Demon blind, p.6
Demon Blind, page 6
I needed her to understand that having her here wasn’t a hardship. No, it was the exact opposite—a gift. But would telling her so scare her away? I thought of Angel’s warning and decided it probably would. What could I say then? Should I tell her I was grateful she was willing to stay? No, that made me sound unworthy of her. I settled for simple.
“I am glad you’re staying.”
She smiled again and reached for the bag she’d left in the room. I watched her unpack and frowned at how very little she had. My pulse started to beat faster as I realized the opportunity before me. Azio had provided Terri with clothes that he could see through. It had scared her, but my Apryl wouldn’t know if the clothes she wore were see-through.
“Would you like me to get more clothes for you?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t want to trouble you.”
“It’s no trouble. I want you to feel comfortable here.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.”
She shrugged and reached for the hem of her sweater.
“Do you mind if I do some laundry?” she asked.
“No.”
She tugged the sweater off, and my mouth went dry when her shirt came with it. I stared at her warm skin and the grey bra pressing her breasts together so they touched in the middle. The connecting line taunted me as she unbuttoned her jeans and bent over to push them down her hips.
“I’ll need you to show me how to use the washer and dryer,” she said as the jeans joined the sweater and shirt.
Then she reached behind her. A second later, the material dam broke, and her breasts spilled free. The sight of her darker nipples held me captive until she reached for her underwear.
“I wasn’t able to wash my clothes as often as I would have liked,” she said.
I barely heard her. My ears rang with my own pulse as she lowered her last article of clothing. Completely bare, she stood in front of me. I struggled to breathe.
She was glorious. Curved and supple. Her breasts hung free, little lines marking their borders, highlighting their size. My fingers itched to trace those stripes and hold the weight of those beautiful mounds.
My gaze had barely drifted lower to that thatch of dark hair between her legs when she turned and bent over to pick up her clothes. Her pretty pussy parted for my view, and I grunted at the forceful need that hit me. I wanted to fall to my knees and bury my tongue in those folds, lapping at her until she screamed my name and told me she loved me.
Swallowing hard, I turned away from the sight.
Patience, I reminded myself.
“I will wash your clothes for you,” I said. “You can wear one of my shirts for now. It will cover more of you until your clothes are clean.”
“Oh,” she said, straightening. “Okay.”
I hurried to the closet and took a moment to adjust my throbbing length. In all my dreams, I never imagined Apryl would simply undress in front of me. Was I a fool for covering all of that beauty up again when I’d just been thinking of clothes that would reveal more? Yes, I had to be a fool. A fool who would explode in his pants if she walked around our home in no clothes at all.
Half of me was tempted to tell her I had no shirts then place things on the floor for her to pick up just so I could see her pussy again. But that wasn’t getting to know her mind. Only her body. And if I wanted to know her mind, I needed to cover her body, or I wouldn’t be able to focus.
Collecting a shirt, I left the closet and saw she’d placed the dirty clothes on the bed. With her hands held in front of her, she looked nervous. Did she regret taking off her clothes? I hoped not. It had been the second-best moment of my life. The best was still when she’d agreed to live with me.
I held out the shirt and tried not to look at her tempting body. Instead of taking it, she raised her arms over her head. The move lifted her breasts high.
I stared again. I couldn’t help myself. The need to touch her, to caress those dark peaks until they tightened in need, clawed at me.
“Can you help me?” she asked.
I couldn’t speak. Could barely move. So I grunted and looked down at the shirt in an attempt to collect my thoughts.
With numb fingers, I threaded her hands through the arm openings and eased the material over her head. Unable to stop, I skimmed my fingers over her breasts as I pulled the shirt down to cover her mouthwatering pussy.
“Thanks,” she breathed, smoothing a small hand over each breast.
I wanted to beg to do that for her. Instead, I turned away and picked up her clothes.
“I will wash these,” I rasped.
“Wait. Show me how.”
I grunted, and she followed me. The controls on the washer were clearly marked and easy for her to adjust by feel. After seeing where I kept the soap and dryer sheets, she assured me she wouldn’t need me to help her with laundry again.
“I don’t mind helping you, Apryl,” I said so she would know she wasn’t a burden.
She made a small humming sound, then asked, “Should we finish watching the movie?”
“How do you watch it if you cannot see it?”
“I listen. There might even be an option for audio description, which means a voice will tell me what’s happening on the screen.”
“I will tell you what’s happening,” I said, embracing any reason to talk to her.
We sat together on the couch and started the movie again. I told her what was happening, and she moved close to me, pressing against my side and resting a hand on my chest. It distracted me a little, and I missed describing a few things. My focus dissolved further when her hand drifted to my stomach, but I still managed to speak without interruption until her hand landed on my cock.
Aching and seconds from thrusting into her palm, I bolted from my seat and accidentally knocked her over. Her legs spread wide, giving me another enticing view of her sweet pussy.
“We need more eggs to eat pussy. Waffles! To eat waffles. I will go find some.”
I ran.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
APRYL
I listened to the door slam and rubbed a hand down my face as I straightened from my sprawled position on the couch. My attempts at seduction had played out like a slapstick comedy rather than anything sexy, and I didn’t blame Scath for bolting. Since when did falling over involve air splits? Never, that’s when. Yet, I’d done it.
Lifting my head, I peered down at my thatch. I should have thought things through and shaved first. Maybe my current Amazonian state was what had sent him running. He’d seemed calm enough when I’d stripped in front of him under the pretext of wanting to do laundry, but the moment I’d bent over to pick it up, he’d hustled away to get me a shirt.
What was it he’d said again?
Oh yeah, “You can wear one of my shirts for now. It will cover more of you until your clothes are clean.”
For a guy who claimed to be straight, he sure was acting like he had zero interest in the female body. Or maybe just my body.
Unable to afford that kind of negativity, I shook the thought from my head and tried to regroup. Obviously, flashing Scath hadn’t worked any better than a blatant invitation for sex. Since the brazen approach wasn’t working, I needed to try something more discreet. Maybe he needed to be mentally seduced instead of physically. I had to think of the long game.
The thought barely settled into my mind when I realized my problem. The fey didn’t do casual. Ever. They wanted the long game. Wifey, kids, white-picket fence…the whole package. The implications of that end result hit me. If I succeeded in getting him into bed, was I ready to be his female in every way that entailed?
I exhaled heavily, not seeing any other choice. He said there weren’t any other fey who wanted me. I just wished I understood why, especially when he didn’t seem to want me. I knew it had nothing to do with skin color. Some of the fey were darker than me. And it had nothing to do with my eyesight. He’d invited me to live with him before he figured out I couldn’t see well. And I doubted it had anything to do with my personality. He didn’t even know me. When I’d met him this morning, I had been—
My mouth dropped open into a little ‘O’.
I’d been trying to kiss Fallor.
I wanted to smack myself. Of course, he wasn’t interested in me when I’d tried kissing another one of them right in front of him only a few hours ago.
Yep, seduction would have to wait a few days. But it wouldn’t hurt to prepare for that phase while I brainstormed how to win Scath over. I definitely needed to switch tactics—again—to convince Scath that I wasn’t into Fallor.
Heaving a sigh, I got up and started navigating the house on my own. The three-bedroom ranch was sparsely furnished, which I liked. And he only seemed to use one of the two bathrooms, which could lead to some cozy intimacy like brushing our teeth together in the evenings. Plus, this place had an outdoor woodstove, which kept the house at a temperature that allowed me to comfortably walk around without underwear.
Walking around pantsless was a novelty I enjoyed.
As was the electric shaver I found under the sink in the master bathroom. I held the device in my hand and debated the wisdom of what I was about to try. I couldn’t see what I was doing. Even if I had my glasses, I had too much tit in the way, and shaving blind was a very dangerous thing. Yet, Scath had already run at the sight of my cooch critter twice. If he ever caught a glimpse of it again, I couldn’t give him a third reason to run. It needed to go.
Praying I wouldn’t nick something and need triage, I hiked a foot onto the counter and got to work. Fifteen minutes later, I ran my hand over my ravaged—not in a good way—fun zone. The short and bumpy, narrow strip I’d created felt like an Alaskan runway. No doubt, it looked like I’d used a weedwhacker to create it, and the sight of it would probably send Scath scurrying faster than the last time…if he saw it like this.
The hack job just provided me with more incentive to keep it covered and try the really, really subtle approach. I glanced down at what looked like a puppy’s worth of fur-blur on the floor and cringed. He was going to know exactly what I’d been doing if I couldn’t figure out how to clean that up.
I found a broom in the kitchen closet and spent another few minutes sweeping and praying that I got it all. From the floor. I could feel that I still had plenty of stubble between my legs every time I bent over.
The front door opened long after I put on my spare pair of underwear, changed over the laundry, and put away the brownies.
From my seat at the table, I couldn’t discern if the grey and tan shape was Scath’s or another fey's.
“Scath? Is that you?” I asked nervously.
“Yes. I have more food.”
“You didn’t need to do that. I’m sorry I made you so uncomfortable that you needed to leave. I promise that won’t happen again. I put on some underwear.”
He grunted and moved toward the kitchen.
“Did you still want to finish watching that movie with me?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Relieved he wasn’t going to try to avoid me, I hurried to the living room, more confident with my surroundings, and sat on my half of the couch. He joined me, but not on the couch. He brought in a chair from the table and placed it a healthy distance away from me.
His avoidance made me feel even worse about what I’d done.
“Did anyone ever mention a movie theater to you?” I asked, hoping he’d see conversation as the olive branch it was.
“No. What is a movie theater?”
“It’s a large building that has screens, like the tv but way bigger, that would show new movies. It allowed a lot of people to watch the movie at the same time. And there would be concessions like popcorn and candy. There’s something about watching a movie with a crowd, the collective reactions, that made it a really cool experience.”
“Do you miss that?”
“The idea of going to the movies? Not really. I wouldn’t enjoy them as much now without my glasses or contacts. And I definitely have an aversion to crowds after the last few months. But I do miss people. That probably doesn’t make sense, but having friends…people to talk to when I’m feeling down or worrying about something? I do miss that. A lot.”
“You can talk to me.”
I offered him a small smile.
“All right. Is now a good time? Because I’m really feeling down about something that happened recently and could use someone to talk to.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Well, I think I made a fool of myself. There’s this really nice guy who offered me a place to stay—”
Scath growled. When I frowned, the sound cut off.
“You okay?” I asked, unsure that I’d really heard what I thought I’d heard.
“You are staying with me, Apryl,” he said forcefully.
“Uh, yeah. That’s not the point of this story.”
“Okay. Continue.”
Not sure what to think of his weird behavior, I cleared my throat and tried again. “After he opened his home to me and made me feel very welcome, I think I got a little too comfortable. I’m sorry I walked around your house without underwear on, Scath. I didn’t mean to make you so uncomfortable that you had to leave. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable at all.”
Silence answered me, and that awkward feeling grew inside of me. The need to speak, to say something else to try to smooth things over, nearly strangled me, but I managed to keep my mouth shut and wait for his reaction.
“So no other man asked you to live with him?” he said finally.
“No, the story was about you.”
“Ah.”
“That’s it? Ah.”
He brushed his hand over the back of mine. The unexpected touch at such a tense moment made me jump a little, and he exhaled heavily.
“I do not wear underwear, Apryl. They pinch and bind and are uncomfortable. You should not wear them if you do not want to.”
“Oh.” I wanted to ask him why he bolted then but stopped myself as another possibility slid into place. The way he’d said “pussy” instead of waffles hadn’t escaped my notice. I’d just figured he’d said the word because of what I’d been flashing him. What if he’d been saying it for another reason? The way he’d growled when he’d mistakenly thought I was talking about another guy sure suggested it.
Did that mean that Scath was interested then? Were my overt attempts to seduce him just too much? Testing my theory that subtlety was the key, I held out my hand.
His immediately closed over mine, threading our fingers together.
“I want to believe that I didn’t upset you, but you just about ran out of the house, and now you won’t sit by me. It makes me feel like I did something you didn’t like.”
“No. I like everything you do, Apryl.”
“Then why won’t you sit by me?”
Still holding my hand, he stood and claimed the space next to me. I brought his hand to my chest to hug it.
“So you were okay with everything?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Was it just me, or had his answer sounded clipped? Was I making him uncomfortable again?
“Thank you for understanding,” I said. “If I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, will you tell me? I want to be a good roommate.”
“You are good, Apryl. Very good.”
I smiled and brought his hand to my mouth, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles.
“I will start the movie,” Scath said, easing himself from my hold.
When he returned with the remote, I snuggled up against him.
“Is this okay?” I asked.
“Yes.”
He sounded unsure but didn’t bolt.
Go slow, I reminded myself.
So I threaded my fingers through his and just held his hand for a bit as I listened to the movie. It was kind of nice being this cozy with another person.
After a while, I lifted his arm and ducked under it so I could lean directly against his side with his arm over my shoulders. He didn’t protest or try to pull away. So I made myself comfortable.
The ridge of his defined pectoral against my cheek distracted me from the conversation on the television and brought my attention to exactly how muscled he was. Too curious to deny myself, I released his hand and lightly set mine against his side. He twitched under me but didn’t say anything.
“Am I making myself too comfortable?” I asked, needing to know if I was pushing too far again.
“No. This is…fine.”
He’d hesitated. Why had he hesitated? Just how slow did I need to go with this guy? The clock was ticking to secure my place here, and my fingers were itching to explore that expanse of chest beneath my cheek.
Exhaling slowly, I readjusted my seduction game plan and tried not to think of the grooming effort I’d probably wasted.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SCATH
Each of her exhales warmed my chest and teased my nipple. My cock throbbed in time with my pulse. A smarter male would have stayed in the chair, but when she’d looked at me with her big, sad eyes and held out her hand, I couldn’t refuse to comfort her. And because of that, I would be comforting my aching balls later.
She moved against me, rubbing her breast against my side, and I released my hold on the remote when I heard a faint click in my hand. I tried not to remember what her pussy had looked like when she’d fallen over. How it had glistened with moisture... How it would probably feel squeezing around my cock…
The hand she had resting on my side moved, inching slowly over my ribs, scalding a path and igniting a level of need that would see me spilling in my pants.
“I’m thirsty. Are you thirsty?” I asked quickly, detangling myself from her.
“Sure. I guess,” she said, sounding confused.
She hadn’t liked when I’d left the house before, and I knew she felt the same about me leaving the couch, but I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted her touches and smiles and sweet looks; however, I only wanted them if she wanted to give them, not because she felt she had to. And although her apology had seemed sincere, no women were ever that comfortable showing their pussy to one of us. It wasn’t natural. I wanted it to be. Desperately. And that was why I couldn’t take what she was offering.
