“Ah.” He paused, and Gwen could spot the exact moment he decided not to pursue clarification of that statement. “I’ve emptied several drawers and made the bed in the guest room, if you’d like to unpack and rest for a while. I’ll fix us some lunch in the meantime.”
“Thank you very much.” A thought occurred to her, and she tipped her head as she studied him. “I’m surprised you don’t have a live-in housekeeper for tasks like that. Is today their day off?”
“I don’t have a housekeeper.” He crossed the room and sank down on the sofa beside her. “I purchased a spell from a very talented witch, one that keeps the apartment clean and dishes washed. The same spell Max uses, in fact. I recognized her work when we visited his home. All other housework—tidying, cooking, laundry, and so forth—I do myself.”
At her questioning glance, he lifted a shoulder. “I like my privacy, and I want to keep my home life simple.”
He’d angled himself to face her, and his knee nudged her thigh. That shared spot of warmth glowed hotter than the cozy blaze he’d built in the hearth.
Reflected flames turned his eyes from amber to pure fire and flickered against the smooth surface of his small horns. His tongue discreetly wet his lips, and her pulse stuttered.
He stilled, watching her closely.
She wanted to stroke those curved horns and find out how sensitive they might be. Wanted to scratch her nails through his beard, test her teeth against his angular jaw, and watch his lips part in carnal reaction. Wanted to strip off his cashmere sweater and ogle the stretch of pale, firm flesh that Prince’s crop top had bared.
She wanted to lick him there. Flick her tongue into his navel. Then move downward until she discovered firsthand all the ways demons might differ from human men. According toCosmo, their naturally thicker skin did excellent things for their stamina in bed, but she couldn’t confirm that claim. Yet.
Her stare lifted from his lap—gods, how embarrassing—and met his.
If she’d offended him with her wandering gaze, she saw no sign of it. Instead, his inhalation hitched as he studied her expression, and his fingers flexed on the sofa cushion.
She’d really like to know how those long, slim fingers would feel stroking between her legs and sliding inside her.
Pressing her thighs together, she looked away and shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, becausewow. Pregnancy had definitely revved her engines to maximum, huh?
Unfortunately, though, she couldn’t act on all her unprecedented lust. Not without a clear indication of reciprocal desire from him. Besides, who had time for sex and intimacy during the possible end of the world?
Focus, woman.
Recalling their most recent topic of conversation took longer than she cared to admit, but she finally managed.
“You like a simple home,” she paraphrased. “Okay.”
Involuntarily, her eyes strayed toward the fresco overhead.
“Yes. I see the contradiction.” His chest rose and fell on a silent sigh. “I needed to move closer to SERC headquarters, and this apartment became available while I was on a lengthy tour of various regional offices. The decor was a bit dated, so my parents offered to coordinate the renovations. By the time I returned, I had been gifted all new furniture and…” His speaking gaze touchedon the coat of arms above the fireplace and the fresco before returning to her. “The rest of it.”
That explaineda lot. “You didn’t want to offend them by changing everything.”
His knee nudged harder against her thigh as he shifted on the sofa, and she wished every molecule of her being weren’t straining toward that bare inch of connection between them.
“I also didn’t want to waste their money and effort. I may not love all the choices they made, but my home’s interior design doesn’t matter to me. Not as much as it does to them, anyway.” A faint tic appeared in his jaw. “They’re…very concerned about appearances.”
And yet, his home’s decordidseem to matter to him. Enough that Councilor Impassive became visibly uncomfortable discussing it. Although maybe that discomfort stemmed from her rudeness in drawing attention to the issue?
Either way, his parents had created a home suited to their own preferences and pretensions rather than one suited to the apartment’s actual owner. Theirson.
She instinctively disliked them for it.
“I imagine…” How to say this delicately? “I imagine what happened earlier today won’t please them.”
“Josiah is a longtime family friend. He’s undoubtedly offered them a full report on the damage to my reputation and the Blacke family name.” He shot a glance toward his phone, which he’d placed on the coffee table earlier. “I expect to hear their concerns shortly.”
She shrank back into the cushions, mortified anew. “I’m so sorry our supposed relationship will damage your reputation, Hugh.”
“Gwen, no.” His pleasantly smoky scent filled her senses as he leaned in closer. “Don’t apologize, and please forget the conversation with Josiah you overheard earlier.”
Easier said than done. Still, she nodded, because he was clearly distressed byherdistress. “Sure. No problem.”
