Every inch of my body wanted to flinch back from the touch, but I lacked the ability to follow through with the wish that had my skin crawling.
Or maybe that was just my frozen flesh reacting to the first graze of warmth it had felt since Marin had removed his reluctant support.
A tremble entered my lower lip that pouted with fear and intimidation the rest of my face couldn't move to convey. The power coming off the man before me had me wanting to cower and hide... but even that wouldn't be enough to save me. Not from him.
As he tucked the hairs away, his thumb adjusted my chin to tilt my head back enough for my eyes to rise and meet the tip of his Roman nose. Under it sat cupid bowed lips that looked like they belonged to a fully grown cherub. Their natural pout and rosey tone had them looking soft and cushiony, but the hard set of his jaw and body gave them a harsh edge that had me swallowing nervously.
Though I couldn't see his eyes, shadows playing into his games, I could feel them moving across my face. His gaze, like the graze of his fingers, left pinpricks of lingering uneasiness in its wake.
Once the strands of my hair were securely tucked behind my ear, the long and... gentle fingers stroked their way back up the shell of my ears before starting another slow descent. They traced quickly cooling pads down the outer edge, their touch growing harsher the closer they grew to the flap of skin that, like every other part of me, I was starting to feel self-conscious about the longer I was around fae. It wasn't my fault that their every feature appeared to be a photoshopped version of what humans considered perfect, including their dainty ear lobes that were half the size of mine.
When his fingers reached the point that held their greatest interest, I felt the jostle of metal lightly stab the soft skin behind my ear to remind me that they weren't as empty as they typically were.
My breath caught in my throat just as a pull followed that had skin tearing and heat radiating from my ear. It spread, dripping down onto my collarbone to trail down into my shirt.
The man who had caused me the latest pain warming the side of my head took a step back, taking his deceptive touch with him. Smeared with blood, his fingers couldn't deny their true motive- the small blue earring he held pinched between bloody fingers.
The piece of jewellery that matched the eyes of the man it belonged to. Ash.
Smeared in the bright red of my blood, the stone glinted a light purple colour where the light hit. The man who held it was caressing it with the tenderness his touch on my ear had begun with as he turned it this way and that while inspecting it.
With the steps he had taken back, my eyes could watch his drift shut m as he gripped the piece of jewellery in his fist and lifted it to his lips where he pressed a firm kiss against it as he took a deep breath. His shoulder expanded with the draw of air and... froze.
His shoulders stiffly lowered as his eyes snapped open to reveal irises as blue as the crystal he held. My brows pulled together as my eyes squinted to make sure I was seeing things right.
Ash...?
A hard blink had the haze clearing from my eyes. No, the taller and larger man standing before me wasn't Ash. Their similarities just had me confusing him for him. They had the same eyes. And nose... And high cheekbones.
The man's nostrils flared as he took another deep breath that had his nose wrinkling and eyes narrowing. My muddled head didn't miss the sudden increase in hostility they held.
"Why does it smell of old blood?" He demanded, bringing his hand down to peel his fingers open to reveal the blood-smeared item he had ripped free from my ear.
