- ELEVEN #2
"Happily. Hell, I'd rather subject myself to a bikini wax from Edward Scissorhands than stand here with you for another second." With that, I charged into the meadow clearing, stopping suddenly beside Doyle who was just standing there grinning.
Because the nymphs, yeah, they were straight out of a John William Waterhouse painting. Meaning, that they were stark freaking naked, every last one of them. It was T&A&P everywhere.
"T and A and P?" Jasper asked, standing to my side, brow raised.
And, well, I wasn't about to say 'tits, ass, and pussy' to Jasper. Luckily for me, Doyle had no such hangups and Jasper chuckled before he caught himself doing it and choked it back.
"Hello ladies," Doyle called, making the dancing and singing stop suddenly as all six of the women turned, their perfect features breaking into smiles.
"Oh," one of them said, voice sing-song, "men!
" And she did this while jumping excitedly, I might add.
And those T's that I mentioned... yeah, they made me feel positively flat-chested.
Not five seconds later, they were around us, circling Doyle and Jasper, hands everywhere, cooing compliments to them.
And the guys, yeah, they were eating that shit up.
Typical.
"Oh, so rugged," one murmured to Jasper, hands tracing around the cuts on his back.
"Please, let me sing you a song," another said, dropping to her knees in front of Doyle and I had a sneaking suspicion that song might end with a blowjob.
"I would be honored," Doyle said with a smile and the woman immediately broke into a slow, sexy song about two lovers meeting in the woods.
"Just one kiss," the red-headed one begged Jasper, her hand toying with his hair like it was spun of pure gold.
Oh, for God's sake.
Sensing my annoyance, Jasper glanced my way and smiled, turning his uncut cheek to the nymph and tapping it with his finger.
Ecstatic, she leaned forward and planted a kiss, lingering longer than necessary.
Jasper reached out and stroked her hair behind her ear and she laughed, a sweet whimsical sound.
"You are very beautiful," a deep voice said behind me, making me start.
I turned, watching him approach as the nymphs pulled Jasper and Doyle forward toward their little flower circle a few yards away.
He was tall and willowy with subtle outlines of muscles under his deep chestnut skin.
He had a startling face with a jaw and cheekbones that could cut glass and bright, almost unnatural green eyes.
His hair was long and black, knotted into thick braids down his back, bound with a ring of flowers.
He, at least, wasn't fully naked, with some sort of filmy brown material slung indecently low on his hips and tied like a sarong.
Unsure who, or more accurately, what, he was, I felt myself go back a step. "Allow me to serenade you," he said, reaching for my hand.
"No," Jasper called across the field, making the girls dancing around him gasp and giggle.
But, hell, if they could play with the girl nymphs, why couldn't I entertain a male one? Or a half-nymph. From what I knew, nymphs were only female. Maybe he was like Doyle but had just been in The Green for longer, possibly his whole life, making him more like his ancestors.
"I would be honored," I said, using Doyle's words.
The nymph moved forward, tucking his face beside mine, his lips in my ear, then singing a slow, sensual song that I swear vibrated in a very personal area.
Inwardly, I wondered if the songs the female nymphs sang affected the men in a similar way.
"Actually," I broke in, a little uncomfortable with the unwilling desire filling my system at the sound of his voice, "I was wondering if you could help me. "
"Anything," he said, pulling back slightly, his wide palm settling on my cheek, the other taking my hand and placing it on his chest. "My heart, my soul," his hand pulled mine slowly downward over the muscles of his abdomen, "my body."
I coughed a little awkwardly, yanking my hand back upward. "How about your brain?"
"Yes, anything for you," he said and I got a sneaking suspicion that he meant that, that he was helpless but to do whatever the opposite sex asked or demanded of him. His hand pulled mine upward, kissing my knuckles.
"I was wondering if you have seen my friend. She's tall and blonde with blue eyes. Actually, she looks like a female version of him," I said, waving my free hand toward where Jasper was a few yards off.
"I only have eyes for you," he insisted.
"Please look," I urged him. "It would be... most kind of you... what's your name?"
"Elm," he said easily. "But please just call me yours."
"Elm," I said, my voice a little firm. It was sweet and all to be fawned over, but I was pretty sure he would be the same with any fae or human that happened his way.
It was hardly flattery when they would give it to anyone.
Also, it was almost kind of sad. Their entire lives were about worshiping others.
"I need you to look at my... friend," I said, almost choking on the word, "and tell me if you've seen a woman who looks like him. "
"I never want to look away from your beau..." he paused at the eye roll I gave him. "If it will please you," he said, looking over my shoulder for a second. "She was with some men. They wouldn't let me near her. But I wanted to sing to her. A beautiful song to match her beatifu..."
"Elm," I cut in, trying not to be annoyed with him.
It really wasn't their fault that they were a kind of ridiculous species.
I probably would have found him charming if I wasn't in a shitty mood from pain and exhaustion and Jasper on top of my worry about Jade.
"Who was she with? Was she hurt? Were they hurting her? "
"Dance with me," he said, holding a hand out to me. "Please dance with me. I can't think straight if I am not touching you. My goddess. My sacred..."
"Fine," I sighed, taking his hand, willing to play along if he would give me more information.
He pulled me against his body, his hold on me both strong and gentle, a strange combination only some men seemed to know how to pull off.
He moved us slowly, sensually, and as I turned, I chanced glances toward the flower circle.
Doyle was lounged back with one woman draped across his lap, holding his hand to her breast. Another woman was beside him, stroking down his chest. His arm was draped over her shoulders.
Despite my better judgment, I glanced over at Jasper who was seated too with the redhead kneeling behind him, slathering on a new layer of honey on his back.
A nonsensical spark of jealousy ignited for a moment before I pushed it down.
Hell, it saved me from having to get close to him again.
She was doing me a favor. A blonde walked up and placed a floral crown on his head, her pussy perfectly level with his face for a long moment as she settled it in place then dropped down on her knees beside him.
"Elm, please answer my questions," I demanded a little desperately. We needed to get out of there.
Elm sighed, burying his face in my hair. "The men I didn't know. They were not from around here. Her skin was like alabaster. It was smooth like..."
"Elm," I snapped, feeling a bit like a mother speaking to a fickle child. "Were there bruises or cuts on her skin?"
"Oh, they were the most beautiful bruises. I would have kissed every last one."
"Did they say her name?"
"My goddess Jade. Jade, oh, a beautiful name for a beaut..."
"Oh, for God's sake," I said, wrenching out of his hold and stalking toward the circle.
"Hey lady nymphs," I called and they turned to me, brows knitted like they didn't understand my presence.
"Elm here said you all saw our friend Jade here the other day," I said and Jasper straightened suddenly, pushing the girl away from him and she whimpered like he'd kicked her. "He said she was with some men."
"Oh, men," the redhead moaned. "Dreamy, dreamy men..."
"Yeah," I said, dry and impatient, "I'm sure they were positively scrumptious. But I need to know their names and what they looked like."
"You're so beautiful," a woman said, walking up. She had been in the flower circle, but situated away from Doyle and Jasper. Which, well, was weird. "Please let me kiss you. Please," she said and I felt myself smiling. Well, that explained it. "I would die to."
"That will hardly be necessary," I said, offering her my cheek. "But if you could make your friends tell us about those men, that would make me very happy."
"May I braid your hair?" she asked as if she hadn't heard me.
I looked over at Jasper whose lips quirked up in amusement. I guess that was why he hadn't wanted to come in the first place. It was impossible to get any straight answers out of them.
"What's your name?" I asked her as she reached up to tuck a strand behind my ear.
"Willow."
"Fine, Willow. You can braid my hair if you make them talk about the men they saw."
"Oh, dreamy men..." the blonde cooed.
"Oh, my God. I can't do this," I said, dropping down on the ground, shaking my head. Let Jasper and Doyle deal with the straight fae. I would just let myself get pampered by Willow and listen to the hum of Elm as he moved in beside me, toying with the torn hem of my skirt.
"Listen," Jasper said, his voice losing the false-softness he had been using with them previously, likely just to goad me. "Those men have my sister. I need to know what they look like."
"Oh, tall, Dark, handsome..." the blonde said dreamily, eyes closed like she was savoring a memory.
"Dark, Dark, Dark," the redhead agreed, her hands none-too-subtly moving sensually down her own body.
"They were Dark fae?" Jasper demanded, losing patience by the minute.
"Oh, the hair," one of the nymphs hanging on Doyle started, her hands moving to her breast and teasing over the nipple, drawing a small groan from an attentive Doyle. "So long and white..."
"A Dark fae with white hair?" Jasper asked, perplexed.