AN UNWITTING BARGAIN

GRAE BRYAN

AN UNWITTING BARGAIN

Never give your name. Never accept a gift or favor. Never eat the food of the realm.

Benny is having the best summer ever. He’s made a new friend, and now he’s getting an extended vacation at a private island. And sure, his buddy didn’t ask Benny’s permission before taking him there, but what could be so bad about exclusive sandy beaches and a free stay in a fancy villa?

Helio is having the worst time of his life. Here he’s gone to all the trouble of kidnapping a human to the fae realm, and the man doesn’t even have the decency to be afraid. Benny’s broken all the rules, and Helio has a right to keep him, but his prey doesn’t even realize he’s been captured. Is this human messing with Helio, or is it truly possible for one man to be so damned oblivious?

AN UNWITTING BARGAIN IS A 15K NOVELLA FEATURING AN OBLIVIOUS HIMBO HUMAN AND THE MORALLY GRAY FAE HE’S ACCIDENTALLY DRIVING A WEE BIT MAD. THERE’S A KIDNAPPING THAT GOES UNNOTICED, A MAGICAL VILLA WITH A CRUSH, AND AN EXTREMELY WHOLESOME HUMAN WHO JUST WANTS TO MAKE HIS NEW FRIEND HAPPY.

Copyright © 2024 by Grae Bryan

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover designed by MiblArt.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Content warnings: Explicit sexual scenes, abduction.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Benny

Chapter 2

Benny

Chapter 3

Benny

Chapter 4

Helio

Chapter 5

Helio

Chapter 6

Benny

Chapter 7

Helio

Chapter 8

Helio

Chapter 9

Benny

Epilogue

About the Author

Also by Grae Bryan

1

Benny

Benny had always known breaking a sweat was the key to a good time.

Example numero uno: a challenging gym routine. It didn’t get much better than a killer workout, did it? The kind that had Benny’s sweat dripping and his muscles shaking.

Mm. So good.

Example numero two: getting pounded, especially if the guy had the stamina to really go at it. Then it was basically like an amazing workout with the added benefit of an orgasm. What wasn’t there to love about that?

And now Benny could add dancing in a gay club in Miami to the list of fun, sweaty activities. Because, man, the sweat was flowing.

It was almost midnight, and the night was still balmy, the press of bodies writhing to house music on the outdoor stage creating its own toasty heat in addition.

It was the best, every bit of it. Benny had been right to come here for his summer vacation.

Although, the fluid loss from the sweat slicking Benny’s back combined with the flashing lights was actually making him a bit dizzy.

Another drink would fix that.

Benny raised a hand to push his curls back from his head, then remembered he’d buzzed his hair short and gave up halfway, shouldering his way through the crowd to get to the bar. He tried to flag the bartender down but he couldn’t catch the dude’s eye.

No biggie.

And no surprise either. There were so many good-looking men to attend to; how was a guy supposed to choose? Benny had been fighting the urge to ask every other dancer he saw for their gym routine.

At least Benny measured up, he was pretty sure. He’d been putting in extra gym hours the last few weeks. He looked good, and he had ample videos for his YouTube channel set up to play while he was here. Plus, he was wearing the shortest shorts he’d been able to find in his size, showing off his best assets—thick thighs and a fairly bodacious ass (if he did say so himself).

He wasn’t necessarily looking for someone to play with those assets—this vacation was all about chilling and relaxing (chillaxing?)—but he still wanted to be able to hold his own.

Someone bumped into his back, pushing Benny harder against the bar. He turned to find a blond twink in hot pants that put his own shorts to shame tilted up against him.

“Careful, little dude.” Benny righted him with one hand and gave him a “no harm, no foul” smile, turning back to the bar.

The twink let out an annoyed huff behind him, leaving Benny a little confused. It wasn’t like he’d pushed the guy—he’d been standing still. Maybe the little dude had been having a rough night.

“In need of a drink?” asked a low voice next to him, surprisingly clear given the banging music and crowds of people.

Benny turned toward the voice.

And holy shit. Speaking of good-looking men.

The dude sitting on the stool next to where Benny was leaning on the bar was a total smoke show. He had dark hair falling in waves to his chin, and his eyes were striking—almost turquoise, like the ocean on a clear day. He had more skin covered than the rest of the crowd, but Benny could still tell he had what some would call a sleeper build. Like, he didn’t look overtly buff in his linen button-down, but he had broad shoulders, and those pecs were nothing to sneer at.

The man cocked a brow, his long fingers tapping at his drink. “Well?”

Benny laughed sheepishly. “Sorry, man. I got distracted.” He leaned his elbows on the bar, trying to get close enough to be heard over the din. “Anybody tell you you’re super good-looking?”

The man’s lips twitched. “I might’ve heard it once or twice.”

“Hell yeah you have!” Benny raised his fist for a bump, but the guy only cocked his head, his hands staying on the bar.

Not a fist-bump guy. Fair enough. Benny shot him another grin instead. “But yeah, if you can get his attention, I’d love a drink. I’d owe you one.”

“Would you?” Something dark seemed to flash in the guy’s eyes for a sec. But maybe that was just the effect from the strobe lights. “What would you like, then?”

Benny considered. “Something sweet and fruity I guess? When in Italy or whatever.”

The guy’s lips twitched. “Do you mean ‘when in Rome’?”

Benny snapped his fingers. “That’s it! Exactly. But I think the bartender’s…” The rest of Benny’s sentence was cut off as his new friend waved a hand and the bartender just, like, magically appeared, putting together a bright-pink drink with a pineapple slice and little umbrella in under a minute.

“Whoa.” Benny’s eyes lit up, and he swallowed with a dry throat. The pink drink looked delicious, and he really was thirsty. “You’ve got connections here, huh?”

“Something like that.” But the guy didn’t hand the drink to Benny yet, keeping it just out of reach. “What do I get in exchange?” he asked.

Benny furrowed his brow. “For the drink?”

“You said you’d owe me.”

“Um.” Benny scratched at his chin. He’d gone all clean-shaven for this beach vacay, but it was late enough that some stubble was breaking through. “What would you want?”

Was this like a sex in exchange for a drink thing? Benny wouldn’t exactly be against it, but wasn’t it a little friendlier to chat a guy up first?

Maybe they did things differently in Miami.

“Oh, nothing too dear,” the guy reassured him. “A mere measure of your time, I think.”

“Just my time?” Benny laughed his relief. “Sure thing. Sounds cool.”

“Excellent.” There was that weird flash to the guy’s eyes again. He pushed the pink cocktail to Benny.

Benny accepted and slurped at it happily. The cool drink felt amazing after he’d been dancing in the heat. He had to force himself to slow down after half of it was gone, to savor the taste a little. It was sweet but not overwhelmingly so.

The guy watched him closely the whole time.

It was a little intense, but he’d bought Benny a drink and all, so Benny stayed close, letting him look his fill. He gnawed on his pineapple garnish to delay finishing his drink. “So…are you a professor?”

His new friend cocked a brow. “Pardon?”

Benny waved a hand. “The way you talk.” He knew a smart dude when he heard one.

“I deal in contracts.”

“Oh, cool.” Benny tossed his pineapple husk into his drink for a little added flavor, mushing it down with his straw. “Big money in that?”

The guy gave him his first real smile. It was a nice one, and Benny found himself leaning in a little closer. “It has its rewards.”

“Cool, cool.” Benny realized he’d forgotten an important step. He stuck out a hand. “I’m Benny by the way. Benny Carter.”

The guy’s palm was cool and dry. It felt good against Benny’s sweaty skin. “Is that your full name?” he asked, holding Benny’s hand tight. “Benny’s not short for anything?”

“Nope.” Benny flashed him another smile. “That’s it.”

“How trusting of you,” the guy murmured, finally letting Benny’s hand go.

“What?” Benny asked, figuring he’d misheard.

“You can call me Helio.”

“Helio.” Benny nodded. It was an unusual name. He liked it. “You wanna dance, Helio?”

Helio shook his head. “Not my scene.”

“Sure, sure.” Benny slurped the rest of his drink, tapping his fingers on the bar, then asked, “You mind if I dance? I’m only in town for a couple nights.”

It was all he’d been able to afford. He’d wanted to stay at a fairly nice hotel, but the odd jobs he did back in his hometown of Seacliff Harbor, Maine, didn’t pay much, and his workout vids—though pretty killer, in his opinion—weren’t exactly paying the bills yet.

He’d promised Helio his time, but Helio didn’t seem interested in much other than watching Benny closely and saying mysterious things. Which was fine and all, but it would have been cool if he’d wanted to do that and also stick a hand in Benny’s shorts.

Benny had changed his mind about chatting before sex. Helio was super hot, and he smelled really good—like some sort of flower Benny couldn’t name—and he was just…alluring, that was the word. Like he had some pull to him, something extra that made Benny wanna lean in close and sniff at him.

That was weird, right?

Plus, Benny had worked hard for this butt. Someone should get their hands on it while he was here.

But Helio just smiled. “Go right ahead, Benny Carter. Come back if you want another cocktail.”

So Benny did. He danced his heart out, grinding against other burly, sweaty men. And when he got thirsty, he could always find Helio at the bar, and he’d wave a hand and get the bartender to appear in seconds.

Benny was being smart though. He didn’t always get a cocktail. Sometimes he requested a cup of water. And every time, Helio asked for a measure of his time, and then didn’t seem all that interested in actually claiming it. They chatted only a little bit in between Benny’s bouts on the dance floor. Helio mentioned something about his own secluded island, joked about whisking Benny away to it.

He had to be rich as hell if that was true, assuming he wasn’t just pulling Benny’s leg.

In all, it was a weird night but a fun one. They had some decent dance nights at the gay club in Benny’s hometown, and enough tourists in the summer that Benny could usually find someone to go home with when he wanted to touch and be touched. But it wasn’t like this. He couldn’t stay out until four a.m. with hordes of beautiful men he’d never met before.

With one beautiful man in particular paying him special attention.

So yeah. Best vacation ever.

2

Benny

It turned out what wasn’t so fun was the vacation hangover.

Holy. Shit.

This was why Benny kept it to no more than two drinks per night at home. It was hard to work out when his head was pounding and his skin felt too tight for his body. It was hard to even open his eyes, actually.

Benny moaned his displeasure, curling up under the hotel sheets and hiding himself from the morning light. His super soft hotel sheets.

Like, crazy soft.

Had they upgraded his bedding while he was out?

Benny tested out a stretch. Mm. That was amazing. The silky fabric was extra nice on his dick too.

But they definitely weren’t the sheets he’d had the night before. He’d have remembered luxury like that.

Benny lowered the covers, tucking them under his chin so he could peer around cautiously. It was so, so bright. Most likely because he was facing a set of glass double doors opening onto a white sandy beach with the ocean just beyond.

Except Benny didn’t have an oceanfront room. He didn’t even have an ocean-view room. He hadn’t been able to afford one.

For a minute, all he could do was stare at the aquamarine waves. This wasn’t his hotel; that much was clear. So who had he gone home with?

He shifted in bed, testing his muscles. He was naked—no surprise, he always slept naked—but he didn’t feel, like, used.

Which was good. Benny had been all for someone touching his butt, but actually sleeping with someone would have been kind of uncool, given how much he’d had to drink.

And he must have been pretty damn drunk if he couldn’t even remember where he was.

So nursing his killer hangover would have to wait. Benny needed to figure out what was up first.

He got out of bed slowly, snagging his shorts off the floor and tugging them on before stepping out onto the beach.

The sand was warm and soft as hell, the sun on his skin was the perfect temperature, and everything seemed to sparkle. The water, the sand, even the few palm trees scattered along the beach.

Benny looked back the way he’d come, expecting to see a giant resort of some kind. But what he saw was an all-white villa, more the size of a massive house than a hotel. It also seemed to sparkle a bit.

All the sparkling kind of made his eyes hurt.

Was Benny even still in Florida?

“You’re awake.”

Benny turned, and there was Helio, standing on the beach in another linen outfit. His eyes were even more intense in the daylight, the ocean setting them off so they seemed to sparkle too. God, he was hot.

Benny relaxed, relief coursing through him.

Everything made sense now.

“Hey, man!” he greeted with a grin. “It’s you!”

Helio cocked his head, like he hadn’t been expecting Benny’s enthusiastic reaction. “Yes,” he said slowly. “It’s me.”

“I was wondering who I went home with,” Benny told him with a rueful laugh.

Helio stepped closer, still giving off the intense vibes from the night before. “You promised me a measure of your time,” he said. “You promised it many times over.”

“Yeah, cool.” Benny scratched at his bare chest. “Hey, we didn’t bang, did we?”

Helio stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head. “No.”

“Right on. I woke up naked, so…” Benny waved a hand.

Helio’s face sort of pinched up for a second. “You…insisted.”

“Yeah.” Benny laughed. “That sounds like me. Sorry if I got grabby or anything.”

“Benny.” Helio cleared his throat, then coughed, then cleared his throat again. “Do you know where you are?”

Benny looked around once more, feeling a little better now that his eyes had adjusted to the brightness. God, it was gorgeous. “This is your private island, right?” he guessed, proud of himself for remembering. “You were talking about it last night.”

“And you’re not…shocked?” Helio asked, looking at Benny like he was some sort of strange creature. Maybe he was, compared to someone as fancy as Helio. “Shocked to find yourself here? Perhaps…enraged? Overcome with despair?”

Benny shrugged. “I’m surprised, I guess. But I don’t drink that often. Guess I got a little wild.” He thought of something then. “You did invite me, right? I didn’t just, like, follow you here?”

Helio was still staring at him like he was the weirdest thing he’d ever seen. “I brought you here.”

“Cool.” Benny’s stomach grumbled then, and he rubbed it with one hand. “I’m starving. And a little hungover, to be honest.”

Helio seemed to collect himself, straightening his spine and letting up the intense staring a bit. Maybe he wasn’t a morning person. Although, it looked more like late afternoon. Benny must have slept half the day away. “The food here will take care of that.” Helio was suddenly holding a tray of really delicious-looking fruit—slices of bright melon and juicy red strawberries and some seriously fat grapes. “But I should warn you.” Helio’s voice deepened. “Once you take even a bite of f—”

Benny grabbed a grape and tossed it into his mouth, groaning at the burst of flavor. “Damn. That is some fresh fruit.”

He grabbed another handful of grapes, shoving a few more in his mouth, smacking his lips after chewing. “Man. Perks of having your own tropical island, I guess. Got any protein though?”

Helio was looking a little shocked, his mouth open and his eyes all wide and his brows up at his hairline. Was Benny being rude? “Did you want some?” he asked, holding out his hand.

Helio’s mouth stayed slack, so Benny just slipped a grape in there, smiling when Helio started chewing mechanically, staring at Benny like he had three heads again.

“Protein?” Benny asked once more. The fruit was tasty as hell, but his muscles really couldn’t survive off grapes alone.

Helio was still looking dazed—maybe he’d been drinking more than Benny had thought the night before—but then he was holding another tray, one with slices of ham and salami and some perfectly cooked bacon. Who knew where the trays were coming from—he must have, like, a personal chef on the island or something.

Benny grabbed four strips and began working through them. “Fank you,” he said through a full mouth. He was a guest here—he had to remember to be polite.

He chewed contentedly for a while, staring out at the water. He really was starting to feel better, courtesy of the sun on his skin and a little food in his belly. “So, um, how long is the invite for?”

“You remain until I release you,” Helio told him, his voice sounding kind of weird and flat.

“Oh.” The strange wording triggered something in Benny’s brain. He looked at Helio—really looked—and thought over all their interactions so far. He considered Helio’s otherworldly good looks, his strange way of speaking, his odd behavior this morning.

And suddenly, it all clicked.

Benny had it figured out.

Helio was lonely.

Of course he was. People were probably afraid to approach him, right? He was rich, successful, good-looking—lots of folks found that kind of thing intimidating.

So Helio was looking for company, and maybe he could only really relax where there weren’t a lot of people around. It was no skin off Benny’s nose. What he’d wanted for this vacation was sun and sandy beaches. The dancing had been super fun, but Benny had gotten his fill of that last night. And maybe he would have liked to get laid at some point, but…there was always the chance Helio would be interested in that eventually as well.

All Benny’s odd jobs at home were pretty flexible—none of them needed him immediately or anything like that. There was the plane ticket, but Helio was clearly rich. He’d pay for a replacement when it was time, right? If it came to that.

He might get sick of Benny in a day or two anyway. Most men who were initially interested in Benny seemed to want him to change eventually—wanted him to be less of a meathead or something.

But for now, this guy needed a friend, and Benny had always been friendly.

So Benny grinned his warmest, friendliest grin. “Cool, man. How about a swim?”

When Helio just stared some more, Benny figured he was feeling shy. That was fine. They’d get more comfortable with each other in time.

3

Benny

Private islands were the freaking best.

Benny was curious now about all the miserable rich tourists his hometown got over the summers. Like, how could they be so mean if their lives were like this?

Or maybe they were rich but not private island rich. Maybe that was the problem.

Benny still didn’t know where exactly they were, or how they’d gotten there, or how to get back again, but he figured Helio had all that covered. For now, the weather was always perfect, the water was always welcoming, and the sand never got hot enough to burn his feet.

Even the sun seemed to cooperate, turning Benny a perfect golden brown without ever giving him a sunburn. And the nights were always just as warm, the full moon lighting up the ocean bright enough to see practically clear as day. Benny made sure to take a moonlit swim every night before bed, eager to take advantage of every bit of this vacation while he could.

He never saw any animals though. No birds, or fish, or mosquitos. That part was kind of weird. But maybe animals weren’t allowed on rich people’s private islands. Maybe there was some invisible net in the ocean to keep the sharks away, and special insect repellant pumped into the air that the birds didn’t like.

The rare times when Benny wasn’t outside on the beach, the villa itself was a pretty chill place to hang. He’d explored enough to know it was set up in a square surrounding an inner courtyard that was full of lush, tropical-looking vegetation, none of which Benny could name. There were lots of bedrooms—although only two were occupied, his and Helio’s—and an enormous dining room looking out onto the ocean.

Vacation home goals, basically.

And whatever the villa didn’t have quickly appeared whenever Benny asked for it. The very first night, he’d mentioned how it would be pretty chill to have an Xbox to unwind with in the evenings, and the next day, one had been all set up in one of the spare bedrooms, along with a massive television to play it on.

Helio’s staff must work hard as hell. Not that Benny ever saw them though. He hadn’t seen a single person except for Helio. It was kind of like how there was always ample food around but no kitchen that he could find.

Benny pondered the weirdness of that—was the kitchen, like, underground?—as he snacked on some pineapple rings in his lounge chair, the sun drying up the last bit of water on his skin from his swim.

He rolled onto his stomach, hiking up his swim shorts to get some sun on his butt cheeks. Not that he had to do much hiking—since he hadn’t brought his own clothes, Helio had provided him with a vacay wardrobe. A lot of it was several sizes too small for him, especially the shorts. Which was funny because Helio wasn’t all that much smaller than Benny. And he definitely wasn’t shorter.

A shadow fell over the sand in front of Benny’s face. Benny smiled. He didn’t have to look up to know who it was.

It was only ever one person here.

He rose onto his elbows on the lounge chair, shading his eyes. “Hey, man. Fancy a swim?”

Benny wasn’t sure why he asked. Helio never got in the water with him. Or played video games with him. Or did much with him at all, other than eat their meals together, when he watched Benny with an intensity that might have been creepy had he been any less attractive, and occasionally say something weird and mysterious.

All that money and still so shy, the poor guy.

Benny really didn’t mind though. In spite of Helio’s intensity, Benny found his company pretty pleasant. And honestly, it was kind of flattering being stared at all the time by someone so attractive.

Helio was staring now, in fact, definitely in one of his moods again. “Four nights you’ve spent here,” he said.

“Have I? Guess so.” Benny’s flight had come and gone, then. Was Helio gonna ask him to skedaddle?

“You have no one at home to miss you?”

Benny flopped onto his back, scratching his chest. “I guess Seth might worry. My cousin. But I can’t find my phone to let him know.” Benny must have dropped it at some point, that night in Miami.

“This phone?”

Helio was standing in front of him all of a sudden, close enough for Benny to smell his floral cologne, holding out the very phone Benny was missing.

“Oh, sweet!” Benny reached for it, but Helio held it back.

“And if I refuse?”

“Um…refuse?”

“If I refuse to let you contact your loved ones? If you’re trapped here with no link to the outside world?”

“Oh.” Benny considered. “Um, well I guess they’d stress about it. Which would kind of be a bummer.”

He left it at that. Really, it was Helio’s island, so it was Helio’s rules. If he had some “no outside contact” policy, who was Benny to argue?

But then Helio was dropping Benny’s phone onto his stomach with a heavy sigh.

Benny caught it before it fell onto the sand. “Thanks, man.”

He typed out a quick message to Seth. Met a cool rich dude. Living it up this summer. Pass the word around.

He received an instant response scolding him for missing his flight without letting anyone know.

But now that he had his phone…

Benny sat up, almost smacking into Helio. “Hey, you know what would be super cool?”

“What?” Helio had his fingers on the bridge of his nose, pinching there. Maybe he had a headache.

“If I filmed some workout videos on the beach. Like body-weight stuff? Stuff that’s easy to do on a vacation. I’ve never had a backdrop as nice as this.” Benny waved to encompass all the gorgeousness surrounding them. “Would that be cool with you?”

Helio stared at him, his fingers still pinching his nose. He still did that sometimes—took a minute to process things. It was probably tough being so smart, having to consider so many different angles all the time. Eventually he sighed. “Of course, Benny. Why not?”

Benny grinned at him. “Thanks, man. You’re the best.”

BENNY FELL into a fantastic routine after that.

He’d wake up early, always refreshed after sleeping in the most comfortable bed in the world. He’d film a short workout video just after sunrise, easy body-weight exercises anyone could do even while on vacation. He was naming the series “Beach Bod with Benny,” and he thought it was pretty decent, if he did say so himself.

His rising YouTube views seemed to agree.

After that, he’d have his breakfast in the inner courtyard with Helio. And then Benny would spend the day swimming or lying around in the sun. Sometimes he’d get a jog in around the perimeter of the little island. He’d play video games in the afternoon while Helio lurked in the doorway, then get his night swim on, then jack off furiously in the shower, then fall into an exhausted sleep.

He passed two more weeks easily like that. Maybe Helio was going to let him spend the whole summer here? That would be A-OK with Benny.

There was only one drawback to the whole thing. One teeny, tiny complaint.

He just wished Helio was down to bang.

At first, Benny had figured that would be part of the deal. Wasn’t that what rich people did? They’d give some hottie a place to stay in exchange for, like, easy sex on the regular?

But Benny was starting to think Helio might be straight, for all that they’d met at a gay club.

Which was totally cool—Benny accepted all kinds, no judgment. And he liked spending time with Helio, even if they weren’t touching butts or whatever. He liked that Helio lurked at the sidelines sometimes, letting Benny do his thing without making him feel totally alone. He liked the weird stuff he’d say at mealtimes.

He just…liked him.

And Benny was eating like a king and working out every day and spending so much time wearing so little clothing. He was… Well, he was horny as hell. Like, way hornier than usual. Hence the furious jacking off every single night.

It didn’t help that Helio was so attractive. Benny had met plenty of beautiful people in his life, but Helio had a certain magnetism that put them all to shame. He had a way about him that made Benny want to strip off his tiny swim shorts and rub up against him. Made him want to go skinny-dipping in the moonlight and wrap around Helio like an octopus.

But overall, it was really a minor complaint.

So Benny was horny. What of it? He could deal.

Because when it came down to it, meeting Helio was one of the coolest things that had ever happened to him.

4

Helio

Helio was in hell.

What was worse, it was a hell of his own making.

But how could he have known he’d stumble upon the one human impervious to fae trickery? Or, not impervious. Oblivious. Completely and totally oblivious.

In all his centuries tormenting humans, Helio had never seen anything like it. And true, over time humans had forgotten many of the rules when it came to dealing with his kind. Never give a fae a full name, never accept a fae gift, never agree to a favor, et cetera. But usually there was still a part—some deep, ingrained bit of the human spirit—that was instinctually wary when interacting with him.

It was part of the challenge, to not scare his prey off before they could be trapped.

But Benny—Benny Carter—had given it all to him so easily. He’d accepted the drink, given his name, agreed to the consequences, and then eaten the food of the realm without a second thought. Helio could keep him here for all eternity and be well within his rights at this point.

Except Benny didn’t seem to mind. He spent his days frolicking on the beach in his minuscule shorts without a care in the world, stretching and flexing his sun-kissed muscles for his Internet fans, cutting through the sea with his broad arms, making his shorts even tinier so the sun could kiss another inch of his golden skin.

He didn’t seem to know he was trapped, and even if he did, Helio had a sneaking suspicion he’d just grin and say, “Cool, dude,” or something equally inane.

Where were the human’s survival instincts?

Helio had driven much wiser men mad within hours before inevitably sending them back from whence they’d come (he didn’t actually keep them for all eternity—who could be bothered with the upkeep?).

And then there was his villa.

Helio’s enchanted villa, which should have been aiding him in his dastardly pursuits. Instead, it was serving as Benny’s lapdog—giving him everything his heart desired at the drop of a hat. Benny had only to ask for something, and it would materialize.

That wasn’t how it was supposed to work.

Everything was supposed to have a catch. An Xbox would appear, say, but it would be missing a crucial cord that would never be found. Clothing could be summoned, but it would itch terribly whenever worn. Food would be delicious but would never satiate.

And yet the only catch so far had been the extremely tiny size of Benny’s shorts.

But that only served to torment Helio.

And when Helio had brought it up to the villa—when he’d thrown, perhaps, a bit of a tantrum—he’d been punished for it. Helio’s bedchamber was now an icebox every night, cold in a way even extra blankets couldn’t remedy.

And Helio supposed it had been hypocritical of him, seeing as how he himself had given Benny his phone back, given him access to the Internet, even, no matter the strain on his powers to allow contact between the realms.

Why had he done that?

It was maddening.

Almost as maddening as the drop of sweat sliding down between Benny’s pecs as he lay on the lounge chair (that the villa had provided) in his too-small swim shorts (also the villa) sipping on an iced tea (villa) with his eyes closed.

He was a ridiculously attractive specimen, made even more so by his newly sun-kissed complexion. With his fuzz of short brown hair and his deep-brown eyes, with heavily muscled thighs any man—or fae, for that matter—would happily suffocate between.

As always, Benny seemed to sense Helio’s presence, opening his eyes the instant Helio approached. “Hey, man,” he greeted with a smile.

Always so happy to see him. As if Helio wasn’t his captor. His tormentor. His natural enemy. (Because he wasn’t, was he? Because Benny didn’t notice.)

The oblivious human patted the lounge chair next to him. “Wanna sit for a sec?”

He always asked. Just as he always asked Helio to join him playing his video games or swimming in the sparkling sea. And Helio always refused, determined to keep his distance (except at mealtimes, where he took a disturbingly keen interest in watching Benny consume more and more of the food that trapped him here). Helio generally preferred to stand ominously in the shadows and say ominous things.

But what was the point in that? Benny never noticed. He was like a rat in a maze, happily chewing on a hunk of cheese in the corner, not even searching for a way out.

So Helio sat, trying not to be affected by the way Benny’s brown eyes lit up as he did so.

He ignored Benny’s pleasure, stripping off his shirt and letting the fae sun warm him.

Why not? What did any of it matter?

Some time later—the chill from Helio’s icy room finally dispelled—he opened his eyes. Benny was on his side now, his head pillowed on his substantial bicep, staring at Helio. Staring at his chest, to be exact.

Helio cocked a brow.

Benny smiled sheepishly, then cleared his throat. “Hey, you’re straight, right?”

No, Benny, I’m not straight, Helio almost said. It would be very rare to find a Fae who was. They were generally equal opportunists when it came to pleasures of the flesh. “Why?” Helio asked instead.

“No reason,” Benny said quickly.

Too quickly.

Helio waited him out.

“Just…I’ve been really horny lately,” Benny said cautiously, as if he might be offending Helio by telling him so. “Not sure why.”

Helio knew why. The fae realm was a sensual place by nature, and with the amount of fae fruit Benny was swallowing down on a daily basis, it was a wonder he wasn’t rutting against every available surface.

“If you weren’t straight,” Benny continued, licking his lips nervously, “I wouldn’t mind some sort of arrangement. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my right hand, if you know what I mean. I’d really—”

Don’t say it. Do not say it.

“—owe you one.”

It was like catnip to a fae, to be owed a favor.

Not that Helio needed that incentive to be tempted.

He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, trying to get a rein on his impulses. He didn’t fuck the humans he brought here. Mostly because they were usually terrified, begging to be returned home. But also, it was the principle of the thing.

And if Helio fucked Benny…then he’d really have to give up the game, wouldn’t he? He’d have to admit he’d failed. That Benny wasn’t a tormented captive after all.

That if anything, he was becoming more like a beloved pet.

“But it’s cool if you’re straight,” Benny told him easily. “Or if you’re just not into me.” Helio opened his eyes just as Benny flipped onto his back. “But do you think it would be cool if I went skinny-dipping tonight? I just think it would feel really good. These shorts are a little small, you know.”

Oh, Helio knew.

“But it wouldn’t, like, offend the servants, right?”

Helio sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, Benny. No servants will be offended by your nudity.”

Because there were no servants. Just Helio and his enchanted villa, the both of them apparently wrapped around Benny’s oblivious finger.

So why not let Benny prance around nude on top of everything else? What was one more layer to Helio’s torment?

It wasn’t like this endeavor could get any worse.

5

Helio

Helio should have known better.

He did know better.

He knew enough to stay inside the villa tonight; that was for certain.

He’d known what he was going to find if he ventured outside, and he’d known exactly what that was going to do to his self-control.

He’d known, and he’d stepped onto the beach anyway.

And he’d found exactly what he’d known he was going to find—a naked Benny, standing on the sand at the ocean’s edge, the pale slices of skin on his buttocks that the sun hadn’t been able to reach practically glowing in the moonlight.

Clearly he hadn’t been tanning naked yet. (Which Helio already knew because Helio watched him like a hawk every second of every day, unable to bring himself to do anything else.)

Benny twisted at the waist to greet him with a grin. “Hey! You coming swimming tonight?”

Helio didn’t answer.

And Benny, as usual, was unfazed by his silence. He just turned back to face the ocean with a happy sigh. “It looks so beautiful tonight, doesn’t it? And it’s the perfect temperature.”

Of course it’s beautiful and perfect, you gorgeous idiot! Helio wanted to shout. You’re in the fae realm. You’ve been kidnapped to the fae realm, and you’re too good-natured to notice, and it’s driving me insane.

Oblivious as always, Benny was already wading into the water. As soon as it was up to his knees, he dove in fully, his muscled arms slicing through it with lazy strokes.

Helio watched him for a long while. Too long, really. Long enough to catch more than a few glimpses of Benny’s soft cock in the moonlight.

Eventually—as if sensing what would drive Helio mad the fastest—Benny turned to float on his back in the water, displaying that substantial cock to its fullest, uncaring of his nudity.

“This is heaven!” he called out.

He wasn’t put out by Helio not joining him. He didn’t hold a grudge about being left alone. It had been part of what had been so enticing about him, back at the bar in Miami. He’d been handsome, sure, but so had many of the men that night. It had been more about the way Benny had carried himself. Friendly but also…distanced, in some genial way. Twink after twink had been throwing themselves at him—one of them quite literally—and he hadn’t so much as noticed. He’d been friendly to everyone but partial to none, happy in his own world.

As he was happy in Helio’s.

It was completely foreign to Helio. Everything with the fae was subtle barbs and calculations—how much one could take from another without giving anything away in turn. Half-truths and secret bargains and lying by omission.

But Benny said exactly what he meant and meant exactly what he said. Always.

He’d be happy to have Helio join him in the water, and he meant that with uncomplicated sincerity. Just as he’d be happy to have Helio touch him. He’d be pleased and grateful, and he wouldn’t hold either of those emotions back for fear of them being used against him.

Benny went back to swimming back and forth in front of Helio, giving him glimpses of those beautiful buttocks again in replacement of that beautiful cock.

Fuck it. Who was Helio fooling with his resistance? There was no one here but Benny, and what did Benny care for Helio’s pride?

Helio stripped his clothes off and stepped into the water.

As he went deeper and made his presence known, Benny stopped midstroke, standing upright, the water chest-deep on him. “You’re swimming with me?” he asked with obvious delight. “Awesome!”

The moon was full—it was always full here, not that Benny had noticed—and the simple pleasure on his face was clear as day.

As was the lustful look as his eyes dipped below the water. “Are you…naked?” Benny licked his lips—as unsubtle as he could possibly be—then pulled his gaze back up to Helio’s face with obvious difficulty. “Awesome,” he repeated, a bit quieter this time.

“Come here, Benny,” Helio commanded, his voice soft.

Benny stepped closer in the water, staying just out of arm’s reach in a move that could have been deliberately tantalizing but was most likely completely innocent. Respecting Helio’s space.

“Repeat what you told me earlier.”

Benny’s brow furrowed. “Um…the water’s beautiful tonight?”

Helio scoffed. “Before that. What you told me earlier today.”

“Oh. Um…” Benny’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh. That if you wanted an arrangement, I’d be down with that.”

“And you’d be…,” Helio prompted, needing to hear it again.

“Grateful,” Benny finished for him with enthusiasm. He smiled happily. “Yeah, I’d owe you one. I already owe you everything, man.”

It was too much. Helio shut his eyes, trying to rein in the surge of want those words brought up. “That’s enough,” he bit out, his voice rougher than it should have been. “Come here, Benny.”

As soon as Benny was close enough, Helio grabbed him by the backs of the thighs, wrapping Benny’s legs around his waist. Benny hooked his arms obediently around Helio’s neck, and Helio let out a sigh of relief at the contact.

Benny’s skin was soft against his in the water, his cock already hardening, his bottom sliding against Helio’s own length, which had filled rapidly at Benny’s insistence on “owing him everything.”

It felt…perfect. Right. Why shouldn’t Helio touch Benny? Benny was his, chained to Helio by multiple unwitting bargains. His to torment or plunder. It was Helio’s choice. It always had been. He’d let himself forget.

He wouldn’t let himself forget again.

“Is this okay?” Benny asked. “I’m pretty heavy.”

Helio tsked. “It’s salt water, Benny. You weigh nothing at the moment.” Not that it would matter if he did, considering Helio’s substantial fae strength.

“Oh. Right.” Benny grinned at him sheepishly, squirming in his arms, his cock rubbing against Helio’s stomach. “Also, I’m probably gonna come, like, super fast, if you touch me. You’re really hot. And I’ve been…” He trailed off.

“Horny,” Helio finished for him.

Benny nodded seriously. “Yeah. Really horny.”

“Poor baby,” Helio crooned, releasing his hold on Benny’s hips to caress his face, pleased beyond measure when Benny kept his legs wrapped tightly around him. “Have you been yearning for my touch?”

“Yeah.” Benny nodded again. “That’s a good word. Yearning.”

“And what will you give me?” Helio asked, unable to help himself. His hands found their way back down to those pale globes that had been tormenting him, squeezing hard. “To put a stop to it.”

“I don’t have much,” Benny told him with a gasp, beginning to move his hips in Helio’s hold, rutting in earnest.

Helio clamped his hands tighter, halting his movement. “Your devotion?” he asked.

“Sure,” Benny said on a sigh. So easy. So giving.

“Your loyalty?” Helio pressed.

“Yeah, man.”

“Your heart?”

And why would Helio ask for that? The one thing that couldn’t be tricked out of a human in a bargain. The one thing that had to be given willingly.

But Benny was always willing, wasn’t he?

As this very moment demonstrated, since Benny wasn’t scared off by Helio’s demands the way he should have been. He just tucked his head against Helio’s neck, murmuring, “You’re so intense. It’s really hot, actually.”

Helio loosened his hold on Benny’s ass, letting Benny move as he would. He slid against Helio again and again, his movements fluid in the seawater. There was no finesse, no seduction. Just fervent, feverish rutting.

But still, this was it. This was what Helio should have been doing this whole time. Trapping Benny in his realm had been easy. Child’s play, really. But taking him in body as well as spirit? That was what had been missing from this arrangement.

Helio had been wasting his time lurking when he could have been possessing.

He pressed Benny’s head to his neck and facilitated his rutting, murmuring encouragements in his ear. “There you are, my pet. That’s it.”

The night rang out with Benny’s soft grunts and low moans. And then Benny was shuddering in his arms, his release coating Helio’s stomach only briefly before being washed away by the water.

Benny lifted his head from the crook of Helio’s neck, his eyes heavy-lidded with satisfaction. “Hey. Your skin kind of sparkles in the moonlight. Did you know that?”

Helio cursed to himself, fortifying his glamour. Now was not the time to get careless. “That orgasm went to your head,” he chastised.

Benny only hummed, then glanced down. “What about you though? Don’t you want to come?”

Helio let out a harsh breath, speaking before he knew it. “Benny, what if I told you that you were trapped here? That I have no intention of letting you go.”

Benny cocked his head, looking for all the world like a confused puppy. “But I like it here. This has been the best summer ever.” He grinned, his hips pulsing slightly. “Even better now. Although—” His brow furrowed, and his gyrating stopped. “I do have to go back home eventually. Check in with the fam, you know?”

Helio gritted his teeth. “And what if I said I wouldn’t let you go? Not ever.”

Benny met his eyes fully then, and the force of his gaze was surprisingly powerful. Like he wasn’t just seeing Helio for what he was but seeing through him. When he finally spoke, the words cut like glass, for all that the delivery was gentle. “I don’t think you’d really do that,” he said slowly. “You’re not cruel, Helio. A little lonely and possessive, maybe.”

Helio shut his eyes tight, wondering if when he opened them, Benny would have disappeared. A figment of Helio’s imagination. A fever dream.

But he was still there a moment later.

“You’re maddening,” Helio hissed.

“Maybe you’d feel better if you came,” Benny told him sedately. “Want me to jerk you off?”

“No.” Helio started gliding out of the water, still carrying Benny. He didn’t need the buoyancy of salt water to keep him in his hold. He was fae, damn it. “I’m going to fuck you now, Benny. Because I’m lonely and possessive and you’re mine.”

“Okay.” Benny wound his arms tighter around Helio’s neck. “Whatever you want, babe.”

For fuck’s sake.

This human was going to be the death of him.

6

Benny

Was Benny dreaming right now?

His perfect summer vacation had just turned into…his even more perfect summer vacation.

Because being held up by Helio’s surprisingly large hands and strong arms (sleeper build, for sure) carrying Benny away to be sexed up for real? Amazing.

Had Helio really wanted him this whole time and just never made a move?

Benny had really underestimated Helio’s shyness. Thank God for skinny-dipping.

Benny really hadn’t had any ulterior motives when he’d asked about swimming naked—he’d just thought the warm seawater would feel amazing on his bare dick and balls—but if it had been the push Helio needed to touch him, that was super chill too.

Benny stroked his thumb against the back of Helio’s neck, sighing happily. Helio was staring ahead intently, focused on getting them to the villa, so Benny was free to study him super up close and personal.

God, he was a beautiful man.

His features were sharply cut, with high cheekbones and those gorgeous eyes that tilted up just a bit at the outer corners. Too pretty to be messing with Benny, probably, but Benny wasn’t going to stick his hand in any gift horse’s mouth or whatever.

Benny was a strange mix of lazily sated and buzzing with anticipation for what was to come. He hadn’t been fucked in so long, and Helio was no slacker in the size department. Benny had seen through the water that he was thick and uncut, and he could feel it too, Helio’s hard cock bobbing against Benny’s bare cheeks as he walked.

His skin was all just as velvety as Benny had imagined—it had felt so nice to rub up against in the water, way better than all the jerking off Benny had been doing.

Benny had just come, and he was already horny again. God, he was so horny all the time these days. Maybe it was this place.

Maybe it was just Helio.

They made it back to Helio’s room quickly thanks to Helio’s hurried strides, and Benny laughed as he was dropped onto the bed’s soft mattress. Then he blinked in surprise.

The bed was completely covered in packets of lube. Like, completely.

“Wow.” He slid a hand through the foil packets. “You really came prepared, huh?”

But Helio was pinching the bridge of his nose again, muttering about “this cursed villa.”

Benny smiled at him reassuringly while he brushed some of the mess off the bed. “I think it’s cool your staff has been so attentive.”

“You say that because my staff,” Helio said, putting a weird emphasis on the word, “caters to your every whim.”

“Oh.” Benny paused. “Have I been asking for too much?” He’d tried to be respectful and everything. And sometimes he didn’t even ask Helio for a thing—he just, like, voiced a thought out loud and the next day the thing he’d wanted appeared like magic.

Helio’s staff was professional and stealth.

Helio lowered his hand, freeing his poor nose from his pinching. “No, you haven’t. In fact…” His turquoise eyes gleamed as he stared down at Benny. “What else would you request, if you could?”

“Um…” Benny tried to think, but he was a little distracted by Helio’s cock, which was still rock-hard and now kind of at his eye level. Benny bet it would taste all salty from the ocean if he licked it.

And now Benny’s own dick was chubbing up again.

Focus.

Benny cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve been doing a lot of body-weight stuff, which is nice, but I do kind of miss working out in a real gym. I’m losing some of my muscle.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Helio murmured, his eyes roaming appreciatively over Benny’s figure. “Consider it done.”

“Really?” Benny figured that meant maybe the staff would bring in some free weights he could use in his room or something. “Sweet.”

“What else?” Helio prompted. “What else would make you want to stay?” He was seriously such an intense guy.

“Well, I think we should probably fuck a lot because that sounds awesome, but otherwise…” Benny shrugged. “I’m pretty happy.”

“Why?” Helio asked, sounding almost frustrated. Which was almost funny because he was naked and still hard, but he didn’t seem overly conscious of his nudity. Which was understandable, considering he had a great bod—Benny had been right about those broad shoulders. “Why are you happy here…with me?”

Benny wasn’t always the best at reading subtext, but it seemed like Helio was asking about more than just the island’s amenities. He cocked his head. “Are you asking why I like you?”

“Yes,” Helio answered shortly, like it was painful to say.

“Oh. Um.” Benny thought it over. “I dunno. I just do.” Would it be cool to start stroking his dick now? Probably not, right? Helio seemed to be really stressing over here.

“Elaborate,” Helio ordered through clenched teeth, kind of confirming the whole “stressing out” theory.

Benny leaned back on his hands on the bed, pleased when Helio’s gaze tracked over his body again. He was still pretty sure they’d be banging after this. Helio just needed a little reassurance first. “Well, you kind of let me do my thing, which I appreciate. I can be a little spacey, and some people try to…rein me in, I guess? You just let me be,” Benny told him, flashing Helio a smile so he knew how appreciated that was.

“And you’ve got a nice presence,” Benny added, warming up to it now. “It’s easy to be comfortable around you, even when you’re just standing there staring at me or whatever. You’ve got a soothing voice too.” He hummed for a second, considering what else to add. “You don’t talk a lot, but when you do, you usually have something weird or interesting to say. You’re kind of intense, but I dig that. And I don’t think you let a lot of people close, but you’ve really let me invade your home, and I think that’s very cool and brave of you.”

Benny grinned, proud of how well he’d articulated that. Maybe some of Helio’s smarts were rubbing off on him.

Helio was staring with wide eyes. “I hate you.”

Benny blinked in surprise. “You do?”

“No,” Helio corrected immediately, sounding weirdly put out about it. “Not even a little.”

“Oh, good.” Benny laughed in relief. “Hate sex isn’t really my thing.”

That seemed to break whatever spell Helio was under. (And really, it must be tough to be so insecure even with all he had going for him.) He placed a knee on the bed and his hand on Benny’s chest, pushing Benny onto his back and looming over him. “And what is your thing, Benny?”

Benny let himself relax back into the mattress. “Well, I’m really sturdy, so you can go hard. I don’t mind that part. But it’s nice to feel…appreciated, I guess? Hate sex doesn’t really allow for that, I don’t think.”

“You want me to tell you I appreciate you, Benny?” Helio asked, stroking his hand over Benny’s chest, squeezing at his pecs. “Appreciate these gorgeous muscles you work so hard for?”

Oh, that was nice. Sometimes people forgot that big guys wanted praise too.

Benny didn’t know if it was Helio’s touch or his words, but all of a sudden, he kind of just…melted, his whole body going limp under Helio’s caress.

Helio’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you do like that, don’t you, my pet?”

He started stroking more of Benny—petting over his arms, his shoulders, his ribs—murmuring all the while, lulling Benny into a sort of horny daze. So much so that Benny startled when a lubed finger circled his hole.

He recovered quickly, though, and Helio gave him a small, pleased smile. “I’m going to take you bare, Benny.”

It was said like a statement, but Benny heard the question there. He nodded eagerly, widening his legs to give Helio better access. “I’m on PrEP.”

“So accommodating,” Helio crooned, his finger nudging into Benny.

He opened Benny up with the same intensity and patience as he’d given to the rest of his body, staring intently all the while, his eyes gleaming.

Benny couldn’t look away.

He kept looking as Helio replaced his fingers with his cock, pressing into Benny slowly, pushing Benny’s legs back as far as they would go, smirking at Benny’s long, low moan.

Good thing Benny stretched with every workout. He wasn’t exactly able to twist into a pretzel, but his body could make room for whatever Helio wanted to give him.

When he was bottomed out, Helio’s smirk turned into an almost catlike smile. “You’re mine now, Benny Carter,” he crooned. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah.” Benny pushed back against him, groaning at the incredible fullness. Helio really did have a super nice cock. “All yours.”

The smile fell from Helio’s face, replaced with a look of intense (always intense, this one) focus. He drove his hips back and in, and Benny moaned happily, the sound cut off as Helio claimed his lips, suddenly kissing Benny with a level of passion that was mind-blowing.

Benny moaned again, into Helio’s mouth this time. God, he had nice lips. Soft but firm, pliable but unrelenting.

Why the hell hadn’t they been kissing this whole time?

Helio fucked into Benny steadily, licking into his mouth and kissing him long enough that Benny went lightheaded, having to pull back against all his instincts, just so he could breathe a little.

“You look good like that,” Helio said, his voice kind of spacey. “That mouth of yours. The things you say…”

He pulled out and flipped Benny onto his stomach, his hands immediately landing on Benny’s ass, squeezing tight as he pulled Benny’s hips into the air. His cock slid in again, punching all the air out of Benny’s lungs.

“I’ve been dreaming about this,” Helio told him, low and rough. “This exact position. Your ass is ridiculous. The way your cheeks bounce.” He almost sounded angry. “It’s obscene.”

“Th-Thanks. I do—” Benny made a high-pitched noise as Helio pegged his prostate. “Oh God. A lot of squats.”

“I know. I watch you.”

Helio began pounding into him in earnest, really taking Benny at his word that he wasn’t fragile. It was perfect. Benny wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking as best he could, loving the way Helio kept muttering super nice stuff about Benny’s body, even though he still sounded kind of angry while he did it.

He was an intense fuck. Benny had known he would be.

And the intensity carried over to Benny’s orgasm, which built so fast he couldn’t have held it off if he wanted to, running through him like a freight train, setting all those muscles Helio seemed to like so much to quivering.

“Ungh,” he groaned, coming all over the bedspread, and Helio swore, his hips stuttering, grinding into Benny so hard that Benny could feel every small pulse and tremor of Helio’s orgasm.

Benny collapsed fully, whimpering as his spent cock pressed into the mattress. Helio stayed plastered on top of him, skin sliding against sweaty skin.

Not that Helio seemed to sweat much, but Benny was slick with it. See? Sign of a good workout.

He grinned tiredly into the bedspread. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew it was late. “I’m really glad I met you, Helio.”

Helio groaned, sliding to the side and wrapping an arm around Benny’s middle. “Go to sleep, Benny.”

7

Helio

Helio was addicted to fucking the human.

He’d taken Benny in every room of the villa at this point. Propped up on the dining room table. Folded in half on the beach lounger. Bent over the new gym’s benches (and hadn’t Benny’s surprise at one of the spare bedrooms being replaced with a state-of-the-art gym been delicious?). Kneeling on the carpet, sucking Helio off on the sofa.

And when Helio wasn’t fucking Benny, he was daydreaming about the tight grip of his channel, his hands itching to squeeze and stroke those thick thighs, that muscled ass.

It was heaven. It was misery.

Benny was almost always prancing around naked these days, his tan lines disappearing more and more each day. It would have been maddening, if not for the fact that Helio was allowed to touch now.

And he was allowed, make no mistake. Benny was willing—always willing. Eager and open, the perfect pet.

Well, almost always willing. He still filmed his workouts every morning without fail, ever the diligent content creator. As he was doing now.

He did those recordings fully clothed, unfortunately—or, partially clothed, really, in his tiny shorts and tank top that had arm holes big enough to display his nipples—and he’d asked Helio not to watch anymore, in case he got “chubbed up” by his presence.

It was fine. Helio could tolerate Benny’s absence for a mere half hour. Of course he could.

But Benny’s video this morning seemed to be taking an eternity. Helio had had Benny just that morning—had licked him open in their bed before the sun had fully risen, had filled him with cum and then licked it right back out of him. But it hadn’t been enough.

It never seemed to be enough.

Was Helio the one entrapped? Had he tangled himself in some bargain he was unaware of? Was Benny some otherworldly creature Helio hadn’t yet been warned existed?

He had to be. Why else would Helio be so…enamored? Helio had dallied with fae royalty, had toyed with expert courtesans from both realms. So why should this human hold such fevered appeal?

Helio had to be under some sort of thrall. He simply had to be.

Either way, Benny was taking too long. Perhaps he was having to do multiple takes. Helio would go check. He wouldn’t interrupt; he’d just…lurk on the sidelines a bit. Make sure everything was going smoothly.

With that in mind, Helio stepped out of the villa and onto the sand.

And then Helio’s heart was in his throat, because Benny wasn’t alone on the beach.

He was, by all appearances, talking to another human, but that would be impossible. And Helio knew that face and that form, however disguised it might be.

Cyprian was here.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

How long had he and Benny been talking? Had Benny made any promises? Accepted any favors?

Helio approached them with hurried strides—it would give too much away to sprint, but it was tempting. Benny was smiling at Cyprian openly, so sweet and trusting.

Helio wanted to cover his face. That openness was for him alone now, not for fae interlopers who would betray and abuse it.

“Helio,” Cyprian purred at his arrival, not at all surprised to see him. “I was just making the acquaintance of your charming guest. Although”—he dipped his chin to Benny, eyes flashing—“I didn’t catch your full name, Benny.”

“Don’t tell him,” Helio said quickly, all subtlety and artifice melting away in the face of his terror.

He ignored the way his clear distress made Cyprian preen, too focused on Benny, on his cheerful smile that morphed into something warm and intimate as he looked at Helio.

Helio stepped between him and Cyprian. “What are you doing here?”

Cyprian gave a languid little shrug. “Just a small check-in, Helio dearest. Our queen has been sensing your presence in the realm for some time now. She grew…curious.”

Of course she did. Helio didn’t usually stay in one place this long, preferring to bounce around between the realms.

Still. The queen’s attention was…less than ideal.

“I’ve been banished from the court,” Helio said airily. “What does our queen care about my dalliances now?”

“Dalliances indeed.” Cyprian’s gaze roamed over Benny’s form with clear appreciation. Helio resisted the urge to pluck his roving eyes out. “Benny here was just singing the praises of your…private island.” He smirked. “Tell me, Benny, do you know the name of where you are? The name of the island, perhaps? Or even the country?”

For all that Helio had always thought Benny oblivious, he seemed to know when he was being taunted, his large frame curling into Helio slightly at Cyprian’s words. As if Helio was a point of safety.

A surge of protectiveness ran through Helio, strong and hot. He wrapped an arm around Benny’s shoulders. “Leave,” he snapped at Cyprian. “Now.”

He was playing it all wrong, he knew. It should have been a verbal dance, a battle of barbed jabs and parries. But two seconds in Cyprian’s presence and Helio was remembering how exhausting it all was. He’d been dining on the sweet simplicity of Benny’s honesty for too long, and now the fae obfuscations and half-truths were too cloying to tolerate.

“Leave now?” Cyprian clucked his tongue. “But I’ve been so rude. Wearing cheap masks in front of old friends.”

And then Cyprian, the asshole that he was, dropped his glamour, revealing his very obviously otherworldly beauty. He grew several inches, his ears turning pointed at the tips, his skin taking on a quite noticeable glimmering golden glow.

Cyprian smirked at Helio. “Would you like to drop your mask as well, old friend? It must be chafing after all this time.”

Helio felt his glamour dropping. He couldn’t stop it—Cyprian had the power of the court behind him, and Helio was no more than a lowly outcast.

“Whoa.” Benny didn’t scream, didn’t shout, but he did step back from Helio’s hold, his brown eyes wide.

“Well, this has been fun,” Cyprian purred. “But I really ought to be going. Don’t worry, I’ll be back to check in soon.” He winked. “Very soon.”

And then he was blinking out of existence, presumably on his way back to the court, to update their queen on Helio’s latest humiliation.

Leaving Helio alone with Benny.

8

Helio

Helio tried to keep his breathing steady as Benny stared back at him, his gaze roaming over Helio’s form.

His unglamoured form.

“Your skin does sparkle,” Benny murmured.

“I don’t sparkle,” Helio argued, his offense briefly winning over his panic. “I glimmer. Sparkling would be undignified. I’m not some sort of fictional vampire.”

Benny nodded in an absent-minded way, as if he wasn’t really listening, his inspection moving on to Helio’s pointed ears.

Now would be the perfect time for Helio to snap his glamour back in place, to deny and obfuscate, to perhaps give Benny a morsel of some fruit of forgetfulness.

But it seemed Helio’s steady diet of Benny’s straightforward nature had…infected him somehow. He found himself saying outright, “I’m fae.”

Benny met his eyes, his head cocked. “Like…a fairy?”

Helio hated that word. It brought to mind little winged insects dancing among the flowers. But he couldn’t really throw around any righteous anger over nomenclature at the moment, could he? He’d already used up his protest over the sparkling. “This isn’t my private island,” he said instead. “This is the fae realm. You made an unwitting bargain with me that first night, and I was able to transport you here.” He paused but was unable to keep himself from adding, “Able to capture you.”

“Huh.” Benny scratched at the back of his neck. His dark hair—which had grown in a bit in the time he’d been there—was damp with sweat. He must have gotten at least some of his workout in before Cyprian had rudely interrupted.

“I could keep you here for an eternity,” Helio told him, his secrets seeping out like some sort of leeched poison. “I’d be within my rights.”

Benny didn’t seem any closer to terror than he’d ever been in Helio’s presence. His brow only furrowed slightly. “Why?”

“Why?” Helio repeated dumbly.

“Why would you want to do any of that?”

Helio kicked at the sand, feeling unbearably petulant. Did he really have to keep explaining himself? He was fae. It was what they did. Cruel and mischievous in turn, as was their nature.

But Benny was looking so sincerely confused, and not even a bit accusatory, so Helio let out a sigh. “I’ve been…bored,” he explained. “I was banished from my queen’s court decades ago.” Almost a century at this point, actually. It had been the case of a single error on his part—Helio hadn’t read between the lines the right way, had unintentionally offended her, and there had gone all his prestige, all his power. His whole charmed life, gone in an instant. Or at least until enough centuries passed for her to forget her ire. “I suppose tormenting humans has become my pastime.”

“So where are they, the others you trapped for eternity?” Benny looked around, like a gaggle of confused humans was going to pop out of the sand at any moment.

“No, I—I didn’t really keep them,” Helio told him sheepishly. “I let them go, once I’d terrified them sufficiently.”

Benny scratched at his neck again. “Pretty uncool.”

“Yes.”

Benny didn’t say anything else for a long time, and Helio didn’t know where to go from here. He wasn’t letting Benny go, he knew that much.

He couldn’t.

Although, he’d been expecting at least a little frisson of fear.

“Do you understand I’m not human?” Helio asked, embarrassed to realize he was almost pouting. “Because you don’t seem even a little frightened.”

“I’m surprised and everything, but…” Benny bit at his lower lip. “There’s this guy in my town. Sascha. I’m pretty sure his boyfriend is, like, a devil of some kind? I’ve seen him through the window, all massive with, like, horns sticking out his head sometimes, when I’m making a delivery and they don’t realize it fast enough. You’re not nearly as big as him.” Benny looked off wistfully into the distance. “I just wish he’d give me his workout routine.”

“Benny…”

Benny shook himself out of his thoughts with clear effort. He met Helio’s eyes. “So you were lonely and bored. I already knew that. What now?”

“Now…well, Cyprian knows we’re here. If the queen’s court figures out I’m staying in the fae realm and that I’m…content…they won’t be able to resist tormenting us.”

“Fae are kind of dicks, huh?” Benny didn’t wait for an answer to that question. “So we need to leave, then?”

Helio wanted to say no. He wanted to say that Benny would stay exactly here, where Helio had placed him. Wanted to say that nothing would disrupt this idyll they’d created.

He sighed. “Yes.”

“Bummer.” Benny echoed his sigh. “It’s been a really cool summer.”

“There are other places in the realm,” Helio said quickly. “Other spots we could find. There are pockets where time moves differently. We could spend years and no one would miss you.”

Helio didn’t know when he’d started to concern himself with whether anyone missed Benny back home, but he figured he should use all the selling points at his disposal.

“But I kind of miss them. No.” Benny shook his head, then lifted the edge of his shirt to swipe at the sweat on his forehead. “I think it’s time to go back.”

Helio stiffened. No. Not a chance. Benny was his. He’d said so himself, the very first time Helio had claimed his body. Not to mention the many, myriad ways they were magically entwined. He did not get to just leave.

Helio opened his mouth to say just that, but he didn’t get to, because Benny was raising his brows, asking, “Are you coming with me?”

Helio’s mouth hung open. “What?”

Benny cocked his head. “We’re, like, dating, right? You should meet my people. Seacliff’s really pretty too. I think you’d like it. We can split time between here and there, if you want, down the line.”

“I-I captured you,” Helio sputtered. “I kidnapped you. And now you’re inviting me to your home?”

Benny shrugged. “I wanted to come. I’ve liked it here. And you’re not gonna go back to tormenting innocent people, right? ’Cause you’re not bored or lonely anymore?”

And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it? Benny was seeing through him again. What had he called Helio before?

A little lonely and possessive?

Helio sighed, all his indignation deflating.

Benny grinned at him, pressed a swift kiss to his lips, then grabbed his hand and began tugging him toward the villa. “Come on, let’s get packed.”

LATER, after convincing Benny that magical villas did not actually need packing, and then fucking him up against the gym mirror—Helio hadn’t been able to resist watching himself take Benny in his fae form—they lay on the gym mats, legs tangled together.

Benny was appropriately pliant and breathless. Helio already wanted him again—he always wanted him, damn it—but he was more or less content for the moment with petting Benny’s flank in smooth, steady strokes.

“You know,” Helio mused, his mouth running away with him again, “humans who successfully triumph over the fae are traditionally given a boon.”

Benny hitched his leg higher over Helio’s hip, encouraging his roving hands. “What’s a boon?”

“A favor. Riches. Titles. A cow whose milk will never run dry.”

“I don’t really have anywhere to keep a cow,” Benny mused, petting Helio in turn now, his tickling fingers tracing Helio’s pecs.

He was then immediately—and predictably—distracted by Helio’s cock twitching at his touch.

“Benny,” Helio prompted.

Benny looked up to meet Helio’s eyes, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. Um. Is that what I’ve done? Triumph over you?”

“I’m afraid so.” There was no use denying it now. Not when, instead of keeping Benny in the fae realm for eternity, Helio was instead going to Maine.

“Huh.” Benny grinned for real now. “So that means you really like me?”

“Yes, Benny.” Helio would not roll his eyes. That would be juvenile. “I really like you.”

“Cool.” Benny’s hand started traveling downward, stroking lightly at Helio’s hip. “I guess it would be nice not to have to work odd jobs anymore. To just focus on my videos.”

“You want riches?” Helio asked, perking up. He hadn’t thought Benny would actually accept a boon from him, had just been making idle chatter.

“But isn’t that already the benefit of having a rich boyfriend?” Benny asked sincerely. “You’ve got a really high libido, you know,” he pointed out, making Helio blush for some reason. “It doesn’t leave much time for anything beyond fucking. So it’s like, you take care of expenses and we get to bang like bunnies and vacation in the fae realm and all that.”

“So you’re mine and in exchange, I foot the bills?

“Yeah.” Benny’s fingers caressed Helio’s cock lightly, bringing him to full hardness in an instant. “But it’s okay because we’re all in love and shit.”

Something settled in Helio, something that had been unmoored since Cyprian’s visit, since Benny had told him they were “dating.” Helio didn’t know anything about human dating. Didn’t know the key to success or failure in that area.

But he knew a thing or two about a fair bargain.

“So be it,” he murmured, fighting back his own smile.

“Cool.” Benny grinned at him, easy as ever, and then slid down Helio’s body, sucking his cock down whole, removing all thoughts of bargains from Helio’s mind.

9

Benny

It was good to be back in Seacliff.

Benny was all for that private island life—or portal to the fae realm life, as it turned out—but there was nothing like home. The beaches may have been more rocky than tropical, but the air still smelled like salt, and it was still summer enough that the weather was warm and sunny.

As Benny waved to another friend across the street, Helio snorted beside him. “Tell me, do you know every single soul who lives here?”

Benny considered. “Well, not the tourists. But otherwise, pretty much.”

Helio snorted again, tucking Benny closer under his arm.

Honestly, he seemed a little nervous in their new digs, lacking the easy confidence he’d had in Miami, and the intense command on their island. In the fae realm, Benny reminded himself.

Benny supposed he could have been a little more freaked out by that revelation, but it didn’t really change much, did it? He’d already known Helio was a little cagey and a lot possessive and more than a bit lonely and strange. Those things hadn’t changed just because he’d turned out to be a different…species?

Were fae a species?

And maybe Helio had done some shitty things in the past—maybe he’d originally intended to do some shitty things to Benny, even—but…

Well, the thing was Benny had never been lonely. He’d grown up in a nurturing town that knew him well, close with his extended family even after his parents had passed. He didn’t know what it was like to not have anyone. But he’d seen tourists come through, the ones who didn’t have a friend on their side. The ones who drank a little too much or got a little too aggressive.

It did things to people, didn’t it? Loneliness.

So Benny had been lucky, but Helio couldn’t say the same. He’d been isolated and abandoned, and who was Benny to judge?

As long as Helio didn’t do it anymore, not to any innocent bystanders. He could keep tricking Benny if he wanted to—if he really needed that outlet. Benny didn’t mind.

He ducked out from under Helio’s hold, grabbing his hand instead and tugging him around the corner. “Come on, I want you to meet Seth, my baby cousin.”

“Must I?”

“Yeah.” Benny gave Helio a reassuring grin. “Don’t be nervous. He’s great.”

“Nervous,” Helio muttered, like he was offended at the idea.

They’d arrived early the night before, but Helio had teleported them in (although, he kept telling Benny “teleporting” was a science fiction term and was too undignified for his fae powers), so Benny hadn’t had a chance to introduce Helio to anyone yet.

It was possible Helio would have been okay to keep it like that. He didn’t seem to like any humans besides Benny, if the way he was frowning now was any indication.

He was kind of cute when he was grumpy though.

Benny kept tugging him all the way inside the Bakeshop, where Seth was at the other side of the counter, serving up pastries to-go, his brown curls held back by a flower-print headband.

Seth smiled wide as soon as he saw them. “Benny! I was just starting to wonder if you’d been kidnapped for real.”

Benny laughed, squeezing Helio’s hand. “Me? Never. Just enjoying the summer with my new boyfriend.”

Seth’s gaze immediately switched to Helio, his eyes widening in appreciation. “Well, damn. Way to pick ’em.”

“Yeah, he’s super good-looking, isn’t he? I told him that the first night we met.”

“I’m right here,” Helio muttered.

Benny just smiled at him, but Seth looked sheepish. “Sorry to ogle. I’m Seth.”

Helio stared him down for a minute, then glanced at Benny, who gave him an encouraging look. “Helio,” he said shortly.

“Um.” Seth’s eyes darted between them. “Charmed?”

This was so cool, everyone getting along. Benny kissed Helio’s cheek, mostly because he’d learned just this morning that doing it made him blush, and that was awesome. “You can wait outside if you want,” he told him.

“Thank the heavens.” Helio darted out the door immediately.

Seth’s eyebrows rose, and Benny shrugged.

“He’s kind of…solitary by nature.”

“Boyfriend though.” Seth’s eyebrows did a little waggle. “That’s new for you.”

“I guess so?” Benny had never thought of himself as solitary, but it had been a long time since he’d had a partner. A really long time, now that he thought about it.

“I’ve seen you get picked up by plenty of hopefuls,” Seth pointed out, grabbing the coffee pot without Benny asking and pouring him a cup. “It never lasted beyond a few weeks. Why’d that one make the cut?”

“Well…” Benny accepted the cup, humming in thought as he tried to figure out how to articulate it. He knew how he felt, but everyone always wanted to know the why of things, didn’t they? “I just like his vibes,” he settled with. “And he likes mine. He doesn’t try to…change anything.”

“Ah.” Seth nodded like he understood, and maybe he did. He knew Benny as well as anyone, had seen his past attempts at dating. Benny tended to attract people who were drawn to him for whatever reason initially but then always wanted him to be…more. Better. They wanted him to pick up interests besides fitness. Wanted him to give up video games and take up a more grown-up hobby. Wanted him to basically be smarter or more interesting than he was.

Helio just let him be Benny.

Plus, he fucked like a god.

But maybe that was a fae thing.

“I should take him home,” Benny said, trying not to exude eager horniness but probably failing. “We’ve been wandering all morning, and he’s kind of shy.”

“Sure.” Seth glanced outside, and Benny followed his gaze to where Helio was sitting on a bench, kind of glaring at a little girl with a melting ice cream cone who kept trying to scoot closer. “Shy.”

Benny took a second to give Seth a half hug over the counter. “We’ll catch up later. Promise.”

It probably wouldn’t be cool of Benny to spill Helio’s secret, but he could give Seth a general picture of his summer, get his own fill of the town’s goings-on. Later though.

Helio stood from the bench as soon as Benny was out the door. “You’re done?”

“I’m done.” Benny walked up to him, grabbing his hand. “Want to head home?”

“God, yes.”

Benny started to lead him in that direction. “I’m pretty social when I’m here, just to warn you. But you don’t always have to come with me, if you don’t want.”

“I’m…adjusting,” Helio said slowly. “I’ve had you all to myself for several months now. I liked it that way.”

Benny swung their arms while they walked. “We can still do that sometimes. I meant it about splitting time.”

It was a short walk home, and Benny couldn’t help grinning when they made it back to the house his parents had left him. He really loved this place.

“You can take off your glamour if you want,” he told Helio, heading up the stairs to his bedroom, hoping to change into a fresh shirt. “All the curtains are drawn.”

He’d never understood why Sascha and his devil boyfriend didn’t just buy thicker curtains themselves. But then again, Benny had never said anything, so maybe they didn’t know people could see them sometimes.

Now that he had his own boyfriend with secrets to keep…like, should he have said something?

But he’d have to think that over another time. For now, he was kind of frozen in his bedroom doorway. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Hey, Helio? This isn’t my bed. It’s way bigger. And there’s, like, a crystal bowl of lube packets on my bedside table.”

A sudden warmth at Benny’s back let him know Helio was behind him. “Yes,” he confirmed, a hand landing on Benny’s hip. “The house changed some things while we were away.” He sounded like he approved.

“Huh. Is my house a magical villa now?”

Helio kissed the back of Benny’s neck, immediately repeating the move when it made Benny shiver. “The villa follows me,” he explained, tugging at the hem of Benny’s shirt. “It’s more a spirit than a singular place.”

“Oh, cool.” Benny raised his arms obediently so Helio could take off his shirt. “Hey, Villa,” he called out, raising his voice slightly. “Thanks for all your hard work. Sorry I thought a secret horde of servants was behind all of it before.”

The villa couldn’t talk back, obviously, but a whole bunch of rose petals appeared on the newly massive bed all of a sudden, so it must have heard him.

Helio paused in his efforts to unbutton Benny’s shorts. “Stop seducing him,” he hissed.

Benny tilted his head back to peer at him. “Um. Which one of us are you talking to?”

Instead of answering, Helio claimed Benny’s mouth and shoved Benny’s shorts and underwear down, nudging at his legs until Benny stepped out of both. The kiss was greedy and a little harsh, like he was putting all his sulkiness into it.

Helio did that sometimes. It was like he couldn’t always be vocal about his feelings—or maybe had trouble being fully honest?—and so he tended to put it all into the way he fucked Benny. Like when he spent hours kissing every inch of Benny’s body sort of reverently, or when he pushed his cum back into Benny’s hole possessively after railing him. Maybe fae were naturally tactile like that, or maybe it was just Helio.

Either way, it made for killer sex.

Benny shivered with anticipation as Helio pushed him toward the bed without breaking the kiss.

When they hit the foot of the bed, Helio pressed at Benny’s back until he was bent forward over it. “I should take you back to the fae realm,” he muttered, kicking Benny’s legs apart. “Keep you under a thrall until I’m all you know or remember.”

See? Helio wasn’t always so good at saying what he meant. Sometimes he resorted to weird threats instead.

Benny sighed happily as he stretched out, laying his head on his folded arms, pushing back into Helio’s touch. “But you won’t.”

Helio’s hands landed on Benny’s ass, squeezing hard. “No. I won’t.”

A slick finger stroked at Benny’s entrance. Had there been lube packets mixed in with the rose petals? Probably.

“But you should know I’m tempted,” Helio muttered, sounding distracted in that way that meant he was staring at Benny’s hole like it held all the secrets in the universe.

Benny let out an encouraging moan when Helio’s finger breached him. It wasn’t going to take long to open him up—they’d already fucked before leaving the house. “That’s fine, babe,” he soothed. “We all have fantasies.”

Helio paused with two fingers inside him, no longer sounding distracted. “And what are your fantasies, Benny?”

“Um…” Benny thought it over while he wiggled his ass hopefully, trying to get Helio to pick back up where he’d left off. When that didn’t work, he relaxed, giving in to the delay. “Well, I want to take you dancing at the Lighthouse,” he said. That was the gay club in town that Benny sometimes worked as a bouncer at, and they had great music every first Friday of the month. “And I want you to try a lobster roll. Not a magical one,” he added, before Helio could protest. “A local one. And I want to escape the snow on one of your islands this winter.”

Yeah, that was a pretty good start. Those were awesome fantasies.

“Oh, and I want to sit on your face sometime,” he added, his dick jerking against the mattress at the thought.

“Fuck.”

And then the blunt head of Helio’s dick was notching at Benny’s entrance, entering him in one steady push.

God, that felt good.

Sometimes Helio took him apart slowly, like they had years just for a single fuck, and sometimes he was fast and furious, like he needed the reassurance of Benny’s body.

This is definitely one of the fast and furious times, Benny thought, as Helio covered him completely with his form, snapping his hips in a way that had Benny keening within moments.

Benny got it though. Change was hard.

He relaxed into it and let Helio fuck him into their new mattress, not even surprised when he came minutes later without even touching his dick. He tried to be a little quieter than he’d been the past month, now that he had neighbors again, but it was hard when Helio knew every little spot that could make Benny scream.

Afterward, they lay panting, Helio petting Benny in that really nice way he did.

There was a knock on the front door.

Benny lifted his head from the bed. “One of my neighbors must have realized I’m back.”

Helio groaned, smushing his own head against Benny’s shoulder. “Tell me again about splitting time between realms.”

Benny laughed. His boyfriend was so cute.

EPILOGUE

Helio

Helio groaned, the sound muffled by Benny’s bountiful assets.

He tugged Benny down more fully, effectively suffocating himself as he speared his tongue into his hole.

It was heaven.

Especially with the sound of Benny’s breathless encouragements, his groans and moans given more freely now that they were back where no one could hear them.

Helio finally had Benny to himself again.

They’d finished the summer and stayed through fall in Seacliff, then endured two months of winter snow before Benny had broken, declaring himself ready for “a fairy vacation.”

Helio had carefully chosen an unexplored pocket of the realm, one that was an almost perfect replica of that first island. He could have found something new and interesting, but he supposed he was feeling sentimental. They would have weeks of bliss before any potentially troublesome meddlers noticed their presence.

“Gonna come,” Benny gasped, grinding himself down against Helio’s face. He spurted all over Helio’s chest a moment later, his channel clenching rhythmically around Helio’s tongue.

He didn’t dismount fully, only slid down to let Helio breathe, wrapping a strong fist around Helio’s erection and jerking him efficiently to completion.

It didn’t take long, not when Helio had just endured the exquisite torture of Benny’s full, muscled weight on his face.

He’d have to ask him for another fantasy soon. This one had proved…delightful.

Helio was only allowed a few minutes of a lax, satiated Benny before Benny perked up again, asking, “Can we go for a swim now?”

Helio groaned.

But they did. Of course they did, Helio floating lazily in the nude while Benny did laps in the glittering water. Afterward, they lay out in the lounge chairs, soaking up the fae sun.

“It’s nice to have a break,” Benny said, his eyes closed behind his shades.

It was. Helio had learned Benny kept himself somewhat busy when he wasn’t on an island vacation. He had his YouTube videos, of course, but then he also insisted on keeping up his bouncer duties at the bar once a month and made himself available to help neighbors with tasks around the house at every given opportunity.

Maybe it wasn’t too much by human standards—it still left plenty of time for Helio to bend Benny over every available surface in their Seacliff home—but it was very different from their schedule in the fae realm.

Helio brought up something that had been niggling at the back of his mind for months. “Benny…you don’t actually need a rich boyfriend, do you?” He turned on his side in his lounge chair, Benny doing the same until they were facing each other. “You own your house outright,” Helio pointed out. “You continue to work almost the same as before.”

Benny grinned at him. “I don’t do as many odd jobs as before, but…no. Not really.”

Helio considered it. “You tricked me,” he said with surprise.

“I thought you’d like a fair exchange,” Benny told him with all sincerity. “You seemed a little nervous about leaving the villa. Plus, you provide the fairy vacations.” He waved a hand, encompassing their current setting. “Those are nice.”

It was Helio’s lot in life now, wasn’t it, to be smitten with a human who referred to his home realm as “fairy vacations”? A human he’d kidnapped, expecting an easy time of harmless torment, and had now been dating for six months.

Helio cleared his throat. “When you said it before, you said it was because we were ‘all in love and shit.’”

“Yep.” Benny had turned onto his back again, his eyes closed, smiling up at the sky. Helio would have liked to believe he was being coy, but he knew better.

Still, Benny hadn’t said the words again.

“Do you love me, Benny?” Helio asked, pained at having to ask such a direct question.

But Benny—his sweet, perfect pet—opened his eyes at once, answering simply, “Of course I love you.”

“Why?” The question left Helio’s lips without his permission.

Benny shrugged. “You make me happy.”

“You were already happy,” Helio accused. There was evidence of it everywhere in Seacliff. The friendly townspeople. The beloved cousins. The way Benny moved through his life with such guileless ease.

“Happier, I guess,” Benny amended.

Helio sat up in his chair. “I want a new bargain.”

Benny yawned. “I promised Seth I’d be back in three weeks, so you’re not allowed to kidnap me for eternity.”

Helio moved to Benny’s lounge chair, manhandling Benny until he was on Helio’s lap, the comforting weight of him a grounding force all its own. “I think you’ll like this one. You promise to love me forever, and I put a ring on your finger.”

For once, Benny looked properly surprised, blinking at Helio. “You want to marry me?”

“Yes, Benny, I want to marry you.” It wasn’t as delicious as kidnapping Benny for all eternity would be, it was true, but it was more or less the human version of it. Or as close to it as was possible without disrupting the peace of their courtship.

“Oh.” Benny’s grin was brighter than the fae sun beating down on them. “Cool. I accept.”

Helio grabbed Benny’s hand, placing it on his chest. He closed his eyes and leaned back, his Benny sprawled on top of him. “Cool,” he murmured.

THE END.

FOR MORE OF Benny and Helio, download their bonus epilogue here.

WANT MORE possessive paranormal men and the humans they claim? Start with the Vampire’s Mate series here.

BENNY PREVIOUSLY APPEARED in the Demon Bound series. Want to find out more about Sascha and his “devil” boyfriend? Read their story here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grae Bryan has been reading romance since she was far too young to know any better. Her love for love stories spans all genres, and while her current series is of the paranormal variety, she knows she’ll be exploring other worlds further down the line.

She lives in Arizona with her husband, who graciously shares space with all the imaginary men in her head. When not writing, she can generally be found reading more than is healthy, walking her monster-dog, or cuddling her demon-cat. She loves anything and everything gothic, strange, lovely, or cozy.

Find her online: graebryan.com

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ALSO BY GRAE BRYAN

Vampire's Mate

Roman (Book One) – Danny and Roman

Soren (Book Two) – Gabe and Soren

Lucien (Book Three) – Jamie and Lucien

Johann (Book Four) – Alexei and Jay

Wolfgang (Book Five) – Eric and Wolfe

Colin (Book Six) - Fox, Colin, and Dane

Cassian (A Vampire's Mate Novella) – Blake and Cass

Demon Bound

Wreaking Havoc (Book One) - Sascha and Kai

Inviting Bedlam (Book Two) - Ivan and Nix

Calling Chaos (Book Three) - Cooper and Chaos