His expression sobered. “I swear to you it was not drugs. You were under a thrall.”
“Thrall?” I asked. “What’s that?”
“When a mortal slips under a trance from being in the presence of a faery too long, it’s called a thrall. Most mortals have a much higher tolerance for enthrallment. Odd that yours is so low.” He raised a brow as though he had asked some sort of question.
I stared at him. He’d said something about being a fae prince. At the time I thought it had been an odd joke but now…. “A faery. You’re telling me you’re a faery.”
He threw up a hand and said in a tone that echoed off the tile, “What fools these mortals be!”
My response was a blank stare.
His hand dropped to the side. “Shakespeare? A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Puck?”
My head went back and forth. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
He huffed out an impatient sigh. “Yes, Joey. I am a faery. Which is why I have magic and my soul essence can enthrall any mortal with enough exposure.”
Mortification was being quickly displaced by anger. “In my book, that doesn’t sound much different than being drugged, pal.”
“It’s unintentional. A defense mechanism to keep me from being permanently ensnared by mortals. Normally it takes days or even weeks for a mortal to fall under my thrall. As I said before, your tolerance is remarkably low.”
“Gee, thanks.” I squirmed, uncomfortable with only semitransparent bath water between my body and his intense gaze and wondered why on earth I was offended by a man who thought he was a faery telling me I was a magical lightweight.
“Of course, I take care of my thralls. I made sure you and your conveyance returned to your places of origin, didn’t I?”
He had. “So, you can enthrall me any time you want?”
He shook his head. “I’ve given you full immunity from my particular thrall. Which means I have no true defense against you. If you wanted to ensnare me the way mortals have captured the fae for millennia, I have no true way to stop you.”
My lips parted. If what he was saying was true…. “Why would you give me immunity then?”
His eyes glittered like emeralds. “Because I want to bargain with you. I have traveled the world searching for a true trader, someone who has just as much to gain as I do from our trade. You are that trader.”
I glared at him. “Are you saying I’m desperate? Look pal, I know there’s a stigma about women of a certain age—”
He leaned forward and placed his index finger over my lips, effectively cutting off my words. “I’m saying you’re unfulfilled. Just as you told your charming friend.”
Again his voice changed, this time into mine. “You know that something special feeling. A zest for life. I can’t remember the last time I had that.”
“That’s some talent you have,” I whispered.
He dropped back to his own lilting Welsh voice. “My point is that your life is literally passing you by. But I can help you change that. If only you’re brave enough to take the leap. Are you?”
Outside the bathroom window, I heard the slam of a car door. My mother, home from her boink fest.
“What say you?” He leaned back and waited.
“Joey!” The slam of the front door. “Josephine Whitmore!”
My heart pounded against my ribcage. Adrenaline surged through my system in a way it hadn’t in years. The spark of life. Fear filled me and I shook my head. “I don’t believe you.”
My mother’s tread and the creak of the stairs.
“You have to leave,” I said to the faery in my bathroom. “Quick, before my mother sees you.”
He drew back. “Twice I have offered. Only thrice will I offer. When I next approach you, Joey Whitmore, it will be for the last time.”
With a snap of his fingers, he vanished.
A sharp rap sounded on my bedroom door. “Joey!”
“In the bath.” There was something stuck in my throat. “I’ll be right out.”
I checked all the dark corners of the bathroom but saw no sign of Robin Goodfellow. Warily, I stood up, one hand covering my boobs, the other between my legs. Of course, he had seen me strip earlier. But I hadn’t known he was there. If he wanted an eyeful, he would have gotten one already.
Plus, my mother was waiting, rather impatiently, right outside the door.
I climbed from the tub and reached for a towel and wrapped it around myself. Then I stepped over the side