Page 3 of Enticing the Elf
“Dáithí—”
I pick up theotherwater bottle, the red one. Usually I only need to use it on dragons, who forget this is a professional government office and think they can get around my warnings.Elves aren’t delusional like that, and Eoin backs away with his hands up.
“Okay, I’m going. Take all the time you need.”
I watch him walk away—because who could resist—and when he reaches the security gate, he glances back, catching me.
The bastard winks. “Take as much time as you need,” he repeats, “to think of me.Allof me.”
Well played.
As he disappears into the office proper, I take a minute to send some sneaky messages, feeling people out about what happened on Saturday.
By noon, I’m convinced that he was telling the truth.
And then, late in the afternoon, a courier arrives. “Delivery for… uh… D-Da…”
I take pity on the poor human kid and glance at the clipboard he thrusts toward me. “Oh, that’s me. It’s Dáithí.”
“Dory?”
“No. But thanks for trying.” I’ve been assured there are people on Earth whodoknow how to pronounce my name, but if they live in this country, I’ve yet to find one.
The boy slinks away, and I regard the glittery gold gift bag he left behind. Red tissue paper is exploding from the top in a luxurious froth. There’s a little white envelope dangling from one handle, and I tug it free and pull out the card.
Dáithí—
Last week I heard you say you’d kiss a cockroach if it would bring you chocolate. Put these on my account. I look forward to feeding them to you one by one.
Eoin
A grin spreads across my face. Well, now. A man who listens to the important things.
Inside the bag, I find a box from the gourmet chocolatier two blocks away, the one I can’t afford. Definitely not for a dozen gorgeous truffles that are begging me to take a bite.
I pop one into my mouth and moan as the chocolate melts on my tongue, my tastebuds flooded with hints of cinnamon and rum. Okay. A man who grovels like this might deserve a second chance. Especially since it wasn’t really his fault he fucked up in the first place. I grab my phone, take a photo of the chocolates with one missing, and send it to him.
Your account has been opened.
CHAPTER TWO
Eoin
PRESENT—AUGUST
If my younger self could see menow, he’d sprain a rib laughing. Or want to know if I’d suffered some kind of traumatic brain injury. What other reason could there be for me to be stressed over my situationship not being a relationship, as my friend Hagen just said. Only the fact that we’re at work keeps me from ripping off one of his arms. I’m not usually a violent person—in my profession, a clear head and deliberate actions are best—but said profession has given me a lot of knowledge and skills that would help in the arm-ripping department.
“Don’t call it that” is all I say. “Why are you here, again?” He has his own office down the hall, where he and the other operations rollout people manage infrastructure and resourcing for dragon and elf enclaves around the world. We’ve mostly integrated with humans and the community of species in their existing cities, but we have some specific needs that the native inhabitants of this planet don’t, and it’s Hagen’s job to manage that. If I didn’t know he’d been doing it successfully forthousands of years, I’d worry about putting such an important task in the hands of such a feckless dragon.
“I’m here because when I went to pick up a package at reception, I heard the delivery guy ask Dáithí if he’s seeing anyone, and Dáithí said ‘Not really.’ Come the fuck on, man. You gotta step up.”
Ouch. I knew Dáithí didn’t consider me his boyfriend, despite the many, many,manyhints I’ve dropped about making it official, but knowing he still considers himself to be pretty much single is a punch to the gut.
“Mind your own business” is all I can think to say. I wasn’t expecting to have to defend my… situationship today.
Ugh. That word is awful.
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” Hagen plants his ass on the corner of my desk. “So, I’ll ask again, why are you in a situationship and not a relationship?”
