As Nyte took the glass from Ember, his fingers brushed hers. That light touch left tingling warmth in its wake.
He raised the glass to his mouth, holding her gaze as his lips parted and he sipped the wine. Ember watched as his expression shifted. Curiosity became tentative appreciation, which faded swiftly, his features gradually tightening until the cords of his neck stood out. The expression was all the more comical due to the facial mask.
Ember chuckled.
Shuddering, he passed the glass back to her. “Do humans actually enjoy that, or do you take perverse pleasure in making yourselves suffer?”
With a grin, Ember swirled the golden liquid, makingthe light dance upon it. “It’s an acquired taste, and I actually really love it. It’s perfect for unwinding after a long week.”
She brought the glass to her mouth, making sure to place her lips in the exact same spot Nyte’s had been as she took a drink. From the corner of her eye, she saw Nyte go still, and she heard his tail thumping the floor.
Ah, the tail. Always a giveaway.
Over the last several days, she’d noticed it swishing whenever he grew excited. But its boldest, most animated reactions were when he gazed upon her, often driving him to seize hold of it in exasperation when he thought she wasn’t looking.
Ember set the wine down on the floor beside her and fanned herself with her hand. “It’s feeling a little hot in here.”
She took hold of the upper ribbon of her nightshirt and pulled until the bow came undone. It caused the already plunging neckline to display more of her cleavage, and she parted the collar wider still.
Nyte slammed his hand down atop his tail, pinning it to the floor, his eyes on her chest. “Feels…fine to me.”
Ember smiled, plucked up a couple pieces of popcorn, and leaned toward Nyte, holding them up to his mouth. She knew this position caused her top to gape, knew that so much of her breasts was on display. “Try the popcorn. You’ll like this better than the wine, I promise.”
The muscles of his jaw ticked, and the faintest shudder rippled through him as the stars upon his skin brightened. He dragged his violet-blue gaze back up to hers. “Mayhap it is warmer than I realized.”
She couldn’t stop her smile from widening a little.
Though there was a hint of skepticism on his face, he opened his mouth. Something about seeing him like this, with that mask paired with those glowing eyes, those fangs and horns, was just as humorous as it was endearing.
Ember slipped the popcorn past his lips.
Nyte caught her wrist as his mouth closed around her fingers. Her eyes flared, and her breath hitched when his tongue laved her fingers, twirling around them to lick away every trace of salt.
She couldn’t help but imagine that tongue licking another part of her, one that was currently aching with desire.
An appreciative hum rumbled from his chest as he drew back. “You were right, witch. I do like this better.”
He released his hold, grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl, and turned his head toward the TV. “We’re to watch a horror movie, then?”
Ember blinked at him.
What. The. Fuck?
Did he seriously turn this back around on me just like that?
With a soft huff, she leaned back against her cushion and muttered, “Cruel demon.”
Well, considering he was an immortal who’d been around for eons, did she really expect that showing some cleavage would be enough to outplay him? The facial mask certainly didn’t help.
And you thought you could seduce him while wearing it?
It was laughable.
Picking up the remote, Ember navigated to her watchlist and selected a thriller she’d wanted to watch for a while now.
They nibbled on popcorn and Ember sipped her wine as the movie played. The stakes and tension were part of what she loved about horror movies. She enjoyed the thrill of the unknown, the racing of her heart, the danger, the fear.
This movie definitely leaned into that building tension. It was psychological, the characters fueled by desperation and greed that clashed with basic human empathy.Such films always made Ember wonder how far real people would actually go if forced into similar situations.
