“Basically any movement you’ll find in larger snake species we use as well. And if you ask me if I get tired holding myself upright, I’m going to ask you the same thing.”
Sumi laughed again, and he ground his teeth as a city truck drove by slowly.How much poison do you think will stay in the well now that the whole town is probably watching you practically hold her hand all the way back to her store?
“They’re probably on their way to empty the trash. Some asshole keeps putting monkey brains in it or something.”
“Fish guts, I think,” he clarified. “Or so I would guess. Easier to acquire than monkeys. Did you have success at that place on Commerce?”
Her head whipped to the side, and the sparkle in her eyes made his chest hurt. “I decided to save my money,” she huffed. “No sense in ruining my expectations with a cheap knockoff.”
The pain spread through his lungs, making it hard to breathe.Is this a stroke? Do you smell toast?Blithely unaware of his inner turmoil, Sumi’s eyes shimmered with the force of her smile . . . at least, until they trailed down, taking in the rest of his appearance. He couldfeelher eyes on his chest, taking in his sodden shirt, almost as if she’d pressed her palms to his bare skin. The weight of her observance seared him, and for an echoing moment, he couldn’t remember if he was meant to be sabotaging her or taking her in his arms, scooping up and bringing her home.You should treat her like a goddess.
“Oh no, you’re soaked! Wait! You should have this over both of us!”
Ranar stopped abruptly.What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you even remember who she is, what she’s done?“It’s notbig enough for both of us,” he snapped, heat burning his neck. “If you want to go ahead on your own, be my guest.”It’s not big enough for us both and you know it.
Her eyes filled with tears, nodding miserably. “I know. But I didn’t then.” She paused miserably, lip quivering for a moment before motioning to the building beside them. “We’re here. I usually use this back entrance. I appreciate your help,” she murmured, that sad, toneless voice returning. “I-I only meant that I feel bad that you’re all wet now. Idofeel bad, Ranar. I didn’t know that it wasn’t big enough for both of us. I understand now.”
He looked away, unable to tell if it was rain or tears running down her cheeks.
“I-I have a bunch of promotional T-shirts, if you want to just change into something dry until you get back . . .”
“If you give me something that says Bloomerang on it, I’m taking us both back to Main Street and we’re going to stand in the middle of the park until we drown.”
Her musical laughter tinkled and chimed all around him, breaking the tension, and his stomach twisted again, although this time Ranar knew it was regret that ached within him. Grace was right. How could he bethisunlucky?
“Okay, I mean, give me alittlebit of credit. Even I know better than to do that. Do you want to come —“
“No, I don’t.”
Her mouth snapped shut, her head nodding quickly. He didn’t want to go into her shop. Ranar had no doubt that it was lovely, as lovely as its owner, shiny and new and expensive. He didn’t need to see exactly what would be replacing him in the community. Sumi nudged down the doorstop before disappearing inside. Ranar could see a tall, middle-aged troll woman peering around the corner at him curiously.
“It’s actually from the company who makes floral foam,” Sumi called out, returning a moment later. “I would apologize, but I think pink is probably your color.”
He recognized the shirt instantly. There was a stack in his own shop, a promotional item sent once or twice a year by the company who made the floral foam. He idly wondered how long it would be until Bloomerang bought them out, one less player on the board.Another one bites the dust.
They were tucked beneath the overhang outside the back of her building safe from the rain, for the moment. Sumi stood before him, holding out the pink shirt with a look of uncertainty. The troll, he noticed, had moved her work juuust far enough down the table so that she could see out the door.
Ranar handed Sumi the coffee cup he still held, closing his umbrella and resting it against the side of the building. When he gripped the soaked edge of his shirt, her teeth sank into her lip once more. He wondered if she realized he was going to be completely naked in front of her.If she didn’t want to see, he rationalized,she can look away.
But shedidn’tlook away. She seemed glued to the spot, unable to turn and afford him a second of privacy, not even blinking. When he pulled the wet fabric up over his body, Ranar thought he could hear her soft intake of breath, his own eyes fluttering closed as he pulled the wet shirt up and over his head.
She was no longer biting her lip when he reached out to take the bright magenta T-shirt from her hand, another zap of electricity to his cocks as their fingers brushed. Her mouth was open in a softO, and he was positive that lips had never looked as kissable as hers did just then. His eyes followed the movement of her throat as she swallowed hard, once again feeling the weight of her gaze like a brand as her eyes moved over his bare chest and down his stomach.
He had lied, technically. Nagas were well known for being incredibly strong and fast, owing to their enhanced core muscles. The ability to keep one’s human half upright while engaging the necessary muscle groups to locomotor their thick tails into forward movement necessitated strength, back and abdominal muscles that were honed from infancy onward.
Sumi’s eyes moved down his body slowly, coming to rest, as he pulled the bright pink T-shirt over his head, on his scales. Like his kitsune neighbor, she had landed a few inches higher than where his genital slit actually was. Ranar wondered what her reaction would be if he led her hand, as he had moved the kitsune’s, to the right spot, if her fingers would stroke him just as adroitly.
Another soft intake of breath from her, her eyes snapping up to his, her cheeks spotting with color as she realized he’d caught her staring.
“Thanks for the shirt.” His voice was low, completely absent of its earlier bite. He wanted to feel her hands on his skin, her nails scraping his nipples and over his stomach; wanted to feel the heat of her breath as he kissed her neck. He dropped his wet clothes into the bag she’d also provided, taking up his umbrella once more. “I’d say have a good day, but I think we both know I’d be lying.” It didn’t matter what he wanted. It wouldn’t do to forget who they were to each other,whatthey were. It didn’t make a difference what they might have been, if she had been someone different.
She choked out what was meant to be a laugh, and he tried not to notice the glossy sheen that still spilled from her dark eyes as he turned away.
“Ranar!”
Thathe did feel behind his groin, the sound of his name on her lips, the caress of her tongue over each letter, making his cocksvibrate within him. Ranar turned, holding his breath, willing himself to keep control.
“Your coffee.”
