“I can imagine. What about the smoke that was used?”
“Oh you mean the incense? Well, it’s an aid to help with the process. We don’t have to use it, but it helps.”
“Does it involve any kind of blood rites?”
“We don’t sacrifice animals if that’s what you’re talking about?”
“My finger had a cut on it.”
“Are you accusing one of us of injuring you? We don’t do stuff like that.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that you did.”
“Well you did kinda do just that. We aren’t bad people and don’t do things like take blood without permission.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, I have something for you.”
She stopped and pulled out a bag of herbs. “Jarl gave this to me during meditation. It’s for you. He doesn’t do this often, so he must have taken a liking to you.”
“Thank you.”
We parted ways at Something Sweet. Muffin and I headed to Lochlan’s house. Can’t wait to spend some more time with a ghost. So much fun.
It was an awkward and slightly uncomfortable feeling knocking on the door to what is supposed to be your own house. How long did I have to knock until someone answered?
Lochlan finally answered the door and I swear my heart skipped a beat. He only had on pants and there were beads of moisture dotting his chest. His hair was also damp, turning his locks dark. Lochlan must have just come from the shower. The darn fae looked better than any creature should. The smirk on his face told me he knew exactly how good he looked and the affect it had on me.
“Took long enough.”
“It’s nice to see you too, Marty. Have you eaten? I was just about to have dinner.”
“No, I haven’t eaten.”
“Good, join me. I haven’t had much time with you and I miss your beautiful face.”
He misses my beautiful face? And why not take him up on the offer? And it’s not like some time with Lochlan was a hardship. He might be able to give me some perspective on the weirdness of my case and the likely connection between the two of them. Although, I know that wasn’t my main reason. He was gorgeous and I felt drawn to him just as much as when I first met him.
I followed him to the dining room and there was a literal buffet of finger foods and other appetizers. There were cheese and meat assortments, fruit, some sort of egg rolls, perogies and so many other mouth-watering yummies.
Lochlan laughed, it was a fully bellow laugh that sounded amazing. It was full of genuine amusement and I wanted to hear it again. It was such a light hearted sound and he followed it with a devastating smile. Yeah, thoughts like that could lead to trouble.
“Is all this just for us?”
“If I say, ‘yes,’ will that be a problem?”
“Not in the least.”
“Does this mean you’re done being mad at me?”
“Less talk and more eating. You can’t expect any civility from me until you’ve satiated my hunger.”
He shot me a lusty glance that morphed into a full-body feast, as his eyes traveled down my body.
“I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t satisfy a woman.”
I really needed to fan myself. The fae was laying on the charm and it was panty melting.
I quickly sat down, so he couldn’t pull out my chair. I didn’t want him that close to me when I felt so tempted to touch him. He frowned, but didn’t object. He sat down opposite me. There was no way I could focus on eating with him half naked so close to me.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” I asked.
He got up and came back several minutes later still half naked, but carrying two glasses and a bottle of wine.
“How remiss of me.”
He popped the cork and poured a liberal amount of red wine into my wine goblet, nearly filling it to the brim.
“I don’t have the ingredients for Mojitos, or I’d make you one.”
“Alcohol wasn’t what I was referring to when I said you were forgetting something. Don’t you know it’s bad manners to eat at the dinner table without a shirt? You are freaking half-naked.”
“I didn’t realize you noticed.”
“Fine, I’m hungry. If you want to eat like a savage, then go for it. I expect no less from a fae.”
He got up grumbling and came back a short while later with a shirt on. I relaxed and dug into the food now that I wasn’t so distracted.
“I didn’t realize you were such a prude, Marty.”
I stopped eating at those words.
“Maybe I just didn’t want your glistening chest to distract me from my meal.”
“It’s a rather nice physique, is it not?”
“And there’s that modesty I’ve come to associate with you. While all this is nice. Why are you doing this?”
“Since I’m surprised you even had to ask why, I’ll make it clear. I like you, as in, like you romantically Marty. I haven’t had much time alone with you. And, you’re a tricky one to get on a date, so I created this opportunity.”
Wow, Lochlan wasn’t pulling any punches. Although, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled hearing those words. He was gorgeous, but my situation was a mess. I had no right being in any kind of relationship. Besides, dating my landlord was never a good idea.
“I like you too.”
He beamed at those words and reached for my hands. I pulled back.
“But, my stance on dating hasn’t changed regardless of my feelings. I have too much going on in my life to complicate it with romance, especially with my land lord and someone I share a work space with.”
“I’m going to do my best to convince you otherwise. I’m a patient man, so I can wait to get what I want, what I think we both want.”
Heavy stuff. Lochlan took mercy on me and let me eat as we made small talk.
“Lochlan, I want to ask if
