[https://i.imgur.com/EPyoSPa.png]

Chapter Nineteen

I stared out the window in.my kitchen with a pout on my face and a steaming cup of tea in my hand. Another week gone and no Tsukiyo. To make things worse, it was raining so hard that I couldn’t go sit in the garden with my tea. Mayar was off in the Underrealm somewhere reporting to his superiors about the latest news on the surface. Lylar, Tsukiyo’s far-too-pushy sister, hadn’t been around either. Emily and Richard were out of town visiting family.

It’d been a while since I was quite so lonely. Usually it didn’t bother me, but this time it was. I had been looking forward to seeing Tsukiyo again, ‘when he could.’ What I hadn’t expected was that it would take more than a week. It…was disappointing. Even if I didn’t know how to deal with him and didn’t think it was possible for us to be more than acquaintances, I still missed him.

Emily had been telling me for years that I needed to keep more positive, uplifting people around me and get rid of the junk. Tsukiyo definitely fit the uplifting criteria, even if my brain seemed intent in tearing itself down every time Tsukiyo built it back up. Though, he also hit s lot of unrelated criteria. I was mildly upset with myself for being so attracted to him already. Maybe I was just rebounding, maybe I wasn’t. I had no idea anymore.

“No work today?” Tsukiyo’s voice from behind startled me so badly I almost spilled my tea. He shot me a small smile when I whirled around to look at him. “Sorry. I thought you would have heard me walking.”

“No…and no work today.” I shook my head and placed my freehand over my racing heart.

“And you weren’t expecting visitors?” He tilted his head slightly, his gaze dropping to the babydoll nightgown I was still wearing, then to my left shoulder, a chuckle escaping him. “You’re losing your sleeve.”

“Huh? Oh.” I set my tea down and quickly pulled the sleeve back into place on my shoulder. “No, I wasn’t expecting any visitors. I’ll…uh go change.”

“Unnecessary.” Tsukiyo motioned toward the living room. “Your robe is on the back of the couch.”

“Oh, right…” I tilted my head. “You’re not going to lecture me again?”

“Lecture you? Ah…” A devilish smirk spread across his face as he crossed his arms. “Well, this is your house, not work. If you decide teasing me is what you want to do…”

I sighed and shook my head. “Let’s be real. I’m not ever the one doing the teasing.”

After all, I still had no idea what he wanted or why he seemed to be keeping an eye on me.

“You do more than you think.” Tsukiyo followed me into the living room. “Maybe it isn’t intentional, but your mannerisms, the way you dress…there’s a lot of little tempting things you do. Like that.”

“Huh? Like what?” I stared at him. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You bit your lower lip while you listened to me talk.” Tsukiyo smiled, his eyes bright with amusement. “Often, you play with your hair or clothes while we talk. Your pupils dilate when you see me. Your eyes wander. There’s dozens more little things you do that would lure any man in.”

“I-I’m not trying—”

“Which makes it more successful,” Tsukiyo interrupted, a flicker of unfamiliar fire in his gaze. “If you were trying, it wouldn’t be genuine and would mean you have an agenda.”

I yanked my robe on and wriggled my toes in my slippers while I tried to think of a response. Everything Tsukiyo listed as “tempting” were body language cues that indicated attraction. If he found them tempting, then did that mean he was genuinely attracted to me too? Was it up to me to keep him from making the mistake of pursuing a mortal?

“You’re overthinking again.” Tsukiyo nudged my forehead with one finger. “Anyway, teasing and being teased aren’t why I’m here.”

“Hmmm?” I pursed my lips and nudged his hand. “You can stop poking me now.”

“David said you could help me identify and organize the stones the Aloryi will be selling him.” Tsukiyo traced his finger down the side of my face slowly, eventually down to my chin. “I’m here for business, but…” he paused to shake his head, releasing me. When he spoke again, it seemed more to himself. “No ‘buts.’ This is important business…”

“You don’t have samples with you,” I pointed out. Tsukiyo’s gaze seemed a little hazy when it settled on me again. I frowned. “Are you feeling okay?”

“No…” Tsukiyo ran a hand through his hair. “I haven’t had time to see the moon, or visit the temple that houses…”

He trailed off, a look of discomfort on his face. I got the feeling it was something he shouldn’t, couldn’t, or didn’t want to divulge details of.

“I’ll assume it houses something with a similar effect. You don’t have to tell me.” I tapped a foot, thinking. “It’s supposed to rain for the next several days. So—”

“The clouds don’t matter.” He shook his head. “If you don’t mind…I’ll need towels and dry clothes when I come back in.”

“Towels I can do, but you’re out of luck on clothes. You can try fitting into one of my robes if you want, but it will be a bit short.” I studied Tsukiyo more closely. He looked pretty out of it. His breaths were coming a little too fast, his complexion was off, and…I could have sworn his pants had grown tighter. I wasn’t sure if that was related. “I’ll go get them for you. Want some hot tea when you’re back in, too?”

“Our work…”

“Can wait. You’ll focus better once you feel better. If you wouldn’t force me to work when sick, don’t force yourself when you’re feeling bad.” I placed my hands against his torso and gave him a nudge. “Moonrise was over an hour ago. You should be…”

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Tsukiyo gripped both of my wrists and pulled me closer. He placed a soft kiss on my forehead before releasing me and wandering off in the direction of the garden.

I just stood in the living room, stunned, for an immeasurable amount of time. His occasional shows of tenderness or affection left me at a loss. Receiving anything like that from someone was almost enough to move me to tears. I never thought I’d get to experience anything remotely similar.

I shook the thoughts away and hurried upstairs to find towels and my biggest robe. Tsukiyo was a mystery to me in more ways than one. I didn’t know much about him, if I thought about it, yet I was so drawn to him. It made me concerned that I was shallow. How could I be attracted to him when I knew so little of him personally?

After collecting a stack of towels and a robe, I set them on the table near the garden door before putting on a new kettle. Finally, I retreated to the living room and tucked myself on the couch. I had to amuse myself somehow until Tsukiyo was done.

I returned to the kitchen when I heard the kettle whistling…to find Tsukiyo standing by the garden door with just a towel around his hips. Low enough to sit under the base of his switching tail. His torso rippled with muscle while he dried his hair.

Without any better ideas, I strode right past him to fix our tea. “You can help yourself to food if you want anything with your tea.”

“Hmmm, you were right. The robe won’t fit—but not because of length,” Tsukiyo remarked. “Too narrow through the shoulders. I wouldn’t want to rip it. can I use your washer and dryer?”

“Of course,” I replied, keeping my gaze on our tea and my back to him.

His breath slid down my neck, his lips brushing against my ear, as he spoke in a low, sultry voice, “You’re more than welcome to look if you want to.”

Before I could muster the courage to do so, he was in the other room humming to himself while setting up the washer. I swallowed hard, finished up with our tea, then carried it all into the living room on a platter.

He was going to be the end of me.

“I’ll need a few more sessions. Perhaps I should stow a few changes of clothes here?” Tsukiyo strolled into the room with renewed confidence, the clarity returned to his gaze.

“I don’t have a problem with that.” I tore my eyes away from his nude torso and motioned to the coffee table. “I wasn’t sure what type of tea or snacks you might want, so I brought out options. Oh. And blankets.”

“For you or for me?” Tsukiyo’s fingers brushed over my shoulder. He chuckled when I hurriedly pulled my robe back into place. “I think that robe may be too big for you.”

“Intentionally. I like my robes oversized and fluffy,” I grumbled, pulling the collar around my face and sinking into it like a turtle. “I figured you’d be cold after getting rained on.”

“Well, I think I can manage with towels and blankets while we work,” Tsukiyo remarked, clenching a fist briefly. Tendrils of silver and blue light encircled his fist. When he opened his hand, a large trunk appeared in my living room, its side dotted with dozens of slender drawers. “I don’t know how humans view crystals in this day and age, let alone for a shop like David’s, so I brought a bunch of samples.”

“Hmmm, I’ll grab some books so we can cross-reference.” I stood and strode over to the bookshelf, well-aware of Tsukiyo’s gaze on my back. “Most stones and crystals are associated with different metaphysical properties or benefits. We’ll just have to go through and see what’s what.”

Tsukiyo pulled out a drawer with well over thirty specimens on it before settling on the sofa and resting the drawer on his lap. Because of course he did. How was I supposed to focus on work instead of the most interesting specimen in the room?

“Paper and pen?” Tsukiyo smiled knowingly.

“Oh, right.” I nodded, turning around again. “Be right back.”

I went looking for pen and paper while resolving myself to not jump Tsukiyo’s bones. After all, I wasn’t that kind of girl, no matter how tempting he made himself. I sighed. How was I the tempting one between us?

When I returned, I did my best to keep my gaze from wandering down to Tsukiyo’s Adonis belt region. He had his towel so low that I could only assume his privates were just as hairless as the rest of him. When I sat across from him on a chair, he shot me a self-satisfied smile and said nothing.

“Okay, how about we start by making a list of everything you brought?” I tapped the pen against my lower lip and studied the raw crystal specimens.

“You don’t sound like that’s what you want to do,” Tsukiyo drawled, stretching his arms above his head. My face grew hot when I realized I was staring at him again. I quickly returned my gaze to the crystals, forcing myself not to linger on his waist.

“Are you suggesting something?” I countered.

“Only that you don’t need to be so…reserved.” Tsukiyo chuckled. “I’ve been alive for a long time. Humans waste so much time and energy on ‘will they, won’t they’ approaches to relationships. Courtship in this era is faster than previous times…but humans still struggle with themselves too much. Is giving yourself what you want really so frightening?”

“Rejection is what’s frightening,” I stated, the corner of my eye twitching. “Well, that and shitty relationships that are nothing more than lust. You’ve been around a long time, sure, but I’ve got maybe another thirty or forty in me at best. ‘Humans’ don’t have the time to ‘indulge’ in relations that won’t or can’t lead anywhere more meaningful.”

“Bah, mortality is fixable.” Tsukiyo made a dismissive motion. “Well, you admitted to feeling lust. That’s progress.”

“Uh… I wasn’t saying—”

“Every inch of you has been saying it for weeks.” Tsukiyo smirked. “And the way you brought it up leaves little room for other interpretations.”

“We’re supposed to be working,” I deflected, shifting in my seat. The way Tsukiyo was watching me made my body react in all kinds of troublesome ways. I was really glad I had a thick robe covering my chest.

“Denying yourself what you want?” Tsukiyo shook his head slightly.

“I’m old enough to know that sleeping with someone I know almost nothing about is a stupid idea,” I finally snapped. Seconds later, heat rushed to my face again because I realized I’d openly admitted what was on my mind. I promptly covered my face with both hands. “You just had to keep baiting me…”

“I suppose you make a good enough point,” Tsukiyo stated cheerfully, clearly delighted he’d ‘won.’ “More dates first, then? Or do you want me to spend the evening regaling you about my life story?”

“You didn’t really come here for work, did you?” I asked dryly, peeking through my fingers at him.

“It was only part of my reason for coming by,” Tsukiyo answered brightly. “I’d hoped we’d be able to sit outside and enjoy each other’s company while we worked, at least, but the rain killed that idea.”

That would have been significantly more romantic, I thought. “Instead, you’re going to sit in my living room and tease me?”

“That is an option, yes.” He grinned.

“How about not teasing the girl who knows she can’t have you?” I shot him an agitated look. “I doubt ‘unmortaling’ me is easy, and I haven’t forgotten you’re royalty. Either one would mean you’re off-limits to someone like me, let alone both combined.”

“Please. Stop trying to ‘spare’ me.” Tsukiyo shook his head, his expression finally serious. “Aloryi kings are welcome to ‘court’ whoever they want. Your mortality is easy to fix, but there are rules I intend to follow. If I’m somehow wrong about you, then I should let you remain mortal.”

“Wrong about what, exactly?” I tilted my head when Tsukiyo shook his head and averted his gaze.

“If you insist on doing things the slow way, then I’ll respect your decision,” Tsukiyo stated, lifting a red stone in one hand. “Let’s start with work, then. This one is carnelian.”

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