Page 93 of Shifting Winds
“Moira!” Ash snapped.
Tess snorted. “I know what a dick is, Ash.”
Ash looked like he wanted a hole to open up and swallow him.
“Let’s reel this back a little and talk about the touch starvation. How do you know when you’re suffering?’
Moira’s look of pity almost made me get up and walk away. “You feel like you’re going out of your skin. Your magic builds up until you have to?—”
“Siphon.” I sighed. “Shit.”
“You would have needed to siphon regardless,” Ash added. “You have much more magic than we do. But this could have contributed to the buildup.”
“Why didn’t any of you say something?” I wasn’t angry but knowing this might have helped.
Moira saw my look. “Sex might take the edge off a little, but it’s intimacy that matters. The feeling of safety you get ina lover’s arms, and you know they would burn the world down for you. Simple sex is a biological urge. There’s touching and release, but it’s not the same.”
Ash sighed. “You and Caelan haven’t bonded on the true intimate level, have you?”
“I don’t even know what that means,” I muttered.
“Then the answer is no,” Moira said.
“I don’t think I get the intense need for touch,” Tess interrupted. “Sometimes I think I could float away and dissipate in a mist of vapor, and I’d be totally fine.”
“And we would miss you terribly and gather up all that vapor and make you into a rain cloud so we could keep you with us always.”
Moira smiled at Tess who furrowed her brow and said, “That’s not how banshee vapor would work.”
“I’ll make it work. I’ll find a cute mason jar with a little metal lid and trap your vapor inside and decorate it with a pretty little black ribbon for all your moods and set it in the window so I can watch it rain all the time.”
Tess shook her head, but she couldn’t hide her tiny smile.
Moira grinned. “We can all be touch starved in our own ways.” She returned her attention to me. “How’d you find this out?”
I hesitated for a moment. “Rowan.”
Moira hooted. “Did you and that fine Lord have a snuggle session?”
My cheeks burned.
“Oh shit,” Ash said with a laugh. “Is that why Caelan hasn’t gotten back with you?”
“Probably,” I muttered. Shaking my head, I pushed away from the table and stood. “Nothing happened, truly. I like Rowan, but I care about Caelan.”
I rubbed my hands over my arms and went over to the window. “He’s just so intense sometimes. It freaks me out.”
“Maybe you should tell him,” Moira said.
“If he ever talks to me again.” Sighing, I rubbed my temples. “The gods council meeting is tonight.”
Ash straightened. “Do you have an escort?”
“No. I expect they’ll either send instructions or an escort. Any tips?”
Ash frowned. “I’ve never been called before one. Dress nice and be respectful.”
Moira cackled. “The first one is fine. The second might be too big of a request.”
