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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Lola Glass
Read between
January 9 - January 10, 2024
Because unlike heroines in movies and books who could kick ass or at least pretend to kick ass, if I stepped outside that door, I’d die.
I pulled my blanket-burrito tighter around myself and reminded myself that I was taken—and that any fae interested in me only wanted me because my tits were the first pair he’d ever seen.
All of the fae were pretty; that didn’t matter. Loyalty mattered. My conscience mattered. And my future with my pet piano and possibly a dozen of the Avalon version of cats. That mattered.
“I’m not stripping with an entire room of guys staring at me.” I paused. “Yeah, don’t bother pretending. I know I’m a bun in a room full of hot dogs.” Silence met my ears. They totally would’ve laughed at my joke if they knew what hot dogs were, though.
It was too bad his hotdog wasn’t interested in my bun; he was freakin’ gorgeous. Maybe in a few years, when we really were friends…
“I’m glittery,” I said, through gritted teeth. His lips curved upward in the tiniest hint of a grin. “It’s cute.”
“The faeries were not known for their loyalty—in fact, they were known for taking a kompel for the benefits, and then using the fae while entertaining a wide number of others.”
“That you’re sick, and Avalon’s trying to kill you for your lack of magic. And that you’re the only bun in a world full of hot dogs.”
“Because a man has a harder time descending into madness when he can see that he’s going mad.”
“But you’re my kompel.”
“Just shoot me.” “I would, but your gun’s probably waterlogged at this point,” he drawled.
“If the pain gets too bad, can you do the… you know. The thing where you…” I awkwardly made a hugging gesture with my arms, hoping he’d get that I was talking about how he’d made me feel at ease when he was trying to get me to portal us to Avalon. He snorted. The noise caught me off guard—and made me grin a bit self-consciously. “Hug you?” I cringed. “Yes?” That one earned me a grin. His eyes were soft, though. Really soft. And dammit, I wasn’t allowed to think about how soft his eyes looked when he was grinning at my awkwardness!
Friends. We were friends. Just gorgeous, sparkly friends. With a supernatural connection.
“Because I’m pretty sure it’s faery dust.” I blinked. “Pixies have dust. Not faeries.” “Who told you that?” “Tinkerbell.” There was a pause. “I don’t know who that is,” Auden finally said.
It was all good though. I’d probably survive. Hopefully. And if I didn’t, at least I’d go out with a bang. A sparkly bang.
“You wouldn’t go down without a fight, even if I wasn’t here,” he said quietly. “No. But I’m glad you’re here.” “I am too,” he admitted.
And then there was me. Glitter-girl. I may as well have been a sparkling sack of potatoes for all my usefulness.
“Some of the worst people are skilled at making others like them, or think they’re good,”
I still didn’t really feel like I fit with them. But then again, when had I ever fit anywhere? My life was just a game of trying to shove my oddly-shaped peg into other people’s holes. And despite how that sounded, I didn’t mean it as a sex joke.
Eek. Yep. More possessiveness. Shit, that stuff was strong.
The sea king didn’t so much as glance at anyone or anything else in the room; his eyes landed squarely on me and didn’t budge. “You’re alright?”
“Has anyone else ever been here?” I wondered. “It’s possible. But if so, it’s been a long time. The sea fae rarely come out this way, and it took me a decade of swimming in this area for hours each day to stumble across it.”
“My grandparents said thank-you all the time. My grandma told him once that he didn’t need to thank her for doing what she was supposed to, and he told her that if he didn’t speak his mind, she’d never know how he felt. And that when he was old and gone, he wanted her to know exactly how much he had loved her. She died before him, but when she was gone, he was proud of how he’d treated her. He told me that he had no regrets.”
“Then thank you for coming here with me. It’s nice not to be alone right now.”
How did I always forget how gorgeous he was when he smiled?
“If I’m getting you a sorry-there-was-no-cake-at-our-wedding cake, I’d like a sorry-there-was-no-sex-on-our-honeymoon one of my own,” he drawled back. I grinned. Damn, I’d forgotten that he could be funny.
You have to trust that I won’t cheat on you. That I have no intention of being anyone else’s. It’s you and me and twelve cats, until the end.”
“Come on; seriously. I could write you a song or something; I’m good at that. Or I could… I don’t know, do a naked dance or something?”
“Why would that make me feel less possessive?” he ground out. “I don’t know? Because I don’t dance naked for anyone else?” “Why did you say that like a question?” “I don’t know!”
It helps me understand you, and it’s in the past. If I saw one of your human lovers touch you, we would have a problem. But now, all they are is behind you.”
“If we were still on Earth, I’d punch him for you.” She snort-laughed. “If we were still on Earth, I’d appreciate that.”
“I want to go home.” And somehow, the closest thing I could get to home was wherever he took me.
On one hand, I’d never felt so comfortable kissing someone before. It was warm, and slow, and chest-achingly sweet. But at the same time, it lit a fire within me, burning hotter and hotter with every minute that the kiss went on.
Everything was happening all backwards between us, but I didn’t hate it—I loved it, honestly. I loved that we could do things our way, and that there was no pressure, and that we could be friends-with-benefits if we wanted.
“Told you.” “You were right,” he agreed. “Wow, that’s a turn-on. Say it again.”
“I don’t want to rule your kingdom. If I don’t have a choice in the matter, then we’ll do it together. I’m not taking your house, or your throne, or any of your other belongings. I didn’t marry you to claim your things. I did it to save my world, the same as you, and now we’re partners. Friends. If that doesn’t work for you, then we need to find a way to coexist separately or break the bond, because I’m not willing to live like the old faeries did.”
