Chapter 13
Thirteen
Wash barked out a laugh, keeping his face pressed against Peri’s neck. They’d just had the most intense sexual experience in his entire life, and Peri barely waited for him to catch his breath before asking about food. He was still inside the fairy, for goddess’s sake.
The smile slowly disappeared as he questioned whether the moment had been as intense for Peri as it had been for him. Maybe it was no big deal to Peri, which was why he was so quick to move on.
Peri giggled, giving him a squeeze around his shoulders. “What? You said I can’t use sex to lure you out of the office. I need to feed you to make sure you come back.”
The tension slowly eased, and he sat back, looking into those big blue eyes. With Peri in his lap, they were nose to nose, and a smile tugged at his lips when Peri wrinkled his nose adorably. “Food?”
He hummed, tapping Peri’s hip to urge him to move.
They both sucked in a breath when they separated, and Wash felt a distinct pang in his chest at the space between them.
He brushed it off, annoyed with himself for even the thought.
He couldn’t live inside the fairy forever.
He didn’t even know if this would go past tonight.
While Peri hurried to the bathroom to clean up, Wash stripped his cum covered shirt off and tied off the condom, pulling his pants up as he went looking for a trashcan.
He found it under the sink in the galley kitchen, and when he straightened, he finally got a good look around.
The kitchen was just past the entry, with a passthrough to the living room that had shutters that could be closed if Peri wanted to separate the spaces.
The living room had just as many vines as the rest of the building, trailing down his bookshelf and over the back of his desk.
He had a few places to sit, some wing friendly, some not.
He assumed those were for all those visitors that welcome mat invited inside.
The big squashy couch looked comfortable, and chair they’d been in before was nice.
He could see the balcony just beyond the living room, and he smirked at the colorful hammock swinging gently in the wind.
The sun had gone down during their… activities, and Peri started flicking lights on when he came bustling back in, wrapped in a silky looking robe that stopped mid thigh with flowers printed on it.
He beamed at Wash as he joined him in the kitchen, grabbing a pouch off the shelf by the door and pouring something sparkly into his palm.
He blew it off his hand, and it spread absolutely everywhere, but somehow managed to miss Wash at the same time.
Anything it touched sparkled, and when Peri started pointing, items started dancing out of cabinets and drawers, lining up neatly on the island.
“Pixie dust?” he queried with amusement.
Peri winked at him. “I love it. It makes everything so easy. Have you used it before?”
He shook his head. “The only place I would consider needing it is at work, and the magic messes with the results. No outside magic allowed during projects.”
Peri pursed his lips thoughtfully. “You know, I wouldn’t have thought of that. It’s useful, so I figured it’d only help. It really makes a difference?”
To demonstrate, Wash ran a finger along the top of the microwave, showing Peri the sparkles that came away.
“It gets on everything. Unless we planned on using pixie dust to make a project run, it’ll skew the results.
There’s no guarantee it’ll work the same way without the additional magic if we rely on something like that. ”
Peri’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh! I guess that makes sense, then.” He studied Wash, his expression curious. “How many projects have you done?”
“Too many to count,” Wash answered, leaning against the counter and watching as Peri prepared a meal without really watching what he was doing.
The ingredients moved with just a thought from him, while he focused on the conversation.
He didn’t have to pay attention until it was time to chop, and Wash would bet good money he used magic to do that too when no one was watching.
Which was seriously dangerous. Magic could be unpredictable, he would know better than most, and even if Peri had done something a thousand times, there was no guarantee the next time would go the same way.
His phone buzzed in his pocket just as Peri spun around to turn on the stove, leaving the pixie dust to pick up the slack chopping the vegetables. Wash snatched the blade out of the air, setting it down as he pulled out his phone. He grimaced at the name that flashed across the screen.
“Taron. What is it this time?” he grumbled, tucking the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he could chop the vegetables himself.
“Where are you? I came to steal you away from your office, and it’s empty for once. Did you go out without me? I’ve been trying to get you to go out for weeks, Hugo! Why are you so mean to me?” Taron whined.
Peri spun around, his bright eyed expression curious. “Is that Taron? Tell him I say hi!”
Before he did that— “Taron, how do you know my office is empty? I locked it before I left. Did you break through my wards?”
“Did I hear Peri?” Taron asked, completely ignoring him. “Let me talk to him! I want to know how he convinced you to leave work on time!”
He was shouting so loud into the phone, Peri could hear him without Wash sharing the message.
Peri wiggled his fingers in a gimme gesture, smacking a kiss on his cheek in thanks when Wash handed it over.
Wash rolled his eyes, giving his focus to the meal prep instead.
From the ingredients, he assumed spaghetti and meat sauce.
He was glad Peri wasn’t one of those supes who didn’t eat meat.
He loved meat too much to give it up, even for someone as adorable as Peri.
“What do you mean?” Peri asked, his grin mischievously. “All I did was ask nicely. It wasn’t that hard.”
Wash snorted, dumping the noodles into the pot once the water started to boil. If climbing into his lap and biting his bottom lip while he stared at Wash’s mouth was considered ‘asking nicely’. It wasn’t a move Taron could pull off, that was for sure.
Peri giggled, bumping hips with him as he added the vegetables to the pan already cooking chopped onions and garlic on the stove.
They worked side by side while Peri tried to dance around the subject that Taron wouldn’t let go.
When Peri straightened abruptly and a big smile overtook his face, Wash couldn’t help the apprehension that filled his veins.
Taron was a troublemaker. If he was getting Peri on his side of one of his schemes, the adorable fairy would totally go along with it.
“Put it on speaker,” he requested, shifting Peri out of the way so he could stir the pan while Peri did as he asked.
Taron’s voice filled the room, talking a mile a minute like usual. “I’ve been wanting to take him for ages, but he always worms his way out of it.”
Wash’s suspicions rose until Peri asked, “What about Tony? Can’t he convince him?”
Taron sighed gustily. “He can, but he doesn’t like to push people to do things they might not enjoy. He’s a softie, my Tony. I need someone to help me get Zeph to the club. You got Hugo out of the office. Come use those magic powers on my mate and get him to go with me.”
The thought of Peri convincing Zephyr to do anything the same way he’d convinced Wash made Wash growl, a possessive arm wrapping around the smaller man’s waist. Peri looked up at him in surprise, but the look slowly melted into desire as he realized what was happening.
He leaned against Wash’s side, his eyes locked on his mouth.
If all it took was a growl and a look for Wash to rile the little fairy up, they were in serious trouble. He’d be lucky if he could keep his hands to himself now that he knew what it felt like to be inside the adorable man.
“Peri? Did we lose connection?” Taron asked worriedly.
Peri sucked in a breath, dragging his gaze away from Wash to look down at the phone. “No, no. The connection is fine. I just…” He looked back at Wash, biting his lip. “Got a little distracted. I can see if I can come up with any ideas to help you get Zephyr to the club. Is there a timeline?”
Taron started chattering about some specialty nights at the club he liked to frequent, but Wash ignored him, running his fingers through Peri’s disheveled hair and down his neck and chest. Peri’s eyes fluttered shut, and he arched into the touch, his robe already tenting in the front to expose his arousal.
Goddess, he was easy to rile. That knowledge shouldn’t make him salivate like it did.
Breathlessly, Peri answered, “I’ll see what I can come up with. I have to go now, dinner is almost ready. I’ll call you later.”
Wash hung up the phone, tossing it onto the island as he crowded Peri against it. Peri’s breathing picked up, his fingers digging into Wash’s waist as he tried to pull him closer. Wash put his hands on either side of the counter, trapping Peri in, and raised an eyebrow at him.
“I think there’s something we need to talk about.”
If Peri had needs, then Wash wanted him to be upfront about it.
He was more than happy to keep taking care of the adorable man, as long as it didn’t interrupt his work.
But he needed the full picture, and he didn't want Peri keeping things from him. He’d been shut out plenty in the past. Now he preferred clear cut expectations with the people in his life.
He didn’t want to put himself somewhere he wasn’t wanted anymore.
If this was just a one night thing, he wanted to know now.
The hiss of water hitting the hot stovetop snared their attention, and he moved away long enough to turn the heat down on the stove and stir things a little.
When he glanced over his shoulder, since Peri hadn’t actually acknowledged him, he was surprised to see the little fairy frowning at his feet, his cheeks pink with embarrassment.
Moving to stand in front of him, Wash lifted his chin with a knuckle, pressing a soft kiss against his lips to soothe him a little. “None of that. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I just want to know what we’re doing.”
And figure out just how much of this was Peri’s determination to get him out of the office and how much was it actually about Wash himself.