Page 40 of A Fate of Ice and Lies (Fated #1)

Chapter

Fifteen

TEDDY

Elias operated the grill I’d given him while Nate worked behind another one, both of which Elias had magically teleported or, as he said, bent space.

In Elias’s kitchen, I let Victoria put the finishing touches on the cupcakes we’d made with cake mixes Elias had traded the farmers for.

He’d also gotten recipes and ingredients for cookies, brownies, and other delicious delights.

And did I mention the extra coffee and coffee plants?

I could love Elias for the coffee alone.

Wait. No, not love. That was my silly, coffee-addled brain speaking. Or the orgasm he’d given me the day before that seemed to stretch on forever.

Whatever. It didn’t matter.

I was happy. Victoria was happy. Elias was happy, which shouldn’t make me happier, but every time I peered out his window and saw him talking and laughing with one of my friends or people from Colina, my own joy grew to match his.

“All right, pipsqueak,” Ryenne said. “That’s enough frosting. ”

Victoria scrunched up her nose. “No such thing as too much frosting.”

I ran my hand over her braid, filled with flowers that George and Brenton had found and placed in her hair.

I’d taken care of her many times throughout the years, but I’d never seen her quite this happy.

She thrived under Elias’s, Brenton’s, and George’s tender attention.

It made me grateful . . . hopeful it would lead to better things for her.

“Later tonight, we can eat the rest of the frosting straight from the bowl,” I said in a mock whisper.

Her eyes brightened, and she nodded eagerly. With that, she ran out of the house, straight to Elias. Fear made my heart race, but before I could say anything, he tucked her into his arms and gently placed her on his other side, away from the hot grill.

I grabbed one of the many trays filled with desserts while Ryenne took cupcakes off her tray and hid them in a cupboard. I raised a brow at her in question.

“What if they eat them all?” she asked. “Don’t judge me. I haven’t had cupcakes in forever.”

“Good point.” I opened the cupboard, slipped the cupcakes out and back onto her tray, then I handed it to her. “Hide the whole tray.”

She cackled.

“That sounds like trouble,” Nate shouted from outside.

“Mm.” Ryenne licked chocolate frosting from her finger. “I’m totally licking this off that man tonight. Dessert with my dessert.”

I snorted, and with a small tray of cupcakes, I walked out the door.

My chest warmed as I searched for Elias.

Our eyes met, and from the short distance, I saw the way his darkened.

I scooped a bit of icing from a cupcake, and watching him watch me, I pulled my shirt down and smeared it over the swell of my breast. When I licked my fingertip, he moved forward, straight into the pit.

I laughed. When Victoria grabbed his hand, he bent his head down to her while he angled his body away to reposition his. . . crotch area.

I smirked.

Ryenne gripped my arm and shoved me to the back of the kitchen while I tried to balance my tray. “What the hell was that?” she hissed.

I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and did my best to look innocent. I went as far as batting my eyes at her. “What? I dropped some frosting,” I said.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” she whisper-shouted. “Y’all had sex, didn’t you? Spill. Everything, now.”

So I did. Quietly, as we carried tray after tray of desserts outside.

To her benefit, Ryenne only screeched once.

Okay, three times, but they were happy screeches, followed by a ridiculous dance that should’ve embarrassed her, but it was Ryenne.

The entire time, I felt Elias’s attention on me.

With each second that ticked by, the breast I’d smeared frosting on grew heavier. Needier.

But as more people arrived, I was forced to shelf my plans of seducing Elias. His party had begun, so his attention was elsewhere.

It reminded me of easier times, watching people eating, drinking, and talking. There was also laughter, which was a welcome sound. Something I hadn’t realized we’d all let go.

Elias was constantly swarmed with people. Sometimes his expression grew grim, but mostly, he stayed happy. And he seemed to always know where I was without ever having to search for me in the crowd .

“Go save the man from his grilling duties and suck him off or something,” Ryenne said a few hours later.

I shoved her. “Shut up.”

“What?” She smirked. “I’m gonna do the same for Nate. He worked hard. Totally deserves it.”

She turned to call for Donnie and one of his buddies to take over the grill while I went to Elias. His eyes tracked my every move, making my breasts heavier and my core tighten. When I reached him, I hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder blade.

He turned to me, and his grin made it easy to ignore the people who watched us. Judged me.

Fae whore. I could practically hear their comments. As if they couldn’t come up with something more creative.

At least Elias hadn’t seemed to notice. I was pretty certain if he had, they wouldn’t be able to open their mouths or speak for a good long while.

“Come on.” I tugged his hand. “You need to eat.”

His eyes darkened. “Anything in particular you’re going to feed me?”

I winked. “Only one way to find out.”

I made us both a single plate with two burgers while he grabbed two glasses of wine, which he insisted on calling spirits.

When I angled my head toward the woods, away from everyone, he followed without question.

The snow was deeper out there, but it melted or disappeared before me until it was easier for me to hike.

Rather than feel the cold I should have with snow falling and building without end, I was comfortable. Not exactly warm but not cold either.

Kind of how my yard felt. How the walk from my home to the store felt. How everyone gathered for Elias’s barbecue felt. I thought it had been the several firepits in his yard, but I was not once tempted to sit by one.

“Your magic is extraordinary,” I told him.

“You’re extraordinary,” he countered.

“You only say that because you want to lick the chocolate off my breast,” I teased.

His fangs pulled down, and heat and desire rose, clawing its way through my system like a feral beast.

While we had walked a good distance from his home, I still heard the echoes of those who’d gathered.

When I stopped, Elias handed me one of the wineglasses. He cleared the snow, and with a wave of his hand, he pulled a blanket from thin air.

I chuckled. He seemed to have an endless supply of blankets.

With care, he took the plate and glass from me, and once he placed them on the blanket, he helped me sit.

He kneeled in front of me, his hungry eyes on my breasts.

Or not really my breasts since they were hidden beneath a hoodie and two long-sleeved shirts.

Still, I angled my neck to the side and pulled my clothes down enough to reveal the chocolate. He licked his lips.

His finger traced over my chest, and with a feral growl, he bent down and pressed open-mouthed kisses across my chest. I arched for him, lacing my fingers through his hair to keep him there.

His hand slid beneath the hems of my clothes, up my stomach to cup my breast, and I shivered when he pinched my nipple.

Tugged and kneaded. That shaky moan—was it mine or his?

Didn’t matter. He licked and nipped my skin while his hand explored.

“Elias,” I said, desperate for more.

He looked up at me, his beautiful violet eyes now an endless depth of black. I traced a finger over one of his fangs, and he shuddered. Moaned. Rubbed his hard cock against me.

“I think I got it all,” he said, his voice gruff.

“Huh, what?”

He smirked. “The chocolate.” He caressed his fingers down my stomach and smoothed my clothes back down. “Pretty sure I got it all.”

I laughed, a throaty sound I wasn’t sure I’d ever made before.

“You were very”—I swallowed—“thorough.”

His dimples popped out again. When he touched his lips to mine this time, it was a soft, slow caress that had me exhaling his name.

“Time to eat,” he ordered.

I imagined it—his head burrowed between my legs; me, his feast. I clenched my legs together and felt heat rise at the way he stared at my core.

His nostrils flared.

Oh my God, he knew.

He could smell me.

He picked up a cheeseburger and guided it to my mouth.

“First, you need nourishment,” he said. “Then I promise to devour you.”

I took the burger from him, and although my stomach twisted in hunger, I simply stared at it.

“Can you read my mind?” I asked him. “I was just imagining you feasting on me, and well. . .”

He took his first bite of the burger and grinned.

“So good,” he said between chewing. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I can’t read your mind the way Nalari and I communicate with our minds.

But your face is expressive and easy to read.

Plus”—he grinned—“I can smell you.” He sniffed. “Your arousal is delicious.”

Holy shit. He could smell my arousal.

To hide my embarrassment, I took a huge bite of my burger.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said through another mouthful. “Look at me.” He gave me an adorable, boyish grin. “How could you resist all this?”

I snorted. “You’re an idiot.”

“Nalari’s called me far worse.”

I stayed quiet for a few minutes, watching him as he closed his eyes and groaned with almost every bite. It was a delight seeing him experience things for the first time. Both funny and kind of sweet.

“I take it you liked your burger?” I raised my brows at the way he licked his fingers once his food was gone.

“The people in Niev would die for a single bite of this.”

Full, I offered him my half-eaten burger. His eyes widened in protest, but I insisted, letting him know I couldn’t eat anymore.

“Do you miss Niev?” I asked him.

He lowered the burger. “I do,” he said.

“What do you miss most?”