Page 65 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

Lifting my hand, I sweep back the silken curtain of her hair and pin it behind her ear. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m here.”

“I…appreciate it.”

Drawing my hand back to my lap, feeling the thundering beat of my heart in my ears, I force down a deep breath and remove my enchanted cuff links to set on her nightstand. “Would you like me to stay with you the rest of the night?”

She exhales a laugh. “This is normal for me, Xios. Believe it or not, having a grown man in my room would not help anything.” The frail edge of humor in her tone dies. “Not even remotely.”

“I’ll respect your wishes, Zahra, but…you would hardly know I’m here…”

Her head turns toward me, an eye roll primed.

I shift into my Honduran White Bat form before she gets a chance to open her mouth.

Whatever she was thinking vaporizes as her damp eyes widen. “Oh. My. Word. You’retiny.”

Since I’m not actually suited for standing, or sitting, as a bat, I fall over.

Zahra gasps. Delicately, she cups me in her hands, and I snuggle her thumb on my belly.

“No,” she whispers. “Stop.” Breathless, she says, “You’re too cute…the cutest thing I’ve ever seen…” So carefully, she touches her fingertip to my little orange, leaf-shaped nose.

Ha.See?I told Castor I was adorable.

Soft, almost reverent, my beloved soulmate murmurs, “How do you fit all your mischief in such a little body?”

Not to brag, but I am beyond skilled.

Jutting a lip, she looks at Ash, then at the unused half of her bed. With a sigh, she splays a pillow for me and lays me gently in the center. “Fine. You can stay for tonight. Just in case you needto eat more…things.”

Awkwardly, I nod, then wrap myself in my wings and close my eyes.

I don’t watch as Zahra moves back beneath her covers, even if I hear every brush of her body against the blankets. I focus my senses on her heartbeat alongside mine and Ash’s, if only to ignore the way her scent envelopes me in a sweet and seductive embrace.

Yeah.

It’s going to be a long night.

Possibly, equally the best—and worst—of my entire life.

Chapter 17

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No one told me bickering was a love language.

I am ten-minutes deep into a lush, vibrant garden of Faerie, which boasts Wonderland flowers the size of houses all around—with scintillating butterflies large enough to perch delicately atop the buds…

Yet, I’m staring—somewhat severely—at Alexios’s back.

And I have been.

Ever since he marched me into a dead log that was suddenly a bustling terminal.

I hardly gave myself a chance to register the menagerie of other faeries present as he tugged on his sleeves, adjusted his cuffs, and darted us through an express lane far, far away from all the other people.

The only reason I’ve even noticed the flowers is because a giant butterfly wing beat nearly toppled me.

Truthfully, I have a dozen more important things to think about right now.

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