Page 65 of Quiet Burn

I nod, smiling in relief when he doesn’t wig out. “I can. It’s a lot like you’d imagine from some paranormal sexy book, I suppose. Big wings, taking to the sky like a superhero, but cooler.”

My words make him blink, then he suddenly smacks himself in the forehead. I have no idea why but he looks like he’s pissed at himself as he rubs his palm down his face. “Damnit. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Think of what, KK?” Salem looks confused, unsure if he’s going to make it through both of us.

His face turns bright red and he shakes his head. “Nothing. I, uh, have been noodling on something for a couple days and I might have just solved my problem. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“You sure?” I ask, studying him carefully as I fold my wings in. “If this is too much, we can?—”

“Nope. No, I’m good.” He waves his hand dismissively and I arch a brow when Dottie crawls up to sit on his shoulder. “Salem, you go.”

The big guy looks at me and I shrug. “He says it’s cool, dude.”

That makes him grin happily and he steps up, rubbing his palms together. “Okay, Kit Kat, here it comes.”

Kit leans forward, watching closely as Salem transitions smoothly to his demon form. He’s tall, muscled and his skin is black and white from head to toe. The crazy, spiky two-toned hair gets puffier, and his eyes turn completely white right before two rounded, knobby horns emerge from his head. They’re demonic versions of his panda ears, we’ve always said, and his long, shaved poodle-like tail whips back and forth as he continues to grin at his roommate.

“Why is your tail… like that?”

I blink, then burst into laughter as Salem makes a fish-face. He’s trying to figure out what to tell KK, but he can’t give him the truth without freaking him out. His demon iswaytoo excited about being out in front of Kit and thatonlyhappens when he’s feeling frisky. I haven’t seen it hardly at all, but teenage boys, even demons, are idiots—which is how we all know what little secrets we’re all hiding about sex. “Yeah, Salem,whyisyour tail like that?”

His narrow glare slices into me as he rumbles in a dark voice, “Why doesyourshave feathers, Oriel?”

Shit. He’s got me there.

“I have a feeling there’s something I don’t know and I’m pretty sure I can stay in the dark about it for now,” Kit mutters as he frowns at us. “You’re being way too cagey for me to take this at face value.”

That’s fine with me—I’m not eager to discuss demon sexual practices with him quite yet, anyway. It might be a discussion that’s necessary later on, but I’d bet on the humanoid side being important sooner. Fuck knows we have to be careful how much we say before it seems important; I don’t want to traumatize him more than he already is.

“Wanna see anything else?” Salem says as he moves closer.

I can tell he’s damn near desperate to get KK to touch him like he did with the bear. My own demon wants it, too, but again, this is so much different than him petting two animals he recognizes. “Salem…”

“No, it’s okay. I sort of… it’s like I feel I need to?” The guy looks confused for a moment, his brows furrowed. “Something insideof me is pushing at me since he said it. Like I’msupposedto make it even?”

Whoa. Even I don’t know what to make of that.

Salem is undaunted, though, and moves in a blur to kneel by KK’s chair so he’s not so tall and intimidating. The shy smile that comes over the dude’s face is enchanting, and he reaches out tentatively to brush his fingers over the black and white skin on my brother’s shoulders. A low rumble echoes out of his chest, and I watch as his eyes close to enjoy the sensation.

“So soft and smooth. Can I touch the poofy?” Kit grins and I almost choke on my tongue.

“Um, no. Tails are… very personal. Not… now.” I say quickly, moving closer to distract the kid when Salem pouts. “But some day, I’m sure he’d love it.”

“No shit,” the panda mutters as he makes an annoyed face when Kit lifts his hand to turn to me. “Poof Blocker.”

“Don’t be gross,” I shoot back as I mimic him, kneeling on the other side of the chair. Dottie peeks out from behind Kit’s face, shaking a small fist at my friend and I grin. The kinkajou knows what he just tried to pull. “Okay, Kit. You’re good.”

He licks his lips, his hand coming out to touch the feathers at the base of my neck. “You know, I really like how shiny these are. Your demons suit you guys as much as the animals do, I think.”

“Well, uh…” I’m having trouble with words, but when his fingers move to the horns, I lose all ability to form coherent thoughts.

We may have made a tactical error doing this alone with the door locked.

Touch Me

Kit/Kat

Oriel has completely stopped talking and I worry that maybe I took it too far. He and Salem are the easiest to get along with by far; I don’t want to fuck this up. My eyes cut to the black and white demon watching us, and I almost choke. He has a long pointed black tongue licking his lips as my fingertips ghost over the horns and it makes me squeak in alarm. The sound makes my brain re-engage and I cough, pretending to clear my throat. I don’t want to offend him, either, but the room seems to be getting warmer and my skin is tingling.

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