Demon Moon

him while he was half-conscious.
    “You should put away your clutter, naatin . You may have guests next weekend, if your meeting with that boy tonight is satisfactory. I spoke with Lakshmi Sivakumar today.”
    “Oh?” She rubbed her eyelids with her forefinger and thumb, then dropped her hand to her lap, stared at the cut across her palm. “Did she know the family?”
    “Oh, yes. A very good family. From what his parents described of him, you won’t have any objections to the boy.”
    Her stomach knotted. “You talked to them already?”
    “That’s how it should be done, naatin . But I won’t protest if you decide to meet with him alone, and decide for yourself. He’s to be your husband; it is your choice.”
    “Okay,” she said. Then, because her voice sounded dull and Nani might think she was ungrateful, Savi forced a lighter note and added, “This is really good news then. It was a good idea to talk to Mrs. Sivakumar. And Manu’s parents.”
    A burgundy Persian rug lay on the wooden floor next to the bed. Savi began counting the saffron buds in the pattern as Nani related the conversation in an animated tone, including a list of Manu’s accomplishments and connections within the community. It was several minutes before she hung up the phone.
    Savi hadn’t forgotten she was supposed to meet Manu that night, but it hadn’t been important before…hadn’t mattered if it went well. She’d considered calling and canceling—too much had happened in the past day to meet a prospective spouse with any equanimity—and had given herself until three o’clock that afternoon to make that decision.
    Nani’s call erased any choice. She couldn’t stand him up now.
    A soft, rhythmic pressure at her thigh made her look down again. Colin rubbed his jaw lightly against the side of her leg, like a cat nuzzling in. The denim of her jeans had to be rough on his skin.
    His arm tensed when she tried to pull away.
    He rolled again, took her with him. She laughed in surprise as her back hit the mattress, but he continued turning her until she lay on her side, spooned in front of him. His breath brushed hot and moist across her neck.
    His left forearm wrapped around her midriff, his hand cupping the curve of her waist. The other angled up from beneath her rib cage, between her breasts, his hand resting on her shoulder. His fingers slid beneath her shoulder strap, as if he didn’t want any material—even silk—between his touch and her skin.
    His body was a solid sheet of heat behind her. His knee insinuated between hers, and she bit her lip to stifle her moan as he raised his thigh until it lodged firm against her sex.
    Oh god. He was half-asleep, recovering—and she was sick, thinking what she was now. About how it would be so easy to ride against that tautly muscled thigh…hell, maybe vampires went into rigor mortis in their daysleep, and she could just unzip his—
    “Thank you,” he said drowsily into her ear.
    For being this close to molesting him? “What for?”
    “My feet. The lotion.”
    “Oh. I didn’t know you felt it.”
    His right hand drifted down until his fingertips brushed against the hollow of her throat. “I wasn’t fully asleep when you began. You didn’t need to. The glass would have worked itself out as I slept.”
    She thought of the wounds she’d opened, and her stomach tightened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
    She heard the smile in his sleep-deepened voice. “Don’t apologize, sweet. It’s more comfortable this way…and I’m pleased by your attention. I thought you’d less pity for my pain than you did the wyrmwolf’s.”
    Surely he was kidding. “You would’ve preferred I cut off your head for a bit of sunburn?” she asked lightly, though her chest began to ache again. Perhaps her reaction had seemed heartless—too overcome by the realization of what he’d done, she’d questioned him instead of helping him.
    His silent laugh rumbled against her back, loosened the vise around her lungs. “More than a bit, I wager.”
    “It wasn’t so terrible.” His laughter intensified, shaking against her, and she admitted, “Okay, so you looked like a demon who’d been jumped by a gang of Guardians. Not that it mattered; you couldn’t look bad if you tried.”
    “I’ll certainly never try.” A series of light kisses fluttered over her shoulder, followed by a sigh. “Ah, Savi, I’d take care of you in return, but I’m so tired a harem of succubae couldn’t get