Born Of Nothing

27

Naively, I thought that there was nothing that could feel so good as what he was doing. I had been wrong. He clasped his mouth over my core, licking and sucking as his finger continued its rhythmic motion, and the sensation unraveled me. Almost instantly my legs began to twitch, and of their own accord, my hands reached up to pinch my puckered n*****s. He swirled his tongue around my swollen nub with a guttural growl, and the vibrations it caused were too much. An unabashed cry of pleasure was wrenched from my throat as my body tensed and pulsed with waves of blissful release. Fen gently lapped at my center until he had drawn every ounce of the orgasm from my quaking body. “That was just as breathtaking as I had imagined.” He licked my essence from his lips as he moved back up the bed to pull my limp body into his side. When I recovered enough to hear over the ringing in my ears, I guided my hand down to his tented pants and pressed my palm against him. He took my hand in his and brought it back up to his chest. I rose up to look him in the eye, not understanding why he had pulled my hand away. “What about you, Fen? I want to make you feel good too.” He squeezed my hand, his eyes gazing at me softly. “Trust me, that was for me, just as much as it was for you.” I wasn’t fully convinced, but I wasn’t going to force the issue, so I returned my cheek to his warm chest and nestled against his hard body. “I am so sorry about your family,” he murmured into my hair. “I wish I could do more to protect you from the hurt they’re causing, but I doubt there is much anyone can do that will ease that ache.” My situation was somewhat easier to think about in the aftermath of so much pleasure. I drifted my hand back and forth across his smooth chest as my thoughts wandered. “I never imagined that I would need anyone to protect me from my own family. All my life I’ve been taught ways to stay safe and protect myself from the Fae. It turns out my mother hurt me in ways so much deeper than any Fae would have been able. She’s the one person who was supposed to be on my side, no matter what.” My voice cracked on the last words, emotion finally getting the better of me. Before I could travel any farther down that dark road, the mention of protection had me lifting my head and smiling softly at Fen. “Actually, that reminds me of something I brought for you.” I lifted myself up and hurried off the bed to where I had dropped my bag on the floor. Fen sat up crossed-legged on the bed, and I bounded back over to sit across from him, our knees just touching. “I made this for you.” I held out my open palm to display a dark leather band embellished with detailed markings. “The protection rune,” he said under his breath as he lifted the strap from my hand and brought it up to examine more closely. “I made one for Becca a while back, and it helped her in a battle against some Red Caps. There’s not a ton of power to it, but it might help if you find yourself in a struggle. I want to keep you safe too.” The last words were hardly a whisper, my eyes cast down at my hands. “Cat, this is stunning. You truly do have an artistic gift.” He placed a hand behind my neck to pull me closer before pressing his lips against my forehead. “Thank you, my little Cat. You are a gift to me in more ways than you could ever know.” OceanofPDF.com 14 In two short weeks I would be moving out of my childhood home and would likely be cast out of the only family I’d ever known. I hadn’t told my mother my specific plans, but she would find out soon enough. Once she told the elders about my rejection of their mandates, I could only assume I would no longer be welcome among them. With the direction the group had been headed in recent months, severing ties might have been inevitable, regardless of my dating choices. Daeglan and his zealot followers saw the druid culture as an absolute, you were either in or out, there was no in between. I was not a fan of absolutes. I would rather live my life alone than give up my basic rights. Losing my place among the people I had grown up with wouldn’t have been so painful had it not meant losing my relationship with my mother as well. I only wished she could see reason. Fortunately, not every druid saw life in terms of black and white. Fergus was a prime example, and one of the few druids I hoped I would still be able to call a friend after I walked away. I had even considered keeping my job at the museum because of him but had decided I would need to make a clean break. Living my new life in the shadow of my old one would just be that much harder on everyone involved. I lined up a job at a local clothing store, and from there I would work on making a long-term plan. Knowing my life would soon be turned upside down, I was more inclined than ever to seek out the pockets of happiness I found in Strabane. In Belfast, I was constantly confronted with the reality of my problems. When I was with Fen, it was like the two of us were marooned on an island where nothing could touch us. Being with him on an intimate level just days before had only intensified my need for him. I hadn’t even lasted a full week before I gave in to the incessant pull and called in sick from work. When I was away from him, I spent a majority of my time thinking about him. I understood all the reasons he and I would likely never have a future; however, I found myself fantasizing about the possibilities. A series of one-in-a-million possibilities that I had no business entertaining. He was a Fae man, having lived hundreds of years of a life I couldn’t even fathom. The chance that we settled down like a normal, happy couple were inconceivably low. And yet … “Did you hear me, Cat?” came Fen’s voice, penetrating my heavy thoughts. “What? I’m so sorry, I guess I zoned out.” “Nothing to be sorry about, you have a lot on your mind. I just asked how things were with your mother,” he said cautiously as we walked along the sidewalk toward the center of town. The day was overcast but not unpleasant. There was no threat of rain, and the temperature was rather comfortable—the perfect day for a walk. “Not much has changed. I rented an apartment and can move in on August 1 st , and I found a new job I’ll start about that same time. I haven’t told my mom yet, and I don’t want to think about how she’ll react when I do. To tell the truth, I’d rather not talk about any of it. I’d much rather hear about you instead,” I suggested softly.