Page 37 of April's Fool
“Oh, something will happen,” I said suggestively. “Some super hot things between two consenting adults. All night if I have my way,” I leered.
Mori laughed. Loved that sound. I was sure I heard Dessi and Hana giggle. Those two were a hoot.
“Oh, my god! Stop, please!” Cody begged as he pulled away from my hold, a disgusted look on his pretty face.
“Cody,” I begged, “you have to let me have this. Keeping our promise had been hard, no pun intended.” I let out a dramatic sigh. “We need to test out our compatibility. Who knows, you might be calling me Daddy soon.”
“Gross!” he wailed. I caught sight of Mori tensing, all humor fleeing from his expression. “Get out of my sight, the pair of you!” He made gagging noises. “I am never calling you Daddy!” Cody glared at me, thenburst out laughing, totally breaking the mood in the room and returning a smile to Mori’s face.
“Remember when you said, ‘not my kink’? Who would have thought this is where we’d end up, with you dating my dad?” Cody rolled his eyes. “You two are adorable. Go have your date, we can discuss that ridiculous promise when you get back. I can’t believe both of you kept it.”
There was a twist to his expression. “Cody?” Mori approached him slowly.
“Sorry, I just feel bad. You two have been sharing a room all this time and haven’t…?”
“It was never about us having sex, though, was it?”
Cody was quiet for a moment, then finally shook his head. “When you get back, you don’t have to do that anymore. Not for me.”
The offer of acceptance was there. I’d always known it wasn’t about us having sex in his home. He had wanted to see I was truly in this with his dad before letting us be more open about our relationship. I hoped he would spend the time with his grandparents learning how to block emotions for our return, because there would be no holding back.
I hugged him and kissed his forehead. “Thanks, sweetness.”
Mori had a quiet moment with his son, then returned to my side. “Ready?”
“So very ready.”
“Are you okay flying with me carrying you?”
Flying. With Mori? I recalled the feeling of his arms around me; the wind ruffling my hair, how free I’d felt when he’d flown with me in Northarbor.
“Absolutely. I trust you.” Thing was, that was the truth. There were so few people I trusted in my life, Parker, Cody, Toth to a point. Now there was Mori. I trusted him with my safety. More than that, I was growing to trust him with my heart.
Mori’s expression softened. He cupped my cheek. “Thank you. I’ll never betray that trust.”
“I know.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pressed a kiss on my head, then let his wings free. With a jump and a few flaps of those massive pink wings, we were in the air above the orchard.
Keren was our silent shadow carrying our bags as we flew over farm land then finally the outskirts of the city of Djalling.
“Oh!” I thought my gasp was torn away with the breeze, but Mori must have heard me. He squeezed me tighter and huffed a laugh in my ear. “It’s beautiful.”
Demons flying were so commonplace most of the residents of the city ignored us until we circled the hotel looking for a place to land. A couple of non demons reacted, staring open-mouthed, reminding me why Mori had a guard in the first place. He said while demonkin wouldn’t risk the backlash, these others might not have the same incentive. So guard it was. Yes, his home was safer, but not completely risk free. He was also very rich, which made him a target.
The hotel was grand and took up half the block. There was a circle of packed earth next to the hotel that I guessed was supposed to be a landing port of some kind. The demon realm was cool with all its magic. It had a lot of great things, yet I missed having a car. Maybe if I had wings, I wouldn’t have missed it so much.
The hotel had four floors that I could see. It sprawled, taking up much of the street with no other buildings close to it. Something about it screamed expensive and exclusive.
We landed about a block away, making dust clouds puff up under our feet. Mori kept a hand on me as I regained my balance. “I love flying. Wish I had my own wings.” The grin on my face was so wide it was beginning to hurt.
“I’m glad,” Mori said, looking relieved.
“Let’s getinside,” Keren barked, frowning. He scanned the area, like I should be doing, as we walked up to the hotel. The demon realm just felt so safe it allowed me to switch off. Part of me hoped Keren would fade into the background once we were inside so we could enjoy our date. I liked the old demon. I just didn’t want a killjoy ruining the day. We’d waited so long to just be together.
Inside, the hotel was furnished opulently. The marble flooring, gold fixtures, and rich fabrics for the soft furnishings in the hotel were all done without any expense spared. The overall result could have been gaudy, this was just the other side of understated. Stated, I guess. I chuckled to myself as Mori led the way to the desk.
“Your highness!” An employee almost ran to meet us at the desk. He was wolf-like with a bushy tail that I swear was wagging.
