Sailor's Delight (Red Sky Book 2) by Lilo Quie

Author:Lilo Quie [Quie, Lilo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Decadent Publishing LLC
Published: 2023-12-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Leon

Nelson, as it turned out, was happy to stay a few days, learning all he could of mages and familiars. Having been a paternal figure in Bradley’s life, it was a good thing for the new mage. The bonding made Leon yearn for his own family, not the one he’d left but the one he’d make someday with Sailor.

Sticking to his nest, Leon felt safe and secure, waiting for his mate to return.

A polite knock interrupted Leon’s morning, and he rustled his feathers, sticking his head out of the birdhouse with an indignant chirp.

“Leon?” Nelson called out, using his real name, the ruse given up as they brought the old man up to speed.

Leon hopped out of his nest and shifted. “Nelson? What time is it?” Leon grabbed a robe and pajamas from the back of a chair by the dresser and dressed as he walked toward the door.

“Almost ten, boy. Bradley advised I let you sleep, but I feel like you really should eat. I apologize if I’m being too forward. But I did make a proper fry up.”

“Oh, that sounds fantastic.” Leon opened the door and Nelson did a double take, eyes wide before he glanced away.

“That’s a very prominent birthmark. I apologize for the start.” Nelson choked up a little before taking a step back. Leon slammed the door closed and fumbled for his ring. He dressed in his hoodie and jeans in a hurry as he fought tears. He should have known better than to take the ring off, than to feel like he could be normal.

“Leon, please, boy. Come out.” Nelson rapped on the door and Leon shuffled out, head turned down with his hood up.

“Hey! Come here.” Nelson chased after Leon as he briskly walked his way toward the kitchen, homing in on the scent of food and the twisting desire in his belly.

“I get it. It looks bad and scary.” Leon tightened the strings on his hoodie and strode to the table, grabbing a plate left out and a spoon to heap eggs and toast onto his plate.

“Not at all. One moment!” Nelson fidgeted with his phone and pulled up a picture of a framed photo of a young man grinning wide into a camera, a dark-maroon birthmark stretched over the bridge of his nose, up to his left brow and over, feathering into his hairline. “My son had a birthmark. You reminded me of him.”

“Oh.” Leon hesitated, guilt twisting his gut for reacting the way he did, assuming that everyone was judging him.

“It was eventually his undoing. Turned cancerous as they sometimes can. Can mages get cancer?” Nelson choked up as he reached over to tug gently at Leon’s hood. Feeling sheepish, Leon turned the stone off and let Nelson look. His expression held no pity, no disgust. Pain, certainly. But his wasn’t the face of someone that loved him for who he was. Nelson had the face of someone who saw the birthmark as something normal. Something his. Nelson cleared his throat and pulled his hand back.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.