Page 19 of Ink & Snow
“You are a very cynical man, Soyer Bennet. Will you come to see the carolers with me all the same?”
He looked actually shy. Well, not really shy, just inexperienced. Innocent. My cock firmed up. It was something about those eyes with their golden circlet and those rosy lips and…
Yeah, I was lost here. Lost to lust and desire. Except of course I really wouldn’t be the kind of douchebag who’d pressure someone on the ace spectrum into fucking.
And so I told him, “It would be my pleasure, Amory.”
Chapter Six
AmoryhadexhaustedCherryto the point she’d fallen asleep on his lap, and once he left to get to work, I’d moved her back to her box, folding a blanket over her. It was then that I realized I’d been asked on a date.
I growled, and Cherry stirred in her sleep, so I fell silent. Him asking me out was wrong. How I knew this I wasn’t sure, but it was like breathing water, justwrong.
You didn’t want to date him, you wanted to fuck him,that mutinous voice in my head said as I went downstairs to get some more work done.
“I can do both,” I mumbled.
My inner voice laughed, near hysterical.I wonder what Cecil would have to say about that.
No. No, I didn’t fucking wonder. I didn’t want to know, I didn’t care, good riddance.
Propelled by the annoyance and anger the mere thought of Cecil made me feel, I went about making bouquets, rearranging and cleaning the shop, and trying out that antique register. The noise it made while taking money was demonic, perfect for my mood.
At around three in the afternoon—I’d just fed the baby again and changed my shirt because she was a messy eater—I was beginning to flag.
The solution was obvious: make coffee and bring some over to Amory. Him asking me on a date first still irked me, and I knew I had to do something about that. Coffee seemed a good start.
Before I could head upstairs though, I had my first walk-in.
“Hello, Mr. Bennet!” the black-haired guy bringing in a dusting of snow said.
He was on the younger side, polished, though his hair had escaped its neat style and stood up in messy spikes. His big jacket looked both new and expensive. I saw a tie poking out from the collar. And he knew my name. Not a walk-in then.
“That’s me,” I said, approaching him.
He examined my hanging wreaths and the bouquets I’d arranged on the display table. He took a step toward my displays and brushed his finger against the fiery leaf of a poinsettia.
“Hmm. I think I can spend some petty cash.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yes, of course. I was thinking out loud. My name is Elias Cromwell, the mayor’s secretary. We left a cake for you? Did you get the cake, Mr. Bennet?” He smiled. “Did you like it?”
“Yes, I got the cake, thank you. I’m not quite sure how just moving here earned me chocolate cake though.”
Elias gave me a once-over, and he wasn’t shy about it, lingering on my hips and shoulders.
“Well, it’s what we do here in Clair de la Lune. What the mayor does at any rate, and I do whatever the mayor tells me to. He sent me as the welcoming committee on account of my boundless charm and esprit. I’m here to show you around town. And help you with your winter jacket. Dwayne mentioned you need one.”
Fucking small-town gossip. “I think I’ll be fine. I’ve bought jackets for myself all my adult life after all.”
Elias chuckled, lowered his chin. I was sure he was doing it so he could look up at me, show off his long lashes. “But I’m fun company. And I might be able to get you a bargain. Oh, how is the kitty cat?”
“Anything you don’t know?”
“So many things. Your shirt size, although I feel comfortable guessing.”
I’d left a few flowers out to make into bouquets. They sat on the counter next to the register. I rounded it, picked up the shears, and started snapping off leaves and shortening stems.
