if he was being honest with himself, his body continued to desire her. Bare legs or not, Goddess save him. Even her scent made him stir with an urge to find her and scoop her into his arms. An urge that he was not going to act on.
Savine had also clarified to his council that he did not wantanysoulmates set up near his tent. He absolutely did not want to hear mates fucking while he was in this space with Avery. No, there was no way he wanted to even consider sex with her around.
As he walked into his bedroom, he couldn’t believe what he saw. A miniature tent was set up in the corner of his room. It appeared to be made of some sort of mesh and blue fabric.
“What in the Abyss is this, and why is it in my bedroom?” Savine asked. Avery popped her head out from the tiny tent.
“It’s my tent. I set up my own space so I could have some privacy. It’s still in your tent and you can see me until I put the rain fly on. I thought I’d give us both some space.”
Space. Boundaries. Those were things he’d longed for, so he didn’t have any objections to this setup. Although the little tent looked farcical and as obnoxiously bright as he suspected.
“I suppose that’s reasonable, since I don’t want to see you either,” Savine said. His voice held more tension than he meant, but oh well. There was no point in getting her to like him, anyway.
“So you’re okay with this?” Avery asked, her head still peeking out of the comically small space.
“Yes. You keep to your space, and I will keep to mine,” Savine said. He turned to leave his bedroom and pour himself a drink. He needed some wine after this. As he turned, he heard Avery’s laughter. It was like the lark’s song on a crisp autumn morning. Light and airy. Fuck. He wanted to swallow it up.
“What now?” Savine asked.
“I think this is the first time you’ve ever agreed to do anything I suggest.”
Savine shrugged his shoulders and walked out. He wasn’t always uncompromising, only when it mattered. This benefited both of them. It kept them apart and meant she wouldn’t accidentally touch him, sending another one of those bolts of heat through his skin to his very soul. The last thing he wanted was to touch her and be reminded of how his body reacted to her touch.
Now, the oath was something he would not compromise on. He needed his council to make a full commitment to Avery’s safety, and he needed her to take an oath of service. Did she know what she did when she took that oath? Most likely not, and the implications left him feeling dirty— his poor gullible little flower.
Savine poured his drink and lounged into his chair with a glass of red wine.
A few minutes later, Savine heard her climbing out of the tent with an odd zipping sound. She carried a brightly colored stick with bristles on the end. It resembled their toothbrushes, but like all her things, unusually bright and unnaturally colored. She also carried another bright package.
“Would you like a glass of wine? We could play that fun little truth-telling game again,” Savine said.
“Hell no. I’ll keep my truths to myself from now on. I’m going to use the restroom and then brush my teeth,” Avery said as she walked past him. Fair enough. That little trick had been more for his own benefit to see if the legends about humans were true.
She was wearing those same clothes she wore the day she talked to him while standing in her sleeping case or bag or whatever she called it. The day she dropped the sleeping bag and remembered she had on no pants. How in the Goddess did she expect him to believe that she forgot she didn’t have pants on?
When shecame back in, Savine smelled that familiar scent of mint again. It was stronger now than it had been before.
“You smell stronger of mint now than usual,” Savine commented. He immediately felt like an idiot for stating the obvious.
“I just brushed my teeth,” Avery replied, holding up the bright objects toward Savine.
“Those human devices of yours never fail to surprise me. What is that stick made of? How is it so bright?” Savine asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He should continue to be aloof. Not interested in her odd little world.
“It’s made of plastic. Do you want to feel it?” Avery asked. He noticed the trepidation in her gaze, but she still reached her hand forward, and he took the stick. It was hard, and the bristles at the end were softer than he expected.
“Is this naturally made?” Savine asked.
“Um. No, there is nothing natural about plastic, unfortunately. It doesn’t even decompose. I bet this toothbrush will be around longer than you, old man.”
Avery reached her hand toward his to take the toothbrush back. Just before Savine could stop their hands from touching, her fingers grazed his. He felt that jolt of warm energy coursing through their touch, and he couldn’t stand it. Her warmth sunk under his skin, kindling his essence like a flame to wood. He pulled back, dropping her toothbrush to the ground. They both leaned over to pick it up, bumping heads, and that energy shot through him again, causing his essence to writhe with need. Althea fuck him senseless. He could not keep touching this woman.
“Oh, sorry,” Avery said as she stood up. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to touch you. Kyla warned me you were uncomfortable with other people touching you…”
Savine nodded. It wasn’t because of his past. It wasn’t like the touches that had left him scarred, hurt, and angry as an adolescent. It wasn’t even like the touches from Lilith. That perfect woman who he paid such a hard price for. Savine brushed the thoughts of her away. He knew his punishment for trying to love someone he wasn’t allowed to love.
But it was more than that. Avery’s touch sent a shockwave through his body. It made him feel uncomfortable and yet desiring so much more that it unnerved his typical steady composure. Too much of her touch would unravel him, and he simply needed to avoid it at all costs. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell Avery all this. As a fae, he couldn’t lie. It was impossible. But he would omit the truth and manipulate his words.
“It wasn’t her place to tell you that,” Savine said, his tone coming out harsher than he intended. Even saying these words felt oily on his tongue, like his very being knew that he wasn’t sharing all the information. Hopefully, she’d drop the conversation and crawl back into her bright little tent.
