Unpainted: The Weirdwater Confluence, #0

By Dani Finn

"I'm ready."

In the hermetic society of the Painted Faces, pale, unblemished skin is rewarded with station, wealth, and power.

Tera would almost rather go unpainted than enter into an arranged marriage with a total stranger, but that would mean giving up the only life she's ever known. Not to mention her share of her family's Pureline fortune.

She's always thought love was a fairy tale and sex a joyless chore, but the alternative might be worse.

Enter Aven, a soft buttercup of a man, the kindest and most considerate person she's ever met. A tropical honeymoon awaits, and with the help of her intimacy consultant, Tera is determined to make the best of this awkward ritual. Amid the island breezes, she and her new spouse form a bond neither of them knew they were capable of.

But trouble stirs beneath the polite veneer of the Painted Faces' society, threatening to tear them—and their entire world—apart.

Unpainted is a queer arranged marriage fantasy romance, a standalone in the Weirdwater Confluence universe. It features a dual POV, magical currency shenanigans, mind magic, and inordinate amounts of steamy, fluffy goodness with a soft femdom dynamic.

Content warnings

Unpainted contains numerous explicit, consensual sex scenes, including light bondage and sex toys, as well as drug use and minor violence. It is intended for an adult audience and should not be read by anyone under 18.

Author's note

Unpainted has cameos from several characters in The Living Waters and The Isle of a Thousand Worlds but contains no spoilers, and no prior knowledge of these books is required to enjoy Unpainted .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dani Finn
• Release date: Dec 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224060399

Book preview

Unpainted

Dani Finn

Dragonheart Press

Copyright © 2023 by Dani Finn

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Content warnings

This book is intended for adult audiences and contains drinking, drug use, and explicit, consensual sex scenes, including light bondage and sex toys.

Author's note

Unpainted is called a Weirdwater romance because it takes place in the universe of the Weirdwater Confluence, a sword-free romantic fantasy duology comprised of The Living Waters and The Isle of a Thousand Worlds. Unpainted is a standalone, and no prior knowledge of any other books is required to enjoy it. There are several cameos and little Easter eggs for those who may have read the other books, but that's it.

Further Weirdwater romances are planned, and they will also be standalones.

Contents

1.Chapter 1

2.Chapter 2

3.Chapter 3

4.Chapter 4

5.Chapter 5

6.Chapter 6

7.Chapter 7

8.Chapter 8

9.Chapter 9

10.Chapter 10

11.Chapter 11

12.Chapter 12

13.Chapter 13

14.Chapter 14

15.Chapter 15

16.Chapter 16

17.Chapter 17

18.Chapter 18

19.Chapter 19

20.Chapter 20

Also By Dani Finn

Acknowledgements

one

Aven slipped a mint pastille into his mouth, hoping the cooling effect would slow the sweat threatening to ruin his paint and his finesuit. The Taskals had spared no expense on the wedding, but even their Pureline fortune couldn’t buy good weather. The air in Tower Circle was soupy and stale, more like midsummer than late spring.

Ms. Taskal stood proudly in front of the flameglass case where ten Pureline bars were laid out for all to see. Her face was painted a rich blue with silver highlights, which confused Aven. Only the wedded couple were supposed to wear metallic, as far as he’d ever heard, but perhaps the rules were different in the first circle. His fathers stood in front of their table of ledgers looking uncomfortable in their gray finesuits, Pa-Gil in lavender paint and Pa-Ri in violet. It must have been humiliating for them, even though the financial value of their portfolio was much greater than the Taskals’. Pureline was Pureline. They could own every building in Anari, but without Pureline, they would always be seen as lesser than.

Aven touched the air around his face, wishing he had a mirror to check that the fiery copper he’d spent hours on hadn’t smudged. Tera would be wearing silver with green and gold accents—Ms. Taskal had arranged the colors far in advance for all the wedding party. He wasn’t accustomed to such formality, but he supposed he’d have to get used to it now that he was marrying into a Pureline family. Though they wouldn’t be able to touch it until Ms. Taskal died, Tera’s inheritance meant an unshakable future for them and any children they might choose to have. A ten-bar block of Pureline granted access to the Platinum market, which even his fathers with all their wealth couldn’t touch.

The curtains rustled across the dais, and Aven saw a flash of silver for a moment before the velvet fell back into place. His heart clenched at the realization that in a few minutes, he would be forever bonded to a person he’d met only twice. It clenched tighter when he thought that in a few days, they’d be on their way to an island honeymoon where he’d be expected to sleep with a woman, his wife, for the first time. And the second, third, and as many as six times—tradition said they should be intimate on each night of their honeymoon, though he wasn’t quite sure what the definition of ‘intimate’ was in this context. He’d kissed a few girls in school but he’d only ever slept with men before, not that he considered himself particularly accomplished. He’d certainly never been one to take the lead in any case. Would Tera expect that of him? He bit his lip; surely he could learn what his new spouse preferred quickly enough. He’d studied the manuals his fathers had bought him, but everything blurred together in his mind. As he pictured Tera removing her wedding gown and standing before him, naked and unpainted, a fresh round of sweat burst through all over.

If it wasn’t ruined before, his paint was bound to be a mess by now.

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A slight breeze stirred as they stood hand in hand, facing each other on the dais before the most distinguished crowd Aven had ever seen. Every first circle family was there—he’d studied the portraits in the charter carefully. By their demeanor, and by the socials he’d read the night before, the match was widely approved, considered of equal benefit to all parties. The Taskals got access to one of the strongest real estate houses in Anari, and Aven’s family in turn got secondary Pureline backing for their investments. As Aven’s gaze turned back to his soon-to-be spouse, her hazel eyes locked on his, full of calm strength and curiosity. He laughed nervously, and Tera’s gentle blink reassured him. A tiny bell tinkled, and her fingers tensed beneath his.

We gather in this circle to affirm and protect a new family, the officiant intoned. Family, Aven thought, staring into the fractured green and golden depths of Tera’s eyes. Is that what they were now? The officiant’s words grew more distant as she spoke of community, culture, and commitment. As their gaze prolonged, Tera’s eyes softened, her grip loosened, and her fingers and palms pressed warmly against his. Her lips quirked toward a smile, and Aven found his doing the same. He had no idea who in the Thousand Worlds this person he was marrying was, but he liked her already.

Words were exchanged. Rings eased onto painted fingers. Lips touched so faintly he wasn’t sure they had kissed, but her eyes seemed to darken, and something tightened inside him.

It was done.

Polite applause rang out, but Aven stayed with Tera’s gaze as she studied him. A few shouts pierced the applause, and Tera’s eyes crinkled around the edges, staying with his even as she let go of one hand and rotated to face the assembled crowd. A smile burst onto Aven’s face as he turned and saw his fathers clapping, tears streaking down Pa-Gil’s paint. Aven sniffed to quell his own tears at the sight. It had long been Pa-Gil’s dream for Aven to marry into Pureline, and he’d persisted no matter how many times Pa-Ri had mocked the idea. The I-told-you-so’s were going to last a lifetime.

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Aven, you’ve got to meet my intimacy consultant. She’s the best. Tera physically dragged Aven to the next table, where a tall woman with broad shoulders and a sly smile kissed the air around Tera’s face. She was one of the few attendees who was not a painted face, fair-complected and freckled, with eye makeup reminiscent of a prowling cat. She eyed Aven up and down, and he felt himself blushing beneath his paint. His parents had scoffed at the idea—and the expense—of an intimacy consultant, but as he considered what might be expected of him on their honeymoon, he wished they’d thought differently.

Lila, Aven. Aven, Lila.

You two are in for a treat, Lila chuckled, taking Aven’s hand and glancing between the two of them. I’ve never seen a better match.

You can tell—how can you tell? Aven stammered, wishing he’d kept his foolish mouth shut. I mean, of course, it’s just—

Lila is the best in the business. My mother booked her before the match was even made.

Wow, that’s… Aven’s mind spun with the wine, with Lila’s knowing smile, with Tera’s nonchalance.

You’re going to be amazing. Lila gripped his forearm, her green eyes peering into his, and he felt oddly reassured. Both of you. She held Tera’s arm with her other hand. And I don’t want to get in the way, so I’m going to go mingle. Lovely to meet you, Aven. She let go of their arms and gave them a little wave, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Isn’t she great? Tera’s eyes were ablaze, shining golden-green out of her silver-painted face. She put a hand on Aven’s shoulder and moved cheek to cheek.

I don’t want to put any kind of pressure on either of us, she said in a voice too low to be heard by anyone else, but our honeymoon is coming up, and I do believe in the value of certain traditions. Her breath was hot in his ear, her grip on his shoulder strong, her body soft against his. She pulled back and held him at arm’s length, fixing him with eyes full of mischief. Don’t you?

The wine on her breath and her jasmine perfume formed a dizzying cloud that made him struggle to form words.

Yes, of course, tradition must be respected, he managed.

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They took a luxury carriage down to Rontaia, with separate sleeping compartments for when they were between suitable accommodations. Tera spent her time reading, writing letters, and drinking copious amounts of skyroot tea. They chatted over meals—about the wedding, the honeymoon, a little social gossip—and when the carriage stopped, he joined her in long and rather vigorous walks along the road. She loosened up a bit during these walks, pointing out various birds and trees she saw and dropping hints of an education vastly superior to his own. He stopped himself from waxing poetic about the qualities of the hardwood forests they traveled through, instead asking questions and making a few little observations of his own. Mostly, he enjoyed listening to her talk, watching her painted lips move, the glints of delight in her eyes when something amused her.

Each night, after brushing their teeth but before removing their paint, they would meet in the common compartment by unspoken accord and kiss goodnight. Though the kisses themselves were brief and chaste, a warmth grew between them with each night, each kiss. Not a romantic warmth; more a sense of common purpose. They were in this together, she seemed to say with her eyes, and whether or not their arrangement grew into something more, they could be close. They could be friends. They could make a life together.

He was still terrified of what would happen when they finally saw each other skin to skin, with no protective layer of clothes or paint between them. As he lay awake at night, swaying with the carriage springs, his terror occasionally turned to curiosity. He touched himself, trying to picture Tera without her clothes. Images from erotica books and sex manuals whirled through his mind, but he kept coming back to her eyes, calm and shining like moonlit ponds. Whatever her body might look like, if she turned her gaze on him just so, he would be putty in her hands.

two

Tera stared down at the sandstone sink, tinged green from the paint she’d washed off. She checked her face one more time in the mirror to make sure she hadn’t missed any spots, but she was as whitish-pink as the day she was born, the same shade five she’d always been. She imagined Aven doing the same thing in his washroom just through the wall, looking at his unpainted face and mentally preparing himself for the moment ahead. He was a shade six, so he no doubt had less to worry about, but she’d never heard of anyone who was satisfied with their shade.

Tera turned toward the door, which was hand-painted with pink flowers on dark green leaves with tiny colorful insects of many different varieties scattered among the foliage. Details like this littered the little bungalow, whose white stuccoed walls, exposed wood, and sandstone floors might otherwise have come off a bit sterile. She took a deep breath, cinched the belt of her robe tight, and opened the door.

The bedroom was empty, and light peeked from the crack beneath Aven’s washroom door. Tera wandered toward the expansive bed, stopping to light the candles that had been conveniently placed on the bedside table next to a tray of oils and a pyramid of neatly rolled towels. She sat down on the soft mattress, her fingers worrying the hem of her silk robe, wondering how it would work when Aven opened the door. What she should say, what she was supposed to do. She’d had sex with a few people before, and she’d never really understood the appeal. It was awkward and messy, and the constant breathing and sweating all over each other was more than she could bear.

This was supposed to be different, though no one could ever seem to put into words exactly how. In the heartstories, there was a lot of swooning, much plying of lips, and a great deal of heat growing between people. But in real life, it hadn’t been like that with anyone she’d slept with, and she’d known most of them better than she knew Aven. How was this supposed to be so magical?

Her intimacy consultant had assured her there was no magic required; only patience and willingness to maintain gentle control. Tera had never felt in control in her previous encounters. While the prospect was a little terrifying, Lila was reputed to be among the best, and Tera was determined to follow her suggestions to the letter. Aven didn’t seem like one to push for anything she might be uncomfortable with, so she hoped he’d be willing to follow her lead. He’d deferred to her on every practical detail of their wedding and honeymoon and was polite and tentative around her. Their lips had barely brushed during the ceremony, and he’d never pressed for more than the lightest kiss each night during their travels.

The room filled with golden light as the door opened. The washroom light flicked off, and the room was lit only by the candles on either side of the bed. Aven walked softly, wearing loose silken pants under a short robe. His eyes flitted from Tera to the floor and back again. He sat down on the bed just close enough to reach out his hand and take hers. His fingers were soft and a little clammy. They held hers gently, squeezing just a tiny bit before he spoke.

You look so beautiful. He met her gaze for a moment, his eyes soft and nervous. I mean, I knew, but seeing you… He gestured toward her face, his mouth falling into a disarming smile that made Tera look down for a moment to stop the color from rising to her cheeks. Like this, it’s just…wow. He squeezed her hand a little; his fingers seemed to be warming up.

You’re beautiful too. She leaned closer so she could brush her knuckles against his cheek, which was creamy white and as soft and smooth as the silk robes they wore. He angled into her hand, and she stroked his face for a moment longer until it became too much. She dropped her hand into her lap. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Do you want some wine? Aven gestured toward the bottle and glasses on the nightstand.

Tera shook her head. I had enough with dinner.

Me too, Aven added quickly, scooting a little closer, sending Tera’s heart racing with panic. She couldn’t let him make the first move; she didn’t want to be some prize for the taking. But the thought of trying something, anything, filled her with a greater dread. She scooted a little farther away, then stood up suddenly, turning away from Aven and pacing the room. She thought of what Lila had told her: If you tell your partner what you want and when you want it, they’ll usually give it to you. And if they want something else, they’ll tell you. The problem comes when you don’t use your words. When she returned to the bedside, Aven’s eyes were confused and a little sad, and her chest tightened at the awkwardness of it all. She blew out a nervous sigh, forced a smile, and held out her hands. He took them, rising at the lightest touch of her fingers.

I think we’re supposed to kiss now, she said, closing the gap between their faces even as her heart hammered out of sync inside her chest. His eyes widened, then closed partway as he angled sideways, pushing out his lips. His hands touched her waist gently. They kissed without movement, breathing through their noses as their lips pressed together. He was warm and tasted of wine and cloves, and since he neither broke the kiss nor deepened it, Tera decided to test the waters. She took his upper lip in hers, sucking gently on it as some of her previous kissers had done to her, and he responded in kind. Before long, they were properly kissing, or so she thought. It was pleasant enough, if awkward; at least Aven wasn’t trying to shove his tongue down her throat. She’d never really understood the appeal of kissing, but it seemed to be part of the ritual of sex. If this was what it took, it’s what she would do.

She pulled back from the kiss, took a deep breath, and untied the belt of her robe. Aven’s eyes widened again, staring at the growing crack in her robe as she opened it and let it slide off her body. He stared between her legs for a moment, then his gaze slowly crept up her body, his eyes still nervous and soft as they fell upon hers.

Tera, you…I… He looked down at her body, then back into her eyes, a shy smile growing on his face.

You could take your clothes off too. She fingered his silk belt and undid the simple knot that held it in place. He shrugged the robe off his shoulders, revealing a rather flat chest with bright pink nipples and a bit of a belly. His face reddened as he untied his pants and let them drop, revealing his collection of dangly bits, waxed clean just like hers. They stood naked and unpainted, fixing each other with uncertain eyes.

I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do, he said meekly. I don’t—I know this isn’t— He clutched her hands, and she felt a smile growing at his timidity. Unless you want me to—

Why don’t you touch me here. She lifted his hands to her breasts, and his mouth formed an O as he held them gently, his fingers warm now. He looked into her eyes once more, as if asking permission, and she blinked. He slid his hands down to her waist and lowered his mouth and began kissing her chest, then between and around her breasts. His glacial pace settled her nerves into something approaching impatience. It took him forever to reach her nipples, and she put her hands around the back of his head as the first tingle filtered up inside her. He kissed her all over, but with such delicacy she wondered if he’d ever done this before.

She pulled his head away, then turned her back to the bed and lay down, scooching up so her head rested on the pillow. He climbed onto the bed, looking from her body to her eyes, his gaze nervous, pleading for guidance. He wasn’t all the way hard, she didn’t think, and she was glad he hadn’t just tried to mount her clumsily like some of the men she’d been with. Lila had suggested cunnilingus for the first night, and Aven seemed open to suggestion. She decided to push him in that direction and see what happened. Use your words, Tera, Lila’s voice rang in her head.

Maybe keep going like you were, then kiss your way down and see what you find.

His lips found her breasts again, and she noticed