16. Mira

16

MIRA

I blink awake to unfamiliar shadows dancing across rough wooden beams. The bed beneath me is wider than mine, and the heavy blanket carries a scent of smoke and metal that makes my heart flutter. Karn's bed.

The events of last night rush back - his gentle touches, the way his violet eyes burned with need, how careful he was with me despite his size and strength. After our first time, I became insatiable, and he took me two more times before I was desperate for sleep.

I'm only sad I couldn't wake to the feel of his body covering mine again.

A clatter from the kitchen snaps me from my thoughts. Sunlight streams through the window - I never sleep this late. Years of servitude trained that out of me.

I slip from the bed, reaching for my forgotten clothes on the floor. As I dress, my fingers brush against the brand on my wrist, a habit I can't seem to break. The wooden floor is cool under my bare feet as I pad toward the kitchen.

The sight that greets me stops me in the doorway. Karn stands at the hearth, his broad back to me as he tends to something that smells divine. The twins sit at their little table, faces sticky with honey and matching grins spread across their cherubic faces.

"Mama!" Luna bounces in her seat, copper curls wild around her face. "You slept forever and ever!"

Nova nods, somehow managing to look somewhat more put together than her excited sister despite the honey dripping down her chin. "Uncle Karn made sweet rolls."

Karn turns, and the intensity of his gaze makes my cheeks heat. His hair is tied back messily, flour dusting his forearms. "Thought you could use the rest." His gruff voice carries an undercurrent of tenderness that makes my heart skip.

"I-I'm not used to sleeping in." I twist my fingers in the nightdress. "You didn't have to cook."

"We helped!" Luna announces proudly.

"She turned all the honey blue," Nova tattles, pointing at her sister's plate.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Karn's low chuckle fills the kitchen as he sets a plate of sweet rolls on the table. "Sit. Eat." His hand brushes my lower back as he guides me to a chair, the touch sending warmth through my whole body.

I can't stop stealing glances at Karn as we eat. His massive frame dwarfs the wooden chair, yet he handles the delicate sweet roll with surprising gentleness. A streak of flour marks his cheek, and my fingers itch to brush it away.

He catches me looking and slides his free hand under the table to squeeze my thigh. The touch sends sparks through my body, and I have to focus on not dropping my roll.

"Uncle Karn, can we help in the forge today?" Luna's question makes me tense, but Karn shakes his head.

"Not today, little spark. Got some dangerous work."

Nova's lower lip trembles. "But you promised-"

"Tomorrow," he rumbles, then winks at them. "Besides, your mama might want help in the garden."

The way he says 'mama' makes my chest tight. I lean into his solid warmth, savoring how natural it feels. His violet eyes soften as they meet mine, and I see none of the cruelty I'd been taught to expect from demons. Just tenderness. Protection. Something deeper that makes my pulse race.

"Gonna need to head down soon," he murmurs, but his arm wraps around my waist, contradicting his words.

"I know." I trace the burn scars on his forearm, mapping each mark of his craft. "The forge won't run itself."

Luna floats a piece of sweet roll across the table, clearly trying to sneak more food. Karn snatches it mid-air without looking. "Nice try, little spark."

She giggles, not even pretending to be sorry. Nova rolls her eyes at her sister's antics, but I catch her eyeing the remaining rolls too.

When Karn finally stands, the loss of his warmth is physical. He presses a kiss to my temple, then ruffles each twin's hair before heading for the door. The sight of this fierce demon being so gentle with us fills me with a warmth I never expected to feel again.

I'm falling for him. The realization doesn't terrify me like it should. Instead, it feels right.

I spend the morning in a pleasant haze, my thoughts drifting to Karn even as I help the twins clean sticky honey from their faces and hands.

"Mama, you're humming," Nova points out as we gather baskets for the garden.

I hadn't realized. The melody dies in my throat, old habits of staying quiet rising up. But Luna's face falls at the silence, so I force myself to continue the tune.

The garden welcomes us with the scent of herbs and warm earth. Through the open workshop windows, I hear the rhythmic clang of Karn's hammer, the sound oddly comforting. The twins "help" me weed - which mostly involves Nova changing the color of the vegetables while Luna makes the pulled weeds dance through the air.

"Uncle Karn likes when you sing," Nova says suddenly, her tiny hands covered in dirt.

"Does he?" Heat floods my cheeks.

Luna nods enthusiastically. "He smiles real big when you do."

The thought of Karn watching me, smiling at my voice, makes my stomach flutter. I catch myself staring at the workshop windows more than the garden beds.

By late afternoon, I'm practically vibrating with anticipation at seeing Karn again — as if I don't see him every day. I start dinner early, choosing his favorite spices for the roasted meat. The twins help set the table, though Luna's floating plates nearly crash twice.

"Need more salt," Nova declares, reaching for the jar.

"Don't you dare change its color again." I catch her hand just in time.

Heavy footsteps on the stairs make my heart leap. Karn appears in the doorway, still in his work clothes, earlier than usual. His violet eyes lock onto mine with an intensity that steals my breath.

"Couldn't focus," he rumbles, crossing to me in two long strides. With the twins just out of sight, his hand cups my cheek, work-roughened fingers gentle against my skin. "Kept thinking about you."

My heart stumbles, and I blush, looking away as Luna screams for me. "Go wash up," I whisper. And then, even though my brain is screaming at me not to, I add, "I thought about you too."

He's not gone long, and by the time I'm done setting the table, Karn is there helping me into my chair. I sit close enough to Karn that our thighs press together under the table. His heat bleeds through my dress, making it hard to focus on my food. When he reaches for his cup, his knuckles brush my arm. The contact sends tingles across my skin.

Luna chatters about the garden vegetables she made float today while Nova pushes her food around her plate, studying us with those observant eyes she got from her mother.

Karn's hand finds my knee under the table, and I nearly drop my fork. His thumb traces small circles that make my breath catch.

"Uncle Karn?" Nova's voice cuts through my Karn-induced haze.

"Hmm?" He takes a bite of meat, his hand never leaving my leg.

"How come your heart goes boom-boom faster when Mama's near?"

I inhale sharply, choking on my mouthful of food. Beside me, Karn coughs violently, his hand clenching on my knee.

Luna perks up. "Ooh, it's doing it again! Really fast now!"

"Damn magic," Karn mutters under his breath once he catches his. His ears have darkened, and he won't meet my eyes.

I grab my cup with trembling fingers, trying to hide my flaming cheeks behind it. Of course Nova would notice - she's always been sensitive to changes in people's bodies with her magic. I should have expected this.

"Is Mama's heart doing it too?" Luna asks innocently.

"No more listening to hearts at dinner," Karn growls, but there's no real heat in it. His hand slides off my knee, and I immediately miss his touch.

Nova smirks - actually smirks - and takes a dainty bite of her vegetables. "It is," she announces with all the satisfaction of someone who just proved their point.

I've never wished harder for the floor to swallow me whole.

After dinner, Karn helps me wrangle the twins into their night clothes and bed. It takes two stories, one song, and a stern look from Karn when Luna tries to float her blanket away before they finally settle.

While he kisses them goodnight, I hover in the hallway outside their room, uncertain. Last night feels like a dream, and I'm not sure of the rules now. Do I go to my room? Stay? The brand on my wrist burns with phantom pain as old anxieties surface.

Karn's heavy footsteps approach from behind as he shuts the twins' door. Before I can overthink further, he spins me around and captures my lips with his. His kiss is hungry, desperate, like he's been holding back all day. My back hits the wall as he presses closer, one hand tangling in my hair while the other grips my hip.

"Been wanting to do that since I woke up," he growls against my mouth.

Before I can even ask, he kisses me again, picking me up and carrying me to his room. Inside, he lays me out on the bed and shows me just how much he missed me…

Afterward, we lay tangled in the sheets, his massive frame curled protectively around mine. His fingers trace lazy patterns on my bare shoulder.

"Let me take you somewhere," he murmurs into my hair. "Just us."

I twist to look at him. "The twins-"

"Mrs. Blackwood from the bakery can watch them for an evening." His violet eyes are earnest. "I… want to do this properly. Court you right."

"Court me?" I prop myself up on an elbow. "I didn't think demons..."

"We don't usually." His ears darken slightly. "But you deserve better than stolen moments between work and twins."

"I'd like that." I trace one of the burn scars on his chest. "Where would we go?"

"There's a place up in the hills. Good view of the stars." He catches my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm. "Could pack some food, wine. Proper romantic shit."

I laugh at his gruff attempt at romance. "Very proper."

"Hush," he murmurs against my bare shoulder as he presses a kiss there. But he's grinning, pulling me closer. "Day after tomorrow? Give me time to arrange everything?"

"Yes." I tuck my head under his chin, breathing in his scent of smoke and metal. "It's a date."