Page 65 of Mortis

His voice faltered, and his gaze drifted towards my chest. But I couldn’t bear to lose his eyes. It had become a need. As vital as breathing. As though I might simply disappear if he looked away. So, keeping my grip gentle, I tilted his chin back until those endless blue eyes met mine once more.

“I will give you anything you ask for, Teddy,” I said, the words leaving me without hesitation. “Whatever you desire, you need only ask. I will do everything within my power to make it yours.”

Teddy dipped his chin in understanding.

“Okay, well . . .” He rolled his lower lip between his teeth before letting it go. “I w-want . . . I want to k-kiss you.”

I blinked.

Then blinked again.

When I didn’t immediately respond, Teddy’s gaze dropped to my chest.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

The blush returned to his cheeks. Judging by the way he squirmed, trying to ease himself from my grasp, I suspected it came less from lingering arousal and more from embarrassment.

“That was stupid,” he continued. “I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’ll finish cooking your dinner and then just go to⁠—”

“What is a kiss?”

My question cut through his rambling, and he sucked in a sharp breath. When he looked back up at me, his eyes were wide, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline.

“You don’t know what a kiss is?”

I shook my head. The only kiss I knew of was the kiss of death before I consumed a mortal’s soul.

Surely this was not the same thing?

Cupping his cheek, I let the tips of my claws brush lightly against the shell of his ear. Delight bloomed inside me when he leaned into my touch, just as I had leaned into his only moments before.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I admitted. “But if you’re willing to teach me, I will do my utmost to please you.”

A soft, breathy moan escaped him. It was quiet enough that a human may have missed it. I did not. Nor did I miss the frantic rhythm of his heart.

Whatever a kiss was, it clearly excited him. And that, in turn, excited me.

Teddy worried his lower lip between his teeth once more. Gently, I freed it with the pad of my thumb. The skin was pink from the pressure, marked by faint impressions of his teeth. A sheen of saliva caught the kitchen light, and for one dangerous moment, I wanted to taste that too. To consume every part of him, all while keeping him whole.

“I can sh-show you,” Teddy whispered. “But you’ll need to come closer.”

I nodded. One arm settled around his back while my other continued cradling his face. Slowly, I lowered my head. And lowered it some more. Teddy never told me to stop, so I assumed I was doing it correctly. Eventually our noses brushed together. His breath ghosted across my lips, warm and sweet. One of his hands rested against my shoulder while the other mirrored my hold on his face.

“Ready?” he asked softly.

“Yes.”

Teddy closed the final sliver of distance between us.

His lips met mine.

His eyes drifted shut, and a quiet hum of contentment vibrated between us.

Meanwhile, I forgot how to move.

Not because I disliked it.

Quite the opposite.