He remained on his back, his face turned up to the sky, his eyes closed. His breathing remained strenuous, but his expression relaxed somewhat. He was no longer baring his teeth. His fists had unclenched too.
“I did,” I said with a smile. “I had lots of fluffy blankets and fuzzy cushions. I also loved to knit soft sweaters while wearing warm fur slippers. I didn’t have much time to knit, but when I did, it would’ve been perfect to have a cat on my lap.”
His eyes remained closed, but the corners of his mouth twitched and ever so slowly curled up in…a smile?
I shifted a little closer for a better look. It was undeniably a smile. I couldn’t blame my poor vision for playing tricks on me. From this close, I could see it perfectly.
Timur smiled, and every muscle in his face relaxed. He must’ve sensed my surprise because his left eyelid fluttered open and the membrane over his right eye pulled away. He looked at me.
“Did you know you can smile?” I asked. “Arealsmile, I mean.”
“I can?”
His smile grew wider, fueled by my amusement and my pleasure at seeing it. Shadow fae could feel amused too. Only in their case, it reflected in a more cynical, sarcastic expression, not in a genuine smile like this.
“It feels…good. To smile.” His words still came out a little haltingly. But it looked like the worst of his pain had passed.
I was afraid to move, however, scared that it might come back. I ventured only small caresses of his chest with my hand.
“It looks good on you. Not that you needed to look even more devastatingly handsome,” I teased.
“No one has ever called me handsome before. Not in the past ten years at least.”
“And before that? Did people find you attractive?”
Of course they did. The parts of him that had been altered by the dragon’s venom hadn’t bothered me at all anymore. To me, the hard pieces of bone over his muscles made Timur look like the fierce warrior he was. Like pieces of armor, they protected his body. Like weapons, they were lethal in a fight. Judging by the parts of him still spared from the bone, however, he used to be very good looking in a conventional way too.
“Didwomenfind you attractive?” I added.
Confusion clouded his gaze.
“Women?You mean more than one? What for? A fae man can only mate with one woman at a time, once a year. And frankly, once is more than enough.”
“You don’t like sex.” It came out as a statement more than a question.
“No shadow fae does.”
“What do you feel when you touch me?” I asked, remembering the many times he’d made me writhe and moan in pleasure.
His gaze warmed with tenderness. He lifted his hand, running the tip of a finger down the side of my face in a caress.
“The deepest satisfaction I’ve ever experienced in this life is when I bring you pleasure, my sweet.”
A shiver of excitement shimmered down my skin.
“And what do you feel when I touch you?” I asked next, leaning into his caress.
His finger stilled under my chin. His shoulders moved, and his hand trembled with his soft sigh.
“Nothing like…this,” he exhaled. “Elaine…is this what true pleasure feels like?”
He stared at me wide-eyed.
“This is just a small portion of it,” I murmured, kissing his jaw.
He moaned, turning his head to catch my next kiss on his lips.
“Do you see now why they pay us a fortune for your kisses?” I smiled against his lip.
