Page 31 of Outside the Veil (Endangered Fae #1)

Chapter twenty-one

Finn’s Christmas

S easons rushed past, as seasons delight in doing, glorious months in which Diego grew stronger and Finn slowly adapted to parsing strange human things.

The Pointe Wolf muttered and danced as it always had, the trees whispered their secrets, and the most dangerous thing Diego encountered in the woods was a skunk that was less than pleased to have company.

For the first time in his life, Diego felt at peace, free from worry and anxious nights, his heart’s desire always nearby.

Finn thrived, full of creative energy and curiosity. That was, until the Canadian winter arrived and the days began to wane…

“ Mi vida ? Don’t you want a little something? You haven’t eaten in days.” Diego perched on the edge of the bed, concern knotting his stomach.

The blanket nest stirred and muttered an incoherent phrase, most likely nothing polite.

He tried again. “I brought you chicken enchiladas, the ones with Tia Carmen’s mole sauce. And some hot chocolate if you don’t think you can stand anything else.”

“I’ve no appetite. Let me sleep.” Finn’s mumbled response drifted out from under the pillows.

“You’ve been sleeping since Thursday. Today’s Saturday, if you happen to care, and Miriam’s on her way up to visit.”

“Miriam?” The grumble took on a plaintive tone.

“Yes, corazón , Miriam. Don’t you want to see her?” Diego stroked what he assumed was Finn’s back.

The arrival of serious snow in late November had brought on this odd, increased lethargy.

Finn had begun to eat less and less while his usual manic energy dwindled to a trickle.

The decline had continued until a week before the solstice.

He’d crawled into bed and refused to come out of his circular nest of pillows and blankets.

Do pookas get the flu? Diego tried an experimental tug at the top of the blankets and sighed when Finn pulled them tighter over his head. “ Carino , this has to stop…”

He put the plate down on the bedside table to try a new angle of attack.

One of Finn’s long, elegant feet, among his most sensitive body parts, peeked out of the nest. Before he could mount a retreat, Diego flipped the covers up to Finn’s knees and pulled the resisting foot into his lap.

Diego massaged Finn’s instep with his thumb while his fingers caressed the ball of his foot.

Long toes curled, the foot stretched and flexed, and a soft moan vibrated under the blankets.

Diego slid his hand up under the covers, over the back of one smooth, lean thigh, to stroke the perfect globes of Finn’s muscular butt. “I miss you,” Diego whispered. “Come out and tell me what’s wrong.”

A soft whimper answered, but Finn stayed stubbornly submerged.

Diego slid his hand around the curve of hip, a smile tugging at his lips as Finn’s cool skin shivered under his palm.

He found a swiftly stiffening cock waiting for him, and his smile faded as he caressed the shaft with his fingertips.

The chill extended even there, and though Finn’s body temperature was a few degrees cooler than human by nature, he always exuded heat when excited.

Something’s very wrong here. He wrapped Finn’s cock in his fist and pumped slowly from base to crown until Finn unwound enough to roll on his back and spread his legs. When his hips pushed up in entreaty, Diego abruptly withdrew his hand.

The covers flew back, Finn’s black eyes tinged in red as he glared at Diego. “You stopped,” he whispered.

“Yes. If I bring you to climax you’re sure to fall back to sleep. Get up, mi vida . We need to get you presentable before she gets here.”

Moving as if his bones ached, Finn sat up against the headboard. His eyes immediately slid shut again.

“Finn!” Diego took him by the upper arms and shook him hard. “What the hell’s wrong with you? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“Perhaps…some of your swamp mud…” Finn mumbled, his head falling forward with a thump onto Diego’s shoulder.

“You want coffee? I don’t know if that’s a good idea on an empty stomach.”

“Miriam.”

The word whispered against Diego’s throat, sending a sharp frisson of need through him. Damn it, it had been over a week since they’d made love. “All right, I guess we better try something.”

He hauled Finn up to his feet, wrapped a blanket around his long, lean frame and half-supported, half-carried him down the stairs.

“ Dios . I don’t suppose you could shift to something smaller?” Diego asked. Six and a half feet of stumbling pooka was a lot to manage. Finn made no attempt to answer or change his form, so Diego struggled on in silence.

In the kitchen, he tried three times to prop Finn up on one of the chairs and finally gave up, letting him curl into a ball on the floor while the coffee brewed.

How strong do you make coffee for one of the fae? Diego scrubbed his hands over his face and hoped they could avoid any nasty reactions like Finn had to chlorine and certain types of glue.

Plenty of cream and sugar joined the coffee in Finn’s favorite mug with the picture of Van Gogh’s Irises on it, and Diego crouched down to shake him. Deep, even breathing told him Finn was out again.

“Damn.” Diego put the coffee on the counter, slid down onto the floor and unwrapped the blanket from around Finn’s hips.

His shaft lay on his stomach, half-erect still, beautiful in its uncut perfection.

Diego lowered his head and licked up the underside.

Finn stirred and moaned. Gently, he took the hardening shaft into his mouth and sucked until Finn’s hands gripped his hair.

Finn let out a tortured groan when he pulled back. “Sadist,” he muttered, a word he had learned recently.

“No, if I were a sadist, I would have all sorts of interesting and painful toys lying around to try on you. Sit up. Drink your coffee.” Diego pushed and tugged until Finn sat with his back against the cabinets.

Finn hunched over the steam, the mug nearly disappearing in his long fingers. He sipped, made a face, sipped again and shuddered. “Dreadful.”

“Okay, so coffee goes on the short list of things you’d rather not put in your stomach. Normally. Now tell me what’s happening, carino. What in the world is wrong with you?” Diego stroked a lock of tangled blue-black hair from Finn’s eyes.

“Winter.”

“Winter?”

“Yes.”

“Are you saying you always get like this during midwinter?” Diego struggled to puzzle out what he meant.

“Not…always.” Finn took a long pull at the coffee and seemed better able to hold his head up. “Sometimes. A few days or weeks of sleep.”

“You…hibernate?” Diego blinked. He had never considered that. “What do you… I mean, isn’t it dangerous? Sleeping for weeks? What if something comes along that wants to hurt you?” He rose from the floor and padded to the microwave to reheat the enchiladas.

“I burrow.” Finn’s answer came back oddly muffled.

“You what?” Diego turned and saw only the blanket in a heap. He hooked a finger under one edge and lifted to find a large, black badger where Finn had been, the coffee mug still clutched in its claws.

“Burrow,” Badger-Finn growled.

“Oh.”

He folded the blanket back from the furred head and sat down beside him. “A little better?”

“Beginning to be.” The black muzzle nudged at Diego’s hand. “I am sorry, my hero, that I’ve worried you.”

“I thought you were sick.” He reached out for the mug, careful of thick, digging claws. “Here, you should shift back. I don’t think badgers drink coffee.”

With a grunt, Badger-Finn relinquished his hold. Blue light danced over his fur and he melted into an indistinct glow, his shape elongating and reshaping until human Finn once more sat on the kitchen floor.

Diego took him under the arms and helped him into a chair. “Please eat, querido . Make me happy.”

Finn took a tentative sniff of his lunch then, with a pleased growl, devoured the first enchilada in three bites. He held out his mug for a refill without slowing down on the second one.

“Half a cup,” Diego insisted.

Intent on his food, Finn didn’t argue. The caffeine in chocolate had never bothered him, but his body’s reactions were unpredictable. Black tea had caused a fit of tremors once.

“Any idea what brought all this on?” Diego asked as he wiped down the counters.

“Too blasted cold here,” Finn grumbled. “Winters are dark in Eire, but not so harsh.”

“Ah.”

Quiet settled over the kitchen as Diego cleaned and Finn ate like a ravenous wolf. Diego became so lost in his own thoughts, he jumped and yelped when a hand landed on his hip.

“Your pardon,” Finn breathed against his ear. “I did not wish to startle you.” He slid up against Diego’s back, erection pressing against his denim-clad butt. “I’m feeling much more awake.”

“I guess so,” Diego whispered as those long-fingered hands stroked his chest and stomach. Finn popped the button on his fly and slid his hand under the waistband. “God…I’ve missed you so…missed this. Not used to being celibate anymore.”

Finn turned him gently and lifted his head for a tender kiss. “My heart, my light, if you needed relief, why didn’t you seek out another lover while I slept?”

Diego peeled out of his shirt, desperate to feel skin against skin, and wrapped his arms around Finn’s ribs. “I know it’s hard for you to understand, but I can’t.”

“Of course you can.” Finn nibbled along his jaw and kissed a searing line down his throat. “You are beautiful and charming and—”

“And completely devoted to you. Oh, dear God.” Diego let his head fall back as his knees turned to sand under Finn’s sudden passionate onslaught. “I’m yours, mi vida , and no one else’s. I can’t just hop into bed with someone else.”

A growl rumbled in Finn’s chest as he slid Diego’s jeans and boxers down to mid-thigh. “But I don’t wish for you to be lonely and in misery.”

“Only you,” he whispered. “I won’t have anyone else.”