Page 115 of The Cinders
‘You do not need to lie to me,’ Xian said softly.‘I imagine I am far from beautiful in this state.’
Lim grunted, his artisan mind at work as he looked the prince up and down, assessing how best to secure his makeshift robe.‘Well you imagine wrongly then.’Lim’s gaze fell to his feet.‘You’ve no shoes!’As though that were the true horror of the evening.
‘I had to leave the slippers behind…when the change…happened.’
‘Well of course you did.’Lim nodded firmly, acting as though he’d heard such an excuse before.‘A fox can hardly run about with sparkling shoes on its paws.That would be extremely strange.But I’ll not have a prince of mine wandering about in bare feet.Unless…well, do you want to…’ He cleared his throat.‘Would you rather change again?Perhaps it’s more comfortable for you?It would solve the problem of clothes…for you at least…I’ll still need to sort myself out—’
‘Lim.’
He raised his gaze to where Xian watched him.He was silhouetted by a distant glow in the sky; one that held tinges of reds and oranges, the hues of fire reflecting off heavy clouds.
‘What is it?Are you in pain?’
‘No,’ Xian said.‘Well, not much.Nothing you should worry yourself about.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that.’
‘Lim,’ he repeated, firmer this time.‘I want to ask you something, and you must be honest with me.’
‘Always.’
Xians gathered himself, lifting his shoulders, and pushing his hair clear of his face.His hand shook.Lim dug his fingers into his palms to keep from insisting they move inside the ramshackle abode; for what protection it could offer from the cool evening.
‘Look at me and tell me.Does my face have…’ Xian hesitated before he blurted the rest.‘Have I any strangeness to me?Do I look like the fox still, in any way?Perhaps whiskers, or…I don’t know, some fur upon me.Tell me, honestly.I’m too afraid to touch and see for myself.’He dragged in a breath; as though he’d just swum from the bottom of a deep lake.
It took monstrous self-control not to draw him into an embrace.Lim would start more cautiously than that.
He gestured to where Xian still clutched the ends of the thin rope.‘May I?’
Xian nodded.Lim stepped in, taking hold of the fraying ends, their hands touching before Xian moved to press his fingers to the hemp, holding it in place while Lim worked on knotting the rope; the heel of Lim’s hand caressing Xian’s fingertips.Xian had wound the fabric around his body several times, which made the thickness certain to keep his torso well concealed, but created a length that barely covered to mid-thigh; only just covering the scarring there.Lim’s gaze traced the line of his body, rising to his face, finding himself watched.
‘Is that too tight?’he whispered, blaming the huskiness of his voice on the smoke.
‘No.Thank you, its just right.’Xian didn’t look away.‘You didn’t answer my question, Lim.Am I as I should be?’
Lim’s belly tightened with the thought of his reply.‘I would need to touch you, to be sure.Can I do that, Xian?’
The prince was definitely trembling.Lim was not so steady himself.
‘Yes.’Xian drew in a breath.‘I won’t bite, I promise you.’
The unexpected lightness had Lim’s laughter barking from him, cut short by protesting lungs.‘Ugh.’He pressed at his chest.
‘I’m sorry.I shouldn’t have been so foolish.I’m not myself.’
‘That is not true.’Lim touched his fingers to Xian’s scarred cheek; a soft sigh came from the man, and he leaned into Lim’s touch.‘You’re exactly who you should be.Now let’s have a good look.All is well here.’His fingers slid over the scars to the bump of Xian’s nose.‘And here.’He moved a finger over the flare of nostrils.‘Very well in this area, a wonderful nose.’That drew a tentative smile.He moved next to the hardness of cheekbone and around the curve of Xian’s eye; moving cautiously, and with ecstatic disbelief.
‘And my eyes?’Xian took shallow breaths.‘Are they pleasing?’His gaze cast downwards, moving for the first time from Lim’s face.‘They are their usual colour, I mean.’
Lim nodded, watching Xian’s tongue dart over his lips.‘Oh yes, they are very pleasing, the most enthralling shade of violet.Everything about you is pleasing.’He was barely touching the man, and the encounter had him stiff beneath his drawers.Lim prayed Xian would not notice the rise of his desires, unwilling to stop the play of this game.He traced his fingers over the curve of Xian’s ear.‘Rounded, not pointed, and not a trace of fur to be seen.’The prince’s skin was like silk beneath his fingertip.‘But I have to say, your fox was the most magnificent creature I’ve ever seen.You need not fear holding any trace of him.’
A short, delightful giggle came from Xian, which did nothing to help the situation between Lim’s legs.‘You confound me, Song Lim.You sound so unafraid, but I cannot believe there wasn’t some moment when you were afraid.’
Lim ran his fingers down behind Xian’s ear, his knuckles brushing through the dampness of his hair.He really ought to get the man indoors, out of the breeze, but that would mean letting go of this perfectly unexpected moment.And trying to walk about with a jutting great pillar in his trousers.
‘Xian, you were a giant fox, jumping down out of the flames with teeth bared and eyes like shining topaz.’Lim decided he’d not speak to Xian in half-truths.‘Of course I was afraid.I thought for sure I was in the underworld, and you were a hellhound come to drag me deeper.’
Xian edged back.‘That is awful—’