Page 54 of Silverproof Damsel

“I was thinking I’d butter your cock—No!No, I wasn’t thinking about your penis. I was cocking my popcorn. Cock my butter? Nope. Shut up, Remington! I was wondering where the popcorn was kept. But I also need butter. Butter doesn’t belong on a cock.” I couldn’t get any redder than I’d become over what had spewed from my lips.

“I’m not against food play by any means.” The glint in his eyes told me he was enjoying my discomfort. Rhys slowly rounded the coffee table, then kneeled in front of me, a cocky smirk playing over his generous mouth. “I doubt you’d enjoy the aftermath of butter being used in your more . . .delicateplaces.”

“I don’t know what is wrong with me.” His lips jerked up in the corners of his mouth at my explanation. “I forget how to speak when you’re around. Then, the weirdest shit ever spews out.”

“Is that what happens? Maybe if you told me what you’d been thinking about before you spoke, I could help you solve the problem?” The Cheshire Cat grin on his lips told me he was enjoying needling me. “Do you recall what you were imagining before you spoke?”

“Popcorn.” The lie came easily because, while I’d been thinking about buttering popcorn, I’d also been imagining him naked between my thighs.

“Indeed. Only popcorn?” he asked in a voice laced with sex and loose gravel. The huskiness of his tone caused goosebumpsto spread over my flesh. “Or was there something else on your mind?”

“Butter and popcorn. Just the two together. Nothing else.” I was mortified that I’d placed both his cock and butter in the same freaking sentence together. Who in the hell said shit like that?Me.That’s who.

“Well, then I fear I won’t be much help with your issue,” he rasped as his hand lifted, touching my thigh. “What season would you like to watch?” His hand caressed my thigh, applying just enough pressure to jerk my thoughts away from pushing him onto his back and riding his magnificent cock until we were both too tired to argue or do anything but breathe.

“Season five, episode three. I haven’t been able to watch it since I left E.V.I.E.,” I added while still ogling him like a piece of prime meat. Rhys lifted, leaving his pelvis blocking my view of anything else. Licking my lips, I managed to restrain the groan as I noted his semi-hardened state. Fuck me, I needed an ice-cold shower and a vibrator.

“You didn’t catch up on your murderous show with Nyota and Nyx?”

His question forced my eyes to drift up to ensure he wasn’t joking. A snort of laughter broke from my lips before I could suppress it.

“It was just a question, Love.”

Just a question? Was he serious right now? “We couldn’taffordsuch luxurious things as cable television. Hell, the dog ears, as Nyota termed them, were shit. We barely got the local channels on the secondhand black and white TV Nyx purchased from a secondhand store downtown.”

“Why not just—” Rhys’ question stilled on his tongue as he answered the question himself. The reminder of what he’d done cooled my ardor right along with his. “My mistake. I’ll be back with your popcorn.”

“If you show me where it is, I can make it myself.” If Rhys heard what I’d said, he chose to ignore me. Within moments, the buttery scent of salty, delicious popcorn wafted throughout the space.

My stomach growled with eagerness for the salty snack, as Rhys carried in a hulking bowl, setting it down beside me. Eyeing the butter-covered popped kernels, he frowned.

“Try to eat a little broth. You need the nutrients in it, Remi.” Pushing his hands into the pockets of his slacks, he waited beside the couch. For what, I wasn’t sure. “Don’t try to escape from me. It’s the safest place for you right now. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have brought you here. Talia herself reinforced the space with enough magic to protect the entire town.” Frowning, he started for the staircase, then paused, turning to look at me.

“Forget something?” I asked, uncertain what emotion was warring for dominance over his features as he silently stared at me.

“I shouldn’t have frozen your accounts. It was an automatic reaction. I regret doing it now. I’m not saying I won’t do so again if I thought you were trying to leave town. That was my intention, Love. To stop you from leaving. Believe it or not, I didn’t want you to leave, but couldn’t handle being near you either,” he susurrated.

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to what he’d admitted. He didn’t want me to leave, but he didn’t want me to stay. It wasn’t something I could say thank you to. It was the only word I could formulate.

Rhys scratched his neck as he remained rooted to the spot. An uncomfortable silence drifted between us, almost like it was waiting for an apology from me in return. I wasn’t sure what I’d done, if anything, to offer him an apology for.

The skin between my eyes creased as the uneasiness caused me to fidget beneath his perceptive stare. “I’m sorry that mymother was yourex-lover, or whatever. If she had swallowed, we wouldn’t be having issues right now. Of course, she was more a taker than a giver, I guess. I’m sorry about Nyota, even though I didn’t harm her. I wouldn’t have done something so tasteless or stuck around to be punished for it, either. I’m also sorry I got Nyx shot, resulting in Acyn having to heal her. Not that either of them will be put out about spending time screwing like rabbits.”

Rhys’ intense stare caused my brain to malfunction, resulting in the need for me to fill the awkward silence with whatever came to mind. Unfortunately, it ended up being the worst thing that could’ve spewed from my lips.

“Rabbits . . .” Don’t say it, Remington. Do. Not. Say it! “Did you know they have to eat their food twice and will eat it out of their ass? Disgusting, right? Plus, they can’t throw up. So, if they’re eating their poop and then decide they don’t like what they ate the first time, they can’t even gag or toss their cookies to expel it from their stomach.” Slowly blinking, I replayed what had just word-vomited from my lips and felt heat scorching my cheeks. “Whatthehell, Remington? Rabbits and your mother? Jesus on wheat rice and animal crackers!” The steady stream of anxiety added to the tension forming between us. Placing my hand on the back of my neck, I silently promised the floor sexual favors if it would swallow me whole.

Azure eyes glittered with laughter as his lips twitched. “I didn’t know that about rabbits.” Rhys slowly drifted closer, placing his hands on the arm of the sofa. I, on the other hand, inwardly chided my idiocy and nervousness that caused the impromptu word-vomit. “I’m personally very thankful the murderous bitchdidn’tswallow you. I enjoy being around you. Even when you spew words out at a crazy pace to fill the silence between us. Just to be clear, Love. I’ve already said I never fucked your mother. She and I were intended to wed but shit happened.”

“Oh,” I whispered as a nervous laugh escaped with a single word. “Thank you for not pointing out how insane I sounded.”

“It’s fucking adorable.” One hand cupped behind my head before he brought his lips flush against mine. My stomach fluttered with warmth as butterflies stirred in response. His tongue slid against the seam of my lips, parting for his kiss. Before I could grant him access, he pulled away. “Don’t fill up on popcorn. It has no nutrients that you need. You’re growing an entire person inside you.” Placing his lips against my forehead, he planted a tender kiss before his feverish mouth drifted to my ear.

“Don’t wait up for me. I’ll be out late. I left a phone on the nightstand beside the bed. Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency. If I were you, I’d try not to have an emergency.” Once he’d finished speaking, Rhys slowly pulled back to study my face as if memorizing every fine detail to memory. It caused panic to claw its way up my chest, tightening inside my throat. Idiotically, I wanted to beg him to remain here with me. I wouldn’t, but I wanted to.

“Be safe,” I offered, uncertain if he’d even be in danger when he left here.

The smile he offered me caused my heart to still, then started anew at an alarming speed. Swallowing past the lump swelling in my throat, I compelled a tight, reassuring smile in response to his. Then, I held it in all its awkward glory until I heard the door closing behind him.

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