“I’ll adjust,” I offered, putting up some resistance over being removed from where I had been tending to.
“Your hands are wonderfully warm and soothing.” She pressed a kiss into the crook of my elbow. “I think if they make their way any further south, it’ll defeat the purpose of my bath.”
“I promised to be good.”
“And you’ve beensogood.” Her voice was sweetly patronizing. “Now I can take it from here.”
Taking “no” as the official order, I sat back, removing my arms from the water and resting my hands on my damp thighs.
“I’ll just enjoy the view.” The water was murky, but I could faintly make out her hand disappearing between her luscious thighs.
“Stop watching,” she commanded, her cheek turning into my knee in embarrassment.
“Don’t be cruel,” I teased, respectfully directing my face to the ceiling. I could feel her gaze on me to ensure I was following instructions like a good monster.
“You’re the one who started poking me in the back of the head.” She laughed that beautifully deep, feminine laugh.
My cheeks flushed, realizing my gentlemanly intentions hadn’t delivered the message to my cock, which had begun swelling with excitement at the thought of her touching herself. I used my hand to pin my erection to my left leg so it would be less of a nuisance to her, and considered myself lucky she hadn’t kicked me out entirely. I was happy to keep her company, soaking in her laughter and musings until she left me for work.
Faeryn
The walk to the gathering was freezing—Western Trebianna winters were no joke. Mykie sauntered smoothly, seemingly unbothered by the cold, a trait I was growing tired of in my traveling companions. It made me feel dramatic. That said, unlike Graysen, I could see her shiver slightly. She was faking itjusta little. Her heeled boots clacked loudly over the sound of the wind beating against the buildings surrounding us. We had been walking for what felt like forever, but she assured me it had only been an hour. Regardless, too long to be in this weather.
We made our way through a downtown of sorts, most buildings no more than three stories high with shops on the bottom. The streets were barren, but the empty stalls made it easy to imagine a bustling summer day.
“Here we are,” Mykie stated, turning a sharp right down an alleyway.
I stumbled with the unexpected change in direction; she hadn’t given any indication we were nearing our destination. Hell, we’d practically walked past it. We were in a narrow, windowless alley. Had I not placed so much faith in Graysen,and Mykie by association, I may have assumed I was about to get jumped.
Chain link fencing blocked our path, with a sturdy wooden door to our right. Mykie grabbed the handle. “FYI, the Lychan in here is a male,” she whispered, a clear callback to my confusion when learning about the world. A humbling memory from a lifetime ago.
“Thanks for the heads up,” I muttered.
We walked into the brightly lit building, and a gruff voice shouted out, “Who’s there?!”
“It’s me, Ragen!” Mykie shouted back. “I brought my friend!”
A short, claustrophobic hallway turned into a forced right, leading us to a small room with white walls and a large, round wooden table. There were enough chairs to comfortably host a moderately sized group, but only three men were present today.
The massive man directly across from me was a Quadmos, somehow surpassing even Theo’s size. His face was wide, with a thick red beard, a brown horn on either temple, and a shaved head. The tank he wore was barely in the clothing category at all. It was a piece of dark fabric that hardly covered half of each pectoral. The “sleeve holes” were the entire length of his side, with a thin connecting piece closing them only at his hips. Perhaps it was more comfortable to have all four arms share one opening rather than cut specialized holes into the back for the lower set as Theo had done. A joint of musky herbs hung loosely from his lips. He waved a top arm while the bottom held a deck of cards.
“What’s the name?” the male Arielna to the left of the room asked me.
A pile of straight brown hair topped his narrow head. His facial features were strong and sharp. He had foregone wearing a shirt entirely, which seemed masochistic in this weather. Admittedly, this room was quite hot. His olive green scales, densely layered on his chest compared to where Mykie had soft flesh, faded to chartreuse skin. His pointed ears donned three golden hoops each.
“I’m Faeryn.” I tried to muster some confidence, giving a tiny wave with my fingers. Mykie’s friends were equally as intimidating as she was, causing me to immediately feel self-conscious about the dainty gesture.
“No reason to be shy,” the Quadmos said, looking away from me to shuffle a deck of cards. “You ever play Doors?”
“I haven’t.” Should I have studied for this? Was this a common game that I was completely unaware of like so many other things?
“Take a seat. You’ll catch on quick.”
I sat down. Mykie settled to my left, between myself and the male Arielna, and the Lychan to my right. His fur was mousy brown with some darker speckles creating dimension amongst the blanket of hair. Lychan’s flat faces were unlike anything I had seen on a person or animal. The wrinkles on the bridge of this man’s nose gave the impression of a resting snarl, further bolstered by the large canine teeth hanging over his thin lower lip. His eyes were a pale green with pin-prick pupils that were currently investigating me curiously. Large, fluffy ears connected to the sides of his head with their tips rising a couple of inches higher than its top, adding to his already daunting height. I wasn’t sure the ceiling would accommodate him once he stood. Despite being the one who probably needed it the least, he wore a baggy sweater that was lumpy from the fur beneath it.
“You want anything to drink or smoke?” the Quadmos asked, continuing his shuffling.
“No, thank you.” I shook my head, worried I wouldn’t be able to handle whatever they may have available.
