Someone better have a legitimate excuse for bothering him, or they were going to die.
Dragging his feet, Quentin shuffled to the front door and yanked it open.“What?”he snapped.
“Hello, darling, did you miss me?It’s hard to tell from your dulcet tones.”Jaks’s charming grin had half its usual effectiveness.
He was too tired to enjoy the spike of lust that always struck him when he saw his favorite vampire’s handsome face.“Come be my pillow.”He turned around and shuffled back to the couch, waiting for his comfort vampire.
Catching sight of Jaks’s bemused expression before he turned around only added to Quentin’s satisfaction.
“You know, most people fear me.”
“That’s nice, lie down.”
Jaks took off his suit jacket and draped it over the closest chair, then removed his shoes and lay where he was pointed.“Some people are terrified to say my name.”
“Scoot over more.”
“I’m extremely scary.”
“Uh-huh.”Quentin lay down, half on the couch, half on top of his vampire.“Wake me in a couple of hours.”
“Glad to know you are suitably terrified.”
“Shaking in my shoes.”
“You’re shoeless.”
“They fell off in fright,” Quentin offered.He ignored what other nonsense Jaks was sputtering.Snuggling in, he returned to his much-needed sleep.
The creakof wood snapped him into high alert.His hands glowed with leashed magic as he sat up to face the intruder.
“Easy, love.It’s just me.”
“We were supposed to be cuddling.”He pouted.
“I got a phone call and didn’t want to wake you.”
Quentin pulled back the energy crackling across his palms.It stung, but at least it broke through the exhausted haze.
“Sorry, you know I don’t always wake up well.”He flopped face-down onto the cushions and closed his eyes.The faint scent of flowers from the garden soothed his soul, just as it had eased his childhood aches.It finally sank in that his mother would never again sit across from him at the kitchen table and ask him about his day.She might still care, but their dynamic was forever changed with her transformation.
She now had the chance to build a life beyond motherhood.It was past time for her to focus on herself, but Quentin had to acknowledge that tiny, selfish bit of himself that wanted to wrap her in a hug and jealously guard her from all others.
She was his.
His mother.
Now he had to share her, and part of him resented that.
A therapist once told him that all emotions were valid.He planned to wrap himself in that petty, selfish part of him like a childhood blanket for at least a few more days before letting it go.He pressed his nose against the cushions, inhaling the smell of home.
“You still there, love?”
He rolled over onto his back.Before he could comment, Jaks lifted Quentin’s right hand and pressed a kiss against his palm.“Thanks for not incinerating me, lovely.”He examined Quentin’s face.“You’ve been awfully snuggly lately.”
“Maybe the fae are secret snugglers?”
Jaks laughed.Joy lit up his features, casting an almost boyish glow, which was only enhanced by his mussed hair and rumpled clothing.
