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My head snaps up to Des, who’s smirking a little. “How did you—?”

“Magic, love.”

I reach around myself, feeling for where my wings connect to my back. The shirt is split around my wing bones.

I’m so focused on the logistics of Des’s shirt that I fail to see the way he stares at me. It’s not until he disappears and reappears at my side that I take notice.

He fingers the hem of the shirt. “This looks good on you.”

I freeze.

Des is all coiled purpose. His eyes flick to mine. We’re just moths circling a flame.

It’s right then that a yawn slips from my mouth.

Worst—timing—ever.

I’m not tired. I mean, I am—it’s been a long day, from waking up early to the hours-long training session to watching a man get eaten by a living nightmare—but I’m not tired enough to miss out on this.

Des’s eyes drop to my mouth. Whatever passion took him over a moment before, he tucks it away.

I want to cry out when I see him slip on the respectful mask he used to wear back when I was in high school. For all his wicked tendencies, he can be surprisingly chivalrous.

He tugs on the edge of my shirt. “We’re not done with this yet,” he says, his voice still rough with promises of sex.

He drags me to bed, and I almost think the man hasn’t been deterred by my yawn.

Des’s wings disappear so he can roll on his back. A moment later, he pulls me half onto his chest. The way he holds me…the dude has definitely shelved getting frisky for the moment.

I could probably make him reconsider, but damn, there may be nothing comfier than curling up against Des.

“Tell me a secret,” I whisper.

“Another one?” He looks so legitimately put out that I laugh.

I can’t even remember the last “secret” he told me—was it about his friendship with Malaki?

“Yes, another one,” I say.

He groans and pulls me tighter. “Fine—but only because I like you.”

I smile a little against him.Can’t believe asking him actually worked.

Des smooths a hand over my feathers. “The only thing I dislike about your wings is that they hide your ass—and Ireallylike your ass.”

The room is silent for all of three seconds, and then I can’t contain my laugh. “Des, that’snotwhat I meant when I asked for a secret.”

“And yet you received a secret nonetheless. Consider yourself indulged.” He squeezes my backside for emphasis, and I let out a little shriek, which causes him to chuckle. And that rumbly chuckle leads to kissing…lots and lots of languid, delicious kissing.

When I finally break away, I lay my head against his chest. The room falls silent, the only sound the thump of Des’s heart beneath my ear. I close my eyes.

I can get used to this.

What a terrifying thought.

“For two centuries you’ve been nothing but a whisper of a possibility,” Des says, breaking the silence. “And then I met you.” He pauses, like an entire story begins and ends with that sentence. Like life was one thing before he met me, and it became something else afterward.

It’s enough to make me ignore the fact he’s all but admitted to being over two centuries old.