When the Woods Go Silent (Haret Chronicles: Dark Fae #1)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

R UBY

“This is an incredible space. You should bring people up here to eat,” I marvel, turning a full circle and taking in the possibilities of the rooftop garden.

Torrence is behind me, bringing the outdoor couch cushions from a little storage shed and shaking out a blanket to guard us against the growing chill. A waist-high wall around the edges of the flat roof makes us invisible from street level, and it feels like we’re all alone in the whole world.

The garden is three straight rows of raised wooden planting beds, each covered now with a neat plastic tunnel to trap the heat from the sun and coax tiny seedlings to grow. But beyond that, we’re eye level with the canopy of the forest. With the right decor, it would feel like a treehouse up here.

“I prefer it just for the restaurant staff,” Torrence says shortly as he turns the gas on in a small fire pit. Flames dance to life, and I warm my fingers over them before settling onto the couch. There’s plenty of room for both of us to snuggle up on the thick cushions, and I sigh into the warm, chunky blanket, loving the contrast of chill night air and body heat as he sits down next to me, our thighs pressed together.

“I bet it’s for all your dates,” I tease, thinking that this really is the ultimate date night location. Private but somehow deliciously exposed, and even though it’s mostly bare now, I can imagine it full of bright flowers and exotic fruits for the restaurant below us. If it were only for growing produce, he wouldn’t have the fire pit and the couch.

“I told you, I don’t have time for dating.” His voice is harder than I expected, and I deflate a little, wondering why he even agreed to tonight in the first place, if he’s so freaking busy. Maybe Arlo convinced him to come, just like I had to with Rose. I hope that’s not true, and the idea sours my mood instantly.

“Just you and the food and the woods, then,” I say, trying to keep things light as I gaze into the trees beyond. “The magical, beautiful woods.”

“You’re a little obsessed with magic, aren’t you?” he asks, real curiosity in his voice. I can’t quite tell if he thinks this is a bad thing, or if he just thinks I’m weird for it.

Still, I refuse to hide this part of myself any longer - not from anyone. “I know it sounds silly. I just can’t help but believe there’s something else out there, something beyond what we can see and hear. It’s my version of religion, I guess. Don’t you feel it, when you’re in the woods? When you find a fairy circle?” I add, grinning up at him as I snitch a bite of raspberry brownie from the plate I carried up here. Holy hell, that’s good.

“Fairy circles are just biology. Humans love to dream about magic, but it’s just not for them.”

I giggle, even though the comment bothers me, and not just because it’s so different from what he said when I met him next to one. “You talk like there’s someone out there who does get to have magic. Doesn’t that prove your own statement wrong?”

Torrence hands me an empty glass and uncorks the bottle of pomegranate liqueur, giving each of us a generous pour. “Humans have always looked at things they don’t understand and called it magic. Then a decade or a hundred years later, they figure out the science.” He shakes his head, not exactly addressing what I said. He sounds impatient, and I sort of regret bringing it up.

He’s a prickly one, all hot and cold and mysterious. I shouldn’t like the puzzle so much, but figuring people out is a challenge I’ve learned to love.

“These stars are amazing.” I lean my head back onto the pillows, changing the topic to something neutral. “Thank you for dinner. I’m glad you had time for it.”

It’s a tiny jab wrapped in a request for reassurance, but he doesn’t take the bait.

“ Goblin Market is the reason I’m here, Ruby. I’ve worked too hard for...”

He trails away, even though I wait a long moment. “I get it. The bookstore is everything to me. Except for Rose, nothing is more important.”

“And you trust her?”

My eyes snap to his, and I feel instantly defensive. “What kind of question is that? Rose and I have known each other since middle school. Of course I trust her. She’s family.”

Torrence holds up his hands in a silent apology, and I wonder again what the hell is his problem with her.

“Family isn’t always easy to trust in my world. But I won’t try to get between you,” he says, as though he’s skimming my thoughts.

“Good. You’d lose, buddy. Even as hot as you are, you’d lose.” I offer him a sly grin with my honest answer, and his eyes focus on my lips.

“Oh yeah? And what about me is hot to you?” he asks, wrapping one of my purple streaks around his fingers and tugging me closer, getting my heart thumping a little faster. Even though our conversation is a bit stop-and-go, there’s nothing wrong with our chemistry.

I indulge his question, although surely he knows how good-looking he is. “Hmmm. I like your eyes. How they flash all golden in the sun, like fire. And how tall you are. It makes me feel protected.”

“Protected from what? I thought you were a killer.” His voice is lower now, the irritation from a few minutes ago smoothed into something teasing, and my body begins to wake up as his fingers brush against my neck, still toying with my hair.

“I’ve been known to bring a man to his knees,” I say, tossing my head and pulling my hair free as I lean back a bit. “And what do you like about me?”

He considers me, those amber eyes burning a path down my body, and his mouth hooking up on one side. “You smell delicious. And I like how small you are. It makes me feel like I could steal you away and keep you.”

It’s not the sort of compliment I’m used to hearing, but I kind of like how unexpected it was. Something about it shoots straight past my heart and settles in my core. I like the thought of being protected by someone who’s a bit of an asshole with everyone except me.

Torrence is intense in a way I haven’t known before, and something tells me that dating him would be like falling down a deep hole. Disorienting and dangerous, but a hell of an adventure.

“Do you like the dessert?” he asks, offering me another bite.

“It’s so good, it’s magical,” I say, laughing when his brows pull together in a glare. But I let him feed me the chocolate and fruit, chasing it with a swallow of pomegranate. A moan slips from between my lips at the delectable combination, and his eyes darken with promises of pleasure.

I try to remind myself that I want to take this slow. I’m never as quick to jump in bed as Rose. Not even close. I need to know a guy well enough to form a connection, before anything too physical.

Still, the look in his eyes is unfurling some need deep inside me that I’m having a hard time ignoring.

I hold out my empty glass. “Take one more with me?” I shouldn’t have more than that if I want to keep my memories of tonight, but the taste is impossible to resist. Addictive, even. We do another shot of the liqueur, and Torrence shifts his body even closer to mine, propping his elbow on the back of the couch as he stares down at me.

“Your lips are like ripened berries now,” he murmurs, his gaze snagging on my mouth, still wet with pomegranate juice. His hand falls to my jaw, tilting my face up until my lips are like an offering to him, and he takes it, sucking away the sweet alcohol.

I glimpse the full moon over his shoulder before my eyes close, focusing on the soft slide of his lips against mine, the slow but demanding push of his tongue into my mouth. His fingers grip my neck before slipping into my hair and tangling there, holding me closer to the heat of his body.

I’m lost in sensation, a moth fluttering and blinded too close to the light.

Without breaking his intoxicating rhythm, he yanks me even closer, pulling my legs across his lap and folding me beneath him, one arm tight around my waist to hold me there as he deepens the kiss. My hands are free to wander, exploring the tight ridges of his stomach, clinging to the bunching of his arm muscles as my head spins.

He says magic isn’t for humans, but I’m falling under a spell here, trapped in the cage of his arms. My body arches into his, all of my soft places molding to the hard heat of him, and a gasp of need escapes my lips when he nuzzles lower, dragging his teeth across my neck.

“Not... too fast,” I manage, the demanding pulse at the apex of my thighs already calling me a liar. I want to go so much farther and faster than this, but I can’t trust my instincts when I’m sex drunk. Even people-pleasers need boundaries.

“We’ll see,” he whispers with a chuckle, still sucking at the sensitive places on my neck, nibbling and kissing behind my ear. But he doesn’t move to undress me or do anything more than what we’re doing, and my heart soars with how easily he respected me.

Just for that, I want to take it all back, strip him down, and fuck him like a nymph under the full moon. But I force myself to wait.

Instead, we kiss until my lips are bruised and swollen, rubbing against each other in the cooling night air until even the tiniest amount of friction between us grows almost unbearable.

“I could make you feel so good,” Torrence rasps, his breathing ragged in my ear, but his hands stay wrapped like a vise around my waist and buried deep in my hair, never straying to the parts of me that ache the most for his touch.

I don’t answer because I’ll give in if I do, and I’ll regret it in the morning no matter how good it feels now.

I duck my head and try to catch my breath, burying my nose in the hollow of his neck and learning his scent. It reminds me of winter, despite the inferno between us. Like the woods in January, with snow on the pines and a warm musk like wood smoke. Slowly, our breathing calms, and everything feels right and sweet as he holds me tightly to him, respecting the line I set.

A rebellious part of me wishes he would push, though, just so I could push back. So we could clash and spark together.

Instead, we settle deeper under the blanket, a pocket of warmth and protection from the chilly night, and I watch the stars twinkling beyond his shoulder, my eyes feeling heavy. My hand rests on the ridges of his stomach, and his arm curls behind me like we were made to fit together.

I could stay like this forever.

My eyes begin to droop closed, and Torrence murmurs something that sounds like an invitation to sleep. My mind relaxes as much as my body, and I feel safe enough to close my eyes and drift, knowing I’m anchored tightly. His lips settle in the crook of my neck, and I fall asleep to the tickle of his breath, warm against my skin.

ROSE

As soon as I turn the corner and can no longer see the restaurant, I force myself to take a pause and a few deep breaths.

Am I overreacting? No. I trust my gut, and my gut has not been impressed by Arlo in a while. At least he didn’t try to follow me.

Then again...

There’s a shadowy figure up ahead, leaning against some trees next to one of the shops. Tall and male, by the look of it. I palm my phone, ready to scream or dial as needed. It couldn’t be Arlo, though. I keep my shoulders squared and my steps strong as I near him, debating whether to make eye contact to let him know I’m watching, but risk inviting another weirdo into my life.

Men are so fucking unpredictable.

I figure that in a town this small, it’s safer to let him know I see him. He’s probably just out for a smoke or something. I nod at him as I near, looking him dead in the eyes, or as well as I can with the darkness around us. Why doesn’t this damn town have more streetlights?

He seems to startle as our eyes meet, and I feel a little better as I determine he wasn’t even watching me.

“Nice night,” I say flatly, deciding he’s probably just one of my new shop-owner neighbors.

“It is, verra nice.” He answers with a hint of surprise in his tone, along with the lilt of a sexy accent. Irish, maybe? Thank god, he doesn’t move to follow me, and neither of us speaks again as I continue past. I feel calm, like I made the right call letting him know I was watching.

Of course, my nerves never do let me rest, and I start thinking about Ruby, still back at the restaurant with Torrence.

My anxiety flares. What if both men are rough? What if Torrence is even worse? I’d been getting weird vibes from him all night, too, like he didn’t want me around.

I send her a quick check-in text, letting her know I can come back and pick her up if she wants, but my phone stays silent.

Praying to her Goddess that this only means she’s having a great time, I hurry up the steps to the bookshop porch.

RUBY

When I open my eyes again, I’m shivering. The blanket is tucked around me, but Torrence is gone. The magic of the night has congealed around me into a cold, flat darkness. There’s a certain unease in realizing that he left me alone on the rooftop in the middle of the night, regardless of how secluded the garden feels.

I sit up and wrap the blanket farther around my shoulders, feeling a little dizzy. I must have had more to drink than I realized. I fumble for my phone and check the time. It’s only been an hour since we came up here - maybe he went to the bathroom or something. There’s a recent message from Rose asking if I’m okay, and I quickly type out three black hearts before a noise near the rooftop door freezes me.

“Torrence?” I call softly. It’s so much darker up here now, with the moon covered over by clouds and the fire pit dark and cold.

“He’s gone.”

A shadowy figure moves toward me, and I scuttle up from the couch, clutching my phone tightly and trying not to stumble as my legs go all tingly and numb. Blond hair appears in the moonlight, and I swallow a little shriek as I recognize the man.

“Arlo? Where’s Torrence?” I let myself sit again until the dizziness passes.

“Something came up.” He inhales deeply of the night air, white teeth flashing in the darkness as he grins at me. “He asked me to check on you, since Rose already went home.”

Something about his tone makes me think he’s lying, and I eye him warily, judging the distance between the door and me, and where he stands. I rub my face briefly, still trying to wake up. My body feels weak, and my neck hurts from sleeping on it funny.

Nothing from the night feels good anymore.

“Do you need more than he gave you?” Arlo asks, and I do a double take as I try to figure out what that means.

“I’m fine. Thanks. I’ll just uh, head home, too.” I lurch off the couch, still trying to find my balance, and Arlo chuckles, making no move to help me.

“Light-headed, little kitten? Maybe I should walk you home.”

“I’m fine,” I repeat, dropping the blanket and waving him away. I’m getting a bad vibe from him, and I do not like him giving me a nickname. Hopefully, Rose had a decent night. Otherwise, I’m going to feel so freaking guilty for asking her to do this.

“If you say so,” Arlo murmurs, reaching back to open the door. He gestures to the narrow staircase that leads into the darkened restaurant, and even though I know I’m going back to ground level, it looks like I’m climbing down a deep, black hole.

Not even looking behind me to see if Arlo is following, I hurry through the silent, dark restaurant to the front door, trying to figure out how I feel about the night now. Maybe if I had been in a bed somewhere, in Torrence’s apartment, leaving me to sleep wouldn’t seem weird. But the roof?

Waking me up before leaving would have been nice. Even a text explaining why he left.

Arlo catches up to me at the door, watching me with an unreadable expression.

“You could do better,” he murmurs, and I frown. What the hell is his problem? I refuse to give him the attention he wants, instead doing a quick wave and taking off toward the bookshop without another word. He’s creepy, and I definitely owe Rose an apology for the whole double-date thing.

Rounding the corner away from Goblin Market , I decide to detour through the woods on the way home. Their velvety blackness is always centering, and I need the soft sounds of the night animals and the rustling of the breeze to make me feel like myself again.

But the woods are silent when I enter between the trees.

It feels like all the animals have gone into hiding and are holding their collective breaths, and even the wind has paused to watch what might happen. Tingles of excitement run up my spine as I recognize how it felt to be a child in these woods - motionless and waiting between the motionless, quiet trees. Watching for the magic.

Braced for the power.

It’s the exact feeling I’ve been chasing for so long, and finally, the fog clears from my brain. Is this the moment I’ve been waiting for? Will I see the fae woman tonight, after all these years?

It’s oddly much colder down here than on the rooftop, though, and the white puff of my breath is the only movement I see. The careful crunch of my boots on dry leaves is the only sound.

I flatten my palm against a tree trunk, and it seems to vibrate beneath my touch.

“I’m listening,” I whisper to the woods, forgetting all about the ending to my date. “Show me your magic.”

A leaf falls from somewhere above me, drifting down to brush softly against my fingers, and I bend to pick it up. Pocketing the soft new leaf, I make my way deeper, farther away from all things human.

“I’m listening,” I whisper again, hope nearly swallowing me whole as I hunt for the magic.

But the woods remain silent, and the trees don’t choose tonight to speak to me.