Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“You do.”
Their eyes met, something warm passing between them.
Ajax sipped from his mug, then set it down on the counter. “So you do have magic, right?”
Finn nodded. “I’m a preternatural. Did your werewolf friend tell you that’s what we call ourselves?”
“He did. He told me a lot about you all. About his pack. The others in the band think he just has a huge family.” Ajax chuckled. “So what are you?”
“A jinn.”
His eyebrows went up. “Like the genie?”
“Kind of. That’s lore. I don’t have a lamp and don’t grant wishes. And I don’t haunt people in their sleep like in other myths. But I can change into a form of vapor and shapeshift into other creatures. I can also set up a sort of mental forcefield and sense disturbances in it.”
“That’s how you knew about the teenagers climbing the fence?”
“Yes.”
“Fascinating. Does your employer know what you are?”
“Since the entire company is made up of preternaturals, yes, he’s well aware. He’s one himself. How long have you been able to see us?”
“My whole life. In fact, my best friend growing up was an elf. He’s the other person who knows about what I can see. We met because I walked right up to him and asked about his ears. He never told his parents I could see past the magic they used to blend. Said they didn’t trust humans. So I’ve been pretending not to see for as long as I can remember.”
“So you just sing about us.”
The corner of his mouth went up. “I do. But I don’t really think of you as monsters. That’s mostly metaphor. BTC songs are all about the darker emotions and feelings. Which is probably why I’m mostly writing lighter stuff right now. Well, other than a couple of songs anyway.” He walked closer again; the vanilla scent from his candles must have soaked into his clothes. That smell suited him somehow, but it made Finn long to bury his face in the man’s neck to get at his real scent.
“Finn?”
He blinked because he’d gotten lost in the fantasy of tugging that lean body close. “Yeah?”
“I’m glad you know that I could tell you’re something more than human.”
“Not more than, just other than.”
Ajax touched his arm, sending a warm fizzle through Finn’s entire body.
“I’m glad you know because I’d like to get to know you better. We are going to be stuck in this house together for half a year, after all.”
It was more than that, and Finn could tell by the way Ajax was looking at him. There was a warmth in those green eyes. A welcome.
And damned if he could resist that.
Chapter Eight
Ajax
Ajax’s allure to Finn was only growing the more he was around him. Which was what he was used to when it came to his sexuality. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he thought of himself as demisexual. Feelings needed to be there for attraction to set in. Like Alan. They’d been friends first, and the attraction had grown naturally. He’d really believed he was in love with the man, but Alan had been showing only one side of his personality—for years. His true colors were later so blatantly revealed, Ajax had been blindsided by who the man really was. Still, it had broken his heart and left him wary.
He wasn’t wary with Finn. Maybe a little just out of his own self-preservation, but this felt different. There was the instant attraction. The man was gorgeous and moved like he was made of smoke—which had inspired a song Ajax was working on called “Smoke Moves.” He was tall and broad-shouldered, and that dark red hair drew Ajax’s gaze. And those damn thick thighs. He grew hot just thinking of them. So yeah, the bodyguard was sexy, so that attraction made sense. But there was more to it. He liked the jinn’s protective nature, and he could be damn funny at times, too. And so polite when it came to the awful meals Ajax had been cooking. He was pretty sure he’d never be able to master food at this point. Finn never complained.
Ajax was also intrigued by the supernatural aspects of the man. The long life he’d probably lived. He wondered how old he was. His bandmate, Matt, was over a hundred and looked twenty-five. Ajax had an inkling Finn was older. And that he’d led a pretty lonely life. Just knowing he’d been abandoned and raised in orphanages broke Ajax’s heart. He got the feeling Finn had stayed alone his entire life because of that childhood.
Turning on his phone, he saw that he had more than twenty messages from Alan, but there was one from his bandmate, Barry, too. It had only arrived a few minutes ago. He opened that one.
We’ll be there in ten minutes.
Who was we? He had to be talking about the band. Ajax sighed and ran his hand through his hair before squaring his shoulders. He didn’t feel like dealing with them, but it wasn’t like he could turn them away.