“Well,” Magnus rises, offering Marina a formal bow, “it has been a pleasure.”
Marina quietly repeats the sentiment, and I wonder what it was that made her feel so off. Can she accept a world of swamp creatures but not vampires? Or was she just so stunned by his good looks that she can’t get her thoughts together? With another bow—and a wink towards me I choose to ignore, Magnus flies off just as dramatically as he arrived.
“He’s the one in all those pictures,” Marina says slowly. I think for a moment, unsure of what she’s referring to, until I remember my old scrapbooking supplies mixed in the new ones—Magnus is prominent in most of the old photos with my family.
“The two of us got into quite a bit of trouble around his castle,” I admit, but there’s something more than curiosity building in her eyes that I can’t place.
“You two seem really close,” she says, hugging her knees to her chest. “I think the only one I have like that is Grams. It must be nice.”
“Sometimes,” I chuckle. “Honestly, I’ve become his unofficial royal advisor and dating coach lately, and I don’t know if I’m all that good at either.”
“Hm, well, your girlfriend over here thinks you’re doing okay,” she says, smirking to herself before kicking her legs into the water. “Is that really what I am: your girlfriend?”
“Do you want to be?” I ask. To be honest, the title slipped out of my hands like butter, with no chance to catch it.
“Well,” she says, making the word as long and drawn out as possible. “Considering you offered me your last name a few minutes ago, I think girlfriend is a pretty reasonable first step.”
Chapter 21
Marina
The only place in Gil’s house I haven’t seen yet is the bedroom. We’ve gotten so carried away with music, hobbies, and unexpected visitors, it’s overdue for me to ask for a tour. The day turns to late afternoon, my eyes become heavier by the second. Despite wanting to stay up all day talking, I’m going to turn into a pumpkin if we don’t get a nap in.
“I can take the couch—you want to sleep, right?”
“I am not having you sleep on the couch,” Gil says with an amused huff. “It’s only…”
“Only?”
“The bed might not suit you,” he says, and instead of offering me an explanation, he offers me his hand.
My eyes linger on the sharp tips of his claws for far too long. I wonder if he could tell how much his little arts and crafts show turned me on earlier with the way he wielded them to seamlessly cut through paper. Then how the webbing danced in the air to pull that beautiful music from the theremin. His hands seem capable of all sorts of things—things I can’t stop thinking about as the pad of my thumb traces his webbing.
The design of the house is consistently retro. But just like Gil’s faux-human appearance in the mortal realm, the more you look, the more magic seeps through. The quirky, stilted house gives way to something …different.
The fireflies that had come out to greet us on the porch glow throughout the space, casting golden light on the shell-encrusted, knick-knack covered walls.
With all the mortal decor pieces, I expect to see a bed and there is…
Well,almost.
The floor-to-ceiling windows make me uncertain whether we’re inside or out.
I’ve dated around enough to have seen my share of surprising bedrooms: ones that lack pillows or bedframes. But nothing could have prepared me forthis.
The floor dips down into a circular pond filled with rocks, and a water lily the size of a rug floats in the center with blankets made of mossy looking natural fibers.
That’s his bed?
“See what I mean?” he says, gold light dancing around him as he demonstrates climbing onto the surface. It wobbles under his weight, but seems sturdy enough, and it does look like there’s room for me next to him.
“You sleep on this?”
“Or under it, depending on my mood.” He grins up at me like a cat, nestling into a pile of pillows. “You want to give it a try?”
I walk to the edge of the nest of stones, and he offers me his hand to steady me. He holds me at the waist, pulling me seamlessly into his arms. I expect it to rock and quake like our canoe had and subconsciously brace myself against his body.
But we don’t fall into the water this time, and his deep chuckle vibrates against my skin.
