Six
Bokkan
Stubborn, infuriating female.
I stared at the ceiling, watching the faint shadows flicker as the dying fire flickered in the hearth. The soft, rapid clacking sound started again. My fists clenched the blankets spread over me.
After dinner, she tried on three pairs of trousers that Masu brought up. They all fit her well. Too well. Daemon females were as muscular as the males, but human females seemed to be much softer. At least when it came to their ass and flanks. Their teats were larger, too. At least Leda’s were. Her hips and breasts were tantalizing soft curves where I was used to lean muscle.
The sweater Masu brought her was snug. It hugged the curves of her breasts, drawing attention to the indentation of her waist before it flared out to her hips. I’d had to avert my eyes to keep my cock from growing hard at the sight.
Deciding it best to distract myself, I had searched through my wardrobe for a thigh sheath suitable for the dagger she refused to keep more than arm’s length away. If she intended to sleep with the blade, the sheath would prevent injury. When Igave it to her, she rewarded me with a smile that made her eyes light up. The first sincere smile she’d given me since I saw her.
Unable to think clearly, I’d only grunted at her when she thanked me, ignoring the speculative look Masu was giving me. Now was not the time for her to catch on to what I was feeling.
Once Masu left, Leda had put on my shirt and the strange foot coverings she calledsocks. I gave her the mouth brush I procured for her, along with the special paste Masu concocted to keep my fangs healthy and strong.
She studied it for a long moment before looking up at me. “You have toothbrushes here?” Leda paused. “Well, toothbrushes that look like they’re from the 15thor 16thcentury.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but the hour was growing late, and I was ready to retire. She could tell me all about it tomorrow. “So, you know how to use one?”
She smirked at me and lifted the small pot of Masu’s concoction. “I’m guessing this is toothpaste?”
I nodded.
“Thanks,” she said before disappearing into the bathing room.
After she came out of the room, her face bright and scrubbed, she walked over to the bed, grabbed a pillow, and carried it over to the sofa in front of the fireplace. I watched as she set it on one end and began arranging the blanket I’d given her earlier.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Her eyes flicked to me before looking back down at her task. “I’m setting up my bed.”
“You’re taking my bed,” I reminded her.
When her eyes came to me again, they narrowed. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Leda planted her hands on her hips. “Listen up, Giganto. You’re at least seven feet tall. Scratch that, seven and a half feet.More than a foot longer than this couch. I am five foot five. My feet won’t even touch the other armrest when I lie down. I will be perfectly comfortable sleeping here.”
“You won’t be warm enough,” I explained. “Even with a fire in the hearth, the temperatures get even colder than they have been. You’re already shivering. Once the moon rises, it will be even more frigid.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Female—”
“My name is Leda. If you call me female like that again, you’d better sleep with one eye open.”
She didn’t wait for me to argue. Instead, she stretched out on the sofa, pulled the blankets over her, and turned her back to me.
Her impertinence was enough to shock me into acceptance. No one ever spoke to me like that without consequences. Usually bloody ones. Yet I merely sighed, turned out the lamps set around the room, added another log to the fire, and crawled into bed. The fur blanket would keep me warm when the fire died down, but I knew the woven one Leda was using would do nothing to keep the deep chill at bay.
Sure enough, I awoke in the middle of the night to a strange chittering sound, like tiny wooden blocks tapping together. Or miniature horses galloping down a street. It didn’t take me long to realize it was the sound of the female’s teeth chattering.
I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep. It wasn’t my place to force her to accept my hospitality. If she wanted to freeze to death on the couch, by daemon custom, I had no say in it. I’d made the offer, and the offer had been refused, which was considered the height of rudeness.
I had also promised not to lay a finger on her. I had to remember that.
