Since just the thought that he would be seeing her naked in minutes made a certain body part twitch to life, he replied, “I’m way ahead of you on that one.” When she rattled off several rules about keeping his fangs and hands to himself, he replied, “You have no idea what you’re going to miss. My skills with a luffa are legendary.”
Nikki rolled her eyes and said, “I’ll take your word for it.”
Devin was now getting impatient so, after a brief pause, he asked, “Anything else? It’s going to be morning before we get in the water if you keep this up.”
Nikki replied, “Although I reserve the right to add rules whenever I feel the need, I have one last request.”
“Go ahead.”
“You must promise to keep my Hello Kitty a secret.”
“What in the world do your old pajamas have to do with me seeing you naked?”
“You’ll figure it out. Just promise me.”
He was intrigued and now couldn’t wait to find this secret kitty of hers. He would have agreed to any demand she made that would get her naked faster and said, “I promise.”
Satisfied and with Cupcake standing guard, Nikki stepped into the bathroom. While pulling Devin behind her, she said, “Come on, Shower Buddy. Time to sing in the rain.”
Once they were in the room, Devin tapped the buttons to start the shower. They both turned away from each other like inexperienced teenagers and got undressed. Once their clothes were tossed into a combined pile, Nikki announced nervously, “I’m ready.”
When Devin turned back to Nikki, he found her staring at him and not at his face. He cleared his throat to get her attention.
When she finally made eye contact with him, she said, “Sorry, I looked.” Her glowing blue spots informed him that she liked what she saw.
Devin, with his eyes full of desire and a voice somewhat breathy, said, “So did I.” Words to describe his opinion of her hidden spots weren’t necessary since his body’s reaction made that painfully obvious. “Now that our mutual admiration is out of the way, let’s go do what we came for. The rain is waiting.”
Nikki let him lead her into the round glass shower so that she could stare at his naked backside. The moment the water touched them, they both closed their eyes and sighed loud and deep. After several minutes of enjoying the hot streams. Devin’s moment of calm was interrupted when he was whacked on the back of his head. While rubbing the lump, he turned to look at Nikki to find out why she hit him. The source of the attack became obvious when he saw Nikki’s wings whipping through the air. Thanks to his extreme Vampire speed he quickly ducked, causing a blur of blue and purple to barely miss his head. When he finally caught a glimpse of Nikki’s face, he found her eyes closed, seemingly unaware of her actions.
While pinned to the wall, Devin stared at Nikki and watched her dance under the water, while making a high pitched humming noise that sounded like a swarm of bumblebees. The sight of her naked body twisting and turning and her sounds called to him like a snake charmer. His lips forms a crooked grin when he followed her trails of spots to their ultimate resting places. The images were too enticing and he decided that joining back in was worth the challenge. So, just like when using a jump rope, he timed his approach. When a gap appeared between wing swipes, he jumped back in. While dodging blue silk, he spotted her partial Hello Kitty tattoo on her backside. His eyes locked on the canvas holding the work of art and even several wing whacks across his chest didn’t faze him. But he was forced to start paying attention to all of Nikki—not just the pretty female parts—when blue and purple slapped him hard across the cheek.
When he yelped from the sting, Nikki came out of her trance and discovered what she had inadvertently done to him. She instantly pressed herself against a wall, pinning her flittering wings behind her. She stuttered an explanation for her actions. “As you can see, I have an extremely difficult time controlling my ridiculous reactions to warm water. These actions seem to serve no purpose other than to embarrass the hell out of me.”
Devin started to laugh and Nikki looked away completely embarrassed. Then, outside her control, all of her pent up emotions got the best of her and tears started to flow.
After Devin turned off the water, he raced back to Nikki. He lifted her chin to force her to look at him and said, “I’m instilling a new shower rule—the only water allowed in this room comes from the shower heads, not from eyes.”
She exclaimed, “But I’m a frickin’ menace to society! Now you know why I shower alone. The Pixie in me goes nuts. To join me, my companion has to wear body armor. Normally it takes hot water to make my instincts flare, but everything about me is hypersensitive since I met you. Now I can’t even stand under a warm rain in public. Jackie is wrong. I’m still ruining everything I touch.”
He chuckled sympathetically at her pitiful expression and asked, “Are you thinking that I’m not enjoying my role as your shower buddy?” He pointed down to regions lower on his body and added, “Take another peek and certain body parts of mine will confirm my enjoyment.”
She couldn’t stop her eyes from glancing down. As her spots flashed brighter, she had to fight the urge to touch the part that was now reaching out to her. She shook her head to break eye contact and then said, “You’re male and you’re staring at my naked boobs, so of course your body is waving at me.” She reached up and caressed several marks on his chest and a nasty one on his cheek and said, “I should have never allowed you to join me. Just look at what I did to you.”
Before she could take her hand away, he grabbed it. While holding it tightly in his, he said, “Although it has been a bit on the aerobic side, I haven’t enjoyed a shower more. You really keep me on my toes.” He wasn’t ready to end his naked time with her, so he said, “Don’t move. I have an idea on how to make this work.” In a flash, he turned the water back on, clicked a few more buttons and music started to play. When he turned to race back to Nikki, he found her trying to sneak out behind him.
He said, “Get back here, Girlfriend. We aren’t done with my lesson yet.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back into the water.
She struggled to get away from him and begged, “Just let me go. You learned my secret, so this lesson is over.”
Devin was much stronger than Nikki, so fighting him was futile. Once he had her back in the center of the shower of hot water, her wings began to flutter again. After he expertly swerved to miss a swipe, he said, “Sorry, but for this to work, we’ll have to break another one of your rules.” Before Nikki could respond, he spun her into his arms and, as their naked bodies pressed against each other, he added, “We’ll need to touch.”
As he held their bodies together, Nikki feared he was setting up for romance. She wasn’t going to break the most important rule—no sex—so she prepared to zap him. To her surprise, he started to dance and forced her to sway to the music.
Feeling her continued resistance, he said sweetly, “Come on, Pixie. Dance with me.”
Nikki replied in exasperation, “But we’re naked and in the shower.”
“So what? Think of it as dancing in the rain. Naked boobs is a bonus.” When he waggled his eyebrows at her, she chuckled. The sound came out as a snort and made him laugh.
After much coercion, she finally gave in and started to dance in the hot rain while Devin sang along with the music. Luckily the shower was big enough that he could twirl her around and still have room to duck, swerve, and jump as necessary, which was often. Although he got hit more times than he could count, he thought his idea was a complete success when Nikki started to laugh. As sparkle mixed with the water, they both felt a weight lift off their shoulders.
Devin said, “I don’t want you to ever stand under an umbrella. Instead laugh at the dark clouds above you and let those wings fly, knowing that the sun is shining bright above the darkness. Now let’s sing and dance in the rain.” He twirled her around the room and even Cupcake danced on the sidelines.
When a slower song ca
me on, they took a break. While they both panted from the exertion, Nikki wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “Thanks for the dance.”
He kissed the top of her head and replied, “It was a glorious feeling and I’d be happy to dance in the rain with you whenever you like…especially if we’re naked.”
When she felt something hard pressed against her, she teased, “With some parts being happier than others. Maybe we should get out of the shower so the part in question can stop poking me.”
He was high on Pixie, making him giggle. He shrugged and said, “Only if you stop blinding me with your neon glowing spots.”
Knowing she was pushing his self-control to its limits, she released him and started to walk out of the shower to a waiting Cupcake. He stayed behind so that he could thoroughly enjoy her retreating form. He called to her, “So when do I get to hear the tale of Hello Kitty? No pun intended.”
Nikki yawned and said, “It’s a long and pathetic story that includes a lot of running, screaming, and a high def picture of my blue butt on YouTube.” After she got ready for bed and Devin dressed to play pool with Blade, she headed to the love seat. In a flash she found herself scooped up into Devin’s arms.
While he carried her to the bed, she said, “But it’s my turn to use the love seat.”
Devin replied, “I’ve seen all of your secrets now so I think we’re past the need for separate beds. There’s plenty of room and, when we get you back to your normal schedule, our sleeping patterns won’t even cross much. I promise to stay on my side until you ask me to invade your territory.”
Although she tried to reply sternly, a smile crept up on her face as she replied, “Don’t hold your breath, Vampire.”
After he tucked her in, he jumped when Cupcake joined them. He waited for the inevitable swat but, instead, the cat rubbed against him affectionately and even gave him a lick on the hand before she crawled up onto Nikki. Seeing that he was welcomed, Devin sprawled out on the bed beside his bed-mates and said, “Blade won’t arrive for a while so that gives you time to tell me all about that tattoo of yours.”
Nikki began her story. “I had a scar from a childhood injury and I got tired of seeing it remind me of my past, so I decided to camouflage it.”
He wanted to learn more about the injury and take a closer look at the resulting scar, but he wanted to hear the rest of her story so his questions remained unasked.
After she finished the part where her wings sprang forth, she justified her actions by saying, “I knew that it would hurt, but damn! I did make it half the way through the process, but then I lost all focus and big blue came barreling out. Everyone panicked and then the screaming started. With my wings in full bloom and my pants at my knees I staggered out, but not before someone captured my great escape on a camera. Luckily everyone that saw the pictures assumed they were fake. They just couldn’t believe that someone like me exists.”
Devin growled. “I don’t mind the idea of you getting a tattoo. I just don’t think I like the idea of another man not only staring at, but touching, my girlfriend’s naked ass.”
“Your girlfriend’s naked ass?” she asked.
He replied, “As long as you’re living under my roof and sleeping in my bed, your parts are mine—even if I haven’t gotten to touch them all yet.”
She gave him a look and said, “If you recall, you blew my ‘no touch’ rule out of the water. I doubt there’s much of me that your fingers didn’t manage to find a way to touch.”
He was going to deny the charges, but then shrugged and said, “I thought I behaved quite admirably, given the situation. Just be grateful that you had to deal with only my hands and not my fangs.”
When the light bounced off his fang-filled smile, she replied, “You have a point. I wanted to be more like Jackie and enjoy what life has to offer. But only I would pick getting naked with my mortal enemy.”
His expression turned serious and he replied, “I hope when you look at me now, you don’t still see me as your enemy.”
While staring at Devin, Nikki said, “Actually when I look at you now, I can’t stop seeing you waving at me and not with your hands.” She and Cupcake giggled and then Nikki blushed.
Before Devin could respond, Blade entered the apartment and called. While Cupcake raced away to welcome her favorite Vampire, Devin got up and stood silently at the end of the bed, facing Nikki.
When he didn’t move, Nikki asked perplexed, “What are you doing?”
He gave her a wicked grin and said, “I’m waving goodbye. Want to see?” As he fiddled with his pants, Nikki threw a pillow at him.
He chuckled and said, “With that proper image in your mind and your built-in spot nightlights turned on…have sweet dreams. I look forward to my next Pixie lesson.”
After Devin walked downstairs and Blade approached, Blade stared at him intently and then said, “Wow. Did you two go to Mistyx tonight and get in the way of Grippin’s right hook?”
“Although nothing would thrill him more, Grippin didn’t hit me. Why?”
“You’re sporting one nasty shiner.” As he examined the rest of him, he saw other bruises and teased, “Did our little Pixie get her revenge?”
Devin chuckled and replied, “Don’t give Nikki any ideas. I bet she could pack quite a punch if she wanted to.” To shift the discussion, Devin added, “But maybe that’s not a bad idea.”
“What idea? Having Nikki beat the shit out of you?”
Thinking of Nikki’s admirers, Devin announced, “Once this curse is broken, we won’t be around to protect her. I think we should give Nikki self-defense lessons. If she’s going to try living among Humans, she needs to learn how to protect herself when she can’t wield her magic.”
As Devin walked toward the pool table, Blade called, “Hey, aren’t you going to tell me who beat you up?”
Devin replied without looking back, “No.” Although he would’ve normally shared every wonderful detail with Blade, for some reason, he wanted to keep his lesson with Nikki private.
Blade knew Devin was avoiding giving him an answer, but he wasn’t going to give up that easy. He glanced up toward the loft where Nikki was sleeping and whispered to himself, “I wonder...”
Chapter 18:
Three Things
After Blade decided to call it a night and went back to his apartment, Devin and Cupcake ascended the spiral stairs to the loft together. Devin put on his night shorts and pulled back the covers but, before he could crawl in, Cupcake jumped onto the sheets to block him.
Devin looked at the cat and said, “Now Cupcake. I thought you and I had come to an understanding. You know that Nikki agreed to our new sleeping arrangements and I promised to stay on my side.”
Cupcake knew he was right but, after seeing his body’s reactions to Nikki while they were in the shower, she didn’t trust that he could keep all of his parts on his side. She slowly backed away to allow him entry but, as he crawled in, her eyes never stopped glaring at him in warning.
Once Devin was finally in the bed, he laid on his side and watched Nikki sleep. She was facing away from him so he stared at her wings as they flittered. At first he tried to imagine what Nikki was doing in her dream that matched her wing’s actions but, when her spots started to glow, he knew that her thoughts had wandered into more intimate activities. Her projected warmth caused his mind to fill with images of her wet curves dancing under the hot streams. When a wing spread out as if in a stretch, Devin’s hand clenched. Although he had managed to touch the silk while they were together, most of it was to defend himself from attack. Here was his chance to caress her wings without fear of it striking at him. When he couldn’t hold back his curiosity any more, he reached out to touch the silk that had him hypnotized.
Cupcake instantly jumped up and blocked his path, forcing his hand to return to his own side. She then sprawled out so that she was facing him with her front legs stretched toward him and her claws just inches from his face.
When she gav
e him a warning snarl, Devin whispered in disappointment, “Fine. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
Although he rolled over so that Nikki was out of his sights, her wing had other ideas. As if she sensed Devin’s presence and desire to touch her, Nikki wiggled in her sleep until she had rolled onto her stomach. With her eyes still closed, she again stretched out. Like a slow moving fog, a wing floated over to Devin’s side of the bed. His body involuntarily shivered as he felt the gentle caress of silk tickle across his back and over his side, pushing the sheet out of its way as it moved. He held his breath and remained motionless as he watched her wing continue across his body and down his arm. Once it found his hand, paper thin wisps caressed affectionately along the long lines of his fingers.
Devin took the hint and Nikki sighed contentedly in her sleep when he began to let his fingers caress his newfound blanket. He followed the structural lines and gasped. He had no idea that anything that soft could exist in the world. As he continued to explore, his hands became covered in a fine Pixie powder that caused warmth to spread on any skin it touched. It was yet another Nikki induced sensation that he would forever commit to memory.
He could have continued to touch Nikki for hours but, when her wing hugged him affectionately, the warmth made his eyelids become heavy. With part of Nikki wrapped around him, he was quickly lulled into a deep, magical sleep.
Several hours later, when Nikki’s body sensed that the sun was up outside, she woke with a smile on her face. It was the best night’s sleep she had in years. When she finally blinked open her eyes and found her wing hugging Devin, she slowly pulled it back. Although Devin squirmed for a moment with the separation, he quickly settled back into a deep sleep. Nikki crawled out of bed while mentally berating herself. She was the one that insisted Devin stay on his side of the bed and, the first night together, she was the one to unconsciously invade his territory. She hated to admit it, but she loved having someone close enough to touch. It made her feel safe and secure.
Mistyx Sonata (Mistyx Series Book 1) Page 21
