Chapter 5 #4
“Not really. But why would you want to hide that you’re attracted to me?” His voice dipped, teasing. “Especially after I admitted you’ve been my obsession for a very long time. And just so we’re clear, my interest isn’t purely emotional.”
Which, in Gael-speak, translated roughly to don’t worry, I’m horny too. That plainspoken honesty, so much like her own, didn’t make her more turned on, but it made her feel like they were reading from the same script.
“In that case,” she said, voice low, “I guess I don’t really need to tell you I’d be glad to be carried.”
He stepped closer, that familiar quiet intensity wrapping around her. He didn’t loom, he sheltered. His hand lifted, fingers brushing her forehead like she was something rare. “Always tell me what’s on your mind, Beth,” he murmured. “The way you think, it’s liberating.”
This close, not touching him was impossible. Her hands slid to his sides, then up to his chest. Warmth radiated through the fabric, steady and solid. “You already know what I’m thinking.”
“I can read your emotions, not your mind.”
“Well then,” she said, mouth tilting, “I’d like very much to kiss you again before you go showing off and leaping rivers with me in your arms.”
“As the lady commands.”
The kiss wasn’t sweet this time. It stole breath and blurred boundaries.
His mouth moved over hers like a claim, and she didn’t mind surrendering.
Her fingers curled into the silky softness of his hair to defy physics and pull him even closer.
His hands sank low on her waist, tugging her flush against him, like he wanted their bodies to fuse.
When they broke apart, she murmured against his lips, “It’s very hard to keep in mind that I like to take things slow when you kiss me. Or, you know, when you exist in any physical capacity near me.”
He chuckled, and then, adorably, kissed the tip of her nose. “Isn’t waiting for pleasure a pleasure itself?”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe for an elf. We lowly humans call it frustration.”
His smile thinned by a flicker of something underneath. His voice stayed level, but there was weight behind it. “Don’t call your people that. Please.”
The shift made her blink at first. But then she understood it wasn’t about her, but about them.
His people and the judgment he lived with.
The centuries spent sitting at the top of the magical hierarchy seared into every glance and every unspoken rule.
Centuries that had taught his kind they were not just different, but better.
And words like hers, even meant as a joke, sounded like an agreement, like acceptance of that rot. “I was joking,” she said, softer now.
“I know.” He looked away for a beat, then back at her. “But for too many magiks, it’s the truth.”
Beth rose on her toes, cupped his face in both hands, and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his mouth. “I’m sorry. And thank you for being who you are.”
Gael nodded and swept her into his arms, effortlessly, like lifting a leaf.
And yet as he moved toward the river’s edge, his grip tightened.
Not crushing, but strong enough to remind her she was in the arms of someone strong enough to carry her.
Maybe even the world, if he had to. “You look very sure about this.”
“I would never put you in danger.”
That was the thing about Gael, she thought on a sigh. Now that their truths were out, there was almost nothing he could say that didn’t make her either melt or want to drag him into the woods and ruin him. So, she tucked herself closer, kissed the corner of his jaw, and enjoyed the moment.
On a wink, Gael began hopping from stone to stone across the stream in a series of graceful bounds that made the entire act look deceptively effortless.
And comfortable. She hadn’t imagined being carried like this could feel so good.
Her legs dangled, the world tilting just enough to remind her she wasn’t in control, but she didn’t mind.
With every step, his body adjusted, his muscles flexed to counter the slick, half-submerged rocks beneath them.
Instinctively, she leaned into him, and her reward?
A kiss to the forehead as the wind whipped cold across her cheeks, laced with the scent of river stone and rushing water.
When they reached the far bank, he didn’t set her down, and she made no move to pull away. “Thank you for the lift,” she murmured.
“It was entirely my pleasure.” He dipped his head and kissed her, deeper this time, his tongue stroking her lips open and sending a shiver down her spine.
How could he taste this good? Succulent and rich, making her want to eat him whole.
“I could have moved you with telekinesis,” he murmured on her lips.
“But why would I pass a reason to touch you?”
Breathless, she smiled. “Why, indeed.”
“I can carry you all the way to the girls if you’d like.”
“Tempting,” she said, finally sliding down from his arms. “But I’ll walk.”
They laced fingers as they started up the trail again.
“I just don’t want to be loud about this,” she added quietly.
Gael’s brow knit, a flicker of concern behind his eyes. “You realize Elara and Emma will know regardless?”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
His expression shifted, something very close to sadness slipping in beneath the schooled easiness. “Do you have any problem with them knowing?”
“No, no,” she said quickly. “It’s not that. Just... loud and in-your-face isn’t really my style.”
“It’s not mine either,” he agreed, brushing his lips across her knuckles.
It took a little over an hour to reach the lake, and what a spectacle it was, once they finally reached it. The lake came into view like a turquoise hiding in the trees’ gold and rust colors. On its grassy bank, Elara and Emma sat with their bare feet skimming the surface of the water.
They heard them walking in, obviously. And when they turned toward the couple, Elara squinted suspiciously while Emma sniffed the air like a bloodhound.
Beth didn’t let go of Gael’s hand. She wouldn’t have even if she thought they didn’t know because every minute they spent together, she felt him closer to her soul, and so what would be the point?
Elara stretched out her legs and gave Beth a slow once-over. “Your aura is strictly adults-only right now.” She pivoted toward Gael. “And you’re more shielded than the CIA. You even locked your aura, which is both impressive and very telling.”
Emma, lounging beneath a wide-brimmed hat, chimed in. “I’m not even going to describe what I’m smelling. It’d make a lesser vampire blush.”
Beth opened her mouth, ready for a clever retort, but Gael didn’t give her the chance. He pulled her into a smooth and slow dip, fit for a scene from an old movie. She grabbed his arm, startled, but before she could question it, his lips claimed hers again.
When he pulled her upright, she blinked at him, stunned. “I thought you weren’t an in-your-face kind of elf.”
“I’m not,” he replied with a smirk. “But I’m pragmatic. That was the fastest way to avoid the barrage of commentary I saw coming.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “And the most enjoyable.”
Beth shook her head and plopped onto the grass to untie her shoes.
“Aww,” Elara gushed. “All these years, and I’ve never seen you kiss a dude.”
“She still hasn’t,” Emma said dryly. “She’s kissing an elf.”
“True,” Elara agreed, turning to face Gael. “And for the record? Neither Aryon nor I ever believed your so-called casual questioning over the years.”
Gael chuckled and lowered himself to the grass beside her, and Beth instinctively scooted closer, nestling beneath his arm like it was the most natural thing in the world.
It should’ve felt strange, and the grounded, practical part of her was definitely stunned by how giddy she was, like some love-struck teen.
But she’d misjudged him. Thoroughly and with conviction.
Mostly out of sheer stubbornness–okay, maybe a dash of sour grapes, too.
It had been easier and safer to paint him as rude and self-important than to admit she’d wanted him to notice her, and didn’t believe he ever would.
Then came Litha. Then Bryn. And building a case against Gael had become the perfect excuse not to look too closely at herself.
Thinking that if she hadn’t sat down and talked with Elara, she might’ve missed the real version of Gael was terrifying.
So, no more second-guessing. She was going to enjoy the rest of the day with him and her friends.
Speaking of friends... “Emma,” she called. “I’m supposed to ask you who’d win in a fight, you or Aryon or Elara.”
Emma turned her head slowly toward Gael, lifting an eyebrow. “You didn’t.”
“Indeed, I didn’t,” Gael said innocently. “I told her to ask you.”
Beth started glancing from one to the other, more curious now. “Did you guys actually fight?”
“In a way,” Emma replied with a sigh in her voice. “It was summer. We were all at Tansy’s. It was late, and the question came up.”
At this point, Elara looked like she was trying not to crack up, Emma was checking her nails way too often, and Gael was casually playing with a strand of her hair, playing it cool.
“I said I could beat Aryon,” Emma continued. “He said I couldn’t.”
“And?”
Emma pulled a blade of grass and twirled it in her fingers. “Turns out, I can’t.”
“You lost?” Beth was genuinely shocked. “You’re a vampire.”
“By force, I could’ve taken him.”
“But?”
“But he used magic,” Elara jumped in. “And our Baby Bat didn’t stand a chance.”
“What kind of magic?”
Emma huffed. “The forbidden kind. Both in the Fae world and by the government. He got into my head, started playing with my emotions, and planted some sad memories. Then he layered an illusion over all of it, made me think I was in It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“The movie?”
“The movie.” Emma looked put out. “I started bawling, he tied my wrists with telekinesis, and that was it.”
That was... not what she’d expect, ever.
She’d spent years around Aryon and Elara, and somehow never quite grasped how terrifyingly powerful they really were—probably because they always came off like helpful siblings, not someone who could flatten a city block with a thought.
“You guys can really do all that?” she asked, turning to Gael.
He gestured to Elara. “She can, and Aryon. Val and I can manage it with humans or some not particularly strong magik.”
“But you could do it to me.”
“Yes,” he admitted. “But it’s highly illegal, and even if it weren’t, I’d never use it on you.”
She knew that. But the fact that he could and wouldn’t, made it dangerously hot. Gael wasn’t just powerful, he was good down to his roots, which only made her wonder what kind of magic he would use on her. Because all of his power did open the door to very interesting speculation.
He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “You might want to remember emotions are loud around here.”
Her face flushed. Her very specific thoughts were apparently on full display. Beth groaned and buried her face in his chest, trying to force her brain to think about the pub’s inventory orders.
But Gael’s quiet chuckle skimmed right under her skin, dragging her focus right back. He pressed a kiss to her hair. “I’d be happy to hear and fulfill anything that was on your mind.”
“You know we can also hear you, right?” Emma deadpanned.
Beth didn’t even look up.