There was only one drawback to the whole thing. One teeny, tiny complaint.
He just wished Helio was down to bang.
At first, Benny had figured that would be part of the deal. Wasn’t that what rich people did? They’d give some hottie a place to stay in exchange for, like, easy sex on the regular?
But Benny was starting to think Helio might be straight, for all that they’d met at a gay club.
Which was totally cool—Benny accepted all kinds, no judgment. And he liked spending time with Helio, even if they weren’t touching butts or whatever. He liked that Helio lurkedat the sidelines sometimes, letting Benny do his thing without making him feel totally alone. He liked the weird stuff he’d say at mealtimes.
He just…liked him.
And Benny was eating like a king and working out every day and spending so much time wearing so little clothing. He was… Well, he was horny as hell. Like, way hornier than usual. Hence the furious jacking off every single night.
It didn’t help that Helio was so attractive. Benny had met plenty of beautiful people in his life, but Helio had a certain magnetism that put them all to shame. He had a way about him that made Benny want to strip off his tiny swim shorts and rub up against him. Made him want to go skinny-dipping in the moonlight and wrap around Helio like an octopus.
But overall, it was really a minor complaint.
So Benny was horny. What of it? He could deal.
Because when it came down to it, meeting Helio was one of the coolest things that had ever happened to him.
4
Helio
Helio was in hell.
What was worse, it was a hell of his own making.
But how could he have known he’d stumble upon the one human impervious to fae trickery? Or, not impervious.Oblivious.Completely and totally oblivious.
In all his centuries tormenting humans, Helio had never seen anything like it. And true, over time humans had forgotten many of the rules when it came to dealing with his kind. Never give a fae a full name, never accept a fae gift, never agree to a favor, et cetera. But usually there was still a part—some deep, ingrained bit of the human spirit—that was instinctually wary when interacting with him.
It was part of the challenge, to not scare his prey off before they could be trapped.
But Benny—Benny Carter—had given it all to him so easily. He’d accepted the drink, given his name, agreed to the consequences, and then eaten the food of the realm without asecond thought. Helio could keep him here for all eternity and be well within his rights at this point.
Except Benny didn’t seem tomind. He spent his days frolicking on the beach in his minuscule shorts without a care in the world, stretching and flexing his sun-kissed muscles for his Internet fans, cutting through the sea with his broad arms, making his shorts eventinierso the sun could kiss another inch of his golden skin.
He didn’t seem to know he was trapped, and even if he did, Helio had a sneaking suspicion he’d just grin and say, “Cool, dude,” or something equally inane.
Where were the human’s survival instincts?
Helio had driven much wiser men mad within hours before inevitably sending them back from whence they’d come (he didn’t actually keep them for all eternity—who could be bothered with the upkeep?).
And then there was his villa.
Helio’s enchanted villa, which should have been aiding him in his dastardly pursuits. Instead, it was serving as Benny’s lapdog—giving him everything his heart desired at the drop of a hat. Benny had only to ask for something, and it would materialize.
That wasn’t how it was supposed to work.
Everything wassupposedto have a catch. An Xbox would appear, say, but it would be missing a crucial cord that would never be found. Clothing could be summoned, but it would itch terribly whenever worn. Food would be delicious but would never satiate.
And yet the only catch so far had been the extremely tiny size of Benny’s shorts.
But that only served to torment Helio.
And when Helio had brought it up to the villa—when he’d thrown, perhaps, a bit of a tantrum—he’d beenpunishedfor it.Helio’s bedchamber was now an icebox every night, cold in a way even extra blankets couldn’t remedy.
