Page 32 of The Fae Menagerie
"Not so loud." Doyle hunched over his teacup and pulled me closer beside him.
"They can't hear us," I reminded him. "Besides, the cuddlebugs can read your lips."
He brought the cup to his mouth but didn't drink. "Damn it all." He sighed. "You're brilliant. Where have you been all my life?" He took a sip and rested his head on my shoulder.
I didn't flinch away. My body was a traitor. I hated casual touch. I usually reacted before my brain had time to think. I'd dated the same man for six months and always shifted away when he approached me. Bret and I tried for four dates before he decided I was too prickly and gave up trying to hug me.
One month of captivity with Doyle had rewired my reflexes, or maybe I was still suffering some ill effects of the wasp sting.
I couldn't even see the sting today. It had completely healed. I held my hand up, and Doyle pinched my finger between his, trying to find a bump, a blemish, or any sign I'd been stung. Finally, he gave up with a snort and poured himself another cup of tea.
This was the first time we'd brought food into the viewing area. Outside, the visitors flocked to the window to watch us eat.
"Am I going to be punished for bringing tea in here?" I asked.
"No. If anything, Aidan will demand we eat in here every morning. The crowd is amused."
Many of the older fae carried umbrellas, and they unfurled them against the glass to better see into the room. The cuddlebug children scurried beneath them, using the shade to their advantage and signing madly with Doyle.
"They're collecting bets on tart flavor. I think they're cherry."
"Strawberry," I said. "They have seeds."
He frowned at me. "Strawberry? I always thought cherry were the best."
"I prefer strawberry, and these are strawberry." I cut one in half and showed him a quartered berry, seeds up.
"Well, then. I stand corrected. I like strawberry best."
His smile showed an abundance of white teeth. They weren't as rounded as mine, but they also weren't as sharp as his mother's. He had a pleasant smile. I caught myself staring at him like a lovesick fool. I needed to stop.
"Why aren't your teeth as sharp as your mother's?" I asked to keep the focus on how deadly the fae could be to me if I wasn't careful.
"She files them to points at each new moon. She says it helps with harvesting nectar." He laughed. "I've never used my teeth to harvest anything, just so we're clear. I'm not that kind of fae."
I wanted to ask him so many questions about the fae, but Aidan chose that time to interrupt, just as the bell sounded. He stood just outside the doorway, his reflection smug in the glass.
"Aidan." Doyle snorted with frustration when he tried to stand and couldn't. "Why can't I move?"
"You were late. The punishment is an extra hour."
"He was a minute late, if that." Once the bell sounded, the room released its hold on me, either because I was human or because I wasn't its intended prisoner. I took my time standing and straightening my suit before marching into the living room to stare him down. Like Bret, he was taller than me, but I didn't care. I also didn't give a single fuck he was an incubus. I would make him flinch like everyone else.
He stared back at me. His long black cloak trailed over one shoulder, and he bumped his opposite hip out to display the thick steel of his short sword. The curved blade gave me pause as he dropped his hand to the hilt and sneered at me.
"The punishment for a minute late is an extra hour. Two minutes, two hours. Doyle knows how this works."
Doyle motioned for me to return to my place beside him. I rolled my eyes at Aidan and turned my back, watching for any signs of a raised sword in our reflection. Aidan only watched me go, his lecherous gaze making me shiver.
When I sat, Doyle tucked me against his side, so our bodies touched from shoulder to knee. I glared at him, and he flashed another of his brilliant smiles before he glanced over his shoulder.
"How are you feeling today, Aidan? Well, I hope?"
"Of course," he said. "You both look chipper. Why did you wait so long to get out of bed?"
Doyle winked at me. "Wouldn't you like to know."
Aidan stalked to stand before the table where I'd rested our tea service. "Your rooms look clean, and wash day isn't until tomorrow."
