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Shite, can she see through my glamor? How? That faye swore on its everlasting charm. Still, she shouldn’t even know I have one in place…Best deflect.

Grin firmly in place, shielding my thoughts, I continued. “Hmm, on second thought, maybe I will remove my clothes.” My arms lifted over my head, a hand grasping the back of my T-shirt.

“What? What are you talking about? I never said that,” Miko sputtered.

I shrugged awkwardly, given the position of my arms. “You did, not a minute past. You said, and I quote,” pausing I swallowed a laugh, speaking in a terrible falsetto, “Remove it.”

Her mouth opened and closed, then Miko squeezed her eyes shut. “That is not what I meant, and I believe you are well aware of that fact.” She exhaled, opening her eyes and stabbing me with a hard stare. “I don’t know what it’s called, or maybe I really am slipping into psychotic delusions, but if I’m not…I see more than what you are on the surface.”

An exotic thrill skipped around inside my guts, causing me to chuckle. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Meeky-Squeaky.”

She released another adorable growl, balling her fists. “You’re infuriating.” My breath caught as her expression pinched. “Or, he’s acting like a normal person and you’re so delusional that you’re seeing things,” Miko said under her breath, my advanced hearing picking it up easily.

Damn, I didn’t mean to feel that way. Swallowing thickly, I deactivated the glamor, watching as the color drained from her face.

“I was right,” she whispered.

The floor shook as I seated myself cross legged before her, my much larger body boxing her in. On the plus side, I could look directly into her eyes from this position, our height difference benefiting me greatly. “Care to fill me in, lass?”

“Axel. He’s not a student at Eldritch.”

“Well,” I replied, thickening my accent and drawing out the E, making it sound closer to weel. “That’s not entirely tru⁠—”

Miko continued speaking, seemingly unaware that she’d interrupted me, her stare fixed on my face. “My Grotesque is real.”

My breath caught as I took in her stunned, dilated, glazed eyes, then lightly gripped her chin. “Oh, I’m very real. Would you like me to show you?”

Miko snarled through gritted teeth, “Don’t thicken your accent on my account.” She shook her head. “Rolling your Rs all seductively. I bet you chose the words ‘very real’ carefully, knowing how they would affect me.”

I glanced down, eyeing her mouth and the barely there shade of pink applied to her lips, choking back a laugh.

She lifted a hand as if she meant to hit me with it, then let it fall to her thigh. “There’s no point.” Miko sighed, her lower lip pushing slightly forward, mouth forming into a kissable pout. “I’d only end up hurting myself, wouldn't I?” she asked flatly.

I winked, unwilling to hide my amusement, or the enjoyment it brought me to play with her, any longer. “You're welcome to try and find out,” I prodded, purposefully dropping my voice an octave.

Miko shifted in her seat, uncurling her legs and planting bare feet on my chest, her glittery plum painted toenails sparkling in the low lighting.

I gasped, feigning surprise. “You seem to have me at a disadvantage. Here I was waiting for a feral wee beastie to attack.” My eyes narrowed. “No, that’s not right. From what I’ve seen, and you implied, you’re too logical to lash out at the risk of yourself,” her a scowl deepened her dimples as I smirked, “even while you’re clearly beyond exasperated with me.”

“Why would I want to break a toe when I’m well aware my average human bones are no match for solid stone?” she elaborated with a grunt, exerting what must be all the force in her petite body to shove her feet against me. When I didn’t budge, Miko huffed.

I took advantage of the lapse in her attention, inching closer to her as I returned the gesture, pressing my chest against the soles of her feet and scrunching her into a tiny accordion.

“You're absurdly strong,” Miko grumbled, wiggling her hand into the front pocket of her shorts pressed between us, extracting a miniature duckling, this one a sky blue, and proceeded to fiddle with it.

“Don’t I know it,” I quipped, laughing quietly and allowing the barest hint of my weight to hold her there. She trailed her gaze down my face to my throat and upper pecs. I laughed huskily. “See something you like?”

She blinked, eyes skipping over my face and rising to my ears, causing them to flick with intrigue.

“You didn't answer my question, Honeybee.”

“That's correct,” she responded, transferring the duckling to one hand and reaching the other toward me. I sucked in a breath as she traced the outer curve of one ear, then down the other side of the triangular shape, releasing a huff of amusement when they twitched beneath her touch. “Huh. I expected them to be rough like all the other grotesques and gargoyles I’ve examined.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I'm made from magic.” I brought my face closer to hers, compressing her further, leaning my weight into my hands on either side of her head. “There are several smooth parts of me I'm sure you’d love to get acquainted with.”

“Debatable,” she shot back evenly.

I groaned as her eyes drifted to mine, all the while exploring me with gentle touches. My purr started up and we both jumped the moment she delved her fingers into the longer fur on the top of my head.