AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No matter what we talk about, though, we keep the conversationsafe.Especially after we waded too far into the topic of Radomir, specifically book ten, where he grew up a bit and dealt with a particularly lecherous ghost.
Theo had blushed prettily, the heat in his cheeks making the gold of his freckles shine like a beacon before he’d dropped the screwdriver he’d been using onto his toe. We’d avoided the topic entirely after that.
Thankfully, it's hot and sweaty work, and Theo has needed help getting the hang of some things, so we’ve managed to fill the time and find things to keep our hands busy. A distraction I’ve sorely needed.
Theo picks it all up relatively quickly, especially for someone who swore up and down that he isn't built for manual labour. His favourite jobs involve anything to do with demolition and destruction.
The third bedroom has an old built-in wardrobe, the wood warped beyond repair. Well, it did. I’d left him to happily destroy the thing with a sledgehammer while I sanded back window sills in another room.
It really looked like he was working through some things.
He has started joining me in the evenings down at the bar again, too. The first night he came down, Seldon had unfortunately caught the giddy smile that had taken over my face before I could catch it. The cheeky shit slid behind the bar where’d I’d been pulling beers to hip check me and tease me about being a little too obvious.
I’d whipped his butt with my tea towel, but he’d only laughed a little too loudly, catching Theo’s attention entirely on purpose and slunk away, swishing his hips sassily. I’d rolled my eyes at his antics, Seldon had always been a bit of a flirt, but he was harmless. It didn’t stop me puffing up my chest a little when I saw Theo shooting daggers at his new friend.
That night, Theo plonked himself on a stool right in the middle of the bar, claiming a new seat, no longer hiding in his corner. It’s where he sits now every night for dinner. Which is great, but him coming down earlier means we don’t get to catch up. He still has his books,mybooks, and it looks like he is nearing the end of the series, but he is often distracted by other guests roping him into a friendly chat.
Theo and I still have to have that chat, as Mauvy likes to remind me at every opportunity she finds. She even has Edith in on the act too; the two are a deadly combination when they team up and I’ve taken to dodging them wherever I can. Which is nearly impossible considering Mauvy and I both live at the Black Stump.
I get their point, but honestly, I am a little frightened of rocking the boat. Whatever has changed Theo’s opinion—and I am pretty sure a sassy red-headed fox shifter is the cause—we’ve managed to come to a good place after our fight. Even if having him so tantalisingly close without being able to touch him is doing untold damage to my nervous system. Spending all day everyday half hard at the bare minimum can’t be good for my health.
And Theo is even starting to look a little healthier. Between Mauvy’s cooking and the physical labour, he’d started to fill out his slight frame a little more, losing the gaunt, undernourished look he’d had since his rescue.
If only those dark smudges under his eyes and general air of exhaustion could be healed, too. Occasionally, I find him distracted, staring off into the distance with a haunted kind of look in his eyes, but I am too scared to break the fragile truce between us to broach it with him.
Instead, I just try to distract him where I can. I am itching to ask Seldon about it, or even Seff.
Seff has been true to his word, popping by whenever he can to help out and show Theo the things I can’t. The two of them seem to be growing close, something I am diligently trying to not to be a dick about.
Theo having friends here is a good thing; he deserves to have all the love and friendship in the world. Even if it means I want to punch my friend in his too-handsome jaw whenever I see them laughing together over dinner after working together on our cottage.
Hiscottage. Theo’s.
Not ours.
After another couple of weeks of sanding, scrubbing, painting, patching, and our tenuous friendship with absolutely no touching - no matter how much my hands have blissfully reached in his direction of their own accord - Seff announced two nights ago that he had time to replace the decayed thatched roof of the cottage.
He arrived just after sunrise this morning to set up the scaffolding with one of his crew. A brutal time to be awake by any estimation, but worse when I’d been up ‘til the wee hours. I hadn’t worked the close, but it had still been a late one.
Spring has begun its descent into summer, and the days are getting stiflingly hot. Still, that doesn’t stop Theo, Seldon, Edith, and me from hovering around the back of the tavern to watch as a shirtless Seff lifts the bundles onto the scaffold. Edith whistles and catcalls obnoxiously when he uses his impressive upper body strength to haul himself up onto another level.
“Gods, that man isglorious.” Seldon is nearly panting as he snaps open his large fan dramatically, waving it in front of him. Theo snickers in agreement, his eyes following Seff with absolute precision, his pink lip caught between his teeth.
A ripple of jealousy crawls up my back and my powers itch my palm to send out a pulse of power to do something petty like make Seff fall. Notfar. I don’t want him injured or anything. Just a little less… perfect.
I clench my fist against the urge and grunt, folding both my arms across my chest for a little extra restraint. Theo notices my reaction; it would be hard not to since he’s standing right next to me at a safe distance - something that isn’t a coincidence at all - and tips his face up to look at me, the sunlight catching his golden eyelashes, highlighting the freckles on the bridge of his nose just perfectly.
A small smile toys on his lips, and he twists, bumping his elbow into my arm, winking. Heat floods my limbs. Suddenly, with him looking at me,reallylooking at me, for the first time in weeks, and far too close, it’s hard to breathe.
I stare, too hard and too long, unable to pull my eyes away from him. But Theo stares back, his eyes flicking from mine down to my mouth and back up again, his tongue darting out to lick his lips in an act I am ninety-percent sure was unconscious, even as it sends a bolt of white hot lust to my cock. Fuck.
“I have good news and bad news, Roan.” Bless Mauvy and her fishmonger wife ways. Her yell from the back door of the tavern snaps Theo and me clear of the moment brewing between us.I manage to tear my gaze away from the blush creeping up his neck, up to the points of his ears, to watch my best friend make her way to our group. Keeping my back firmly to the lot of them, I can hear Theo hissing at Edith and Seldon to shut up over their obvious snickers.
Mauvy plonks herself down on the garden wall next to Edith, who pulls a bottle of wine out of Gods know where, uncorking it with her teeth and taking a swing.
“Good news is, the mages are coming next month. They are wanting to put their tents up on the lawns as usual.” Mauvy accepts the offered bottle of wine, taking her own drink before passing it along to Seldon. The mages taking over the lawns during the summer is nothing new; they’d been visiting every couple of years for decades, setting up their opulent tents and charming the locals. Coming from the Overlands, their magic is tied to the lands in Ulydessia, but they enjoy visiting other sacred grounds and the beings there to learn new gifts.
In a strange way, Mauvy and I had grown up with a lot of them, and we were all friends. It’s a bit like a reunion whenever they can visit.
