Which was dangerous thinking—things would never be safe or right while the Aedh, the reapers, and Hunter were all such fixtures in my life.
I pulled out of his warm embrace and took a step back. The big living room felt so much colder without the cocoon of his warmth.
"I'm going to bed."
"Once you are safely asleep, I will return to the fields and see what additional information I can uncover about ensnaring the Rakshasa."
I frowned. "I thought they were best caught in their lair."
"Yes, but to trace this Rakshasa back to her lair, we first have to watch her dismember and eat her chosen victim. I don't think either of us could sit through that nightmare easily."
He had that right. I hesitated, then leaned forward and dropped a kiss on his lips. "Night, then."
Surprise and something deeper—something that was desire and yet a whole lot more—flitted across his expression before he got control of himself again. "What was that for?"
"A kiss good night is something of a custom here on earth," I said, my lips still tingling with the warmth of his. "Don't tell me the woman who showed you the delights of human procreation never kissed you good night like that?"
"No." His expression gave little away, but there was a decidedly devilish twinkle in his eyes. "It is, however, a custom I could grow used to."
I smiled, but resisted the temptation to kiss him again, and backed away instead. I might be bone-weary and aching, but I had a suspicion if I did it again, the desire to rest would be overwhelmed by another sort of desire entirely.
"Night, Azriel."
He nodded and winked out of existence. He was still near; I knew that because his heat swirled around me. I resolutely turned and made my way to the bedroom, stripping off clothes and letting them drop to the floor as I went. I'd pick them up later, when I had more energy. I pulled back the covers, crawled underneath them, and was asleep before I could even smile in pleasure.
The sharp ringing of the telephone woke me sometime later. I opened an eye and glared blearily at the object making all the noise, but it didn't catch the hint and stop. After several more seconds of the incessant sound, I groped blindly for the handset and croaked, "Hello?"
"Well, you sound like crap," Stane said, all too cheerfully.