Ari laughs and rolls his eyes. “Of course not,” he repeats, but if you ask me, there’s no “of course” about it. “But I’d prefer you not tell everyone you know.”
“Yeah, sure. Dáithí and Jared already know, though, right?” That’s what he said before—that he was surprised they hadn’t told me.
He nods. “Yes. It’s not a secret among elves.”
I stand there, in the middle of his living room, surrounded by minimal furniture and maximal houseplants, and wait expectantly for him to continue. “Are you going to tell me? You don’t have to, if you— Fuck me!”
I stare at the glowing green hole that looks like it belongs in a sci-fi show,notjust a few feet away from me in an urban living room. “That’s… Is that…”
“It’s a portal,” Ari says calmly. Of course he’s calm—he’s the one who created a portal.
Holy fuck, the guy who jerked me off under a table in a restaurant and promised to take care of all my carnal needs just created a motherfuckingportalto… somewhere.
“W-Where does it go?” I’m suddenly very conscious of the fact that the elves come from a whole different dimension. I know their home was destroyed and sealed off, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of traveling to other dimensions… right?
If I were smarter, I probably would have thought of this sooner. After all, they had to get here to Earth somehow. I was so busy playing hockey and partying when the migration happened that I didn’t pay any attention to the details, but that would make sense.
“To the woods,” Ari tells me, like it’s no big deal that he can go from his inner-city apartment to some random woods somewhere without even needing to unlock his front door.
“W-Which woods?” Just in case they’re on another planet or something.
He looks a little less unbothered now, his brows drawing together. “The ones in the national park—I don’t remember what it’s called. North of here.”
I relax. “Oh.” That’s totally normal… ish. I study the glowing seven-foot-high portal with interest, now that I know it doesn’t lead to a planet where I wouldn’t be able to breathe. “So how does this work? Can I just walk through, or do I need to, like, prep or something?”
He grins. “Be my guest. Let’s go for a moonlight stroll in the woods, kitty.”
Some of my newfound courage deserts me now that I’m faced with actually stepping into the portal, but Ari created this portal, and he’d never let me go through if it was unsafe.
I wink at him. “See you on the other side.”
Three steps is all it takes, and suddenly I’m standing in the dark woods, a warm breeze brushing over my skin. Somewhere nearby, the undergrowth rustles, then stills. Whatever’s out there recognizes my cat for the predator it is, even in biped form. Through the canopy above, fingers of moonlight illuminate the shadowy trees around me.
This is fucking awesome.
I turn to Ari as he steps through the portal and stops beside me, the green glow vanishing immediately. “I can’t believe this is real. Thank you for bringing me.”
Even in the dim light, I can see his smile. “Come this way.”
After only a minute or two we break through the trees and onto a plateau. I hadn’t realized how high up we are, but I do now, gazing across the forest and a plethora of small farms to the far-off lights of the city. Overhead, a few lone clouds scud across the star-studded sky.
For a while, I lean against Ari, his arm a warm comfort around my shoulders, and breathe in the beauty and calm of the night.
“Hey, Ari?” I say at last.
“Hmm?”
“You know how you said you’d help with my hormonal needs?”
His body stiffens against me. “Yes.”
I turn to face him. “I want to suck you.”
Moonlight or not, it’s impossible not to see how much he wants that too. He swallows. “Okay.”
My grin is involuntary, and I sink to my knees and unfasten his pants. He’s already half-hard, which is flattering, and I don’t bother with anything fancy—just dive right in.
“Fuuuuuuuck,” he mutters as my mouth engulfs him. A hand lands on top of my head, not gripping, just resting, and I bet myself I can have him pulling my hair before he comes.
