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“Fuck you! Fuck you both! Leave me alone! I told you toleave me alone!”
When Moss turned again, he saw what his injured heart hadn’t at first - the man was kissing Tira, but Tira wasn’t kissinghim. Her hands batted and punched at his chest, ineffectually trying to squirm out of his grip.
“Ain’t got no well now, do ya? No knight in shining armor now, little tidbit. Ain’t got our treasure from the well so’s I say you owe us a good time, and that nice little flip-knife, eh Sam? Especially seein’ you made us chase you out of town.”
The man leered and Moss crossed the distance to him in seconds, sending him flying by the front of his shirt over the bar. Moss snarled at him, baring his fangs at the man’s companion, the other imbecile from the clearing. “You do notlookat her!”
Tira blinked, startled, looking at the man - Kent - sprawled amid broken bottles behind the bar before turning her curious gaze to Moss again. She squinted, unseeing for a long beat, finally taking in the color of his eyes and clapping a hand to her mouth.
“...Moss? Moss! Oh, thank theGods.”
She flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck with a happy keen of joy, kissing him over and over while babbling. “I thought - I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t want to leave you, I swear I didn’t, I wouldn’t- I even tried to find a wizard to-”
Moss returned every kiss ardently, holding her tightly. He buried his face against her neck and indulged himself with a long, slow inhale of her scent, instantly calming his frayed nerves. “No, Tira, I know, I know. Everything’s alright. I’m here, and so are you.” He smiled against her skin, his heart dancing at the warmth in her embrace. She hadmissedhim.
She whispered softly, brushing her cheek against his. “Can we go h-back to your well now? I hate it here.” She threw a baleful glance at Sam, who seemed to have retained some bravado in the face of Moss’ less-intimidating human form and looked to be advancing towards them.
Tira abruptly spun out of Moss’ arms, slapping a hand down on a dull silver coin on the sticky bartop and pinching it between two fingers before Moss. He raised an eyebrow, smirking despite himself when she leaned in and quietly made her wish.
Sam had reached them, his hand aloft to grab for Tira’s arm, when his furious expression suddenly shifted into blind panic, a wet smack echoing from the floor by his feet. A disembodied, bloodless penis flopped like a dead fish out of Sam’s pant leg, caught by its balls at the cuff of his boot. Sam screamed, albeit in a much higher pitch than usual. An answering scream, full of the same high-pitched alarm, sounded up from behind the bar as Moss and Tira turned and walked nonchalantly out of the tavern.
Moss held his arm out for Tira to thread hers through as they left the now-chaotic tavern in their wake. “You know because you wished on silver, not gold, the enchantment will only hold a few days before they’ll grow back. Hopefully they’ll learn something in the interim. Now, would you like to wish for a carriage, little sovereign?”
Tira just smiled and shook her head, the lines around her eyes easing with contentment. “No, it’s a lovely day, Moss, and the company’s fine. There’ll be time enough for it later. Let’s take our time and work up an appetite on the way back, shall we?”
Moss chuckled, laying his hand over hers as they strolled towards the road leading back to the forest. “Ahh. Hungry for more cheese, then?”
“No. But maybe after.” Tira answered with a mischievous grin, picking up the pace.
* * *
The End
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Thank you so much for readingA Well-Kept Secret! If you enjoyed this little tale, be sure to head over tomy website(ValentineVerse.com) and sign up for my newsletter - you’ll find info on my other books there, too. And hey - enjoy the rest of the anthology - my writer buddies really hit it out of the park in this one!
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Fancy a bit more fantasy with plenty of spice? You’ll find a few nods to Western Barrett in my MMF series-starting novelStowaway and Silent Song, available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! It stars a ship’s captain FMC that callsallthe shots, a silver-tongued selkie exile, and a voiceless virgin siren wonderfully eager to learn.
About the Author
An unapologetic book-huffer and devourer-of-stories, Vera Valentine has carried on a torrid love affair with the written word for nearly all of her 40 years. Grown in the diner-laden wilds of the New Jersey Pine Barrens and transplanted to North Carolina, she lives with her husband, eight cats, and two dogs, most of whom are house trained. An avid fan of the Paranormal Why Choose genre, she tossed her author hat into the ring in September of 2021 and never looked back.
A self-professed chaotic capybara, Vera can usually be found spending too much time on social media, chilling with fellow authors, or scribbling down ever-expanding plot bunny ideas in her trusty paper sidekick, the Bad Idea Book™.
If you’d like to stay up-to-date on Vera’s latest projects and preorders, stop by her website - ValentineVerse.com for information, links, newsletter signups, ARC opportunities, and more!
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