Page 44 of How Not to Date a Demon

Maeve slapped her hand over his mouth. “Don’t say it,” she warned, trying to hide her smile.

Gaze trailing upward, Maeve studied his horns. They were the same tarnished gold, but were mostly obscured by his dark curls. “Can I see those closer?”

Without warning, Galen wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up high. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him and looped her arms around his neck for balance. “That’s one way to do it,” she commented breathlessly.

Galen had always lifted her with minimal effort, but something about him doing it right then made her breath catch.

Is it because you know he’s a demon now? Dangerous?

Maeve accidentally let a snort slip out and covered her mouth. Galen was a demon. But he wasn’t dangerous. His fucking wings were ticklish!

“What’s so funny?” Galen asked, voice muffled.

Pulling back, Maeve put a few inches between his face and her chest so he’d at least hear her.

“Just thinking about the possibility of you being dangerous.” His smile slipped, and she continued, “And I decided it wasn’t very likely.”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.”

“Well, I haven’t run away screaming yet, have I?”

“There’s still time,” Galen mused, tightening his arms around her.

Maeve smacked him lightly against the shoulder and ruffled a few of his curls. “Come on, I wanna see these horns of yours.”

“Alright, alright.” Galen lifted her a little higher until she could see the top of his head.

The horns extended from both temples and curled around the sides of his head, ending in a curved point. They were gold at the base and darkened along his head to blend in with his hair.

Maeve ruffled his curls again, frowning as her fingers bumped into the hard horns.

“Well, now how am I supposed to pull your hair with these in the way?” she wondered idly, grabbing them both in her hands like… well, like horns.

Galen moaned.

Maeve paused.

Oh.

Oh.

Maeve tapped Galen on the shoulder, and when he lowered her down, she learned that yes, demons could blush too.

“We’ll be exploring that later,” Maeve promised.

Her gaze landed on something flickering behind Galen's back, and her eyes widened.

"Is that… a tail?" she whispered.

Galen stiffened, the color on his cheeks deepening. "Maybe."

"Where's that been hiding? Is it ticklish too?"

He huffed in the most adorable way… you know, for a demon. "In my pants? And no, it's just kind of… there."

Maeve's lips twitched into a grin as it swirled behind him. "Do you control it?"

In answer, it curled around him, and Maeve followed it with her gaze as it drifted closer, before it tapped her on the shoulder. It was long, with a little spade at the tip, and gold just like the rest of him.