When he turned his head in my direction, he didn’t look like himself. His eyes were black coals; tattoos darkened to match. His teeth were sharp. And there were deep, spiderweb-like veins on his face. I’d seen a glimpse of those features before, but it was so different under this context. In the woods at night already feeling high strung and disoriented, I was overwhelmed.
So, I ran.
Fear and desire intermingled until he consumed both and left me the husk of a woman I was now. Sitting up straight required more energy than I had to spend. I felt swollen, heavy, and sore. And yet, there wasn’t an ounce of tension remaining in my body.
“Good morning, darling.” Theo’s voice came from behind me. I would’ve jumped if my muscles could muster the strength.
The deep rumble of his voice sent tingles through me, my body feeling the memory of last night. “Where are all of our things?” I shifted to stand, then decided against it.Soooo tired.
“I carried it up to your field. Nurghle says hi.” Theo stepped in front of me, reaching into the sole bag still on his person. “I brought berries, fresh water, and bread. I also made you some logomé.”
I took the bowl he held out and watched him continue to dig through the satchel. “What’s logomé?”
“It’s a beverage made from mushrooms. A lot of people drink it in the morning for energy.”
“You made mecoffee?” I blinked at the glass jar filled with brown liquid. It might as well have been a damn mason jar with cold brew.
“If that’s what it’s called on Earth.” He shrugged. “I thought you may like some.”
I unscrewed the lid and took a sip. Not quite coffee, but close. It was bitter, earthy, and a touch sweet.
“I could kiss you, Theo. This is so good.”
He hummed. “You should really be careful about offering your body in exchange for beverages after last night, Little Goddess. I may start taking you up on it.”
My cheeks burned as I looked away from his deep brown gaze. I wanted to flirt back, but it was so foreign to me. I’d spent most of my life worried about surviving, not sex. The few times Ididexplore it I was more of a passive recipient than an actively enthusiastic partner. Now, with Theo, I didn’t know how to express how much it meant to me. That he put the time in. That I hoped it would continue. I wasn’t usually so timid, but I was in brand new territory.
“I’ll eat quickly. Then I’ll be good to start moving.” I popped a juicy berry into my mouth and smiled. Fresh from the bush; he must’ve just picked these.
“Take your time. Can I get you anything else?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t have to do anything for me, Theo. This is all very thoughtful, but the chivalry is unneeded.”
“That’s not how it works, darling. Aftercare is part of Quadmos culture.”
“Well, then… thank you for sharing your culture with me.” I grinned and took another sip of the coffee substitute. “Speaking of the whole Quadmos thing, I kind of thought you were already in your feral form… because of the marks and all. But then you looked different last night.” My eyes went to the streaks of gray ink on Theo’s body.
“Oh.” He absent-mindedly looked at his arms. “I tattooed over my natural marks. They just get darker when the real ones appear underneath the ink.”
“Why’d you tattoo over them?”
He scratched the scar above his ear. “I told you I’ve hurt people?”
“Yeah.”
“I got them back when that was my life. I figured, if I was going be so deadly, I might as well always appear a little feral. I felt like a killer and wanted to look the part.” His gaze grew distant for a moment before he blinked and offered a half-smile. “I think it hurt business at the pub when we opened. Took a lot of wooing to convince people I wasn’t constantly feeling slightly unhinged. I hadn’t exactly seen ‘business owner’ in my future when I got these.”
Smile aside, he looked sad. My eyes scanned his body. His scars told a history of violence, and his tattoos revealed how he once saw himself.A killer. I’d met plenty of bad people through my father, including murderers. Picking evil out of a lineup came naturally to me. Theo was thelastperson I’d mark as anything less than good.
“You know, if you ever want to talk about it, I’m a safe person to confide in. It might feel good to get it off your chest.”
“Some things you shouldn’t have to know about, Viv.”
The memory of gunshots echoed in the back of my head, followed by my father screaming, “When I pay for twenty kilos of coke, I fuckingexpecttwenty kilos of coke! Am I fucking clear?!”
I blinked the memory away and snorted, “My father was a drug lord-murderer-sex trafficker. I lived with him fortwelve years. I can handle it.”
His brow creased angrily between his horns. “Why the hell did you grow up around that shit?”
