on me played muse to a world-class poet, sure, sure.” Deep breath in, deep breath out. “Anything else?”
“He chewed off van Gogh’s ear.”
My hand fell limply at my side. “Figuratively?”
“Literally.”
I blinked rapidly. “And you let him stay in my rooms?”
“He can’t hurt you.”
“Why? Didn’t you just say he was unreliable?”
“He’s bound by oath not to harm the master of this house, and that applies to you as well, courtesy of our...marriage.”
I narrowed my eyes. “He offered to scratch me.”
“He has an odd sense of humor.”
I gave him my best side-eye.
“Here,” he said, and held out a leather jacket. “Put this on too.”
I took the jacket and regarded it, noting its style and design were closer to an armored, long-sleeve tunic. “This is not mine.”
“No. I had it made it for you. The pups can be a bit...rambunctious.”
“You mean bitey?”
“If they bit you,” he said in his most patient tone, “they could cleave off your arm, whether you wore leather or not.”
“Good to know,” I squeaked.
“This is to protect you from their claws should they jump up on you.”
“Come to Hell, they said,” I muttered. “Enjoy the local wildlife, they said.”
“Pray you won’t ever meet the real wildlife. Hounds and cats aren’t it.”
“Is it dragons?” I shrugged into the tunic-jacket and shoved my feet into the boots Azazel materialized. “Please tell me it’s not dragons.”
His answer was a smirk as he turned toward the doors to the balcony, pulled them open and walked out. I followed him into the lightning-lit twilight. Heat billowed against me, and I gasped. How was I supposed to survive even five minutes in this oven, dressed like I was? Pulling at my collar, I tried to catch my breath, sweat already dripping down my neckline.
“C’mere.” Azazel grasped my arm, pushed up my sleeve and laid his fingers on my wrist.
A welcome, surprising chill shot up from his touch, spread through my body as if my veins had been injected with non-toxic coolant. I sucked in air, closed my eyes in bliss and moaned. “Oh, God, thank you.”
He tsked, still holding my wrist, his thumb rubbing over my pulse point. “Who?”
Clearing my throat, I slanted a glance at him. “You’re really hung up on that, aren’t you?”
“I’m a fan of giving credit where credit is due. So when I’m the one making you moan, it better be my name on your lips.”
I pressed my mouth into a tight line to keep from grinning, looked up at him from beneath my lashes, fluttered them for effect, and breathed, “Oh, Azazel.”
He uttered a sound somewhere between a grunt and a laugh. “We’ll work on that.”
A whoosh, his wings erupting from his back in all their fire-licked glory.
Putting his hands on my waist, he pulled me close and lifted me a little. “Hold on.”
Instinctively, I slung not just my arms around his neck, but my legs around his hips as well. His one hand came to rest on my butt, his other arm wrapped around my back, holding me fast.
My face was level with his, cheek on cheek, the stubble on his jaw scratching over my skin. The scent of leather, fire, and that enticing spice—strong now that he was fresh out of the shower—teased my nose, made my lips tingle with the impulse to feel him. It was all I could do not to lean forward an inch and bury my face in the crook of his neck again...where the temptation to lick and taste him would do me in.
“Anytime you feel like using your tongue on me, love,” he muttered, “feel free to do just that.” His hot breath on my ear, making me shiver. “Anywhere you want to.”
My thighs tightened around his hips, wayward need sparking to life in my core. “We better start those shielding lessons soon.”
The thump of his wings drowned out his quiet laugh as we shot into the air. My stomach did a somersault.
“Do not shriek into my ear again,” he said.
“Fly better, and I won’t,” I hissed back.
“Maybe you just need a distraction.”
He banked abruptly, and my insides turned over. Before I could get a scream out, however, his mouth covered mine, and whatever high-pitched shriek had been building in my throat was swallowed by a kiss that made my stomach flutter with something entirely different than a sharp turn in the air.
I didn’t even notice when he landed. By the time he broke the kiss, we were on solid ground, his wings retracted, my mind foggy with lust, and my thighs