It’s okay, I think back. He’s as much my friend as you are.
Pilot nods then and whinnies as he takes to the air, in the direction of Castle Raven Night, and Harlow flags a buggy down.
“I thought you were going to fly us?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I have a feeling I’m going to need to conserve my energy,” he answers and I think it’s a good point, so I nod.
“About this friend thing…” Harlow starts as we cram into the carriage, Riddle still on my shoulder. Sitting on the cushioned seat is a welcome reprieve, even with the knowledge of what I might find when we reach Riven. I can only hope we reach him before Faunus does.
“Friend thing?” I respond as Harlow slams the door and tells the driver to get us to the Academy of Necromancy stat.
“I don’t consider us friends,” Harlow says.
I look at him as my mouth drops open. “You don’t?”
“I consider us… more.”
“Oh,” I say and swallow hard. Then I look up at him again. “And you’re bringing this up now?”
He smiles, widely. “Hey, I’m a creature of impulse. I say what’s on my mind when it’s on my mind.”
I smile back at him. “Well, guess what?”
“What?”
“I’m a creature of planning and organization and I can’t think about your impulse at the moment.”
He chuckles. “Okay the conversation can be shelved… for now.”
I laugh. “For now.”
When the carriage touches down, Harlow slips through the door and shuts it again before I even have time to argue.
“Wait here,” he says. He disappears for a couple of seconds and then he’s back just as quickly as he left. “Okay. All clear.”
“All clear?” I take his offered hand and step out of the buggy. When I close the door behind me, the carriage leaves. I take a deep breath as I face forward and find we’re at the bottom of what I can only call the cliffside that leads up to the academy. “Fuck. Harlow—”
“Anytime.” He smirks.
“No.” I raise a hand to my face. “I mean, how are we going to get up there?” It’s a mountainside that would take me an hour to traverse. And Riven doesn’t have that much time.
Harlow steps forward, into my personal space until his face is an inch from mine. “What’s really going on, Everly?”
“Riven is in trouble,” I say.
“Trouble how?”
“I don’t have time to explain.”
“Yet, you need my help.”
“Yes.”
“Then explain.”
I take a deep breath. “Please, Harlow, can you just trust me?”
The incubus snaps away from me, clean and cool as a cucumber, and starts undressing.
“Harlow?” Logic tries to jump away from lust. I might have a reprieve from Faunus stalking me, but Riven doesn’t. “What are you doing?”
He pokes his head over his hoodie. “We need to get up there fast right?”
I eye the long, winding stairs that zigzag up the cliffside. “Yes.”
“Well, I can get you there, but I need extra oomph.”
“Ummm, okay? How does taking off your clothes give you extra oomph?” I snap my eyes away and turn my back to him as he unbuckles his belt.
His snicker heats my cheeks. “You’re adorable when you’re flustered.”
Soft cloth hits the back of my head. “Still not answering my question.”
The rustling of his boots and pants bolsters my embarrassment.
“You know how my wings are invisible?” he asks.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s just say this body you see… isn’t the real me.”
I let out a snort. That was the way of things back when we colluded with humans. We fit in. Anyone not willing to be chased by angry mobs evolved to look human. Even after humans went extinct, we kept to the human body masks because it gave us an advantage. Lesser fae and demons don’t have human bodies and are treated differently. Those in a common form are treated equally. Some of us aren’t able to revert back to our wild forms, but many still can. And, apparently, Harlow is one of those who can.
A large red hoof steps into my view, and curiosity gets the better of me and I look up. The hoof is connected to a strong leg with an inverted knee attached to a muscular, drool-worthy thigh. Harlow is built in his incubus form. As in… he’s muscular. Really muscular. And sexy. Ahem, really sexy.
“Oh, thank the goddess you have boxers on.” I toss my hair over my shoulder and take a big breath.
He laughs, a hearty, deep, boisterous sound that makes my toes tingle.
“Put that hoodie on.” He points to his own clothes. His voice in this form is an octave lower and sounds authoritative. Confident. Sexy. And there’s something coming off him—it takes a second to hit me but once it does, I feel drawn to him in a way I never have before. Of course, I’ve always been attracted to him, but this… this is different.
“By the way, you’re going to want to jump my bones,” he explains with a shrug. “Just thought I should warn you.”
“Is that… is that what I’m feeling?”
“What are you feeling?”
“Like… I want to jump your bones.”
“There’s your answer,” he says with a deep, rumbling chuckle.
He stands with his hands on his hips, waiting, while giving me an eyeful. His flat, muscular stomach reaches a broad chest with just enough hair to be sexy. His face is still his, just red. As is the rest of him. Jutting out of the top of his head are curved, goat horns. But what completes his dangerous sex appeal is the black bat wings that outline his form. They’re huge. Comparably as large as Pilot’s. And there’s that tail of his snaking around the ground as if it has a mind
