Page 25 of How Not to Date a Demon

“Shit, Maeve—fuck,” he rumbled, and together they increased the pace. His hands on her hips dragged her back down onto him once she sat up, cunt clenching around him on each thrust.

A push and a pull, back and forth, they crashed together again and again in a collision of bodies and pleasure and need.

“You look so fucking good like this,” Galen murmured, eyes dark and heavy and half-lidded as he gazed up at her. “A work of art, a goddamned masterpiece.”

The adoration in his words made her chest expand, warm and tight with overwhelming fondness, and all at once their connection was so bright and brilliant she could only moan.

Could only let her body say the words she couldn’t manage to string together, vampire or werewolf or other be damned. Because that was more likely than him spoiling what they had by looking elsewhere, because everything he wanted was right here and she knew it. From the way his hands grasped at her like he couldn’t bring her close enough, the way his gaze sharpened briefly as he adjusted the position to pull another moan from her, to make her feel good, better, more amazing and glowing than she’d ever felt with another person in her entire life.

It swelled and pulsed between them, the ecstasy, the pleasure, and the want and need and of course the love too, but she wasn’t chasing love with each bounce of her hips, because she didn’t have to, she already had it. Tucked away in her chest cavity with his name stitched across the front.

“Galen.” His name escaped on a breath, and she didn’t know whether it was supposed to be a plea or a praise, and in the end, it didn’t matter, because his deft fingers pinched the chain between two fingers and simply—pulled.

She shattered, cunt quivering around him as her head fell back, eyes closing against the burst of light behind her lids as pleasure scattered her senses, ruined the pace until it was a sloppy, messy tangle of limbs that rocked her back and forth on him until—

Until Galen moaned with his whole chest, hips stuttering beneath her, cock pulsing inside her as he came. Spilled inside her in a hot flood as the aftershocks still turned her inside out.

When it was quiet, once they’d caught their breath, once Maeve’s heart wasn’t racing in her chest anymore but simply keeping pace with the strong beat beneath her cheek, she… laughed.

A snicker burst free before it sparked into giggles, and she covered her mouth, turning her head into Galen’s chest.

His chest expanded beneath her before the deep rumble of a chuckle sounded. He drew his hand to hers and pulled it away from her lips, and she tilted her head up at him, found his lips curled wide in a grin as he laughed with her. Maeve’s chest was so full with adoration and tight with affection, and she didn’t know she could love someone so absolutely.

“God, I love you,” Galen said suddenly, the words exploded on a breath.

All it took was a glance to know that his thoughts mirrored her own, gaze heavy and bright with the same mixture of emotions that bumbled around in her own head.

“I love you too,” she sighed.

Maeve

The next day, Maeve sighed and relaxed in the bathtub, letting the hot water steam up the bathroom. This was her treat for working so hard to prove her boyfriend was a vampire or something. But the real reason she was celebrating was because she hadn’t found anything.

Galen didn’t care how much salt she poisoned him with. He hadn’t reacted to the cast iron skillet at all. And the churchy stuff she’d gotten down from the attic to go through? Galen didn’t mind getting right there with her and helping her organize it.

She could also say the silver body jewelry had been a success. In more ways than one.

So no. Nothing had worked.

Galen was… normal.

Just a guy.

A smile curled her lips. My guy.

The longer she stayed in the bath, and the deeper she sank into the water, the less she cared about any of it. She was just happy things were okay. The promotion was just stressing him out, and he was probably not processing it well and acting weird as a result and everything would settle down after he received it. There was no need for her to be worried all this time.

A chuckle drifted out. She felt a little silly, to think she’d really gone through so much just to investigate her boyfriend’s humanity.

Now, she had nothing to worry about.

Maeve let the light purple water drift over her skin. Lavender always cleared her head.

Once the water began cooling, she decided she’d pampered herself enough. When she opened the door and released all the steam, walking into the chilly air of the bedroom, she felt... refreshed, revived.

And finding Galen on the bed was the best sight ever.

“You’re home!” she said, tucking her towel to keep it from slipping.