How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Chapter Thirteen: Demons Aren't Cute

[AN: This chapter is 18+. If you want to skip the smut scene, stop at "You're going to need to elaborate" and skip to "Does this mean I should try again?"]

~Chapter Thirteen: Demons Aren't Cute~

"You look..."

Nero glances up from his book as I trail off. However, once I am over my initial surprise at walking into the bedroom to find Nero lying on the bed in only unbuttoned, low-rise jeans, I school my face into a mask of careful curiosity to hide my genuine interest. When he continues to wait, I realized that I did not finish my sentence, I clear my throat awkwardly. "You look comfortable."

"I am," he replies easily, patting the spot next to him on the bed. "Join me."

Licking my lips, I hesitate to comply, even though I am pretty sure that was an order. "Do you want something?" I ask. Yesterday, I would not have hesitated to join him on the bed, but ever since I woke up this morning - after a surprisingly restful night - to find Nero asleep beside me, I feel like I have been walking on eggshells around him, especially since he has yet to leave for his office or even leave our rooms without me by his side.

There's no way he's not still at least a little upset after our failed date.

"I'm pretty sure that's obvious," Nero says in amusement, unaware of my thoughts. He pats the bed again. "Come here."

Still, I hesitate. "Uh, I'm not sure-"

"Atasah," Nero says, and something in his voice makes me freeze. "I'm not going to force you to have sex if you don't want to, but I want you to come here."

Part of me wants to resist for the sake of being independent, but I honestly do not see that going well for me. "Okay," I sigh, ducking my head.

When I join Nero on the bed, lying down near the edge on my back, he pulls me close enough to press a kiss on my temple, but he does nothing more. Instead, he asks, "Do you want to sit here and cuddle for a while, or would you prefer we do something else?"

It is weird hearing him say 'cuddle' so nonchalantly, as I can hardly even think the word without cringing internally. It is just such a soft, cute term, and something like that does not apply to a Hellion. "Something else," I answer almost immediately. After all, even if I am still wary of being too close to him, I am still far more comfortable with sex than I am with softer relationship stuff.

"You're going to need to elaborate," he says, and I would call him out on teasing if I thought he was actually teasing. However, he looks so serious that I have to stop myself from fidgeting.

This is usually the part where I would say something suave that would charm the pants off my partner or funny to ease the tension, but nothing comes to mind that falls into either category as I try - and fail - to ignore the intensity with which he is staring at me. All I end up with is a dry mouth and a blank mind. "Uh..." I blink slowly. "Can we have sex?"

When he does not immediately reply and appears to be thinking it over, I add, "Please?"

Nero smiles then, and his hands start playing with the waistband of my loose pants and underwear before giving them a careful tug downwards that does little more than teasingly show off my hips. "Good choice," he says, kissing me on the lips this time. And then he gives my pants and underwear another tug that sends them down to my knees.

I kick them off the rest of the way and start to take my shirt off, but he moves so he is leaning over me and puts a hand on my chest. "Leave it on," he orders. When I raise an eyebrow in question, he smirks. "You look cute like this."

A pleased, dark flush rises up to my face, but I glare at him all the same. "I'm not cute."

"I think you are," he says, but he removes his hand. However, even though he made it seem nonchalant, the thoughtful look on his face says more than he probably wants it to, so I stop trying to take the shirt off. It was an order, after all, and I am not going to be an idiot who breaks over something as stupid as being called cute.