But it was like lying on a damn cloud.
And very warm, with the massive fire roaring across the room and Leviathan’s long body pressed against his.
It felt a little goofy that he’d been afraid of this room for solong. He could spend eternity like this. Very easily. He supposed he would now.
“Yes, if you must know.” Leviathan grumbled quietly. “You were the first one I’ve let do that. I’ve thought about it before but it seemed too…” He let the thought trail off, seeming uncertain. “Open.” He decided finally. “Too unguarded.”
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m honored. Though I suppose I should have been a bit more gentle…” Not that Leviathan had complained, he supposed.
He trailed a slow hand down his side, grimacing at how normal his hand looked now that he’d transferred back to his more human body. “This form is…small.”
Leviathan chuckled. “Now you know how I feel all the time.”
He smiled, thinking of the reflection he’d caught a glimpse of in the glass wall when he’d finally pulled away from Leviathan.
His new body had surprised him.
Tall–taller than Leviathan by nearly six inches–his hair longer and darker, as if the shadows themselves had threaded their way into the thick strands. His skin had gone a strange light gray color–the small patches that he’d been able to see under the blood anyway–like ash. Red and black veins of scales had circled up his arms and over his chest, circled his neck like a noose and ran across his face in small, thin lines. Then Leviathan’s lips had parted at the sight of him and Cullen had forgotten about anything else, anything other than making him make those glorioussoundsagain.
Eventually, they’d ended up in the bedroom, and Cullen back in his human form. Leviathan had startled him by lying on his chest. A shockingly vulnerable move that Cullen had not daredto comment on. He liked holding him this way.
“How did I do it?” He asked quietly, lowering his hand. “How did that…feeling just happen?”
“Instinct?” Leviathan murmured, shrugging. “Sometimes it takes training, sometimes not. You’re one of the lucky ones, I suppose.”
“Were you?”
“Of course.” He poked him–and then leaned up to kiss him, his lips soft. Cullen smiled into it and pulled away, grinning when Leviathan laid back down. Several quiet minutes passed before Cullen hesitantly spoke again.
“Did…did you like it?”
“Your transformation?”
“Yeah.”
“Was it not obvious?”
He grinned again. “Maybe I just wanted to hear it.”
“Pervert.”
“You made me this way.”
He chuckled. “I hope you enjoyed being stronger than me for ten minutes.”
“I feel like it was definitely longer than ten minutes. And, yes,” His grin stretched painfully. “I did.” Walker had never wanted to be held down, had never understood why Cullen liked it. But Leviathan…he’d liked it just as much as he liked to hold Cullen down.
He turned his face into his hair and inhaled softly, his lips parting with a soft sigh. “So, you love me, huh?”
“Was it not obvious?”
Cullen hid another smile in his hair as his heart gave a stuttering pound. “I thought demons couldn’t love.”
“A false, stupid claim. We simply had no wish to after the Fall. It’s pointless.” He paused and then pressed closer to him. “Or I thought it was.”
Slowly, Cullen turned his head and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Leviathan sucked in a breath.
“You’ve changed a great many things about me, Cullen.” His voice was little more than a whisper.
