AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Brody, did you want to report on how your team is doing?"
"Sure." I sat up straighter and tried to unclench my hands, tried to be in the room. Present. I couldn't blow this. Didn't want to lose my job. "It's taken a day or so for things to settle after Keziah's, ah, incident. But everyone is bonding well and I've got high hopes for improved performance once we're back in the office." Which reminded me I should really check in on Keziah. She was no doubt recovering well at home, wanting no reminders about this place, but I should assure her we understood.
If only she'd been able to talk to us earlier, maybe we could have helped, or at least made for a more supportive environment at work.
"Yes, unfortunate business, that. It's just lucky that they didn't make us all pack up and go home."
"John, do you want to go next?"
Grateful that the conversation had moved away from me, I forced myself to lean back in my chair to relax.
The faint scent of leaves and bark seemed to waft through the room, taunting me.
I wanted to be back inside that hollow. With her. Whether this ache was the geas or something else, I didn't know. Couldn't explain. But every part of me needed to be near her, to satisfy her, to hold her, kiss her.
I'd been wracking my brain for ideas on how to delight her body—without having sex—but my thoughts came back to that over and over again. I wanted to be inside her, to feel her around me, to watch her face as she shuddered in pleasure beneath me.
The meeting continued, but I didn't take in anything that was said; had no idea how the other teams were faring. All I knew was that we only had a few days left here, and I wanted to spend as much of that time with her as I could.
And yet, once the geas was broken I'd have no reason to see her.
A new plan developed in my head. I wouldn't break the third part of the curse today. I would do something simple, something that was nice but not delightful. If how I felt about her was because of the magic, I didn't want it to go away. Not yet.
It had been years since I'd felt like this about anyone, and that she was a mythical creature added to it. I'd never met anyone like her before; never knew that creatures like her existed, never stopped to fantasize about them. Certainly not sexually. But it wasn't about her wings or her large eyes, not the feathers that lined the edges of her face, though each of those things thrilled me, made me want to touch her more, explore this fascinating new being.
Selene had a kind soul, a deep soul, and I could see the loneliness in her eyes.
They were mirrors of my own.
The meeting wrapped up, and I checked the time. Almost six. I didn't think I could handle going to dinner and trying to make conversation with the others, though. It had been physically painful to be so close to them and so far away from her. I went down to the kitchen and poked my head in.
"Hey," I said, catching the attention of the closest staff member. "I'm not feeling up to eating with the rest of the company tonight. Do you think I could take something to my cabin?"
"Of course," she said with a smile. She grabbed a container and started filling it with a range of vegetables and meat—a mini buffet—and then placed that in a bag along with some yeasty bread. It was still warm, I could tell, and my mouth watered a little as she passed it to me.
"Thank you so much," I said.
"No problem. It happens more than you might think." She gave me a wink and then returned to her work. Dismissed, I left the kitchen and headed for my cabin, keeping my head bowed so I didn't accidentally make eye contact and get asked where I was going.
I felt awful thinking about it, but none of them mattered. Not right now. I had only one person and my mind, and she wasn't even a human.
There was a strange tug in my chest that I didn't understand. Had never felt before. Like a literal pull toward the forest as I headed toward my cabin. I had to go in and force myself to eat something. Maybe try to meditate. Anything to keep my mind off her for just a bit.
Finally, I was there. I locked the door behind me and drew the curtains closed, not wanting to see anything green or vibrant. Not wanting any reminder of her.
But the food tasted like ash in my mouth and when I lay on the bed, a feather from the down coverlet poked me. Feathers. But nothing as beautiful as hers.
Dammit.
I stood up and paced the room. I wanted so badly to be beside her, and yet the sooner I broke the geas, the sooner I would have no reason to. This feeling was like a drug and I wasn't ready to give it up.
I wanted to know more about her, learn from her. I wanted the unthinkable—I wanted her to stay in the hollow, stay with me. But she could never be part of my world, and I didn't think there was a place for me in the woods.
I tried to distract myself with books and movies, but all it did was make me miss being with her even more. The longing was an ache in my bones, a physical need that threatened to consume me as I lay in my bed.
Before I knew it, I was at the door, into the night. I didn't even take my phone. Didn't need anything but the moonlight to guide my way to the hollow. That tug in my chest took me through the forest, directly to her. As I walked, I made a plan, tried to think of things that wouldn't work but that I might find reasons for. Any touch sensation would do.
Any reason to touch her, as long as she wanted to be touched by me. And how she'd kissed me last night suggested that she very much did.
