22. Chapter 22 #2
“I’m sorry. Did you want to know about the story? It’s, well, technically, fairy porn. At least, that’s what Pasha calls it. Am I right?”
It was what Victoria called it, but she didn’t need to know that. I moved my gaze to him. He nodded and grabbed his drink.
“If you’re not into that, I can recommend quite a few other romance genres,” I paused.
Damn, my girl Victoria would be proud of me. She’d lectured enough about all the different styles, went on and on about tropes and micro-tropes. This felt like the perfect opportunity to weaponize them. She’d be thrilled to know I’d actually paid enough attention to regurgitate it.
“What are you into?” I tilted my head. “Dragons? Orcs? Werewolves? Maybe demons?” I tucked my hair behind my ears. “No wait—bully romances may be right up your alley.”
Hannah’s lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line. The color in her cheeks rose fast, creeping up toward her temples. Her fork scraped against her plate a little too hard.
“Oh,” she said stiffly. “You think you’re funny.”
“Sometimes,” I replied. “Okay, if bully romances are out,” I continued, not giving her space to recover. Two could play catty. “There are less smutty options if spice is the problem. They are called closed-door romances. Fade to black. What about a sweet small-town, second-chance romance instead?”
“No thanks,” Hannah huffed.
“Suit yourself. Just know there’s something for everyone.”
Hannah’s shoulders squared. “I don’t need books to keep things interesting,” she snapped. “Some of us pull from actual life experience.”
Trent’s eyebrows lifted.
“Um hm,” I hummed. “I’m sure you do. And well…we know how that ended.”
For half a second, Pasha froze. Actually froze, and I worried I had pushed too far.
His fork hovered midair, eyes widening just enough to betray that he hadn’t expected me to go there.
Then the corner of his mouth twitched. Relief coursed through me.
This winging it was hard work. A quiet chuckle escaped him as he set his fork down and leaned closer.
He nipped my earlobe before whispering in my ear, “You’re so bad.”
His tone was approving, which only bolstered my confidence.
“And you love it,” I replied, not looking at him.
Across the table, Lisa shifted in her seat, cheeks flushing. “You really use romance books to…ahem…recreate scenes?”
“It’s fun,” I said. “You should try it. Responsibly though. Discussions first. Consent always and establish some safewords.” I paused, letting my gaze drift to Pasha before giving him a wink.
Might as well use all the information I’d gleaned having meals with the family where everything and anything was talked about at will.
Chase muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “Lord, help me.”
I breathed in, my chest expanding not only with air but with pride. I was holding my own. It was empowering in a whole new way. So much so, the next words fell from my lips without censor.
“I think, if more people read porn, the world would be far less repressed.”
Pasha inhaled at the worst possible moment. The drink must have gone down wrong, because he coughed hard enough to earn a slap from Chase. Trent looked away, biting back a smile.
“You okay, there?” I asked, leaning closer.
I reached up and dabbed at the corner of Pasha’s mouth with my napkin. The world narrowed for a second—just the two of us in the middle of a crowded diner. His hand came up, catching my wrist before I could pull away.
His thumb pressed into the inside of my wrist, right where my pulse fluttered. His eyes darkened, that wicked little grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Butterflies didn’t erupt. They detonated.
“I’m good,” he murmured. “So very good.”
“Are you being serious? There is such a thing as fairy porn?” Shelia asked excitedly.
“Is that like in the same genre of vampires? Love me some Vampire Diaries. I’ve never read about fairies before.
And did you say dragons? Honey, you like dragons, right?
You have that one series you go on and on about. ” She nudged Reggie.
“There is an entire world of fairy…porn. And don’t get me started on the appendages these fantasy books boast about.” I beamed.
“You’re so bad, but I secretly love you right now more than you’ll ever know,” Pasha whispered in my ear before kissing my neck. A full body shudder went through me as he lingered.
“Oh God, put me out of my misery,” Reggie blustered.
“You, hush now. I must know more about this story,” she gushed, which only made Hannah sulk further.
Well shit, now I had to pretend like I’d actually read the book. To be fair, I did try to read it, but it was really spicy. Five chili peppers was what Tori had called it. Somehow, it felt weird reading it on the plane with Pasha sitting next to me.
I did a lot of skimming those pages, to be honest. I did my best to fill Shelia in on what I remembered. By the end of the conversation, I hoped I’d done justice to the author.
“There is a fun bookstore downtown. We should stop by and pick out some books,” Lisa said with a grin.
“Books are boring,” Chase intoned.
“Stop,” Lisa said playfully, hitting him. “Isabella, do you do piercings? At your shop?” she asked, her cheeks flushed, and I smiled.
“We do.”
“Maybe we could talk later about them.” She blushed deeper while everyone around the table teased her.
“Anytime,” I offered.
Our food arrived, and I was never so grateful for something else to do with my mouth than talk. The remainder of the day was spent sightseeing and visiting many of the places Lisa and her family loved.
Pasha and I found our rhythm, which wasn’t really any different from when we were at home, except we touched more, held hands, and flirted more openly. It was natural for us, and somewhere along the way—I let go.