Dark Empathy Archibald Bradford (best books to read in your 20s TXT) 📖

aside when he noticed something off about her; she seemed… keyed up somehow.

“How can I help?”

He had been cautious of the Witch before she had cursed him, a healthy stance to take given that she could dissolve his bones with a single spell, but afterwards his caution gave way to gratitude and even affection.

She was dressed as usual in her sarong and woolen shawl, her bare feet in the snow making him marvel at her resilience even as he once more had to keep his eyes off of her mostly exposed chest.

There was silence between them for a long while as he waited for her to explain whatever it was she needed help with, while she in turn measured him with her eyes.

Finally she spoke again.

“Tell me, Adrian, why are you afraid of naked women?”

“Uh, what?”

“Every time you’ve caught even a glimpse of my skin, you turn away. I would have thought that someone in the Aegis would be more comfortable with nudity.”

“I’m not- I mean I am!” He planted his face in one palm as he worked to articulate himself better; “It isn’t considered… polite for men to ogle women.”

“Strange. I’ve always thought it was rude not to.”

“Where are you going with this?” He asked without raising his face from his hands.

“We’re going to have sex.”

He froze at her words, for a second he thought he must have misheard her.

It took him a second to moisten his suddenly dry mouth enough to speak.

“What… the hell?”

With her request, or rather, demand, her keyed up behaviour suddenly made perfect sense. He could see the signs now that he had missed before: the arch of her brow, the slight flush in her cheeks, her shallow breathing…

And though he had been making a point of not looking, her hardened nipples were plainly visible through the holes in her woolen shawl.

“But we hardly know each other! And I identified the bodies of everyone I love barely a week ago!”

“What better time to celebrate life, than when confronted with so much death?” She shrugged dismissively.

“I can’t believe we’re even talking about this right now.” He said airily.

He could feel the heat of her she was so close, so he turned to face her, surprised at his own body’s reaction to the mysterious Witch.

But whatever urges he had were quickly smothered by the image of his poor Truffle, looking at him with such adoration in her eyes that it made his knees weak.

“I-I can’t, I’m sorry but I just can’t. I’m… not grateful for what you did for me.” He paused and gave her a meaningful look so that she knew the opposite was true; “But I’ve only just said goodbye to Cheri, I can’t even begin to think about another relationship, right now.”

Her eyes lit up and her response was surprising: she laughed at him, low and rich.

“It’s just sex Adrian. I find you attractive, and it’s been awhile. The Amazons are all too fearful of me to really enjoy it. But if you feel that your bond-mate would disapprove of me, then I won’t press the issue.”

He frowned.

“You saved my life, she wouldn’t disapprove of anything. But that’s not the point.” He planted his face in his palm again.

She reached her hand up and touched his cheek with surprising tenderness, drawing his gaze to meet hers before speaking seriously.

“Even with my curse upon you, your mind is still clouded with thoughts of death. I can see it plain as you can see me. If the men who killed your Truffle were here now, you would throw yourself at them, hoping that they would end you too. Us having sex serves two purposes: one to remind you of what it is to be alive, and the other to get me off. As I said, it’s been a while.”

He chuckled humourlessly at her phrasing, but in the deepest parts of himself he knew she was right about him wanting to die.

“So what, are we supposed to just, go somewhere for a quickie?” He asked harshly.

“Yes. The Amazons have lent me one of their huts. We can go there, right now. No one will bother us.”

His mouth fell open as he tried to repudiate her.

But once again his body betrayed him, with Cheri he had sex basically every day, often multiple times, and now that he had been without that for several weeks his body naturally craved the release the Witch was offering.

Once again he saw his Truffle’s face, only this time she wore an amused smile, one delicate eyebrow raised.

Why are you hesitating?

He could hear her words in his mind, and he nearly laughed out loud at the familiar tone.

Something in his posture must have communicated this shift to Olena, because very abruptly her hand was on his groin, feeling his girth through his pants.

Despite the sorrow wreathed around him, his loins stirred at her touch.

“I can work with this. Can you?”

He and Cheri had often toyed with the idea of potentially finding him another bond-mate, but even without one they had often taken other men and women into their bed; casual sex was as commonplace within the Aegis as stars in the night sky.

The last of his inhibitions melting away, he gave a single nod of acquiescence to the forward Witch.

She smirked and took his hand in hers to lead him to one of the snow covered huts near the edge of the village.

A few of the Amazons spotted them, but there was no judgment in their eyes, though a few had to turn away to hide their smirks.

When they entered the low ceilinged hut, the first thing Adrian noticed was the plethora of bottles, vials and random items on the table against the back wall.

“You travel light.” He