Seducer Fey

by Cullyn Royson

  “Yeah.” Putting a hand up to his face as though to conceal a blush, Stag laughed sheepishly. “I was so scared before my first time that I was practically in tears, so I called Eadowen.” Stag turned to Eadowen. “Thanks so much for the suggestions,” he added.

  “You got tips from Ea? Smart move. I wish I’d thought of that,” Taban replied. He wanted to continue quizzing Stag because it made the cheerleader so uneasy, but Eadowen grabbed Taban’s ankle and pulled him back to the seat next to him. Relief spread across Stag’s face and his shoulders relaxed once Taban had been removed from his personal bubble. Craning his neck, Taban nuzzled Eadowen’s cheek, to which Eadowen responded by draping his arm over Taban’s shoulders. Donovan peeked at them and then looked away. To cheer his friend, Stag pushed the tray of hot chocolates toward Donovan who took one and regarded Stag expectantly with his piercing eyes. Acting on the nonverbal cue Donovan had given him, Stag started a conversation with Aydan about new car models, while Donovan listened intently.

  The friends admired the moonlit tree from their warm refuge with only the sound of the breeze and the gurgling bubble jets.

  “Stag, Donovan, wanna play Elvish Robot Quest after this?” Aydan turned his back to the rest of the company to warm his chest on one of the waterfalls. His hair made a delta in the bubbles as it flowed out around him.

  “That’s the three-dimensional partial sensation video game where you have to team up with the high elf vampires and colorful miniature horses to fight giant robots in a steam punk universe right?” Stag asked.

  Donovan nodded affirmatively.

  “Y’all have the gear for that?”

  The lacrosse player bobbed his head again.

  “Awesome.”

  ***

  A drizzle snuffed the trees candles out while they each took turns washing off in the outdoor shower. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Taban gathered his clothes and followed the others inside.

  Donovan, Stag, and Aydan went into the living room and started dressing in the gloves, vests, and visors required to experience the video game.

  “I call an elf,” Aydan said.

  “Then I’ll be a unicorn!” Stag replied. “What do you want to be Donovan?”

  “Sphinx.”

  As a centaur Taban joined them, but soon grew bored of the game and abandoned his character. Upstairs in his room, Taban started to change into his pajama pants, but when his bare feet touched the icy floor, Taban decided he needed to seek out a better place to relax. He padded across the upstairs common area to Eadowen’s room.

  “Uh … mm … Taban?” Eadowen said groggily from under the covers.

  “It’s cold in my room,” Taban muttered. He closed the door behind him shutting out the light from the hallway. Using his Ogham to see in the darkness, Taban made his way to Eadowen’s bed.

  “Well, you do have the second draftiest room in the house. Be glad you aren’t Aydan in the attic.”

  “That kid’s tough.” Taban pulled back the silky comforter and slid in next to Eadowen.

  “Can I get in?”

  “Okay,” Eadowen replied after a brief hesitation. They lay next to each other in silence listening to the wind pounding against the window pane in a pulsing rhythm. The light drizzle morphed into large half-frozen raindrops, which crashed against the glass. Taban shivered when he felt the subtle change in temperature caused by a gust of wind blowing through the unsealed sides of the window. Sliding closer to Eadowen, Taban guided Eadowen’s arm around his waist. Eadowen rolled on his side to accommodate the movement of his arm and allowed Taban to rest his head on his bicep. Inspired by the pounding wind, Taban pressed himself against the length of Eadowen’s body.

  “Whoa, am I really that attractive?” Taban laughed and snuggled even closer.

  “I was fast asleep. It’ll calm down if you stop squirming,” Eadowen replied wrapping his other arm around Taban’s waist.

  Reaching behind his head, Taban stroked Eadowen’s jaw. He rotated his upper body so he could just see Eadowen’s face from the corner of his eye. “Wanna mess around?” Taban asked.

  “How much do you want to do?”

  “You know me. I’m a sensual soul.” Making a backrest out of pillows, Taban reclined against the headboard. He ran his hands over his own chest and regarded Eadowen through his lashes. “In other words …” Taban’s thoughts were interrupted as Eadowen caressed his chest with his teeth. “As long as it feels good.” Playfully pushing Eadowen’s head down to his abdomen, Taban ran his fingers through Eadowen’s bangs. “You know where my limits are.”

  “Do I?” Eadowen flicked his tongue just below Taban’s navel and exhaled slowly above the wetted spot. The tingling sensation Taban felt as Eadowen cooled his skin made him quiver involuntarily. Chuckling at the reaction, he propped himself against Taban’s chest. At eye-level with him, Eadowen repeated his question in a more serious tone: “Do I know your boundaries?”

  “You always ask me that. I trust you.” To guarantee the veracity of his words, Taban assured him with a peck on the lips. “Now stop talking and make me feel good.”

  Eadowen slipped one arm between the pillow and Taban’s back while his other hand held the side of his waist. As they kissed deeply, Taban wrapped his legs around Eadowen’s hips and stroked his smooth jaw with his finger tips.

  “To what extent do you trust me?” Eadowen’s deep voice had a much more sensual tone than his previous question. Sighing, Taban flopped back on a pillow and looked up at the dark ceiling. The tie Eadowen had left hanging from his bookshelf tickled his nose. Taban yanked on the end and it slipped off the shelf and into his hands. He made a French bullion knot around his wrist.

  “This extent.” He offered the untethered end to Eadowen.

  Laughing, Eadowen accepted it and began to retie the knot. “One wrist tied to the bedpost won’t hold you, but I suppose that’s not the point.”

  “It’s symbolic. Okay?”

  ***

  No more than fifteen minutes later, Taban heard a clattering and yelling from the living room below Eadowen’s bedroom, followed by rushed footsteps coming up the stairs. The door to Eadowen’s room burst open a few moments later. Holding his white chinchilla, Stag stood in the doorway looking frantic at first, then surprised to see both Taban and Eadowen dressed only from the waist down in bed together. “Sorry,” Stag muttered. “The house is on fire you should probably head outside even though I think Aydan and Donovan have managed to contain it.”

  “And here I thought you two had nothing in common,” Eadowen commented looking from Stag to Taban. “I wonder why I ever bothered shutting doors.” He transferred himself from the bed into his wheelchair before Stag could cross the room to offer assistance. “I’m fine, I’ll be faster than if you tried to carry me.”

  “Great. The house is on fire and I’m tied to a bed,” Taban grumbled. “Isn’t anyone going to help me out?”

  “Go like this.” Eadowen made a quick sweeping gesture with his arm. Imitating the motion, Taban pulled his arm away from the bed post and the knot came undone.

  “Oh,” he said realizing Eadowen had tied a slip knot.

  “I wouldn’t ruin a good tie on you. Now hurry up.”

  To check on the status of the fire in the living room, Taban sprinted downstairs ahead of Eadowen and Stag who took the lift. He smelled smoke, but when he poked his head into the living room, he saw that with several buckets of dirt and the hose, Aydan and Donovan had managed to put out the fire. The grey chinchilla had taken refuge from the fire on Donovan’s shoulder where he’d kept it out of harm’s way.

  “It looks like they have it under control,” Taban called to Stag. “I can’t believe you got us out of bed for that.” He waved at the charred floor by the central fire.

  “How many times do I have to tell you to put out the fire before you play video games that make you lose your orientation to real objects?” Eadowen chastised.

  “We’re really sorry,” Stag and Ayd
an replied in unison hanging their heads.

  Donovan nodded in agreement with the sentiment and hit a button to roll up the two movie theater-sized screens they’d used for the game.

  “How am I going to teach you three not to…” Eadowen began, but Stag’s white chinchilla, interrupted him by jumped into his lap. Tickling the rodent’s fluffy fur under her chin, Eadowen’s face softened. “In the holiday spirit, I’ll let you guys off on this one. Just please be more careful. What is this chinchilla’s name?”

  “I call her Aglet.” Stag and Aydan exchanged smirks, clearly aware that Aglet had rescued them from punishment.

  “Give her a treat, you need to reinforce this behavior,” Aydan said under his breath.

  “I get Aglet as a chinchilla name, but why is the other one Grenadine?” Aydan asked as he gestured to the grey rodent who still perched on Donovan’s shoulder.

  “Named after my favorite drink.”

  “Roy Rogers?” Aydan guessed.

  “Nope, Shirley Temple.” Stag grinned.

  Fixing his messed hair, Taban noticed Stag glance in his direction with a furrowed brow and pursed mouth. “What is that look for?” Taban demanded.

  “I thought you were heterosexual.”

  “I pretty much am. Not that I expect you to believe me.”

  “So, Eadowen’s like your one exception? Or does your heterosexuality include hir in it because xie is gender-neutral?”

  “Hm not really. Where we were when you came in is usually the extent of our physical relationship.”

  “So you’re an asexual romantic with male-bodied people, but otherwise heterosexual?”

  “Sure. Whatever. Does it really need a label?” Taban shrugged. “And now I’m going to go back upstairs with Ea.” He started to walk down the hallway, but soon realized Eadowen wasn’t following him, so he returned to the living room.

  “I’m going to make everyone cheesecake.” Eadowen stroked Aglet’s grey tinted ears.

  “Even better,” Taban replied.

  Sitting cross legged on the floor, Stag made a clicking noise and tapped his nails on the wood. Aglet hopped off of Eadowen’s lap and bounced over to Stag followed by Grenadine who launched herself off of Donovan’s shoulder. Exhausted from the fire fiasco, the two nocturnal rodents napped in Stag’s lap while the friends watched Connor Haswell’s latest action movie on one of the big screens.

  THE END

  FOR CHARACTER PROFILES,

  TRIVIA, AND MORE, VISIT WWW.CULLYNROYSON.COM

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to Lawrence Abrams for providing research support for the Celtic Mythology, Scottish history, and Celtic languages. Abrams is a student of history at the University of California Davis.

  I benefited greatly from the support of Professors Michael Mills, Kate Reavey, and Elizabeth Williamson.

  I deeply appreciate my family’s support of my writing.

  Thank you to beta readers: Andrew Oswalt, Brandon Diltz, Brent Williams, Elisabeth Thomas, Jennifer Gabriel, Megan Cullinan, and Michael Rose.

  Finally, thank you to Bill Ransom, Katelyn Campen, and Molly Gort for insights and encouragement.

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