Page 11 of The Lost Fae
"You could say that again."
Ziko moves around me once I'm on the other side of the tree and out of sight of the beach. Warm gusts of wind shift up the shore, coming from the expanse of ocean, rustling the leaves. There is a soft caw of birds somewhere just out of sight. Still, the rest of the forest remains quiet.
Even our steps hardly make a sound. Lincoln doesn't have to think about moving with such stealth. Though my body is now capable of moving without noise, I, on the other hand, have to think about my steps and easing my body to balance in just the right way over the tanglement that covers the forest floor.
"How far out do you think that camp is?" I strain to hear any signs of the Fae band.
"I don't know. You have any idea how much 'about a hundred paces' is for an old pirate?"
His half-mouth smirk makes a bushel of butterflies take flight in my stomach. How long has he known how handsome he is? I wonder at what age he looked in the mirror and his head swelled with arrogance and confidence.
"No. We may have our humanity in common but they lived in an entirely different era than me."
Lincoln hops over a small divot in the land, the top of it covered with fallen leaves. He offers me his hand, closing his fist for a minute before his jaw tenses and he reaches back out. I place my hand in his gently as I jump the hole without a sound, quick to pull my hand away once I land.
"This outfit is much more suited for you," he acknowledges with the short bob of his chin.
"Yeah?" I whisper. "You like this better than the ragged gown?"
"Well, I like you best in hardly any clothes." He speaks with his own chuckle but his brows pull together quickly after as if he is rethinking the statement. "You may be a queen, but pants... they bring out a confidence in you that is fiercer than when you're in one of those gowns."
"Dresses can be so restrictive. How am I supposed to turn into this badass woman who kicks ass and takes her crown back in a fucking dress?"
"It's just a shame I can't see your legs through them. Though if I close my eyes I can still picture you in the first dress fashioned in your old apartment."
His eyes press closed and the vision of my appalled face looking down at my half nakedness flashes through his mind. The image of my naked body is quick to follow.
"Woah, woah, woah." I hold up my hands. "You can't just picture me naked whenever you want."
"What? Why not? The memory sits right there." He taps a finger against his temple. "It's the benefits of being your lover. I can imagine you without your clothes at any point in time. Like now."
Memories fill my head of his body rough and hot grinding against mine. The way my breasts bounce with every thrust. I shake my head dissolving the image with my own demand.
I'll be fucking pissed if Lincoln gives us away because he gets me all hot and bothered in this forest and I release all those pheromones that scream 'fuck me'.
"So does that mean I can picture you naked? Whenever I want? A conversation mid-day and all I can focus on is your schlong?"
"It is impressive isn't it?"
A bird takes flight from the branches above us. I snap my attention up to the canopy of trees but Lincoln moves on unfazed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he'd been aware of the creature the entire time, even while I was focused elsewhere.
It's easier to tune out some of my Fae reflexes. The ones that can become overwhelming. But maybe I'm putting myself in more danger by doing so.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say that..." I tease.
"You wouldn't?" But everything on his face says he knows I'm lying. Of course I am. And of course he knows I am, the man has access to every part of my mind.
"No." I shrug. "Mediocre dick. At best."
"At best!" His voice rises with a rowdy laugh. I give him a harsh look. "You just called my dick mediocre. Are we just going to pretend like your last boyfriend knew what he was doing in bed now?"
"Oh, he certainly didn't." My whisper is a hiss. A command for him to reel it in so we don't make it totally obvious that we are trying to sneak up on them. "But I know how to pleasure myself well enough."
"Maybe you could show me then."
His voice is nearer. Looking up from under my lashes, Ziko stands just an inch away from me. He hovers, with his attention fixed solely on my face. It burns a hideous red blush up my neck, over my cheeks, and onto the tips of my ears. My steps stop, and so do his.
"You want me to.... masturbate in front of you?" I breathe.
