Pressing his forehead to hers, he panted into the space between them. She was panting too, her heart pounding, her soul still reaching for him. They stayed like that for a time, silent but somehow completely in sync, her heart beating in time with his. Her eyes flicked down to the mess he’d left on her belly.
“I’ll get something to clean you up.”
She almost cried out when he lifted off her and cold air filled the space where he’d been. He was only gone for a minute before returning with a wet towel, but it felt like an eternity. After, he cuddled against her, spooning her from behind, nestled between her wings.
“Liam?”
“Yeah?”
“That was more than I ever expected.”
“From a human?”
“From anyone.”
He sighed into the back of her neck.
“Hey, Liam?”
“Yeah.” His voice sounded sleepy.
“Do you want to stay one more day?” She held her breath. It was bold to ask someone to give up another day of their life for something that couldn’t possibly go anywhere.
She felt him press his forehead between her shoulder blades. Heard him swallow. “One more day.”
She smiled into her pillow. “Good. I want to take you on a cruise of the Sanguine River. Maybe we can go to Rogos to see the snail migration. It’s a huge problem for them but a magnificent thing to behold.”
“You’re a magnificent thing to behold,” he murmured into her back.
She snorted. “You can’t spend the entire day staring at me.”
“Challenge accepted. I can. Watch me.” He kissed the back of her neck. “As far as I’m concerned, we can spend the entire day exploring this bed and each other.”
“Tempting,” she said softly. Her lids felt heavy, the weight of sleep calling to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she wanted to sleep. She went through the motions each night, but her body didn’t need much and she rarely felt tired. But now, with Liam’s arm around her, feeling warm and wanted, she couldn’t fight its seductive tug.
She was almost asleep when she heard Liam whisper, “There are eight planets in Earth’s solar system, one hundred billion in our galaxy, but if there was one person I could love in all the universe and the realms within it, it would be you, Charlotte.”
His breath evened out and so did hers, and she allowed herself to sleep.
Charlotte started awake to the sound of a dragon’s growl and a cold draft where Liam’s body once was. With one beat of her wings, she opened her eyes and leaped to her feet, horrified to find her father dangling Liam by the neck at the end of her bed.
“Dad! Stop! Put him down!”
“Who the fuck is this, Charlie? And talk fast before I crush his throat.”
“He’s my…” What in Hades should she call him? Lover? Friend? “Boyfriend.”
Gabriel released Liam with a groan. He dropped roughly to the floor and crumpled into a ball, wheezing. She rushed to his side and wrapped a wing protectively over him.
“For Mountain’s sake, put some clothes on,” Gabriel groused.
She snatched her robe off the post at the foot of her bed where she often kept it, then pulled a blanket off the bed to wrap around Liam before handing him his clothes. “Bathroom,” she whispered. “Let me handle this.”
He gave her a nod, still massaging his throat, and slipped off, closing the door behind him.
Her father’s burning gaze followed Liam until the door closed, then redirected on her. “He’s human. How, may I ask, did you come by a human ‘boyfriend’?”
“I brought him here to help me with a party I’m throwing for Aunt Avery. I wanted an Earth holiday theme.”
