Page 34 of The Naga

"Want me to do your feet too?" he asked, and my brows shot up.

"You want to?"

"Why not? They're a part of you too. And you had nail polish on your toenails before, which means you do paint them," he pointed out, and I couldn't argue with that.

Shaking my head, I pulled my feet onto the couch, and watched in awe as he painted my toenails one by one.

Maybe I'd died and gone to heaven, and this was my reward for spending a life dealing with all kinds of bigots and assholes. Maybe somewhere on Planet Earth, Scrappy was munching on my dead body (if I was dead, I'd want her to do it. Only monsters wouldn't want their furbaby to survive by any means necessary) as it lay in my locked apartment. That was the sole explanation for how this was happening, because men like Khush didn't actually exist in real life. Right?

Khush

The smile Dustin gave me when I finished painting his nails was exactly why I'd done it. It hadn't taken me long after we starteddating to realize that I would do a lot for one of those smiles. Actually, there wasn't much I wouldn't do to make Dustin smile.

"Okay, so I could've done that a bit better," I said, eyeing the uneven paint on his fingernails.

"It was your first try, Khush. You actually did very good," Dustin said, sounding completely sincere, and I allowed myself to feel a moment of satisfaction. If such small things could make your partner happy, why would anyone not want to do them?

"Thanks. You think I'll get better with practice?"

"Oh, I'm sure you will. I was so much worse the first time I tried to do it. I ended up somehow knocking over the bottle and getting nail polish everywhere." He shook his head with wide, exaggerated eyes, and I laughed softly. "And that's not even the worst part! I'd just gotten Scrappy, and she was a hellion back then, and she managed to run right through the spill and leave bright blue pawprints literally everywhere!"

I could just imagine a kitten version of the ginger cat running all over the house with Dustin chasing after her, and the mess they'd have created, but also the fun they must've had.

"I guess I did do better than that," I said with a laugh, and Dustin grinned before blowing on his nails. "Want me to do that too?" I teased, and he rolled his eyes at me.

"I can do it, thank you very much," he said with a sassy look, then made a face. "I am feeling a little snacky, though."

Chuckling, I rose up from the couch, patting his head. "I'll get you some snacks, Your Highness."

I raided the newly minted snack cabinet in the kitchenette, finding a packet of Dustin's favorite cheese puffs. Bringing them back to him, I resumed my seat as I opened the packet.

"Did you mean it about snacks not being allowed at the Sanctuary?" Dustin asked, and I popped a cheese puff into his mouth before answering.

"There's no official ban on it or anything, but Silas and Touya are health nuts, so they don't usually buy any. If you want to keep your cabinet stocked, you'll have to go shopping with Bellamy," I said, and Dustin nodded seriously.

"I like Bellamy. He's very no-nonsense," Dustin said, and I hummed in agreement. I'd been a little wary of the human when he first moved to the Sanctuary, but I'd grown to like him, just like I'd grown to like Touya before him.

"More," Dustin asked, opening his mouth, and I reached into the packet, fetching another cheese puff and bringing it to his mouth before quickly plopping it into mine. "Hey!"

Grinning, I offered him a second one, then ate it too before he could.

Dustin narrowed his eyes at me, and when I offered him a third one, he snapped up like a shark, biting the cheese puff and my fingers at the same time.

"Ow!" I protested, though it didn't really hurt. It felt more like when Scrappy playfully tried to nip me.

Before I could pull my hand away, Dustin pulled back his teeth, instead wrapping his lips around me. Then, he licked the pads of my finger and thumb, his tongue thorough.

"Had to get all that yummy cheese dust," he said with a wink when he pulled away, and I bit back a groan. How did he always manage to get one over on me?

Not ready to give up just yet, I grabbed another piece and offered it to him, raising a brow challengingly. He narrowed his eyes at me, then reached for the piece. His lips wrapped around the puff, and when I refused to let go, he sucked my fingers in again. This time, he grabbed my wrist, holding my hand in place as he lavished my fingers with attention, his eyes never leaving mine.

I could feel myself getting turned on, and I was almost surprised by it. It wasn't something that happened often, sinceI had a pretty low sexual drive, and I realized I might have to explain a few things to Dustin. Like the whole snake physiology of my lower half.

"Uh, maybe you should stop," I mumbled, and Dustin paused instantly. He straightened up, though he didn't loosen his grip around my wrist just yet.

"Do you wanna?"

I bit my lower lip, unsure how to answer. While I didn't mind where this was going, I felt like we needed to have a conversation about certainthingsbefore we went any further.

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