Page 31 of D'Vaire or Nothing
With the tips of his fingers, Sashati tilted Paszra’s chin and planted a firm satisfying kiss on his willing mouth.
“Nothing about you is ever boring,” Sashati whispered, sincerity and love blazing in his blue eyes. “Now, let me figure out how to keep these goblins entertained so I can get back to your secrets.”
“Sasha, I have no secrets from you.”
“One problem at a time. Do you think the Emperors would mind if I used magic to temporarily create a skate park for the goblins? This place is enormous, and we could put it in a spot where no one would trip over it.”
“A delightful idea. If you are concerned about the repercussions, contact them.”
“I hate to interrupt their night, but I also don’t want to irritate them by altering their casino—even if it is just for a few hours—without permission,” Sashati said, tugging his cellphone out of his red-and-black leather pants. “Maybe I’ll send a text to Chrys and Elf along with Zane and Damian. Hopefully, one of them has a second to answer.”
Paszra lifted a hand to still his other half. “Is that not Zane rushing through the casino now?”
Sashati flashed a grin that had heat pooling in Paszra’s belly. Then he rushed after the Ducblanc who was in the company of his other half, several other sprites, and a harpy. While Sashati explained his idea to the dragon shifter, Paszra eyed the excited goblins.
“Sasha is going to great lengths to ensure you have a wonderful night. Please be mindful of his efforts and try to refrain from doing anything that would result in you getting fewer cookies later when we go upstairs to our suite.”
Rogue sneered and kicked up his skateboard so he could lean one skinny arm on it. His grumbly chirp was annoyed, and Paszra offered him an apologetic smile.
“Of course I have not forgotten that you are not staying in our suite tonight,” Paszra said. He used a tiny wisp of his notoriously potent magic and pulled a bag of cookies to him from his hotel room upstairs. The imps had bought and baked cookies to fill many of these bags for the weekend. “This is for you and Pizza. I will give it to you at the end of the night so you can share them in private. Is that acceptable?”
Appearing mollified, Rogue glanced at his mate, and Pizza nodded in such a sentinel-like way that Paszra had to tuck in his lips to keep from chuckling. The goblins adored Alaric and often mimicked him and his people. It was a balm to Paszra’s soul that the four goblins summoned from the magical source of power for demons, thenuzaz’xor,were well loved and happy.
In a surprising twist, the goblins created by Alaric’s other half, Chander, had some sorcery of their own. Pizza demonstrated this as he summoned a slice of the food he was named for and munched on it while returning Rogue’s head bob. Rogue grinned and rushed over to kiss his other half.
“Why is that still weird?” Sashati asked as he wandered to their group with his gaze locked on the goblins now thoroughly making out.
“Because like everyone connected to the D’Vaire family, you are weird,” Paszra said.
Sashati rolled his eyes and brushed his long dark hair off one broad shoulder. “Anyway, Zane thinks creating a temporary goblin skatepark is a wonderful idea and we should keep it there until we check out. He suggested we use the high roller area in the center of the casino. It’s not being staffed this weekend, so it’s cordoned off.”
“Perfect,” Paszra remarked. “Shall we head there now?”
“Come along, goblins, let’s figure out how to create something fantastic for you to enjoy while we’re here at the Deck of Cards.”
Taking Paszra’s hand, Sashati led the charge to the area Zane had recommended. The goblins raced after them, and it was adorable the way Scout held Owl with one arm as he scooted them along on his skateboard. It took Paszra seconds for his magic to find the location of the light switches in the darkened section of the casino, and he flipped them all on with a minor spell.
“I’m thinking we use the one at home that Paszra made for you as inspiration but keep it in line with everything else in this fancy resort,” Sashati commented as he surveyed the space.
A wave of demonic magic touched Paszra’s senses, and he grinned. The two lovers were always eager to use sorcery in their bedroom, and Paszra was nearly as familiar with Sashati’s well of power as his own. To avoid thinking of how lovely it was to be stroked, touched, and even sucked by Sashati’s sorcery, Paszra focused on the skatepark forming around him.
Sashati had made it weave between the slot machines and added the four symbols of a card deck to the design. It fit in so well with the design of the resort that it could’ve easily been mistaken as part of the original plans. Three goblins hugged Sashati’s legs and dashed off to test their new domain with skateboards in tow.
“Go check out the center of it, Owl,” Sashati gently instructed the goblin.
Owl stepped through the maze of hills, pipes, and obstacles to a little area next to a bank of slot machines. Sashati had created a round couch with a plethora of thick pillows and a playing card-inspired plush throw. It was the perfect reading nest, and Owl raced back to squeeze Sashati’s leg. Then he dove into the sofa.
Owl tugged his cellphone from his pocket. It’d taken some work to keep the technology inside from breaking, but Paszra had made it weightless, and with the touch of a finger, the foot-tall Owl could enlarge it for easy viewing or shrink it again to fit in the little pouch in the chest of his overalls.
“Should we leave them to enjoy their evening?” Paszra asked.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure they’ve already forgotten we’re standing here.”
“What do you wish to do in the casino?”
“I’m glad you were specific that our next activity had to be in the casino, or I was going to suggest we sneak upstairs.”
Paszra grinned. “Have no fear, I will have you in me before the sun rises.”
