Page 27 of Demure
“I do.”
Sierra nearly jumped out of her skin at the feel of Aodhan’s breath on her ear. She put her hand on her chest to slow her heart. “Don’t do that.” She looked over her shoulder to find Aodhan grinning right by her ear, their lips inches apart. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
Aodhan didn’t reply. Instead, he took a step back but stayed standing behind her and watching as she poured a can of black beans into the pan for sautéing. He was close enough that she could feel his body heat, and a moment later, his hand ran up and down her back in a calming manner. “Relax,” he whispered huskily in her ear. “I don’t bite.”
Shivers ran down her spine. She took a deep breath, trying to focus on the hot stove and the beans she was stirring. At least she had picked an easy dinner that she could cook with her eyes closed if necessary.
Aodhan apparently noticed that he was distracting her, andstepped back to sit in one of the chairs at her tiny table. She couldn’t help but notice that his large body made her table look even smaller than it was. He was probably used to some massive banquet hall and gourmet cooking back in The Hills. She wished now that she had chosen to make something nicer, but knew it was too late to change anything. Sierra grabbed the other ingredients from the fridge, quickly cutting the onion and tomato. She set them on the table, along with the cheese, tortillas, hot sauce, and lettuce, as Aodhan observed her every move in silence. Just when the quiet was about to get awkward, the beans began to steam, so she turned off the stove and scraped them into a bowl, setting it on the table as well.
Aodhan looked at all the things sitting on the table in front of him. “You’re going to have to show me how to eat this, I’m afraid.”
It was Sierra’s turn to smile. “I figured as much. Here, I’ll make your first one for you.”
She quickly grabbed a tortilla, filling it with a little of everything and handed it to him.
He looked at the folded taco in his hand, holding it like it might bite him, before looking back at her. “So, I just eat it with my hands?”
“Yes,” Sierra replied, already filling her own taco. Aodhan waited until she took the first bite of hers, observing exactly how she did it, before bending his neck down to take a bite of his own.
“Delicious,” he said between large bites, devouring the first taco in moments. Sierra was about to offer to make him a second one, but he seemed to get the idea and quickly made his own. “How did you learn to make these?” he asked before eating the second taco in three bites.
“My family, I guess. We are originally from Mexico, well, my parents. I was born in the US, but my parents were born in Mexico and came over as young adults.”
Aodhan’s mouth was full of food, and as Sierra finishedoff the last morsels of her first taco, he was already making his third, heaping on more than Sierra would have dared.
Aodhan noticed her eyes on the nearly overflowing taco in his hand and quickly explained, “I don’t normally like human food, but this is delicious.”
Sierra began making her second taco, pausing at his words. “You don’t like human food usually? Why?”
Aodhan shrugged, his mouth full of his third taco which looked like he would once again be able to eat in three bites, despite it being overfilled. “We Fae, because of the way our existence is tied to the environment and nature, normally choose not to eat animals. Some of the Fae who move here—to the human world—learn to enjoy meat, and some in The Hills have taken to eating meat regularly, but I never have.”
“Hm,” Sierra replied. “Well, none of this is meat, as I also don’t eat animals.”
It was Aodhan’s turn to look confused. “I thought all humans liked eating animals?”
“Not anymore. Many in our—” Realizing Aodhan was born over 100 years before, she quickly edited her statement, “—my generation have chosen not to, either for health or environmental reasons.”
“Makes sense.” Sierra’s eyes widened as Aodhan began making his fourth taco. “There are many Fae who believe that the mother earth is mad at the Fae for the increased meat consumption, and that has also contributed to our shorter life span. It is generally not legal to hunt in Sidhe, so Fae who want to eat meat must do so illegally or import it from the human world, which is expensive and challenging.”
“It doesn’t sound like eating meat in Sidhe is a good idea.” Sierra had studied vegetarianism and its longevity benefits as part of her master’s program, but she had become vegetarian even before moving to Dublin because of the health concerns associated with eating meat.
Sierra finished her second taco, sitting back as Aodhan againdevoured his fourth in just a few bites. She had only bought eight tortillas, and now she was wondering if she should have bought a second package. Aodhan reached to make his fifth taco, suddenly realizing Sierra had stopped eating.
“You’re done?”
Sierra looked at the dwindling stack of tortillas. “I think I’ll eat one more. But I want to make sure you have enough. I only bought eight tortillas.”
Aodhan looked at the tortilla half-filled in his hand. “Do you want this one? So we each have four?”
Sierra held up her hand. “No, you eat that one; I just didn’t know if you would want one more.”
“No, you eat the last one. I don’t need anymore.”
They finished the last of the tacos quickly, and Sierra began to clean. As she picked up all the dishes and moved to carry them to the sink, they suddenly disappeared from her hands.
“What the…” She looked at the table, aghast to find it was also empty. She spun to the sink to find Aodhan leaning against it, a smug smirk occupying his face. “What did you do?”
“I shifted the dishes.”
