“You do not have to answer me,” he reminded her, “but if you do, I will cherish your truth.”
Eleanor’s tongue darted out to wet her lips. “Your shadows feel…nice,” she finally admitted under her breath.
In that instant, any existing self-control he had began to fray.
Osiris could bring her true pleasure.
While she was here, only he could make her feel this way.
“Can,” she began, her feverish eyes holding his gaze, “can I ask something of you now?”
“Symphony,” he whispered as his shadows wrapped up the arm he held delicately in his hands, “for all that you wish for, while you stay under my watch, all you must do is ask.”
“Can I touch your head?”
Osiris nodded slightly. Lifting her hand with his to press her palm against the side of his head, he could not bring himself to worry whether she might run away with fear or disgust. He was too lost in her presence to focus on anything else.
Her hand quickly began to trace lines over his head, feeling around as her eyes roamed over him.
“Why a pumpkin?” she questioned.
“It was the first thing I was able to grow, the first thing I was truly proud of. And people have always been uncomfortable around me as I am, so I figured having something there to focus on would make people more comfortable.”
“Does it not cause discomfort?” Eleanor asked as her fingers trailed down the sides of his head, slowly tracing over his mouth.
He leaned into her touch as he shrugged his shoulders. “It is a small price to pay to feel less like a monster.”
Eleanor’s eyes fell, her bottom lip jutting out as her eyebrows furrowed, stilling her movements which offered Osiris some needed clarity.
Carefully, he took his hand in hers as he stood up fully, forcing his shadows back in. One by one they unwound themselves from her, disappearing back into his hand. Once the last one had vanished, he slipped his glove back on.
Eleanor watched with care, some of her blush having disappeared.
What a shame.
“Is there anything else you would like, Eleanor?”
If she asked for anymore explorations, he feared neither of them would be able to write it off as curiosity.
“Actually, there is one thing.”
18
ELEANOR
“So,” Eleanor began, setting all the playing cards face-down in front of the fire, “the objective of the game is simple. We will each take turns flipping over two cards, trying to reveal a pair. If you find a pair, you may go again and,” she paused, looking across at Osiris who sat cross legged in front of her, “you may make a request, or wish, of the other person. If you do not flip a pair, you lose your turn and you must answer a truth that is asked of you.”
“What if I do not want to do the wish?” Osiris asked, looking over the cards.
“You get one chance to back out of a wish. Nothing is off limits, so ask away. If you still do not want to go, then you must forfeit three turns.”
“Hm,” Osiris hummed, turning his attention to Eleanor as his shadows seemed to hover over the cards.
“And no shadows, that counts as cheating.”
“I would never dream of cheating you, Eleanor.”
Placing the last card on the ground, she gestured towards Osiris. “You go first since I dealt.”
