Psyche's Wings

Chapter 1

The man lay sleeping.

My vampiric sight revealed him in crisp detail as I crept near, moving as silent as the evening mist, and looked down upon his face.

His beauty pleased me: his features even and balanced, his skin a vibrant bronze, and his face framed by a tumble of black curls like little springs.

He wore no shirt in his sleep, for it was late summer, and the bare skin of his chest and arms looked smooth and warm, his pulse beating slow and steady in his throat.

Careful not to disturb him, I crawled onto the bed and leaned over to brush a few stray curls from his face.

If his lover were not away, I would not dare so much, for my brother is a jealous man.

Not wanting to waste my chance, I leaned closer still, pressed my lips to his lips, and kissed him.

He awoke.

"Fenn..." he sighed sleepily. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream again?"

"It is lonely in my room," I whispered. "And the house is so quiet."

"It's the middle of the night," he murmured. "It's supposed to be quiet."

His tone carried a hint of censure, and I felt its sting. Struck with sorrow at his rebuff, I moved to go.

"I am sorry. I have bothered you."

"Wait, Fenn," he sighed. "Come here."

He lifted the coverlet in invitation, and with rekindled happiness, I crawled beneath it and pressed myself against his side. He laughed softly and looped an arm around my back, letting me rest my head upon his shoulder.

"Silly boy," he said. "You're lucky Soren isn't here."

My brother believed that kisses and 'snuggles' were for lovers alone. I did not understand his jealousy. I wished only to be close, to express my deep affection and my love, and to feel the comfort of a warm embrace. My kisses were not amorous.

This man, though, knew my heart.

"I love you, dearest Ari," I said, breathing his pleasant, living scent.

"I know," he murmured, already half asleep again. "I love you, too, little Fenn."

~ ❀ ~

"You can't keep indulging him."

Soren had returned. He was unhappy with Ari, having learned that I had spent the last several nights in his bed.

"He has to learn what's acceptable and what is not."

"There's no harm in it, Soren. He doesn't want my blood or my body. He just wants to be comforted. Or perhaps it's me you don't trust?"

They'd gone outside to speak, but they didn't know I could hear them perfectly well from my perch on the sloping roof above.

Ari leaned against the rail of the wrap-around porch, gazing out over the blue folds of forested land. Soren stood at his back, a frown on his pale, handsome face. He looked very much like the father of my heart, who was his father by blood, though Soren had a more slender form.

"Don't be ridiculous," Soren replied. "And don't turn this around on me. I know Fenn is harmless, and you know I trust you. It's for his own sake that I worry. He can't live with us forever, and if he's going to integrate with the wider world, he needs to learn how to behave."

Ari let out a sigh and turned to face his life's mate. "He's not a dog, or a small child, Soren. If he's happy here, and happy the way he is, why should he change? Besides, he's as old as your father. He knows his own mind."