Page 26 of How Not to Date a Demon

Galen turned his head to her, gaze trailing from head to toe. The heat in his gaze burned the closer she got, and when the tops of her thighs bumped the side of the bed, she looked down and found Galen staring up at her with a kind of wonder.

“The boss let me go early,” he said with a sigh.

Maeve frowned. “You sound bummed. What’s wrong?”

She tightened the towel and sat on the edge of the bed.

Not that it mattered, because if Maeve had anything to do with it, she wouldn’t be wearing it for long.

“I’m just tired. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. He has to make a decision by next week. So I’ll know soon enough if all this bullshit has paid off.”

Maeve hated the dull tone in his voice.

“I just... really, really want this promotion.” Galen dug his palms into his eyes. “It pisses me off that I won’t know until after I get done doing all his bidding. And if it ends up being for nothing...”

“That won’t happen,” she assured him, bumping his hands out of the way and smoothing her thumb over his chronically knotted brows. “I can’t imagine anyone else working more diligently or being more dedicated to this promotion. You’ll get it.”

“You sound so sure,” he said, tilting his head back to see her better. It elongated his neck, and she had the intrusive urge to chomp.

No. Now is not the time.

“I am sure.” Maeve instilled all her belief in the three words. Galen was going to get this promotion. Did she understand why he wanted it so badly? Not really, but Galen had been gunning for it since they’d begun dating. It was only recently that the competition had gotten serious.

His frown relaxed, and he looked up at her with an expression she couldn’t quite place.

“You’re too good to me,” Galen said. “I’m a lucky, lucky guy.”

Her cheeks heated. “Stop it,” she teased. “It was only like two weeks ago that I chewed you out.”

“I needed it,” he retorted. “I was slacking. You’re not my mother, you shouldn’t have to pick up after me.”

She smiled. “Well, good to know you can distinguish me from your mother,” she drawled.

“Hah, funny,” he said without a hint of a laugh.

“You’ve been really stressed,” Maeve told him, petting his hair. Maybe she should have taken that into account before giving him a hard time about the cleaning thing.

He nodded before pulling back and lifting his face up to her. “Yeah, it’s been shitty,” he admitted, letting his eyes drift closed.

Her lips tilted up at him. She couldn’t help it. Sometimes he was just so… soft. And she was the only one who got to see him like that.

“De-stressing would be nice,” he said, blinking one eye up at her.

With a skip, her heart tripped over itself to beat faster, but she smoothed out her expression. “Oh?” she encouraged.

“Yeah. But I mean, how could I?” He sighed dramatically. “If only there was a person, one special person, that knew just how to help—”

“Oh shut up, I get it,” she interrupted, and lowered her head to kiss him.

At first it was upside down and clumsy and endearing altogether.

With a chuckle, she undid her tie on the towel and crawled down the bed until she could straddle him.

His lips were soft against hers, but the shadow of his beard always tickled her cheeks. It was a dichotomy she would never get tired of.

Maeve framed his square jaw with her palms and scratched her nails over the prickly stubble. His lips parted for her, and she tasted every inch of him until they were both panting, both sharing the same breath to fan the spark of flames between them.

Galen was still fully dressed, and she felt the press of him directly between her legs.