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"Fuck you very much," he grumbled softly, and I pressed my lips together to keep from grinning.
"Here we are," I said as I opened the door to my room and flicked the lights on—I'd gotten a lecture from Nico about how expensive electricity was after I'd left it on a few times. He could act so human sometimes—before waving at him to go in first.
"Whoa, you painted all of these?" he demanded, his eyes switching between me and the paintings stacked against the walls. I'd run out of space to display them, so a lot of them were just stacked up leaning against the wall.
"Yeah. You can turn them over to see if you want," I said, and Dakota went on his knees in front of the first stack, making me take a step back as my thoughts went straight to a dirty, dirty place.
I joined him on the floor just to get the sight of him on his knees in front of me out of my brain, and my chest warmed at the look of awe on his face as he admired one of the paintings. It was a landscape I'd done of Otherworld, but of course Dakota wouldn't realize that.
"What place is this? It looks beautiful," he asked, and I shrugged. I hated lying to him, but the others didn't think it was time to tell him the truth yet.
"It's just some place I saw in a picture once," I said, hoping it would be enough to satisfy his curiosity.
Putting it back, Dakota picked up another painting, and then another. There were some portraits too, of the various demons in the demon realm. I'd spent many a days painting all of them to pass the time, and while they'd kept some, I had my fair share of them too.
"These are stunning," Dakota murmured as he looked through the demon portraits, and I smiled. I wondered what he would say if I told him they were all portraits of real people.
"Especially these. I almost feel like I know them," he said, and I glanced at the paintings he was talking about. I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the very familiar faces and somehow ended up in a coughing fit. Why the fuck was a demon still able to have a coughing fit?
"Shit, you okay?" Dakota asked, rubbing my back, and I nodded as I used a small burst of magic to clear my airway.
"I'm fine. Sorry," I said as my eyes slid back to the painting Dakota had been talking about. It was of Nico, Star, and me, all in our demon forms. Did our faces have that many similar features to our human forms that Dakota could recognize us?
"Wait, is this you guys?" Dakota asked, proving me right. "That's so cool! Could you maybe make one of me too? I'd love to see myself in a supernatural form like this."
Oh, of course. He thought I'd just made them up. Why would he think anything else? He was human, after all. The thought that it could be real would never cross his mind.
"Sure! I'd be happy to!" I answered with a wide smile.
"Oh, that reminds me. We have an attic on the second floor that's empty. I only did some small renovations there to make sure there won't be any leakage and stuff. With a little furnishing, we could turn it into a studio for you," Dakota said with an excited sparkle in his eyes, and I tilted my head curiously.
"A studio?"
"Yeah! You could keep your paintings there and you'd have plenty of sunlight—and even moonlight—to paint in. You could paint there instead of the living room. Not that I don't want you painting in the living room, but I thought you'd enjoy having your own private space."
I grinned widely as the words poured out of Dakota's mouth. I hadn't known he could get excited like that. He was usually so calm and easygoing, I was delighted to see this side of him.
"What?" he paused to ask, and his cheeks went a faint pink color as if he realized what he was doing.
"Nothing," I said with a smile, then leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. I moved back quickly, unsure how appreciated it was. Dakota's eyes were wide when they met mine, and I wondered if maybe I'd rushed too much. I had a habit of doing things impulsively, and this was one thing I didn't want to ever be careless about.
"I'm—" Dakota cut me off before I could apologize, tugging me close with a hand at the back of my neck. I hadn't realized until then how big his hand was.
Dakota brushed his lips against mine, and I exhaled softly, allowing him to lead the kiss. I wondered how he'd feel if he knew just how much stronger than him I was. I could take the lead without a second thought, but I still wanted to give control to him.
Dakota didn't deepen the kiss, just caressed my lips with his, his fingers running up and down the side of my neck and sending tingles down my spine.
When he pulled away, he smiled at me, then dropped a cute little kiss on the tip of my nose before standing up and offering me his hand.
"Come on, let's join the others. We'll work on the attic this weekend, okay?"
Nodding, I took his hand and shot to my feet. I didn't let go of his hand until we were in the living room.
Star
So, Ryk and Dakota had their first kiss. Nico and I could hear every word of their conversation, of course, and neither of us were saintly enough to not eavesdrop. We'd locked eyes the moment they started kissing, though I had no idea what Nico thought of it.
I'd wondered if I would feel jealous or left out after we made the pairs rule, but surprisingly enough, I didn't. I even felt happy that Ryk and Dakota were growing closer.
