Origin (Lux 4)

Lifting up, I rolled onto my side. My hand trailed over her rib cage, across her hip, and she turned in to me, wiggling so close that once again there wasn’t an inch between us.

“That was perfect,” she murmured sleepily.

I still wasn’t capable of speech. God only knew what would come out of my mouth at that moment, so I placed a kiss against her damp forehead. She let out a contented sigh, and then she dozed off in my arms. I had been wrong before.

There was not a more perfect, more beautiful moment than this. And I wanted a lifetime of them.

…

Katy

In the morning, our legs and arms were tangled together, and the sheet twisted around my hips. It took some ninja-stealth moves to wiggle free from Daemon. Stretching my arms above my head, I expelled a happy sigh. My body was one big pleasant ache.

“Mmm, that’s sexy.”

My eyes snapped open. Startled and exposed, I grabbed for the sheet, but Daemon’s hand shot out, catching mine. Fire swept across my face as my gaze collided with his forest-green one.

“What?” he murmured lazily. “You’re modest now? Don’t really see the point.”

Heat swept down my throat, and my skin prickled. Daemon kind of made sense. Modesty hadn’t been anywhere last night, but still. Early morning sunlight streamed in from the window. I tugged the sheet from his grip and covered myself.

He pouted, and it was ridiculous that he could do it and still manage to look sexy.

“I’m trying to keep the mystery alive,” I told him.

He chuckled, and the deep sound rolled through me. Shifting closer, he kissed the tip of my nose. “Mystery is overrated. I want to get to know every freckle and every curve on a personal level.”

“I think you did that last night.”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “That was just a meet and greet. I want to know their hopes and dreams.”

I laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s the truth.” He rolled then, throwing the sheet off him and swinging his feet to the floor.

My eyes widened.

Naked as the day he was born, he stood fluidly, totally uncaring that every inch of him was displayed. He raised his arms high above his head as he stretched. His back bowed, muscles popped and rippled. The indents by his hips tensed, drawing my attention for far too long to be decent.

Finally, I forced my gaze up. Our eyes met. “You know, there’s this thing called pants. You should try it out.”

He cast me a cheeky grin as he turned. “You’d be devastated. Just think, you get to see this every day from here on out.”

My heart did a trippy dance. “Your naked ass? Gee. Sign me up for that.”

He laughed again and then disappeared into the bathroom. Feeling way too warm, I closed my eyes. Every day? Like, forever? That had my tummy fluttering in all kinds of pleasant loops that had nothing to do with his current state of undress. Waking up next to Daemon, going to sleep beside him?

I opened my eyes when I heard the door reopen. He was rubbing his eyes, and I was staring at him again, like really staring at him in completely inappropriate places. It was like knowing you shouldn’t look at something, so your eyes automatically just want to go there.

He lowered his arm. “I think you’re drooling a little.”

“What? I am not.” But I might have been. So I tugged the sheet up over my face. “A gentleman would never point out something so unseemly.”

“I’m not a gentleman.” He shot forward, snatching the sheet from me. I held on, the playful struggle not lasting very long. “There’s no hiding. I caught you.”

“You suck.”

“At least I don’t drool on myself.” He tossed the sheet to the other side of the massive bed. His slow perusal caused my toes to curl. “Okay. I think I might be drooling right now.”

My face was going to burn off before breakfast. “Stop it.”

“I can’t help it.” He planted a hand on the other side of my hips and leaned in, brushing his fingers over my chin. “Got the drool.”

Laughing, I pushed at his rock-solid chest. “You have an overinflated sense of self-worth.”

“Uh huh.” He pressed down until our bodies were flush and his thigh was between mine. He supported his weight on his arms as he bent his head, brushing his lips against mine. “Kiss?”

I gripped his upper arms and gave him a quick peck. “There you go.”

He lifted his head, scowling. “That was the kind of kiss you give your grandma.”

“What? You want a better one?” Craning my neck, I put a little more oomph behind the kiss. “How about that?”

“Sucked.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“Try it again,” he said, eyes narrowing into lazy slits.

My breath hitched in my throat. “I don’t know if you deserve a better kiss after telling me the last one sucked.”

He did something truly remarkable with his hips, causing me to gasp. “Yeah,” he said smugly. “I deserve another kiss.”

Yes—yes he did. I kissed him again but settled back before the kiss could turn into something deeper. Daemon’s scowl went up a notch, and I grinned. “That’s all you deserve.”

“I strongly disagree with that.” The tips of his fingers drifted down my arm and across my rib cage. The featherlight touch continued over my stomach and farther south. The whole time his gaze was held to mine. “Try again.”

When I didn’t move, he did something clever with his fingers that caused my heart to pound against my ribs. I lifted my head, feeling dizzy and light. Brushing my mouth against his, I kissed him again, paying special attention to his lower lip. As I started to pull away, he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck.