Demon Hunting with a Dixie Deb - Lexi George Page 0,116
dangerous male at her sexual beck and call. No matter who took the lead, Grim always, always, made her feel powerful. Beautiful. Desired.
Adored.
He kissed the back of her neck and nudged the hard length of his erection against her bare bottom. Heat coiled in her belly and shimmered in her breasts and between her legs. Her nipples tightened and her body tingled in anticipation. She was hungry for him, ravenous. One, swift thrust and he’d be inside her, stroking, pumping.
She bent one knee and arched her back, opening herself to him.
“Good morning, children.” A mild masculine voice interrupted them. “My apologies for catching you still abed.”
Sassy squealed and dove under the covers. Someone, somehow, had gotten past Grim’s shield.
“Kehvahn.” The mattress dipped as Grim sat up. His deep voice held surprise and a hint of uncertainty. “This is unexpected.”
Kehvahn was the name of—No, surely not.
Sassy peeked over the edge of the covers and eased to a sitting position, the silken sheet clutched to her breasts. Their visitor was a slight man in a wrinkled robe. A pair of smudged glasses pinched the bridge of the man’s rather long nose. Short, wispy tendrils of brown hair stood up on his head like chicken fuzz.
He looked more like a cleric or an absentminded professor than a god. Quite nice, though, Sassy decided, noting Kehvahn’s kind manner and the laugh lines around his eyes. Someone she could have a cozy chat with about . . . oh, anything.
Kehvahn turned his regard on her. His eyes were brown—no, green, or were they deep blue?—and his gaze was shrewd, probing; bottomless. She felt a brief mental touch, caught an impression of a vast, yawning existence and endless knowledge. Then it was gone.
“I’m glad you approve, my dear.” Kehvahn gave Sassy a gentle smile. “No time for a chat today, however. Other things to attend to.” Rubbing his thin hands together, the god of the Dalvahni looked around. “Where should we do this, do you think? Here or by the grotto waterfall?”
Grim and Sassy exchanged startled looks.
Grim cleared his throat. “Do what, exactly, Master?”
“Perform the Binding Ceremony, of course.” Kehvahn adjusted his spectacles. “Conall informs me you wish to marry the chit. Is this correct?”
“The captain is, as always, perspicacious, Great One, but I have yet to broach the matter with the lady.”
“Really? Why not?”
“The time . . . never seemed right.” Grim gave Sassy a hot look that made her blush. “And we have been otherwise occupied.”
“I see,” Kehvahn said. “I shall withdraw to allow you to discuss it, then. In the meantime, I shall examine this fascinating specimen of bird.” The god waved his hand at the white bird with the outrageous tail feathers on the other side of the room. “Rather extraordinary, really. Never seen its like. Is it a member of the peafowl family?”
“In truth, I know not, Master. I fashioned it from a likeness in a book to please Sassy.”
“Fashioned it, you say?” Kehvahn gave Grim a sharp look. “First the Provider and now a living creature. Creation is a serious business, Grimford. Later, we will discuss this matter at length.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I like her, by the way, your Sassy,” Kehvahn said. “Her outward charm conceals a core of steel and a vast capacity for love. And her penchant for finding delight in the smallest of things will do you good. You were ever too serious, Grimford.” He sighed. “A Dalvahni trait and my responsibility, I fear, which brings me full circle to the subject of creation. But that is a conversation for another time, when we will discuss the ramifications of your curious gift.”
Kehvahn drifted over to the crystal stair and began to study the bird.
“He forgot about the car,” Sassy murmured. “You brought Mea to life, too.”
“It is you who brought me to life,” Grim said. “I was dead until I found you.”
He brought her hand to his lips, kissing first one knuckle, then the next and the next. Slowly. Tenderly.
Unfurling her fingers, he laid her hand over his heart. “Sarah Elizabeth Peterson—Sassy, my love—heart of my heart, may I have the honor, the inestimable joy—”
His voice cracked and he shook his head. “Ah, gods, it is as I feared. I have made a muddle of it.”
Sassy took Grim’s beloved face in her hands. “Yes, I will marry you, Grim Dalvahni. Naked—wearing a bed sheet—I don’t care. That is what you’re trying to ask me, isn’t it?”
Grim’s eyes warmed with joy and relief. “Yes, a thousand times yes.”