"So it's okay that I'm on top of you?" he asked.
I smiled. "Yes. In fact, it's more than okay. I prefer you do whatever you'd like."
"Are you sure? To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing. You probably have more experience than me."
I scoffed. "Sure, but it's experience I'd rather throw in the trash and forget about forever."
Leveret blinked slowly, thinking about it for a moment. "Okay. What if we both pretend this is our first time? Then we can figure it out together."
My heart squeezed with affection. How could one alpha be this fucking sweet? I wished he'd kick a puppy or something so I'd stop being utterly enthralled with him.
"Sure, Leveret. This can be both of our first times, if you'd like that."
He smiled wider, making my chest ache. "I'd like that very much. So… I'm going to touch you now."
My blood raced in anticipation. "Please do."
Slowly and gently, Leveret eased me down so I lay with my back against the smooth boulder. The cool stone felt nice against my hot skin. Each one of Leveret's movements was deliberate and careful, with the utmost thought put into it. I could tell he was trying his best to make this a good experience for me, which unfortunately only made me more fond of him.
His hands cradled my face as he gazed into my eyes. His expression was curious and kind, unblinking, as if trying to peer into my soul. If anybody could do that, it was Leveret. Not a reassuring thought when I was in the middle of tryingnotto fall in love with him.
"Your eyes are beautiful," Leveret murmured.
I felt my cheeks burn. "Yours aren't bad-looking, either."
He glanced down to my neck, then my chest. His roaming hands followed his gaze. I shivered as his palms smoothed across my skin. They paused on my sternum. His thumb fidgeted with the fabric draped across my body.
"What should I do with this?" he asked.
Did he ask because he wanted to take it off? The idea flustered me. I knew neither of us had a problem with nudity, since he was a wild shifter and I was a spirit—I'd existed before the creation of clothing—but the thought of being fully bare and vulnerable in front of a mortal alpha made me hesitate. I swallowed anxiously.
It wasn't that I didn't trust Leveret. Indeed, the issue was that I trusted him too much. If I exposed myself to him, would I ever come back from that?
The pit I'd dug myself into grew deeper.
"Go underneath it," I suggested.
Leveret nodded, satisfied with this compromise. Sliding his hands down to my waist, he slipped beneath the translucent fabric of the dress-like cape and stroked my bare chest. I shivered in pleasure, arching my back against the stone. His hands were gentle yet firm, solid enough not to feel ticklish, polite enough to send electric jolts of sensation across my skin.
"I feel your heart beating fast," Leveret said. He pressed his ear against it, listening with a small smile. "Do you have the same organs as a mortal?"
Even now, he was curious. I withheld a chuckle.
"Not exactly, but for all intents and purposes, yes," I replied.
His eyes sparkled with fascination. He spent a few more moments with his ear to my chest, like he was listening to a favorite song. It flooded me with fondness.
"What are they made of?" he asked.
"I don't know," I said honestly, shrugging. "I doubt any of us know. My closest guess is either stardust, magic, the oldest atoms known to exist… maybe a combination of all three. Maybe none of them. Nobody knows."
Leveret nodded seriously. "You're special, Animus."
My heart skipped a beat.
Wrapping my arms around the back of his neck, I murmured, "No, Leveret. You're the one who’s special."
He flushed deeply. I seemed to have flustered him. He looked down, resuming his work on my body—not that I minded. The caress felt amazing.