“No, but what if I dotomorrow?”
He rolled onto his back. As he studied the white ceiling, his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “In the morning, you’ll head to your guild and sign off fromme.”
My mouth fell open, and I rasped, “Jarod—Idon’t—”
“Wait. Listen.” He turned his face toward mine. “I’m surrounded by people whose scores are probably high double-digits. I’ll help you reform them so the feathers I stole from you growback.”
His words wrung a gasp from my parted lips. As I scooted onto one elbow, I blinked down at him. I hadnoregrets about ridding my wings of feathers. I just didn’t want to regret sleeping with him to test the boundaries of oursystem.
“You’ll complete your wings.” His jaw clenched. “Maybe even in time forAsher’s—”
“Jarod, stop! I don’t wantAsher.”
“But do you wantme?”
From the pain lancing inside my chest, all of my doubts about being intimate to test the limits of my world left me. His altruism made a tear slide down my cheek and fall on my tensed forearm. I tried to answer him, but instead of the wordyes, I choked on asob.
Jarod started to raise his hand but paused in midair. When a new tear dripped off my chin, he sighed and tunneled his arm beneath my bent one, toppling me onto him before pressing my shaking body againsthis.
I pressed away from him so he could see my expression. “Yes,” I croaked. “I wantyou.”
He gave me a kindly smile, the sort people put on to be polite. “You don’t have tosay—”
“Shut up, Jarod Adler. Shut. Up. I’m never signing off from you. And not because of your soul anymore. I’m not signing off because of your damnheart.”
The planes of his face readjusted, his confidence slowly blazing back and extinguishing the uncertainty my stupid tongue hadcaused.
“I was talking about regretting losing my virginity when I felt so mad. I’m a romantic, remember?” I saidgruffly.
His lips quirked. “My damn heart thanks you and promises to make your first time”—he rolled us over, caging my head with his forearms and my thighs with his knees—“and all the ones after, fuckingromantic.”
“I’m not sure those two words fittogether.”
He lowered himself a fraction, and his hard length stroked up the inside of my leg. “I think they fit what I have in mind to perfection,Feather.”
My entire body went on high alert. “Jarod,” Iwarned.
He kissed my nose, then pried himself off me. “It’s going to be a long,hardnight,” he said, dragging out theword.
I smiled. “Your sense of humor leaves me speechless, MonsieurAdler.”
Letting out a soft chuckle, he gathered me against him, locking my back against hisfront.
Hisveryhardfront.
Was he really expecting me to fall asleep like that? The heat of his skin and the bulge prodding my tailbone made me squirm. I didn’t manage to put more than an inch between our bodies before his big palm erased thespace.
He slid himself a little lower, settling his stiffness underneath my ass, then dropped a kiss on the top of my spine. “Better?”
I was too focused on all the points of contact on our bodies toanswer.
When he pressed his mouth to the curve of my neck, my body finally softened and molded to his. “I’m not hurting your back, am I,Feather?”
How long would it take me to get used to how sweet he was underneath all that snark? “You’renot.”
“Good.” His palm was a warm iron on my stomach, all at once keeping me close and brandingme.
“Jarod, are you going to stay all night?” I prayed my voice didn’t smack ofdesperation.
