Page 8 of Demon Shy

“I like meat too,” he said as he straightened, holding a container of sliced meat. “Julie made a pot roast in a slow cooker that I dream about eating again sometimes. I will make that for us tomorrow. Would you like a sandwich today? Some of the females here have been practicing making bread.”

“Absolutely,” I said, sitting and watching him move around.

“Tell me what else you like,” he said.

I just talked about anything and everything, and he listened, occasionally asking questions. When he set a sandwich in front of me, I took bites in between talking. He never seemed bored or impatient, or judgmental.

“What about you?” I asked. “What do you like?”

The tips of his ears darkened again. The way he hurried to take my plate to the sink and ducked his head tipped me off. I’d made him nervous again.

I recalled what he’d said when we’d arrived.“I fear you are saying yes to something you do not truly want. I fear seeing more sadness in your gaze. My hands tremble with my need to touch you even as my mind tells me I cannot.”

I’d asked what he liked when he’d already admitted the answer.

Soundlessly leaving my chair, I went to stand beside him so I could see his face.

“What about me do you like?” I asked.

His gaze briefly flicked to me, and that color staining the tips of his ears deepened.

“Everything,” he said, looking down again. “The color of your eyes and the way you watch things. The pink scarf you always wear. Your soft smile. How you felt in my arms when I carried you. The sound of your voice.”

I smiled at him. I couldn’t help it. He’d sounded completely sincere when he’d said all of that.

“Would you like to know what I like about you?” I asked.

He finally looked up from the plate he was repeatedly washing and met my gaze.

His eyes were so different. Yellow-green surrounded by a deeper green and bisected by a vertical pupil, which was expanding as I stared.

At first glance, I’d been terrified of the fey and their eyes. I’d thought them cold. But they weren’t. There was a warmth there I’d witnessed in other fey when they looked at their women. It was the same warmth I saw now as Hejun looked at me.

“Your eyes. They’re unique and pretty and reflect your kindness. Your kindness and shyness are the reasons I decided to volunteer.” I removed the washcloth and plate from his hands. “They’re the reasons I wanted to try being with you.”

I took his large hand in mine, feeling the intimidating power in each digit.

“Will you let me try?” I asked.

He swallowed hard and nodded jerkily.

I could feel his hand trembling. With need or nerves, though? I hoped it was a little of both. His nervousness was more of a turn-on than how much he wanted me, and I couldn’t wait to see how he reacted to what I had in mind.

Smiling to myself, I turned to lead him down the hallway.

CHAPTER SIX

HEJUN

My heart hammeredin my chest as May led me to the bedroom. I feared making a mistake that would kill that spark of life I had witnessed in her eyes when she spoke of the things she liked. Baseball. Music. Dancing. Things that I did not know but wished to know so I could bring more joy to her life.

She stopped at the end of the bed and turned to me, her soft brown eyes sweeping over my face then down my chest.

“You were right that I was used in the past. I want this to be different,” she said, meeting my gaze again. “With you, I think it can be. Would you mind undressing completely?”

My cock screamed to be freed from the confines of my pants. Ignoring it, I shifted my gaze to the side.

“We can watch a movie or talk more and take our time getting to know each other,” I said. “There’s no need to rush into…things.”

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