Page 343 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

"That's charcoal, Valek."

"Exactly. Perfect."

He crushes it between crumbling crackers and chocolate, then holds it out to me. "For you."

I laugh nervously, glancing between my perfect golden marshmallow and the… hunk of burnt tire being offered to me. "Um… thanks?"

Wraith makes a distressed growling sound and I turn to see he's holding his own s'more out to me. This one, much to my surprise because I've seen what he does in a kitchen, is actually perfect.

"Beginner's luck," Valek remarks, grinning.

"Thanks," I say, taking it from Wraith and taking a bite while he watches me with mesmerized blue eyes even though I'm getting fucking marshmallow all over my face. "Wow, this is delicious."

Wraith makes a soft rumbling sound that's very close to his purr.

Valek eats his own s'more pointedly and starts on another, muttering about not being outdone again.

"Want mine?" I ask Wraith, holding it out.

He looks at it, unsure, his eyes moving between the dripping gooey snack and my smile. He finally takes it and stares down at it in both hands, turning it over and over.

"If you wait, it'll cool off," I tell him. "It might be easier to chew."

He lifts one hand without looking up. Can't chew anyway.

Oh. Right.

I take another bite of mine and look into the fire.

Valek continues roasting his own marshmallow, humming quietly like he hasn’t noticed anything. This time, he's doing it perfectly, and I have to wonder if he ruined the one he made me on purpose so Wraith could do better.

Wraith lifts the s’more.

His jaws part.

The graham cracker is too wide.

He turns it sideways, but that’s worse. His teeth catch the edge and crush it before he can guide the rest into his mouth. Crumbs drop onto his chest. The sticky marshmallow stretches from the cracker to the side of his jaw in a long white string.

He freezes, FUCK written all over his face.

The scent of midnight forest spikes with a fresh wave of anxiety and his hand drops. He turns his head away, hunching forward as he tries to wipe the marshmallow off with the back of his wrist with a humiliated growl.

I set my s’more down and start reaching for a towel to offer him.

Valek reaches over, plants one hand against Wraith's massive shoulder, and shoves him off the log.

I gape at Valek. "The fuck?" I sputter.

Valek calmly reaches over, steals the ruined s’more from the dirt, and holds it up to the firelight.

"There was a bug on it," he says, pointing.

Wraith pushes onto one elbow in the mud, blue eyes blazing.

He lunges.

Valek bolts off the log, laughing as Wraith catches the leg of his pants. The fabric stretches. Valek makes it two stumbling steps before Wraith yanks him backward hard enough his feet leave the ground.