Page 17 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

Oh dear.

Maybe he was too sweet for me to get involved with. Definitely had those partner-material vibes written all over him. I didn’t feel amazing about leading him on if he was getting the wrong idea.

But no one could think a one-night-stand proposition or a little—albeit incredible—forest sex meant I had any kind of serious intentions. We were just two consenting adults who liked each other’s company and who happened to be traveling in the same direction. Cut and dry. Simple and fun.

I watched Barra out of the corner of my eye as we walked along the dirt road. He seemed lost in thought. Loosely holding Pebble’s reins in one hand, he gazed into the trees and silently strode along. In his fully brown outfit, he looked like a tree trunk. If it wasn’t for his vivid lavender skin and golden hair, he’d blend right into the background. Thank the goddesses for his natural beauty because his dressing skills were seriously subpar.

“Sooo where’d you learn to give head like that? Former partner?”

Barra tripped on his own feet, catching himself on Pebble’s saddle. When he finally righted himself, I saw a light rosy flush on his cheeks. Okay, that was adorable.

“Or current lover?” I waggled my eyebrows.

“No!” He coughed. “I mean, no, I wouldn’t have done that… with you… if I was with someone. Obviously.”

I shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Everybody cheats, Barra. At least a little bit.”

He looked at me strangely. “Do you really believe that?”

“Yeah,” I said lightly, pulling an apple from my skirt pocket. “In my experience, it’s kind of inevitable.”

“So, you have then? Cheated?” he asked, sounding flummoxed.

“Well, no. But I’ve never been involved with anyone seriously enough for it to even be an issue. It’s not really my thing.” I took a bite of the apple, munching contemplatively. “People have cheated with me though. I found out later. And it’s happened to most folks I know. Just the way of the world.” I shrugged again.

“I don’t believe that.” He frowned. “Sure, it happens sometimes, depending on the health of a couple’s relationship. But it doesn’t have to be inevitable. That’s… that’s kind of a depressing way to view things, Elikki.”

I felt a flash of irritation toward him. “And I bet you’ve never been cheated on, huh?”

“Yes, I have. A couple times.”

“That you know of,” I muttered.

“That I know of,” he acknowledged. “But we had other issues. I was hurt, of course, but over time it was clear that the cheating was a symptom of problems we hadn’t dealt with. And couldn’t deal with properly. Not the cause of the breakup.” He peered at me. “Has that happened to you too?”

“Wow, I think that’s the most I’ve heard you talk all at once!” I laughed and bopped ahead of him to feed my apple core to Pebble. I’d already said enough to this man. He didn’t need to know about my abysmal relationship history. How the first person I’d trusted after I left home for good had serenaded me, spent weeks traveling with me, told me they loved me… and then cheated with a tavern piper one night and robbed me blind. I’d never seen them again. That definitely wasn’t the last mistake I’d made in the romance department—far from it—but it was the last time I let myself trust anyone else too much.

“Elikki…”

I hadn’t even liked them all that much. Certainly didn’t love them. But it had felt so nice to be wanted, adored, after so many years of being ignored. And all it got me was an empty coin purse, an empty stomach, and many horrible days before I could steal and scrape together enough money to get on the road again. Trust was overrated.

Damn, my family messed me up good, I thought, not for the first time, before shoving that back down with a sigh.

“Why are we even talking about this?” I said, flipping my long hair in Barra’s direction.

“You brought it up!”

“Right, right. Why don’t we discuss your abysmal fashion sense instead.”

“Brown is the new brown.”

I chuckled, shoving his arm playfully. My hand met solid muscle under his shirt, and he didn’t budge an inch. Whoa.

Barra rubbed the back of his hair. “I like brown.”