Page 32 of First Snow

The desperation in her voice leaves Arttu aghast. What’s going on here? Arttu peeks through his eyelashes, trying to catch a glimpse of the girl. She’s petite, probably as young as Emily. Her hair is dyed a bony white.

The gaze of her large blue eyes zeroes in on him with an uncanny focus. She stares straight into him. The girlhissesas she catches Arttu looking at her. The sound is so feral, soinhuman, it sends a chill down his spine. Damn, how did she even sense he’s awake?

“Is your human slave supposed to listen in on our conversation?” she hisses.

What the fuck?

Jareth’s grip on him tightens, and he pulls Arttu to his chest protectively.

“Leave,” Faeling growls, his voice laced with enough authority to make the girl cower.

Faeling pushes past her without another word, and carries Arttu back to his private rooms. His steps don’t seem hurried, but it’s a close thing. Arttu’s heart is beating too fast. Something about the interaction with the girl was so obviously not right that it has the tiny hairs on his forearms stand up.

Kicking the door closed behind them, Faeling looks down at Arttu with a worried expression on his face.

“It’s all right, sweetheart. There’s nothing for you to worry about.” The gaze Faeling levels him with is almost hypnotic, and Arttu feels his eyelids starting to get heavy again.

“Who was that?” Arttu hears himself mumbling, as if from far away.

“Rest now, sweetheart. She isn’t your concern.”

Chapter 11

Jareth

Arttu’seyesdriftclosedand his breath evens out again. Exhaling an agitated breath, Jareth feels anger bubbling in his chest. How dare this fucking bone fairy,Phyllisas she calls herself now, take on human appearance and enter his house?

He gently places Arttu on the bed and brushes a few damp strands from his brow. Arttu looks vulnerable in his sleep, beautiful and sweet. It doesn’t sit well with Jareth that the fairy now associates Arttu with him. Creatures like her can quickly develop a vile interest in a human.

Jareth sighs. He left Annikki to wrap up the show. Arttu was so overwhelmed by the force of his second orgasm and the intensity of the lashes, that Jareth suddenly felt the need to take him away from the prying eyes of the crowd and into the privacy of his rooms. He was looking forward to caring for his sub. So why did that thrice-be-damned bone fairy have to appear and ruin everything? He just hopes that Arttu won’t remember much of their encounter when he wakes again.

For the first time, Jareth wishes he could bring Arttu to his fortress. He shouldn’t evenconsiderit. The very thought of it is a huge risk, and Jareth is already too obsessed with Arttu as it is. But he can’t help imagining hiding away with Arttu, having him all to himself for weeks on end, roaming the snowy forests aroundRhosyn Keepand curling up in front of one of the fireplaces afterward.

Shaking his head, he tries to chase the unbidden images away. It would be better to focus on the matters at hand. Jareth fetches a washcloth and some towels, then begins to wipe the sweat and come from Arttu’s skin.

It takes some time for him to wake again. Jareth isn’t surprised. He infused his order to rest with a touch of magic earlier, and Arttu is far too receptive to his Fae powers, considering how much he liked the little magical enhancement Jareth wove into the whip.

“Where are we?” Arttu slurs, his eyes adorably unfocussed. “Where’s the girl?”

So much for him not remembering. Jareth considers denying she ever existed. It would be an easy solution, and he doesn’t plan to allow Phyllis anywhere near Arttu again anyway. But still, it would be cruel to gaslight Arttu like this. Jareth can’t bring himself to lie.

“She’s gone.”

A confused frown appears on Arttu’s face. “Who was she?”

Jareth bides his time. First, he towels Arttu off carefully, before removing his own clothes and slipping into bed with him. The skin contact will do Arttu good, and Jareth craves it too.

“She’s just a guest who is banned from the premises,” Jareth finally says when he has Arttu satisfyingly wrapped in his arms. Arttu melts into his touch, purring in contentment.

“What got her banned?”

Jareth sighs and nibbles Arttu’s ear. Arttu is so damn curious, it could get them both into so much trouble. So why does Jareth find it so endearing?

“I’m not allowed to tell. Data privacy, sweetheart.”

Arttu grumbles. “That didn’t stop you from snooping into my questionnaire.”

“Oh, but I was allowed to do that. You failed to properly read the contract. Again, I might say. I told you Arttu, these things are important.”