“Yes.”
“Are you fitting me for a necklace?” I pressed against his hold. “Or are you thinking about choking me?”
“Neither.”
“Do you think you could let go then?”
“Am I hurting you?”
“No.” I covered his hand with mine. “Just curious.”
“Aedan was interested in you. You can tell by the way he flared his gills. It’s mating behavior, an attempt to lure you in with bright colors. I had to show him that you’re mine, that you submit only to me. The fact you didn’t glance his way again proved the fascination goes both ways. He won’t try tempting you a second time.”
“Huh.” I let him get his possessiveness under control. “I won’t lie. The gills freaked me out.”
Asa tilted his head, a frown knitting his brow. “You don’t mind my daemon form.”
“No.” A flush rode my thankfully already pink cheeks. “I don’t mind him at all.”
That confession unlocked his grip, loose as it had been, and he lowered his arm. “Horns and all.”
“Horns and all.” I rolled a shoulder then set off toward the cabin. “Meg told me licking horns was a thing the other night. Have any experience in that department? Or was she pulling my leg?”
Noticing I was walking solo, I checked behind me to find Asa glowing red as a tomato fresh off the vine.
“Most horned species enjoy…horn play…but I…” He shook his head. “I’ve never…”
“You look like you could use a glass of water.” I reached back and grabbed his hand. “Cold water.”
Dumped down the front of his pants. A gallon or two ought to do it. Heavy on the ice cubes.
In a daze, he allowed me to lead him back to the cabin. “You would do that?”
The question pulled me up short, just shy of the porch. “Lick your horns?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, but all he managed was a nod.
“I don’t see your daemon that way,” I admitted, hoping I didn’t hurt his feelings. “He’s friend-zoned.”
As I spent more time with that side of him, I began to appreciate the facets of that personality. Innocent, almost, which was odd for a daemon. He was quick to claim me, but I didn’t pick up any flirty/sexy vibes.
For all I knew, he liked having me around for the sole purpose I had security clearance for his hair.
A blur of reality, a crackle of flame, and familiar thick black horns curved over Asa’s head.
“You’re not serious.” I did what I would never had done with the daemon. I reached up and touched one with a long slide of my finger down its slight ridges. “You can just mix and match parts at will?”
The plop my brain made as it fell into the gutter could probably be heard for miles.
“No.” A shiver coasted through his limbs. “These are part of my natural appearance, but I blend in better without them. People are less afraid of me than when they can identify my species at a distance.”
Horns or no horns, Asa still had the effect of sending other, lesser predators running. Cowering, at least.
“What else are you hiding?” I plucked his shirt. “Wings? A tail?” I narrowed my eyes. “It’s a tail, right?”
The night his daemon crawled in my bed, I’d missed a golden opportunity to discover extra appendages.
“Mother concealed my daemonic traits for me when I was a child, and I kept up the practice.” His breath punched from his lungs, reminding me I was still fondling him. “She never made a fuss over the horns, or my fangs, but fae are cruel and vain creatures.” Voice ragged, he fought to calm his pulse. “Those are my only abnormalities in this form.”