Water Spirit Boyfriend: Juneau #1 (special preview)

I smile again. “I’d rather give you wood.”

Juneau lurches in shock.

“I am a nymph, remember? I can give you wood to prop up your well again.” I say, leaning to the side to match the slope of the stones. “Or, I can create a brace of vines to tilt it back upright.” I stand straight again. “Would that make good payment for my wish?”

Juneau’s stunned expression becomes confused again. “You would fix the well?”

“I would make it lovely,” I reply. “I could create a canopy over the top using vines and limbs. My flowers would decorate your view and rain down lovely pink petals into your waters.” I smile up at him. “Would that grant me a wish?”

Juneau’s lip curls. “Dangerous,” he whispers. “Extremely dangerous.”

I giggle softly and dance up to the edge of the well again. “What do you say? I’ll fix the well for a wish.”

“And what the hell would that wish be?” He snarls at me. “What could a dastardly creature like you possibly want?”

I can think of one, big, hard thing that is lingering on my mind, but I can’t be that bold yet. I have a feeling Juneau here is more of an innocent than he lets on. “Your wishes are a double edged sword, are they not?”

Juneau scoffs. “You’re smarter than you look, nymph.”

“Eilonwy,” I correct him again.

“Whatever,” he rolls his eyes. “But that depends on me. Someone could wish for new horses and I could give them kelpies. Someone could ask for their crops to be blessed, but I make their crops suffocate the ground and make it not harvestable. It depends on how I feel.”

I place my fingertips on his collar bone, following the natural curves of his body. I caress them down his chest. “You feel big and strong to me.”

Juneau grabs my wrist before I reach the white hair on his belly. “Don’t press your luck, little nymph,” he growls. “Fix my well first, then I might grant you a wish.”

“Might?” I tug my hand down so it fits in his palm. “So you might do all this work for free? Nothing in payment?”

Juneau’s white pupil grows wide, splitting the darkness of his eyes. “Nothing.”

“Then let me get started.”

Juneau drops my hand, keeping his eyes on me as I walk to the main slope of the well. I coax down one of the trees nearby. It grows out a branch that grows up along the side of the well, pushing against it. Vines then grow up from around the base, circling around the stone, then constricting all at once. The stones pop, throwing dust outwards. The branch continues to push while the vines loosen the stones, to make them surge. Everything groans and clatters while dust rises up in the air. Then, with a low groan, the stones settle upright like they were new. The branch recoils while the tree rises back up. The vines vanish back into the ground, showing they also polished the stones clean. 

Juneau looks over the edge, admiring the work for a moment before he glances back my way. I pose with a smile, squeezing my arms so they press my breasts together appealingly. He sighs and rolls his eyes. 

“Come back tomorrow,” he says.

“Tomorrow?” I thrust my arms down to my sides with my fists balled up. “Why tomorrow?”

“So I can see if I like this.” He pats the stones. “What if I granted you a wish and I ended up hating this later? Not fair at all, is it?”

“It’s hard work! You should pay for hard work,” I pout.