Page 34 of Starlight

Cole glanced at his arm, hopefully noting the strip of missing hair. “And your wing?”

“I’ve been taking photos. And it seems to be getting better.”

“Do you want me to check?” Cole walked in and placed his bag next to the sofa. The clean sheets were neatly folded to one side, along with the unused towels. He turned, taking in his cabin. Did he pause on the flowers?

“Yes, I tried to glide rather unsuccessfully, and it ripped open a little.”

Cole gave him a look of deep disappointment. “Are you trying to destroy my stitches?”

“I was checking to see how they’d hold up—not well.” He placed the box of food on the kitchen counter and started to identify the things that needed to go into the tiny fridge.

“These are pretty.” Cole flicked a petal.

Akai rearranged the fridge, so he didn’t have to look at him. “I thought so. They smell nice too.”

“And you found the washing machine.”

“That wasn’t hard.” Though he had been when he’d smelled Cole’s sheets.

“Thank you. I shouldn’t have left it for you to do.”

“It gave me something to do.” He hadn’t realized how much time he spent moving, making, or exploring. Being stationary had given him way too much time to think.

“Leave the rest. Let me check your wing, and then I’ll cook the steaks. You eat steak, right? We can deal with the rest after dinner.”

That meant no more distractions. “I can make a salad. I gathered everything fresh this morning.”

“That sounds great.” Cole smiled. “Come over here where the light is better.” He patted the stool, inviting him to sit.

Akai walked around, trying to be calm about being so close to him. It hadn’t been like this last weekend. But then last weekend, they had been trying to figure out who the other person was and trying to make the best of the situation. A week apart had sharpened his desire for more than talk. Cole was still in his work clothes, and the scent of his sweat was crawling through him, heating his blood and making him want to do more than talk. He’d never experienced anything like it. He wanted to lick the sweat off his skin.

What would Cole taste like?

He sat on the stool and carefully rearranged his pants so his interest in the human was less obvious. Perhaps Cole wouldn’t notice because he wasn’t thinking those things.

As soon as Cole touched the edge of his wing, Akai couldn’t think about anything else. He wanted Cole to touch him everywhere. He pressed his teeth together and breathed slowly, which was not as helpful as it should’ve been, as all he could smell was Cole.

“Can you spread your wing for me?” Cole said, his voice a little rougher than normal.

Akai obliged. It hurt less to extend his wing, but he wasn’t stretching it as far as it could go, as he didn’t want to rip the stitches any more than he already had.

“It doesn’t look infected. It actually seems to be healing really well…not that I’m an expert, but Mom is a nurse, so I have a rough idea. Plus, I’ve been hurt plenty of times.”

“How did you get injured?”

“Playing football mostly.”

“Were you any good?”

Cole’s hand stilled, and he was silent for far too long. Akai turned his head. “Should I not have asked?”

“It’s fine.”

It clearly wasn’t.

“I was good enough that I was looking at a scholarship for college…until the accident.”

Oops. It was his fault. “I didn’t know you were in the car.”