Page 35 of Taken By the Fae

He chuckles, tilting his head to the side.

“You’re being creepy,” I say, my brows tugging closer. “Speaking of, what was Max doing at my place?”

His mouth is set in a tight line. “I wasn’t aware he had been. When was this?”

“While I was home for the weekend.”

“I’ll deal with it.”

“Good. I don’t want him coming around. Ever.” I put as much force behind my words as possible. “And speaking ofthat, what the hell was the dream invasion thing you pulled the other night?”

His lips pull up. “It can get boring around here on the weekend.”

My jaw locks. For once, I consider my response before I open my mouth. “Don’t do it again,” I say, forcing my gaze to hold his.

“Did it bother you?”

It didn’t bother me as much as it should have, but I’m not about to tell him that. “It’s unnecessary. You want to talk to me, pick up the phone.”

“Are you asking me to call you?” The twinkle of amusement in his eyes makes mine narrow. “Aurora, you’re so forward.”

“Seriously?” I want to throw my pen at him. “Stay out of my dreams.” I decide not to tell him about what I experienced later that night. I can’t see him reacting well to me seeinghisdream.

He offers a subtle nod and stands. “How was your time away from the city? Enlightening?”

Shooting him a look, I say, “I couldn’t come out and ask my parents if they knew of any relatives that had freaky powers and never aged.”

Tristan steps closer and licks his lips. “That could’ve been amusing.”

I hold back an eye roll. “The day we met, you said I wasn’t fae, so why do you care?”

He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I’ve never come across a human with ties to my kind. You’ve certainly piqued my interest.”

“I’m not something for you to ogle or study, so unless you’re going to give me some answers, don’t bring it up again.” Fuck. I didn’t want to ask for his help. Allison is looking into it for me. That should be enough. Still, there’s a tiny voice in the back of my head telling me to.

“I’m not sure what answers you’d like me to give you.”

I massage my temples with my fingers, squeezing my eyes shut briefly. “Anything to help me make sense of this.”

“The extent of my knowledge is that fae magic touches you.”

I sigh. “That’s it? You’re supposed to be some kind of leader, a fae knight. You should know more.”

“My apologies,” he says in a dry tone. “I didn’t expect I’d have an outspoken human to answer to.”

So much for answers.

“I can feel your disappointment,” he says in a low, measured voice, then sighs. “For what it’s worth, I’ll look into it and see what information I can find. It might also help my people feel more comfortable with your knowledge of them if they can hear about your connection from one of your fae relatives.”

My gaze lifts to meet his. “Really?” The optimism in my voice makes me cringe. I shouldn’t be asking him for anything, but there’s no one else Icanask.

He nods curtly. “You should get going. As I’m sure you can understand, some of my employees aren’t keen on the human who knows what they are hanging around.”

I collect my things and stand, heading toward the door. I pause in front of Tristan. “Why do you all look down on humans so much? I mean, without us, your kind couldn’t survive. I don’t care that you’re fae, Tristan. That doesn’t make you more or less of an ass, which I think it’s pretty clear you are. I’m saying, I don’t think it’s fair you all look upon us as lesser because we aren’t like you.” Allison told me about the fae being jealous of humans. I guess I thought there was more to it.

His gaze is unwavering as he says, “I don’t view humans that way. I wouldn’t own a business that interacts so closely with them if I did.”

“I’m not talking about you specifically. Not everything is about you. Shocking, I know.”

---