"What? Flirting with me when he knew I wasn't available? It seemed to me that he was more interested in you, babe," she giggled amusedly as they sat in the car again. She turned to him with a knowing smile, mischief on her lips. "He's my client, Will. I work with him, but if you're interested, I'll hook you up too."
That he was cute when jealousy tugged at him, she'd better not tell him, but she wanted to give him the reassurance he needed.
“You're my baby boy, you know that.” Playfully, she pressed her finger against his chin. “But...” With a hint of seduction, she put her lips to his ear. “...you can tell him that again yourself.”
Dev glanced over his shoulder, a faint smile playing at his lips. “You mean the fire tattoo? Got it done years ago. It’s a reminder of the fire that burns inside me- relentless, fierce, and impossible to put out.”
Billy had gotten into the habit now of reading her like a book, then telling her about it. She wasn't fine in the slightest, on that they could agree. But Kit also knew that if she were to eat something, she'd be throwing it back up within about ten minutes.
It didn't matter that the man on the bike hadn't been Sebastian after all. The fact that she'd thought it was in the micro-seconds as her arse hit the cold, wet ground was enough to set her stomach churning for at least the next twelve hours, the pervading sensation of being watched, preyed upon, stalked, returning with full force and psychologically slapping her upside the head was enough to guarantee that food was now persona no grata for the time being.
But at least she could still claim a phyrric victory in taking good old Bill by surprise with her choice of expletive.
"Yes, I did say fuck. I say fuck a lot actually. I know other swear words too - like bollocks, bumhole, twat, shit, pillock...............want some more?" she quipped, begining to wipe some of the muck away from her arse with a nearby towel.
🌌 When the Moorlands Follow | Maverick & Yaira | closed starter
The human realm wasn’t supposed to feel like this. Maverick stood in the dim street, the weak light of a lamp casting long shadows across the cobblestones. The air pressed against him in a way that felt wrong. Too heavy. Too familiar. He crouched beside a shop wall, brushing his fingers against the ivy crawling over the brick. It trembled even though the night was still. The veins glowed faintly, subtle enough a human would miss it. This was the third time he had found something like this. Out-of-season plants. Shadows moving where they shouldn’t. Fae magic seeping into a world not built to contain it. He knew what it meant. The Moorlands were pushing through. They were showing him they could. Testing him. The emissary’s words came back sharp: Bring her back, or we’ll do it ourselves. He had said no. He was realizing that wouldn’t be enough.
The ivy thickened as he followed the trail, until it curled tight around a doorway. His chest tightened when he recognized it- her door. Of course it led here. The magic was drawn to her. That meant the Moorlands had found her already. Yaira wasn’t safe. He hesitated at the step. If he stayed hidden, he kept her out of his world a little longer. If he went inside, he risked pulling her deeper into it. But he couldn’t turn back. Not with the magic already crawling over her walls. He brushed the ivy aside and knocked, firm and steady even though his stomach turned at what this might cost her.
“Yaira,” he said, his voice low but carrying. “It’s me. Open the door.”
The woman looked at him in slight confusion until she realized that what he had was not his own items. The knowing look was evident over her soft features. " Oh okay, I see." Maybe it was a bad idea to approach him but also she felt even more bad if that was the type of situation he was in. Homeless maybe? Looking over closely at the carton he took it was rather dirty like he maybe have grab it from the trash bin.
" I didn't claim you did, yet unfortunately if other people saw you with those items would say otherwise." She replied casually as she didn't want to come across too judgmental. For all she knew he was up to no good and have plenty of reason to lash out but maybe there was other reason for his hunt for items that didn't belong to him. " are you from around here by any chance? Are you staying at a place or a shelter?" She asked carefully.
It had only been two months since their last reunion, but the more Conláed had wished to see William again, the more it had seemed like an eternity. They had exchanged their loose summer clothes for cloaks when his father's carriage passed the city gate leading to the king's castle. William's invitation to join him at the winter solstice was finally honored.
When they had left the carriage and were admitted to the interior of the castle, Conláed was seized with a pleased, light feeling that accompanied him until they finally came face to face with the king. He was so happy to see him again that he imagined flinging his arms around his neck, but that really didn't boast of being a greeting, right? At least, the prince did so only in his mind as William approached them.
"We are honored to visit you in your kingdom, William," Conláed heard his father say, but he himself only had eyes for the king. The radiance in his face was certainly not to be missed.
Lit candles rested at the center of the table that cast flickering shadows upon the glassy floor beneath her feet. Beneath the shadows were the reflections of the sky above - a shimmering moon and the freckles of the brightest stars.
Gemina waited patiently at the table at the top of the building while swirling the wine in her glass. From there she could see the entire city and all its glorious lights. The wind was just the perfect amount of chilled as it gently blew around them, carrying with it the scent of the entire world.
Until that moment every moment with Will had been spent entirely in the inky dark, avoiding any spotlight that would force them to actually look at the other as they truly were. They'd sequestered away into the rooms of old parties without proper introductions or hid beneath the sheets of Will's comfortable bed.
It was easy to hide. They didn't have to confront anything.
Now, resting atop one of the tallest restaurants in the city for a private dinner, she waited for him to come. There was nowhere to hide now beneath an open sky. A thought passed her mind that he might ask just what she did to have the entire rooftop reserved for only the two of them, but imagined that he might be more distracted with the rest of what the evening held.
"Right this way, sir." She heard come from the other side of the roof and glanced over. Immediately a flood of warmth struck her as she saw Will stepping out onto the rooftop.
Standing up, Gemina lifted his already poured drink from the table and held it out for him to take once he reached her. "Happy Valentines day." She purred. "How was work?"