His steps slowed, and from her angle, she could see his cheeks turning a dark green.
She let out a hum, then perched her elbows on his upper back. “Good. That’s what I was hoping for.”
He squeezed her thighs, then paused at the top of the steps. “Would you prefer your room?”
“And pass on the chance to see your room for the first time?” Aofe asked, enjoying her unobstructed view down his lean back. Darn him and that intriguing tail.
Kizros laughed, changing directions. “Aofe, it’s the exact same as yours, just on the other side of the building.”
“Well, now you’ve ruined the illusion.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” he replied, pushing through his door. “And, for the record, you’re welcome in here any time.”
Aofe gaped, unable to process the weight of that invitation when she was stunned by the interior. True, it was the mirror to her own bedchamber layout, but where hers was clean and minimalistic like a guest suite, Kizros’s room washomey. It was lived in and loved, and so utterly perfect for the demon still carrying her.
The walls had been painted a deep green, his magic signature glowing in little bobbing lights around the tall ceiling. The curtains over the window were closed, but starlightfrom the backyard still illuminated the cream and tan fabric hanging down. Shelves lined the walls on either side of the bed, plants and books neatly organized as she’d expected. Below, the mattress sat on a wooden frame and headboard with a raw, natural shape, and the linens matched the curtains and fabric ottomans at the foot of the bed.
What drew her eye, though, was the solid wall across from the bed. Vines blanketed the entire surface, so thick there was no visible paint behind it, but through the thick greenery, blue flowers bloomed in intricate patterns. Their petals seemed to wave as they entered, swaying in a non-existent breeze.
“That blue doesn’t really go with the decor,” Aofe commented when Kizros set her on the bed and leaned her crutches against his bedside table.
Kizros frowned, glanced at the flowers, then back to her with that same frown. She must have missed something because he suddenly grinned, shaking his head. “No, I think it goes perfectly.”
She almost scoffed—for a demon who had so expertly decorated his room, he didn’t seem to realize that white or cream flowers would have been much more cohesive. But then he was leaning over her, kissing her again, pressing her back to the mattress, and she didn’t really care.
“Tell me what I can do, Aofe,” he panted between their lips. “Because as much as I want to impress you, it’s… been a while.”
She nipped at his lip, then wriggled backuntil she was more situated on the bed. “If the basics are the same,” she said, eyeing the bulge in his slacks as he knelt on the bed. “I think we start there. I don’t know if I have the stamina or the hip strength to do everything I want to do with you tonight.”
“Fuck,” Kizros shuddered, kicking off his shoes and reaching for her boots. “May I?”
“Yeah, Kiz. Leggings too.”
He didn’t hesitate at her instruction, nor at what she typically hid underneath pants. One of her recurring challenges, besides her hip subluxation and tremors, was an extremely tight right calf that made walking on her own difficult. The foot curved inward, sometimes swollen and sometimes limp. After so many therapies, stretches, and broken bones as a child, she’d chosen to stick with crutches permanently.
Granted, her aunt and uncle had influenced that decision too, but she’d gotten used to the crutches and didn’t mind them so much any longer.
Kizros only leaned down, pressed a kiss to her inner ankle, and whispered, “I knew you had more freckles.”
Tears threatened to prick her eyes, not from surprise, but at how reverently he’d said those words against her skin. The warmth of his lips traveled up her leg, glasses frames tickling as he kissed each point where she knew there was a cluster of freckles. She almost complained when he stopped at her knee and rose up, but then he was fisting the back of his shirt and pulling it over his head.
Aofe hummed out an appreciative noise as he freed his horns from the fabric and tossed the shirt aside. His bodywas all lean muscle, shoulders wide and toned from his work in the greenhouse and mixing potions in the shop. Her eyes trailed down over green skin, odd and yet human-ish, and she had the delightful idea of tasting every one of the muscles flexing over his abdomen. Then her gaze landed on the somehow larger tent of his pants as his fingers toyed with the laces.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Kizros muttered, cheeks dark and eyes darker.
Her attention flicked up, and she raised a brow. “Like I’m very interested in figuring out what male demon genitalia looks like?”
Unlike others who had blanched at her technical verbiage before, Kizros merely took it in stride. “Yes, because it’s already hard to concentrate with you laying under me like this and looking so tempting.”
“I’m still dressed.”
“You think that matters?”
Aofe blushed. “Most would have had me naked already.”
“And miss this sight?” he asked teasingly, tugging the knot in his belt free. “First, I’m insulted you think I’m likemost. Second, you run cold, so as much as I want to count your other freckles, I’m not removing any more of your clothing until I can immediately replace that warmth.”
Well, he didn’t have to go and make her wetter than she already was, but somehow that made her ache even more.
