Elowen leaned in closer to him. It was slow enough that he could stop her or push her away, but he didn’t. Her eyes closed just before he could feel her breath across his face, and then her lips touched his. It was…soft.
It was over in an instant. If he hadn’t been so incessantly watching her, he might have even missed it, her mouth so featherlight on his.
He blinked at her when she pulled away, slightly started, slightly confused.
“That was a kiss,” she said, her voice small and embarrassed. “Sometimes…humans do that when they want to thank someone they care for.”
“Kiss.” He looked at her lips, then at her eyes. “Strange,” he murmured.
Instantly, her face fell. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have?—”
She began to pull away, and he reached out to keep her close. “No,” he said, worrying he had displeased her. “Not bad, just not…dragon.” He tilted his head to the side again, and used a finger to tilt her chin to meet his eyes. “It means thank you?”
She nodded. “Yes. But it can mean lots of things: affection, happiness, relief, love.”
Love.
Midas’ heart stuttered at that word. He stared at her for a long time, memorizing her lips that had so tenderly touched his.
He leaned forward slightly and cupped her cheek in his hand, mindful of his claws. His hand was far too large for her face, and it trembled as it tried to touch her with the same gentleness that came so easily when she touched him. Then, slowly, awkwardly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers once more. It was clumsy. It was firmer than before, and their teeth scraped together at the action.
When he pulled away, he looked up at her with something shining in his eyes that Elowen had never seen, and within him, a feeling in his chest he had never felt.
Her cheeks turned pink, and Midas thought he had made a mess of the action. He stayed in his human form though, quietly hoping she would ‘kiss’ him again.
Later, the scent of smoke and boiling meat filled the cave as she cooked herself supper. She had been feeding him small spoonfuls of the broth as she let it simmer in the pot over the fire. She had been trying to teach him the difference between flavors, to show him there was more to taste than raw meat. A pinch of salt here, a sprinkling of a peppery root there.
Midas insisted they were all the same.
Elowen simply laughed quietly, tasting the broth for herself once more and offering it to him again. He made aface at the small cube of meat that made its way onto the spoon, but dutifully took the bite.
His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, sucking the broth from the meat before chewing and swallowing. He narrowed his eyes on her.
“Sufficient,” he murmured, simply to please her so that she wouldstopfeeding it to him.
Elowen beamed at his simple word, radiant and full of life. The warmth in Midas’ chest was greater than any fire he’d ever breathed.
Without thinking, without hesitating, he leaned forward and kissed her.
It was clumsy again. Their teeth bumped together, but it was filled with such an eager affection that Elowen let out a sound of surprise against his lips before melting into it.
He pulled back, his eyes wide and full of hope.
“Happy kiss,” he said. “It was right?”
Elowen blinked once, a bit dazed and confused by his question. Then, suddenly, she was laughing. Midas stared, fascinated by the sound and how her hand covered her flushed face and her warm smile.
“Yes, yes Midas, that was perfect.”
He eased back. His shoulders loosened. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Her palm slid across his jaw and then she leaned in to kiss him again, softly this time. “It was perfect,” she repeated.
He did not understand if he should do it again, or if he should save these kisses so as to not dilute their meaning, but he did know that smile on her face, and he craved itmore than anything now, to keep her smiling like that because of something he did.
He leaned in again, slowly and deliberately this time. When their lips touched, her hands circled around his neck and his palms found her waist. He held her gently, so painfully aware of how fragile her marrow bones were, how soft her skin was.
But Elowen didn’t seem afraid of the differences in them—not when she shifted and lifted her legs over his lap until she was seated against him. Her hands cupped his face and her thumbs swept across the remaining scales on his cheek.
She pulled away from his lips for a moment. “Do you trust me?” she whispered.
