Page 15 of Zylus

Later, perhaps I’ll do some sleuthing to figure out which of us trespassed across the imaginary boundary we established before we went to sleep. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy our position, even the happy morning wood pulsing along my ass crack.

My eyes pop wide when I realize I don’t just have a warm body plastered to my back, there’s also a body tucked against my front.

“Eek!” I use whatever force is necessary to extricate myself from under Zylus’s arm and stand up, wiping myself with both hands as if killer ants were swarming over me.

The offending critter has run to the corner and is staring at me accusingly for waking him up. I’ll bet this is the furry little mammal that pulled most of the stuffing from the couch to make a nest on the floor.

Did I really just screech “eek” at that adorable little creature? The shaggy, turquoise-colored animal, the size of a small dog, has humongous, pleading eyes and cute little hands like a raccoon.

It’s backed against the far corner and is chittering excitedly.

“Chitza,” Zylus says, his voice sleep-roughened.

Is my translator not working again? “What?”

“It’s achitza.”

“Is it poisonous? Deadly?”

“Achitza? If you put enough time into them, they can be domesticated. I’m not surprised to find him here. They often invade abandoned houses and bring their hoards inside.”

“Hoards?” I ask as I bend to a crouch and reach my hand out while I give the little furball smacking kisses.

“They collect shiny objects in the wild. When they have a safe place to store their junk, they bring it all inside.”

It’s not surprising that when Zylus rises, he treats me to a view of his naked ass—perfect, greennaked ass. It would have been folly to think that the knotted sheet could withstand a night of tossing and turning.

As cute as thechitzais, I totally lose my focus and find my attention drawn to the perfect man-buns gallivanting around the room.

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Looking for his hoard.” His voice is matter-of-fact as he looks under the couch, then behind large pieces of furniture.

“Here. I found it.”

He moves a large, burled-wood buffet away from the wall to expose thechitza’shoard. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the wide assortment of shiny objects, broken jewelry, dropped coins, and candy wrappers that spill out when not contained by the gorgeous antique.

Zylus strides to our messy pile of blankets and sheets, paws through it, and ties a white sheet into another toga.

“We’ve got a lot to do: food, attorney, and a trip to the quarry to choose replacement tile.”

Despite his scolding to get a move on, we both freeze, our gazes locked. “And pajamas,” he adds. “We’ll both need thick, ugly, flannel pajamas.”

I can’t help but snort at that. “What, you don’t think we can control ourselves without the world’s unsexiest sleepwear as a barrier?”

Zylus’s eyes sparkle with mischief as he looks me up and down, not bothering to hide the prurient interest in his gaze. “After our kisses, I could use a little help in that department.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Despite my bold words, a blush creeps up my neck. It’s one thing to get carried away in the heat of the moment, but quite another to talk about it in the stark light of day. Especially when we’ve got a dilapidated inn to renovate.

To lighten the mood, I throw a pillow at him, laughing as he bats it away easily. “Now go put some real clothes on before I change my mind about those flannel pajamas.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He sketches a playful bow before disappearing up the stairs, sheet toga fluttering behind him.

I shake my head, unable to wipe the silly smile off my face as I gather the bedding. My gaze lands on the littlechitza, who’s ventured out of his corner to nose curiously at his scattered hoard.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, buddy,” I murmur, crouching to scratch him behind the ears. “Think we can whip this place into shape without killing each other or giving in to our baser instincts?”

Thechitzachirrups, bushy tail wagging as he butts his head against my palm. I choose to take that as a vote of confidence.

---