Demon Blind, page 13
“It is fey-related. I made a huge mistake the day I met Scath. Several actually. Like I said, I kept my head down so I wouldn’t call attention to the fact I couldn’t see. Because of that, I had no way of knowing I was talking to a fey and not a human when the guy asked if I was looking for a place to stay. And then, when I returned to the same spot an hour later with my things, I had no way of knowing that the guy standing there wasn’t the same guy, and he wasn’t acting standoffish because he was hedging for a little physical payment for the room.”
“No…” Angel breathed.
“Yep. I kissed Fallor. Twice actually. Once on the chin because I misjudged his height and again to correct the oversight. And I still didn’t know I was dealing with a fey. That epiphany came after the kissing.”
Angel groaned on my behalf while Julie patted my hand.
“Worse mistakes have been made,” Julie said. “At least, you didn’t try shooting him.”
“Someone tried shooting one of them?” I asked.
“Eden,” Angel said. “And Ghua forgave her in an instant.”
“Yeah, well, Scath’s going to need more time. I think he feels betrayed. He keeps telling me he needs to be sure that I’m not trying to kiss him out of some need to repay him for the food and a place to stay.”
A beat of silence followed that.
“Do you have feelings for Scath?” Angel asked.
“If you’re asking if I’m madly in love with him? No. It’s too soon for that. But do I like him? Yes. He’s pretty amazing. I never feel useless around him. He always finds ways for me to contribute to whatever we’re doing. And he’s kind and just…hot. That man has a body I want to bite. Is it shitty of me to say that?”
Angel laughed while Julie made a small sound of amusement.
“No, I don’t think that’s shitty at all,” Angel said. “Physical attraction is a good thing. So is liking him. I wasn’t in love with Shax right away. In fact, he was infatuated with another girl when I met him.”
I sighed. “That’s my biggest fear. That I’ll lose my chance with Scath if another girl looks his way.”
“First, I don’t think that will happen,” Angel said. “It’s not typical for them to fall out of infatuation. Shax’s case was unique. And second, if you’re serious about wanting to move things along physically, just let him catch you masturbating. Worked like a charm for me.”
I wasn’t a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but I relieved I couldn’t see Julie’s expression after that.
“I heard it takes very little persuading for a fey to join in on any type of sexual activity,” Julie said, surprising me.
“Well,” I said, finding my voice, “I purposely fell over in front of Scath, sans underwear, and he did nothing. Which is why I’m a little worried he’s going to change his mind.”
“Nah, you just need to nudge him over the edge. If he has one of those vibrating toothbrushes, masturbate with that. One taste of the fun zone and he’ll be on you before you can squeal.”
My mouth dropped open at her suggestion, and Julie chuckled and patted my hand.
“You remind me of Mya,” she said. “She’s open in so many ways, but she continues to try to stifle the fey’s natural curiosity regarding females and sex. The fey are as fascinated as they are obsessed by both. So, Angel’s idea isn’t bad if you’re brave enough to try it.”
She nudged my plate, and the irony wasn’t lost on me.
Not everyone was brave enough to try everything, but I was braver than most.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SCATH
The lens audibly clicked into the frames, and I turned the piece in my hands, inspecting the wood for cracks. The sight of the unmarred surface filled me with pride but also impatience.
“This one worked,” I said, already reaching for the other lens.
“Let it rest and adjust before adding the second one,” Merdon said as he continued to whittle away at his frame.
His indifference to my accomplishment didn’t upset me. After hours of trials, broken frames, and endless carving, we all knew a single lens fitting didn’t mean success, which is why my brothers didn’t stop their work. Their frames would be next if this one cracked like the many before it.
I glanced from the pile of thinly sliced wood Dad had been working on to the fading light coming from the basement’s small window. The need to check on Apryl crawled under my skin. It didn’t matter that Dad had checked on Mom and Apryl around mid-day or that he’d left again only minutes ago to do the same. I wanted to see Apryl for myself. I wanted to give her glasses that worked and watch the joy on her face as she put them on.
Instead, I still had nothing to show for my efforts except a growing frustration and a need to see her.
“How can you stand being away from your females for so long?” I asked, focusing on the frames in my hand. “How do you know they’re safe?”
Merdon chuckled, a dry, dead sound. “We don’t. We sit here and worry as much as you do.”
“If you worry about them, why are you here? Why do you not go to them?”
“Human females do not like it when their males hover, which means to stand too close while worrying that they will hurt themselves,” Thallirin said. “They prefer that we worry at a distance.”
“Out of sight is better,” Merdon said.
“You would prefer not to see them?” I shook my head. “I would prefer if Apryl never left my sight.”
Merdon stopped carving and looked up at me. “The females call time away from their males ‘me-time.’ And you will learn the wisdom of granting your female freedom from your presence when you discover how eagerly she greets you afterward.”
He had my attention. “How eagerly?”
Merdon smiled, something I hadn’t seen in many lifetimes.
“Hannah used her mouth on me and refused to stop until I released. Then she begged me to mount her from behind.” Merdon’s expression grew distant, and he shook his head. “I released four times before I had the will to stop.”
I shifted in my seat at the image he was painting. Only, in my mind, I saw Apryl on her knees, her rounded backside exposed to my view.
The door upstairs opened, distracting me from my thoughts. I turned my attention to Dad as he came down the stairs with a stack of wrapped plates.
“Good news from home,” he said. “Ryan’s back. He’s found a location, and Shelby stopped by to say she found one too. Looks like we will have our third settlement.”
It was good news, but my mind was filled with worry for Apryl. “Is Apryl okay, or is she ready to go home?”
Dad chuckled as he handed out the plates. “She’s fine. She and Mom went to Mya’s to check in on her. They’ll head back to our house after.”
Remembering Apryl’s comments about keeping to herself before coming here and missing contact, I realized she probably was enjoying her time with Mom. Relieved she was doing well, I accepted the plate from Dad.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He looked at Merdon and Thallirin. “I asked where your wives were too. Hannah’s with Emily at Mary’s, and Brenna is having dinner with Uan and Nancy. Now, let’s eat up and get back to work so we’re home before they miss us.”
I set the frames aside and ate Mom’s famous meat stew. When I finished, I returned to inspecting the frames for any stress cracks.
“Taking off a little more from the inner edge worked,” I said.
Merdon grunted, and I started fitting the next lens. It fought the frame, and I paused to clear a little more material away before trying again. The lens snapped into place with another audible click.
I carefully turned the frames in my hands. Not a single fracture appeared.
Smiling, I handed it off to Merdon.
He inspected it just as closely and nodded.
“These will work. Now we need to attach the earpieces without creating cracks.”
Well after dark, we left Thallirin’s house. Merdon and Thallirin jogged off to reunite with their females while I remained beside Dad. The day had progressed better than I’d hoped. I had a working pair of glasses in my pocket and several more frames in various phases in the basement, which I planned to continue working on since the raw wood frames would likely crack with use over time.
“Adding a finish might change how the wood reacts when adding the lens. Maybe we should try different types of wood, too,” Dad said, keeping his very human pace steady. “Pine is softer than oak, for example. It might crack less easily if there’s more give.”
Dad knew a little about finishing wood and said there were many ways. Oils. Lacquers. Paints. We had many options in the basement but didn’t know which would work best. However, he was certain that frames with a finish would last longer…if they didn’t crack when we tried adding the lenses.
The likelihood of that happening didn’t bother me. Creating from nothing took time, patience, and the ability to learn from each attempt. But mostly patience. And I had plenty of that when it came to making glasses but very little when it came to seeing Apryl again.
“Drav mentioned trees in your caves that were more pliable for making bows. Maybe we should try some of that,” Dad said.
The comment interrupted my thoughts of Apryl.
Since coming to the surface, I’d often thought of the caves and the brothers we’d left behind. However, I’d never considered the resources there we could use. Such as the plants we grew for medicine or food.
“I will mention that to Drav as well,” I said, uncertain he would like the idea.
We all still felt the aftermath of my brothers’ last return to the caves, and I doubted Drav would risk more lives for the sake of plants.
Thoughts of risk and my brothers evaporated when Mom and Dad’s house came into view. The windows were lit, and the curtains were open so I could see Apryl sitting at the table in the kitchen. A sense of contentment and belonging filled me, and my step quickened.
Dad chuckled. “Drav does the same thing every time he sees Mya.”
“Do you do the same when you see Mom?” I asked, slowing again.
“Sometimes. When I come back from a supply run, mostly. This world likes to remind us how precious life is and how we shouldn’t waste even a moment of the time we have with the people we love.”
I nodded slowly as his words settled in my mind. They were similar in sentiment to Apryl’s thoughts of how uncertain her future was.
My fingers closed around the glasses, and I hoped again they would be enough to help her feel safer and more secure with her place in this world. And at my side.
Dad opened the door and called out, “We’re home.”
“About time,” Mom called.
Rather than wait with Dad as he removed his jacket and shoes, I hurried forward and made my way to the kitchen.
Apryl looked up at me as I entered.
“Scath?” she said.
“Yes. Did you have a good day?” I asked as I bent to press my cheek to the top of her head. The scent of her hair filled my lungs and soothed me.
“I did. We went to Angel’s house and visited for a while. Julie walked me around town again, showing me where everything is. She helped me shop for some more essentials at the storage house too. Then we visited Mya and Drav and heard about the new settlement. It’s going to have a pond with fish in it.”
Her hand settled on my arm. It wasn’t quite a pat or a stroke, but something in between that made me want more. I rubbed my cheek against her hair again and turned my head to brush my lips against the soft strands before straightening away.
“Did you eat dinner?” I asked. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes, I ate. No, I’m not hungry. I’m impatient to hear how your day went. Are my lenses okay? Did you figure out a way to make new frames?”
Grinning, I withdrew the glasses from my pocket and put them into her hand.
“We made new frames. They are not as pretty or colorful as the frames you had and are more fragile, so you will need to take care. But we think they will work.”
She ran her fingers over the earpieces and eased them open.
“If these break, do not worry. I will keep working on more frames until we find a pair that is durable.”
She smiled slightly and lifted the frames to her face.
The moment they settled into place, her gaze shifted around the room, and her eyes began to water.
“I never thought I’d be able to see again,” she said.
Then she lifted her gaze to me. She stared without saying anything, although her lips parted. Worry filled me, and I shifted uncomfortably, waiting for revulsion to twist her features.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
APRYL
The glimpse I’d gotten of Scath through one lens hadn’t done him justice. The man standing before me wasn’t simply handsome; he was strike-me-dumb-with-a-stick hot. Abs for days. Pecs that could deflect a thrown quarter, thickly muscled thighs, and arms…oh, his arms. I wanted to pet them. All of him, actually, from head to toe.
But it was the expression on his face that did me in. He wasn’t projecting the typical indifferent-player vibe most hot guys usually had. Instead, I saw his uncertainty, and it made me ache for him in a completely different way.
The fey hadn’t been treated well by humans in general. They’d been shot at, spit at, and scorned. And, based on how he was looking at me, he was expecting me to whip out a side piece.
I was on my feet before I knew what I was doing and threw my arms around his waist. He rocked a little at the impact but immediately hugged me in return.
“Thank you,” I said. “You have no idea how much having glasses means to me.”
I tipped my head back and really looked at him. His eyes were amber-yellow, surrounded by a lighter green. And they had vertical slits, which were presently very narrow as he stared back at me. Unusual eyes but captivating with his long thick lashes. Laugh lines bracketed his wide mouth, adding to his appeal.
My gaze lingered on his mouth. I really wanted to try kissing him again now that I could see where I was aiming and knew who I was kissing. But I was very aware of our audience.
“Are you ready to go home?” I asked.
Surprise flickered in his gaze.
“You want to go home? With me?”
I barely swallowed my laugh at his disbelief.
“I do, Scath. I really, really do.”
Releasing my hold from around his waist, I threaded my fingers through his. He led me toward the door as Richard and Julie followed.
“Thank you for coming by today,” Julie said, pulling my attention from Scath. “It was nice having some company.”
The middle-aged woman with hints of grey in her hair looked exactly like I’d imagined her.
“Same,” I said. “I missed talking to people.”
“Well, that phase of your life is done now,” she said as Scath helped me into my jacket. “People here aren’t like the folks in Tenacity. We aren’t worried about limitations of the body, only those of the mind.”
“Will we see you two tomorrow?” Richard asked.
I looked up at Scath, and he nodded. “I want to keep working on the frames, just in case these break.”
“Sounds good. We’ll see you in the morning then.” Richard opened the door, and we waved our goodbyes as we left.
My breath clouded with my exhale, and I marveled at the sight. At all of it, actually. The snow-dusted and well-tracked street. The lit-up homes. They weren’t clear, but they were more than vague blurs of colors. And I could see the fuzzy shape of a fey—humans were smaller—crossing the street ahead of us.
“I missed you today, but these were well worth the time apart. I love my glasses,” I said so Scath would know how much his effort meant to me. “I love being able to see. Especially you.”
He watched me when I glanced at him and blinked a little like an owl when I took hold of his hand and smiled at him.
Deciding to be direct, I asked, “Has anyone told you how handsome you are?”
He blinked again.
“Since I’m not a mind reader, you’re going to have to tell me if that blink is because no one has said it before or if it’s because you don’t believe me.”
“Both?” he said, sounding uncertain.
“From the start, I knew you were nice, and I liked you for that. But I’m glad I didn’t have my glasses until now. If I’d seen how good-looking you are, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to live with you. Although, if I’d had my glasses, I wouldn’t have messed up who to give my kisses to, and you’d believe me now.”
“I don’t understand,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you have agreed to live with me if you thought I was handsome?”
“Handsome guys tend not to want serious relationships until they’ve played the field a bit.”
He frowned, his fingers smoothing over mine. “I don’t understand what playing in a field has to do with a relationship.”
“Ah…uh, what I meant is that really attractive men tend to have sex with a lot of random women rather than committing to just one woman.”
He grunted. Twice.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“You think I’m handsome.”
“Yep, I do. Do you believe me?”
“Yes, but…”
“But?” I prompted after a few beats of silence.
“You wanted to trade sex for food and a home because you thought I would find another female I liked better. Now you think I will find another female because you think I’m handsome.” He sighed. “How do I prove to you that I do not wish to find another female?”
“Well, you could start by having sex with me.”
He snorted, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
“Sex only proves that you are willing to share your body, not that I have won your heart.”
He stopped walking and cupped the back of my head, sending tingles of awareness shooting through my limbs.
“I am not hesitating to take what you’re offering because I’m waiting for another female. I want your heart before I claim your body, Apryl.”
