Page 42 of Consort's Glory
There would be plenty of time for those things later.
Margot set a steaming mug on the coffee table in front of him. “You look like a cat burglar.”
“A what?”
She gestured to his clothing. “All that black and the turtleneck. You look like you’re about to go rob a high security bank, except you’re missing a balaclava.”
He watched her sit down, deliberately keeping one cushion between them, and gave her a bemused look. “All banks are high security.”
“Not the point.”
“These are my comfortable clothes.” Theodore glanced down, trying to see what she saw. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to him. A high-necked, long-sleeved athletic shirt and comfortable black pants that wouldn’t get in the way when he fought. There was nothing abnormal there. “Do you not like them?”
Margot avoided his eyes as she took a long sip of her tea. Her hair was loose and wet down her back, and her pajamas hung off her frame in ways that made his cock pay close attention. All of that was deliciously distracting, but he couldn’t focus on it. Not when her scent was… gone; washed away under the subtle, astringent smell of Noscent.
He wrinkled his nose. Why in the world would she keep using the stuff? He could understand it in a Healing House, where anyone with a sensitive nose might wander in and it was best to be prepared, but in private? He couldn’t wrap his brain around it.
“Why would that matter?” Her eyes darted to meet his before he could open his mouth to respond. “You know what? Don’t answer that. You look fine.”
Theodore leaned back into the cushions. Looping an arm behind her, he waited until she wasn’t drinking before he slowly dragged her across the empty cushion between them.
Margot clutched her mug with both hands. “Hey!”
“What?” He settled her under his arm.
“You said you wouldn’t try anything,” she accused, her cheeks flushed bright red. Despite her protestations, he could tell that she was flagging. A blow-out confrontation with her grandmother and nearly an entire bottle of rich fey wine, finished after said confrontation, left Margot looking like she might keel over at any moment.
It was a good thing he was there to soften her landing.
Theodore dipped his head to breathe in the scent of her hair. This close, not even the Noscent could totally wipe it away. Relaxing now that his beast had her in its lungs and in its arms, he replied, “I made no such promise. I said no sex and no kissing. I very deliberately did not say no touching.”
Margot huffed. Eyeballing the gloved hand draped over her shoulder, she remarked, “You know, for such a touchy-feely guy, you sure wear your gloves a lot.”
“You sure look at them a lot.” He playfully pricked at the fabric of her pajama top with his clawtips. “I wonder why.”
Unsurprisingly, Margot didn’t answer him. Not that it mattered. As soon as she melted into his side, her little feet drawing up to tuck themselves under her thighs, he didn’t care about anything else.
“Comfortable?”
She set her mug next to his with a sigh. “Yes.” Tentatively, like she wanted to stop herself but couldn’t, Margot turned to rest her undamaged cheek against his chest. Her voice was a painfully soft whisper. “This is… this is really nice.”
Heart hammering, Theodore curled his arms around her and shifted slightly so he was leaning against the armrest, allowing her to stretch out along the cushions. “You sound surprised.”
“I don’t get much physical contact,” she admitted. “I’ve never done this.” Her voice dipped even softer, as if she were speaking to herself. “I shouldn’t do this. I don’t even know why I want to.”
He peered down at the top of her head. It didn’t even bother him that her damp hair soaked through his shirt. The satisfaction of holding her, of knowing she wanted to be held, was indescribable. “That’s a shame.” He lifted a hand to begin sifting his claws through her hair. “Elves love to cuddle.”
“I didn’t know that. I thought elves were one of the more solitary races.”
“That’s what we like to make people think.” He stretched out his legs alongside hers, tangling them until they were both more or less horizontal on the elf-sized couch. Turning his nose into her hair, he added, “But we’re not. We’re pack animals just like shifters or orcs. We need touch to thrive. We’re just selective about who gets to do the touching.”
“…Oh.”
Sensing a change in her mood, Theodore took in a deep breath and let it out in a long, slow purr. Margot jumped a little. “What was— Are you purring?”
Instinct pressed close. Gentle her. Make her see you can be soft. He purred a little louder and cupped the back of her head, urging her to relax. Within seconds, the stiffness disappeared, leaving her languid and soft against him.
She was quiet for a while, so Theodore pulled her closer and asked, “Do you want to talk about what happened with Sophie?”
