Page 66 of Quiet Burn

What the hell is going on?

“Um… I… if this is bad, I can stop,” I whisper. “Just… tell me.”

Salem’s eyes droop to a sleepy, half-lidded look as he inhales deeply. “I’m not gonna fucking complain, Kit Kat. This is the best atmosphere my room haseverhad. It’s delicious.”

Swallowing hard at the husky tone, I finally look at Oriel again, waiting for him to open his eyes. When he does, there’s a sparkling blackness gazing at me that somehow calms meandmakes the tingling increase. My gut does flip-flops as he tilts his head so his face touches my arm, then rubs his cheek on my skin.

“Both our demons and our animals enjoy tactile sensations immensely. The touch receptors in our bodies become hyper-sensitive in these forms,” he croaks. The dark-haired shifter sucks in a shuddering breath as I trace the shape of the horns without thinking about it. “Some things are… more pleasant than others, but… it’s not a bad thing. Rather pleasurable, if I’m honest.”

“If it makes you upset or afraid, you can stop, though,” Salem murmurs as he moves closer, dropping to kneel on my other side again. He’s just within reach again and the look on his face mesmerizes me.

It’s so full of desperate need paired with concern; I don’t know what to do.

So I use the hand closest to him to touch the rounded horn on his head, eliciting a dark groan that almost makes me stop. When I continue to very gently explore their vastly different textures, both of the demons scoot closer, pressing their torsos to the outside of my legs. I wait for the terror to rise up in my chest, but it doesn’t. Instead, the places their bodies make contact with mine feel like hotspots for sensation. I swallow again, trying to calm the frantic beating of my heart as it tries to burst out of my chest.

“Kit—”

Oriel is interrupted by abangon the door that’s hard enough to rattle shit on the walls. My hands pull away as I recoil, eyes wide with fear at the intrusion. I lick my lips as I lean back in my seat, my breath heaving from both the shock at the noise andthe electricity in the air from my bold actions. Dottie scrambles off the top of the chair to wrap her little arms around my neck, chittering softly as I come back to earth.

“Goddamn,” Salem curses as he rocks back on his heels. His demon fades within a split second and I’m left looking at the mussed hair and beautiful ink covering his torso.

I can’t even think about what’s below that right now; I’m too shaken.

“It’s okay, KK,” Oriel whispers as his dark eyes find mine. He’s humanoid again, and his expression is very soft for such a sarcastic dude. “You did really well. I’m sorry some jackhole spooked you. Just breathe, man.”

I don’t have words yet, so I simply nod. Being able to touch them, even as demons, and have them touching me at the same time is a huge step. I’m not… exactly sure what it’s towards because… they’ll find out if I try to do anything more adventurous. But I haven’t been able to allow that much contact from men for years, and I know what an attack feels like—everything I felt then was totally different. It felt exciting and unknown, but not scary.

“Salem, go murder whoever the fuck decided to spoil our moment.”

The crow’s gravelly order is followed by an indignant squawk and he claps his hand over his mouth, his face turning red on his pale skin.

I bite my lower lip, smiling a little. Oriel being embarrassed is somewhat enchanting because he’s so dark and tortured andseriouslooking, but the sound made him almost shy. My voice is small when I murmur, “Probably you guys should dress first. Imean… they’ll think… and I don’t want you guys to have to deal with more scorn than the fake dating stuff already…”

The derisive snort comes from the kitchen and I have to bite down on my cheek not to make the squeak again when all I see is Salem’s broad, muscled back and his ridiculously perfect fucking ass cheeks. You could bounce a goddamndollarcoin off that shit, and I have no idea how I know, but it’s got to be a peak condition image. I force myself to look up at the ceiling, away from his beauty so I don’t end up looking like a damn creep, but it’s not an easy feat.

“I don’t carewhoit is. We all knowwhysomeone tried to dent the damn door and I’m not inclined to move any faster because of their damn jealousy.”

What? Jealousy?

“Why-Why would they be… jealous?”

Oriel’s lips quirk up at the corner and he winks at me. “Because we’re hogging you all to ourselves, KK. That’s enough to make every idiot on this floor get a little cranky.”

“I don’t think?—”

The sounds of Salem’s heavy footsteps heading for his room make it much easier to breathe, and Oriel chuckles. “Oh, it is, even if you’re not aware of it. Just… keep the last bit between the three of us, hmm? I don’t want anyone giving you a hard time after the long day. We’ll make some food and study, like every day, and none of the dumbasses out there have to know anything right now.”

Nodding, I look at the door worriedly. “You don’t want them to know I'm such a spaz, right? I get that.”

“No, I figured you’d prefer not to spend the night hearing people grouse and grumble about their turns.” His eyes stare into mine as he grins. “I’m not concerned about a damn thing that happened here with Salem and I don’t give a shit who knows, Kit Kat. I just didn’t want you to be distracted by pouty assholes.”

I have no idea what to say about something that sweet; it’s completely foreign. So I give him a tiny smile, then duck my head as he rises to his feet to fetch some of Salem’s clothes.

These boys are going to be the death of me; I just know it.

By the timeO and Salem opened the door, Dottie and I were in the kitchen, working on the dinner prep. The little private session was only about a half hour, so it’s not that we startedthatlate, but there was a palpable grumpiness to the group as we ate and studied. No one asked, possibly because Oriel and my roommate actively glared at their friends anytime someone opened their mouth. I disliked having the tension ratchet up, so I begged off early, going to my room with Dottie and putting my headphones on until I fell asleep.

I feel less stressed this morning, but breakfast was not nearly as fun as usual.

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