Enamored To A Fool (5 page)

Looking over, he smiled down at Brokk. “Did you just take a shot at me?”

“Uh huh.” Brokk smiled back.

Foster stared at the sprite curiously. He’d never seen the little guy smile at him before and was completely baffled.

As if answering his thoughts, Brokk spoke quietly to him while watching Axle. “That was kind of you to help him.”

“Huh.” Foster wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“It’s just…I’ve never seen you smile at anyone. You’re a bit intimidating.” Brokk finished with a blush.

Do I give everyone the
fuck off
vibe?
Foster thought about it, and while he didn’t like to be perceived that way, Brokk might have just nailed it. After feeling like an outcast to many, he might have shut himself down to all.

“Oh shit, I pissed you off, didn’t I?” Brokk began to get up.

“No, sit. You didn’t piss me off. Come and sit and talk to Axle and me.” Foster smirked at Brokk.

Brokk's frightened expression vanished and was replaced by a smile that made the man stunning.

Foster vowed that he would begin to spend more time with Brokk. This man could not only be good for him but also for Axle as well.

“Is it always this…busy here?” Axle waved his hand around, gesturing toward the…
shit
…limbo contest.

Foster felt like smacking his own damn forehead at the sight of the Seelie going under the pole.

Brokk chuckled. “Pretty much every day around this time is like this. Just give it a little more time, and then, it gets even crazier.”

“What? Are they going to pull out hula hoops?” Axle laughed sarcastically.

Foster coughed. “Ugh…no.” Better just to let the man watch than go into detail.

For the next fifteen minutes, Brokk and Foster listened to the moans of Axle eating. Foster would have called the mortal out on it, but this was the first time the man had smiled and actually looked his twenty-one years. Foster was going to have to get some of those damn berries for his home if Axle enjoyed them that much. Plus, the sounds were making him achingly hard in his trunks. Foster had promised himself that he would give Axle the time he needed to heal, but he wasn’t dead. Those damn noises could have just as easily been made while he was pounding his cock into Axle’s ass.
Stop it!

Foster tried to push thoughts of sex out of his head. Glancing down at Axle’s plate, he noticed that Axle hadn't touched any of the mortal food. Smiling, he glanced over, noticing that the party was still going on. Music was flowing, and passion was igniting all along the beach. Some were laughing while others were tossing bikinis to the sand in order to have a little more fun with their fellow Seelie.

Brokk got up and took off without saying a word. Some Seelie didn’t have a shy bone in their body and would often times have sex right there for everyone to see. Foster never had and would never do it. He didn’t like bringing attention to himself any more than he had to. His looks alone separated him from the rest.

“Do you want to go over there?” Axle asked Foster.

“No.” Turning, Foster stared at Axle whose face was flushed as he watched. “Do you?”

Axle vehemently shook his head.

“Do you want to head back to the hut for the night?” Foster almost laughed when Axle got up stiffly and threw his plate away. Chuckling, Foster followed Axle as he all but ran into the forest.

Axle turned and glared at Foster. “Could have warned a guy!”

Foster burst out laughing. “What would be the fun in that?”

“You suck!” Axle stormed off to the hut.

Foster followed, laughing all the way. Maybe having Axle around would be a blessing in his lonely life.

The next day, Axle was shocked to feel a nudge at his side. Disoriented for a moment, he thought maybe he'd had some crazy-ass dream. Blinking open his eyes, he groaned when he saw Foster staring down at him. Not that he was bad looking, it just solidified the fact that he was, in fact, in the Seelie realm, and shit had hit the fan forty-eight hours ago.

At the same time, Axle was able to take a deep breath. This was his fresh start, and dammit, he was going to take it and run with it.

Foster squatted down in front of him. “Time to get up.”

Axle glanced over at the window, seeing it was still dark out, “It’s still dark.”

“That’s the best time to hunt game.”

“Oh, I don’t hunt. Never have and never will. Don’t want to be killing any fawn’s mother or some shit like that.” Axle tried to put the covers over his head. Foster ripped them off him entirely.

“Then, you pick the berries you loved so much yesterday, and I’ll hunt. But, it would be best for you to learn, just in case.” Foster scratched his jaw.

The man never had a five o’clock shadow. Axle wasn’t so blessed. He had a shadow that sprouted by noon, which he realized, while rubbing his jaw, was sorely in need of a shave.

Foster seemed to read his actions, because he walked over and mentioned, “I only have a straight razor and soap in the bathroom, but it should do for now. I can put in an order to get you the razor you like the next time someone goes over to pick up supplies, which should be any day now. Time is different over there so…well, it may take some time to get you what you need, so make sure you make a list.”

Axle got up and stretched, scratching his chest and groaning. He stepped into the bathroom and took care of business. Afterwards, he searched the sink to get to work on shaving. He had a few nicks here and there, but he was smoother than he'd ever been with his plastic razor from home. Maybe he could switch it up.

Walking out, he saw that Foster was waiting for him with a small breakfast of warm bread and berries. Axle sat across from the gorgeous man and began to eat. The distraction of the beautiful man was definitely going to make Axle miss his mouth.
Why is that green hair becoming such a damn turn on now?

Between mouthfuls, Axle asked, “We’re seriously going to go out hunting right now?”

Foster nodded. “It’s quiet and the best time. It’s a soothing time of day.”

“Well, I’m flat-footed, and any animal can hear me coming from a mile away. Sounds like I’ll be a burden.”

Foster smiled softly, glancing down at the table. “If we don’t catch anything, it’s not a big deal. It’ll be nice to have you out there with me.”

Well, that stopped any more protests that Axle was about to voice.
Is Foster lonely in the middle of this crazy bunch?
Brokk seemed kind to him, but it also seemed so…new by the way they practically introduced each other yesterday. Axle hated being in the dark, and in this situation, he was dropped in the middle with no information.

Outside of the first few moments of meeting, Foster had been pretty kind to him. Hell, it had been Axle’s fault that Foster was nasty to him in the beginning. Axle wasn’t exactly being nice when they met. But since then, Foster seemed to be the only one that Axle could understand in this realm.

Tilting his head, Axle wondered if maybe they were more alike than the others.
Did the Seelie give Foster shit for being different from them? And why does that thought piss me off so much?

Axle finished wiping the crumbs off his fingers, and Foster got up and led them outside into the darkness.

As they walked down the trail, Foster whispered over his shoulder, “We got about a mile walk. There’s usually good hunting the farther you get away from the beach.”

They walked deeper into the fall forest. The beach and lake disappeared from view, and great trees reached toward the darken sky. Funny how Axle had thought their world was small enough that it circled the huge lake.

“I didn’t think your world was this big. I thought everything was around the lake."

Foster shook his head. “No, strangely, that’s the central location where most of the Seelie and Unseelie live. There are a couple of what humans would call villages around the lake. Our number is not so large, but we’re immortal, and if our number dips down, we find a human changeling to join our world. Actually, that’s where you and your brother come in.”

“So your world is pretty big?” Axle felt like an idiot right now. Well, he guessed that’s what happened when you fall down the rabbit hole on your drunken ass.

“Yes. It’s big, and there are a few that live away from the lake, although very few that choose not to live close to everyone.”

“You don’t seem to enjoy living by a lot of people. Not that I don’t understand, I’d have a damn headache all the time if I was on that beach day in and day out.” Axle pushed a branch aside that damn near smacked him in the face. Man, the brush was getting thick.

Foster stilled for a moment and then moved so fast that Axle didn’t know what in the fuck just happened. Foster took off, and Axle ran after him. He skidded to a stop when he came upon the fae's version of a boar, except the animal had a bluish tint with vicious-looking claws instead of hooves. An arrow stuck out of the beast's side.

“What the fuck is that?” Axle choked out.

“It's dinner if I can get this cleaned up in time.” Foster took out a blade and began cutting into the grotesque-looking creature.

Foster gave him a sympathetic look before pulling a soft cloth bag from the side of his quiver. “There’s a good amount of berries about twenty yards away. Why don’t you go over there and pick them while I take care of this?”

Axle stood stock still, unsure of what to do. He didn’t want to stay. He had always been one of those big guys that went down like a ton of bricks at the sight of blood. Kicking it into gear, he nodded and made his way over to some bushes that held thousands of bright, plump purple berries.

Working from one bush to the next didn’t take too much time, but it was enough time that when he turned, Foster was done cleaning the animal and tossing it over his shoulder. Axle wanted to gag when he saw a line of blood work its way down Foster’s shoulder. Trying to keep his eyes focused on anything but that, he followed Foster back to their hut.

Foster took the animal off to the side of the hut and hung it up. Axle became dazed while watching the thing swing back and forth. He could actually hear the blood dripping onto the leaves below. Axle had no clue why, but dizziness soon took over. His breathing became funny, and he recognized the signs, the same ones he always got when he was given a shot or Torque had cut his knee open on a nail when they were little.

One moment, he was up, fighting to stay vertical, and the next, Axle was flat on his back being shook awake. He finally opened his eyes to see a very concerned Foster.

“What happened to you?” Foster leaned closer and checked his heart.

Fuck, the man still had blood on his chest. If he hadn't been flat on his back, he would have gone down all over again at the sight. “Ugh,” Axle moaned.

“What? Tell me.” Foster's voice rose.

“The blood. I hate blood and needles. Pass out every time. Can we…go wash up or something?” Axle tried to take a deep breath, and he swore he could smell the coppery scent. Hell, he was nauseous; he might just throw up right there and then.

Foster ducked under his arm and helped him over to the lake. Not even slowing down, Foster took not only himself but Axle as well into the cool waters.

Sighing, he ducked under as all cylinders began to fire back up in his brain. Reemerging from the waters, Axle almost felt like himself again. Okay, he wouldn’t admit that he was still a little shook up, but he was no longer dizzy.

Glancing over, he watched Foster wash his muscular arms with the water before sinking under. A few seconds later, Foster came back up, whipping the water out of his hair.
Huh…that was hot.
The green hair almost looked black when wet, and the white tips contrasted even more.

Foster stared at him with those stunning blues eye, and Axle felt his breath catch. Holy hell, he was really starting to like this fae. Without even thinking twice, he drifted over to Foster, getting as close to the man as possible without touching him.

Glancing down at Foster's full lips, Axle wanted to lick the drop that was about to fall off that plump lower lip.
Should I do it?

Foster grabbed him, cupping his face, causing Axle to look back up at those eyes.

“Give yourself time. I can be patient.” Foster murmured.

“I don’t want to be patient.” Axle leaned closer, so close that he felt Foster's warm breath against his own lips.

“I want you to give yourself time. Heal a little more and then come to me. This isn’t a tease; it’s what’s best for you.” Foster's lips brushed his as he talked, causing Axle to shiver.

“How long?” Axle wasn’t sure he had enough self-control to wait. Just that thought caused his brow to furrow and lean back a little.

Foster smiled softly to him. “You’ll know when you’re ready.”

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the black castle where his brother was. Yeah, he had a long road ahead of him.

“Come on, let’s go get dry, and then, we can take a walk or go over to the beach.” Foster grabbed Axle’s hand and pulled him to the shore.

Axle shuddered. “Anything but the beach. That place makes my skin crawl.”

Foster chuckled. “Too much for you?”

“Yeah, I thought it was some cheesy beach party until after dinner. Wow, talk about sucker-punching a guy with an eyeful.” Axle blushed, remembering last night’s events. It wasn’t like he was a virgin or he didn’t enjoy going to a back room at a bar, but hell, it wasn’t expected. It was more like he expected some guy to play a guitar around a beach fire while everyone swayed to the music. He didn’t expect to watch a live beach orgy.

Foster laughed even harder. “It’s not always after dinner. Sometimes, they get an early start.”

Axle's hearing perked. “Wait, you’ve never participated?”

Foster shook his head. “Not fond of getting sand in my ass.”

Oh that was an excuse if Axle ever heard one. And by the fae’s features, he had completely closed off to further questioning. But Axle could put two and two together. The stares the others gave Foster weren’t very kind, and Foster held this armor about himself when he was around the other Seelie.