Page 35 of Close Quarter
Some concession. "I don't like those rules."
Silas shrugged. He looked more like himself than he had all morning, arrogant and proud.
"You're free to leave, then."
"Oh, fuck you." Rhys leaned back. "Fine."
Silas nearly hid a smile before he spoke.
"We're creatures of passion, fae. Of the elements.
Field and forest, stream and sea, breeze and sky, rock and earth."
"Fire?"
"No. That's the purview of the phoenix."
Phoenix? Rhys opened his mouth, but Silas held up a hand.Damn it all.But he had agreed. He nodded for Silas to continue.
"As you might have gathered, we're fond of humans." Silas toyed with his cup. "Occasionally those unions produce children."
Rhys sat forward. "I'm half-fae?"
"No." Silas took another gulp of coffee.
"Half-fae have the same skills as the full-blooded.
More. They require no glamour to walk among humans. They simply switch their state of being."
Rhys turned the information over. Sorted through it. "I'd know, then, if I were one."
"You'd see what I see. Have talents like my own. And you'd either be in one of the courts"--he paused, distaste twisting his features--"or dead."
"Dead?"
"Half-fae are seen as dangerous. If they live long enough, they eclipse full-blooded fae in power, all without the need of glamour to be human. Glamour's not easy to maintain, especially under stress."
"But you can do it."
"When I have to, yes."
"But when we..." Rhys remembered the feel of Silas's hands tangled in his hair as Silas's cock slid through his lips. The taste of Silas's skin, his cum, his mouth. Silas's hands on his body, encircling his cock. The scent of pine and earth--Silas banged his cup on the table. "Rhys!"
He started awake.
What the hell?His cup of coffee lay on the carpet, the contents staining the tan pile even darker. "I..." He glanced at Silas.
Silas's nose was better. Bruised but no longer horribly misshapen. And even the dark purple had faded to greenish yellow.
Silas exhaled. "Don't think about sex right now."
Rhys tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't hold him. He tried again and managed, but it was all he could do to remain upright. White haze ringed his vision. A half cup of coffee and he was ready to pass out? Something was very wrong. "What the fuck is going on?"
"I'm trying to tell you." Silas's accent grew stronger and his grip on his coffee mug tighter.
"But you keep interrupting me. Now sit!"
Rhys's face went hot, but he sank to the couch, obedient. For now.
