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He nodded. “Yeah, and Trillian can take over the planner. You and Delilah get a couple hours of rest. In fact, Smoky, Shade, you go chill, too. We’ll keep looking and wake you up in a few hours if we need to. When Menolly gets back from the bar, she can help us.”
Exhausted, I dragged myself to my feet and, together with Camille and our two dragons, climbed the stairs. I barely said a word before I climbed into bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
“Delilah, honey? Wake up.” Shade’s voice echoed through the room.
I blinked, fuzzy. It wasn’t light yet, but Shade was insisting I wake up and I didn’t want to. I growled, pushing his hand away. “Go ’way. I’m sleepy.”
“Honey? They need you downstairs.” Shade pulled the blanket off me, and the chill in the room descended to shock me awake.
I groaned and forced myself out of bed. I glanced at the clock. It was barely three and a half hours after we’d gone to bed. “Gah, I really want a full night’s sleep. I haven’t had one for a week.” As I stumbled into the bathroom, I heard Shade curse. “What’s wrong?” I peed, then washed my hands and brushed my teeth.
“I found one of your hairballs. The hard way.” He sounded grouchy.
I grimaced as I swished a mouthful of breath rinse and then spit. As I trudged back into the bedroom, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping off one of his feet.
“I’m sorry.” I tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t help myself. I let out a snicker.
“What are you laughing about? Delilah, honey, can you please clean up after yourself? This is the fourth hairball you’ve left on the floor after you transformed back. I’ll help clean your litter box, but damn it, take some responsibility.” He wasn’t laughing. In fact, he looked downright out of sorts.
“It’s just a bunch of fur and spit.” I slipped off my panties and put on a clean pair, then wiggled into my jeans. As I hooked my bra and pulled on a turtleneck, Shade finished wiping his foot.
“That’s not the point. The point is that you need to develop better habits. I love you. I can live with the clothes on the floor, and I can handle the empty water bottles everywhere, but you have to start cleaning up your own messes. The hairballs and the dirty litter box and the overflowing garbage can are too much. How hard is it to spend ten minutes a day picking up around here? I thought cats were clean.”
I stared at him, both embarrassed and feeling a little guilty. I’d promised to mend my ways a dozen times—to Iris as well as to my sisters, and now Shade—but I kept forgetting. It just seemed easier to leave it for later.
“I didn’t realize my slovenly ways bothered you so much.” My face started to feel hot and I pressed my lips together.
“We have to be able to talk about these things—habits that annoy us, things that irritate us. If we don’t keep the communication flowing, then we stand the chance of bottling emotions up and that’s not a good thing. Especially since I’m part dragon.”
He put his hands on my shoulders, but I pulled away. “Well excuse me. I’m sorry I’m so disgusting.” Hot tears welled up and I dashed them away. I was so weary, and so frustrated, that every thing he said seemed to be colored with disgust.
“I called you no such thing. I get that I could have put it better, but Iris herself dumped your litter box on your bed. I live here too, now. Do you want me to go? Is this your way of pushing me away? I will if that’s what you want—but I love you. I just want to have a nice, cozy nest where we can curl up in comfort together. Why are you getting so pissed at me?” He looked so confused that I felt a tremor in my stomach.
Chase had lived in his own apartment. He’d stayed over, but we’d never shared a house or apartment. Shade and I’d been in the adjustment phase for the past couple of months, trying to figure out our routine, learning each other’s habits. Chase had been a neat freak. I hadn’t expected Shade to be one, too, but though I’d tried to ignore the signs, it seems like I’d been paired up once again with a tidy, organized lover.
I sighed, then dropped on the bed, reality crashing in on me. It wasn’t just me anymore. I wasn’t alone. “Fuck. And you know I don’t say that often. I’m sorry. I did promise Iris and my sisters I’d try harder. The truth is, I do shirk chores. I hate housework. And yeah, I do make excuses for not doing so.” Reaching out, I took his hand and drew him down beside me.
“Change is hard. I know you aren’t used to sharing your space.” He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead.
Snuggling into his arm, I looked around the room. When really forcing myself to look at it, what I saw was a giant pigpen. My clothes were scattered everywhere. Two hairballs had dried on the floor, and the third that Shade had stepped in was still wet. Candy wrappers scattered across the floor beside my side of the bed, along with empty soda cans and a half-finished bag of Cheetos. My closet was a whirlwind.
On the other hand, Shade’s closet was ordered, with his clothes neatly lined up on hangers. His nightstand was clear except for what he needed. It wasn’t OCD-clean but definitely tidy. As I looked at him, at the warmth in his eyes, I suddenly understood. I was in an adult relationship. I was sharing my life and my room with a man I loved. The house might be in my sisters’ names and my name, but it was also Shade’s home. And he was here for the long run.
“Okay.” I straightened my shoulders. “How about this: We clean together. Every night, we pick up a little. I’ll clean up my hairballs and keep the litter box clean. You take out the garbage. We do laundry together. I guess it’s only fair. Hanna’s going to have her hands full with so many people here, and Iris isn’t going to be in any mood or shape to handle the work after a couple months.”
Shade brightened. “You’d do that, for me?”
“If you do something for me.” A thought occurred to me—something I knew that I probably couldn’t budge him to do without leverage.
He seemed to sense I was up to something. “And what is that?”
Grinning, I licked my lips. “You know that fantasy I told you about? The Jerry Springer one?”
He closed his eyes and began to shake his head. “No, oh no—I told you I wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face.”
I pressed my fingers to his lips. “Oh yes. Yes, you will. It’s called compromise. Couples compromise. I learned that from Camille and her men.” Laughing now, I stood and turned to straddle his lap, pushing him back on the bed. “And you, my love, are going to compromise with me.”
“Am I really, now? Are you so sure I’m ready to…compromise?” He wrapped his hands around my waist as his breathing deepened. I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, feeling the warmth of his breath fill my mouth. I nibbled his neck, tripping my fingers down his chest, sliding my hands under his shirt.
