Raven of Water

Chapter 12: Make Out

"So, you care for fifteen small humans every day."

I grunted, putting the bottle of cleaner back under the sink then locking the cabinet closed after having wiped down the tables. I didn't want to look at the demon reclining in the book center on a bunch of tiny bean bags while I did all the work tidying up the classroom after all the kids had left.

"Not every day. Only Monday through Friday. But, yes. And they're children. Not 'tiny humans' or 'small humans' or 'little human beings'."

"Well, they might be children, but all of those things are also what they are..."

Rolling my eyes, I turned to the sink above the locked cabinet and washed my hands, scrubbing at some random glitter glue stuck to them while I snorted. "Look, demon. I don't know why you're here—"

"I wanted to see you."

Surprised by the sincerity in his voice, I turned then to find him sitting there, the picture of leisure with his hands laced behind his head, looking comically out of place amid all the tiny, child-sized furniture that was far, far too small for him.

"Demons don't just...want to see people. And people don't just want to see me."

"Says who?" He frowned, and I sighed, drying my hands on the brown paper towels hanging beside the sink, tossing them in the trash, then taking a step nearer to the man.

"Kirroz, really. Why are you here? I just...you show up here out of the blue. And I don't think you're up to anything bad. I was worried at first. About you and the kids, I mean. But you were surprisingly kind for a demon. Why? Why are you here?"

Following my question, he unlaced his hands from behind his head and sat up, leaning toward me with an expression I can tell he was intentionally keeping neutral. "Lex, do you really find it so unbelievable that I might want to see you just because I want to see you? Because I missed you?"

"Yes."

My bottom lip stuck out as I spoke, although I didn't know why, and again, I was deeply struck by the absurdity of, well, everything. The demon sitting there, looking so comfortable but strange, so at home yet out of place. Me having spent the past half hour watching him interact with a bunch of kids and having to occasionally intervene and explain things like why the little ones couldn't have sharp scissors.

"Darling, when was the last time you felt needed?"

"What?" I blinked, thrown off by his question but distracted by him holding his hand out to me.

That palm, crisscrossed with lines and calluses, was familiar. Even before I placed my hand in his, I knew how his skin would feel against mine. So rough but capable of such softness. I needed it, needed that touch, and compelled by forces I didn't understand, I placed my hand in his and soon found myself pulled to the bean bags with him. I gasped as the man pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close and breathing deeply before pressing his lips into my hair and whispering.

"I missed you so much, Lex. I didn't know if I could wait for this, but I'm so glad I made it. We made it."

"I..."

My voice trembled as I felt myself melting into his hold. I knew that I shouldn't do this, but he was so warm. And when I turned my face to his chest, the only things I felt were the steady beat of his heart and the caress of the scent of rain as it enveloped me. I didn't know why, but tears pricked my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him as best I could, allowing myself to be held, cherished in a way I'd never experienced before. I pulled back only enough to stare at his face, and that's when I saw his lips.

I knew what they tasted like and wanted them again. It had been so long. So very, very long. Again overcome by an uncontrollable compulsion, I pressed my mouth against his. He tasted like home, like moist, rain soaked moss. I could drown in him. I wanted to...

After uttering a noise of surprise, Kirroz sighed then squeezed me tighter and returned the kiss in kind. His jaw flexed as he removed his one arm from around me and ran his hand up my body, caressing my back and kneading out a knot of tension before working higher and eventually reaching my neck where he grasped me with just enough pressure to make me gasp in pleasure. Somehow, he'd shifted us so that I was lying on the ground, my back pinned to the cushions littering the floor while he gripped my neck and stopped kissing my lips so that he could work his way lower.

"Kai..." His name was spoken from my lips in a voice that was mine but somehow wasn't, and I blinked up at the ceiling decorations in confusion as the demon's mouth stopped kissing just above my breast.

The demon then pulled back, supporting himself on his forearms so that he could look down at me with a look of pure and utter adoration. There was unfathomable feeling in that look, something I realized then that I'd ever actually experienced.

Love.

That was a look of love.

The demon loved me, but I couldn't recall when that had happened. Then his eyes clouded, turning demonic before he whispered.

"Fuck."

I opened my mouth to ask him what was happening, but Kirroz simply glared then disappeared in a flash of his own blue power, leaving me reeling with my head swimming as I stared at the space where he'd just been. My ears were ringing as I leaned my head back to watch the construction paper mobiles hanging from the ceiling billowing in the breeze of the air conditioner. Outside, thunder pealed and wind picked up, pounding rain against the windows in violent sheets.

I didn't know when the storm had rolled in, and I didn't know what the hell had just happened between Kai and me or why I wanted him back by my side.