One of his eyebrows popped into the hairline of his blue-black comb-over. “Only a minute?”
Heat flooded me in a scalding rush, but Asa had it easy. He just hid behind and beneath me, a chuckle shaking me through him. “Long enough for him to sneak back to his room without flashing Colby.”
Strange, I didn’t recall the daemon showing up naked, and that was the kind of thing one noticed.
“One minute.” Clay shook his head at us. “The clock starts…now.”
After he closed the door behind him, I broke Asa’s grip and slid onto the floor next to him, attempting to keep my eyes above his waist. He remained flat on his back, the quilt riding low. His hipbones proved an unexpected temptation, confirming he wasn’t wearing his usual boxer briefs, and proving I couldn’t keep my eyes to myself.
“We have a witch to catch.” I forced a businesslike tone. “We should both get ready.”
Not bothering to gather the fabric at his waist, he stood, allowing it to pool at his feet. “I agree.”
Jaw scraping the floor, I did my best not to stare at what bobbed right in front of me. I managed, mostly, thanks to my shock. His butt, though? I studied it as he walked out like there would be an exam later.
As I sat there with my mouth hanging open, a question fell out. “What changed?”
Hand holding was as intimate as we had gotten, despite sharing a bed once, unless you counted hugs.
“You protected me from the zombigo when I was too weak to defend myself. You healed my wounds, and the cold-iron sickness that would have killed me if left untreated. You gave me your bed while you slept on the floor.” He glanced back in time to catch me giving his butt the third degree instead of the back of, I don’t know, his head or some other socially acceptable real estate. “You care about me.”
“Let a guy dry hump you against a door,” I mumbled, “and he starts getting ideas.”
Fingers digging into the doorframe, he hesitated on the threshold. “Do you regret it?”
An open-ended question like that could have alluded to any number of things. Did I regret the first time I swapped spit muffins with him, setting us on this twisty path? Did I regret accepting the bracelet? Twice. Did I regret saving him? That one was a no-brainer. Did I regret that I…cared?
That last one cut the deepest, so it must be what he meant.
While I might not appreciate being put on the spot, I wouldn’t lie about it. “No.”
His gaze traced over the door where I had been pinned moments ago. “You’re okay with this?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my cheeks, which did nothing to cool the sting. “I’m good with door humping.”
A smile broke across his lips, traveling up until it sparkled in his eyes. “Good.”
He left, and I sat there, wondering why it sounded like I had agreed to something.