Page 20 of Moonlit Alexandrite

“I—” I squeaked. He let the moment hang between us for another long moment before breaking off and hooking an arm behind my back to urge me into motion.

“I’m just playing. I promise to be on my best behavior. Later, though...” He let the threat hang, and the heat in his eyes when he glanced down at me could be mistaken for nothing other than pure, unadulterated lust. This man wanted me. His kelpie wanted me.

God help me, I wanted them all.

Would my succubus grow a pair of lady balls and come to the party?

Chapter Twelve

Lex

“So yeah. This is my place,” I said, with an awkward flourish of my hand. The main living area of our apartment looked eerily similar to that of an eighty-year-old grandmother. Crocheted blankets lay across the back of each of the sofas; and pots and trinkets I had made lay everywhere. Cozy was the word that came to mind. Mildly chaotic was another. As I stepped past what passed as our dining table, I subtly slipped one of Colbie’s dresses from the back of a chair and tossed it into her bedroom. Tase wandered around the space, touching this and picking up that. A low chuckle left him as he turned to take in the room.

“What?” I asked as my nerves returned. He looked so big in this space. He wasn’t as tall as Ren, but he certainly dwarfed all of my belongings just by his presence.

“Dion would pitch a fit being in here,” Tase said with a grin.

I didn’t know what to make of that. Should I be offended? Probably, but I didn’t want to talk about him, I was still smarting from his rejection earlier.

A sudden crash from the back room caused Tase’s face to drop, and for a moment, I saw the dangerous creature beneath. With fluid grace, he stalked around furniture and up to the doorway of my craft room. Immediately, he straightened, and I hurried over to find Rusty covered in silver glitter and chewing on my red lace bra.

“Rusty! Can you please use your chewing stick? That’s my good one.”

I pulled the mangled fabric from his mouth with a sad sigh and replaced it with a paintbrush that was close at hand. Rusty purred his pleasure and settled down to chew on his new toy.

I turned to find a heated look on Tase’s face. In his hand, he held one of the romance novels that had been holding up my clock.

“Into a bit of pirate romance, huh? I’m game for role-playing.”

Bright. Red.

My blush scalded across my cheeks, and I dropped my face quickly to hide behind my hair. Where had my confidence gone? I had never expected them to follow through, I realized, as I tried to urge Rusty up to standing. I cleared my throat and tried to subtly peek at the man I never expected to get close to.

“I need to give Rusty a shower. Colbie will kill me if he gets glitter through the house again.”

He approached slowly, then swooped my capybara up, one-handed. That was impressive, seeing as Rusty weighed more than me.

“Actually, do you mind if I borrow your shower? I’m kind of over being green.” He gave me a winning smile, but the reminder that he was shirtless had made me mute. I nodded, wide-eyed, and pointed him toward the small bathroom Colbie and I shared.

I heard the door click shut and the soft hum of Tase talking to Rusty. He was...not what I expected. Colbie had told me all kinds of crazy stories about the prank war in Moonlit Falls and the kelpie that refused to cede territory to the selkie population. I had seen hints of this side on the night we… went for a ride, but the warmth and unquestioning acceptance of the mating bond was nothing I could have anticipated. It left me in a weird state of feeling turned-on, completely safe, and scared as fuck, all at once.

The shower came on with a whoosh, and with it, my brain flooded with images of Tase as I remembered him from the other night. Flawless olive skin, rich dark brown hair curling around his shoulders. I imagined the way the water would run over his clavicle and down over his pecs. How it would wind down the ridges of his abdominals and seep into the trail of hair below his belly button, the trail that led down to his impressive length. My succubus stretched like a cat at the memory of it, and I sighed in frustration. Arousal was definitely winning out, I was well and truly hot and bothered and wished she would make up her mind. Well, I decided, I could make it up for us.

Before I could think much more of it, I pushed into the bathroom to find a naked Tase standing in the tub; the shower streaming down onto his back, as he scrubbed Rusty while bitching him out for getting covered in glitter.

I slapped a hand over my mouth as a giggle slipped out, and he straightened quickly, slipped, and only just caught himself before falling on the tiled floor.

Rusty, seemingly done with his admonishment, climbed from the tub and dripped his way into the lounge.

I should have stopped him.

I should definitely have toweled him off before he soaked everything we owned.

I did neither.

Tase sent me a wry grin as I continued to stare at a body even more perfect than I remembered.

“You wanna take a picture, beautiful? Maybe paint one? I’m happy to pose.”

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