Cass glares down at him. It’s a very pouty glare.“Yes.”
“I’m not surprised. My comedic genius is unmatched.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Jackson.”
JJ huffs out another laugh, shaking his head, and all at once?—
All at once, he realizes that Cass isn’t just on his hands and knees above JJ.
He’s naked again, too.
And that’s fine. JJ saw Cass naked once before, after all. And Cass explained that it’s difficult to use magic to put clothes on correctly, so it’s not like he means anything by it. But it’s just?—
It’s just that, this time, he’s naked on top of JJ. JJ swallows hard.
Cass notices. His smile wavers, but he doesn’t move away. “Listen, JJ,” he begins, and then he clears his throat, meeting JJ’s eyes. “Julian. I’ve tried to make my, ah, intentions towards you fairly obvious over the past few weeks, but—but I don’t know how much more obvious I can get than straddling you naked in an abandoned clearing.”
JJ’s heart leaps. The dryness is back in his throat and the pounding is back in his chest, but this time?—
This time, they feel more welcome. More like anticipation than fear.
Because there’s no way JJ could misinterpret those words, right? He’s been so afraid that he was misreading Cass’s friendly touches and fond smiles as something more, that he was misunderstanding Cass’s thoughtful gestures of affection as romantic instead of platonic?—
That Cass couldn’t possibly feel the same way JJ does.
Now, though, it looks like Cass is hovering right on the edge of a cliff, preparing to let himself fall and hoping JJ catches him before the bottom. Taking a deep breath, JJ steels himself and meets Cass halfway. “You could’ve been somewhat more obvious, I think. By, you know, using words. Preferably strung together in sentences.”
Cass’s lips twitch. “I’ve never been good with words.”
“Me, neither,” JJ admits, and he pushes himself up on one elbow, fits his palm against Cass’s cheek, and kisses him.
35
Cass has kissed people before, of course. Things like kissing and sex don’t exactly have direct parallels in Tamaros, but after being on Earth for two hundred fifty years, it would be strange if he hadn’t at least attempted them. And while he’s always understood in a detached way why humans find them physically pleasurable, he was never really sold on the idea of “true love’s first kiss” being something magical.
He gets it now.
JJ’s lips are firm and warm and just as gentle as Cass always imagined. His mouth moves slowly against Cass’s, hesitant and unsure, and Cass presses back eagerly, trying to convey thatyes,Cass is enjoying this, andyes,Cass wants this, andyes,JJ understood Cass’s awkward half-confession correctly?—
Now, Cass just never wants to stop kissing him. Hypothetically, he doesn’t have to, since demons don’t need to breathe, but he knows that JJ will need to come up for air at some point.
Cass resolves to make it last as long as he can until then. He gently presses downward, cradling the back of JJ’s head against his palm, until JJ gets the hint and sinks back to the ground, his entire body relaxing under Cass’s touch. Smiling, Cass drapes himself flush on top of JJ, tangles his fingers in JJ’s hair, tilts his head to deepen the kiss?—
Tentatively, JJ slides his hands up to rest on Cass’s back, his calloused palms on Cass’s bare skin making him shiver. His lips part on a soft sigh, letting Cass take the lead, and Cass gladly obliges, testing and teasing and exploring until JJ’s fingers dig into Cass’s shoulders and his breath hitches on a moan.
Eventually, JJ’s hand finds Cass’s cheek, coaxing him away. Cass is only disappointed for a moment, because the second he sees JJ’s flushed cheeks and bright eyes and lopsided smile, he quickly realizes that he never wants to look away.
“Hi,” JJ says softly, his breath warm against Cass’s skin.
“Hi,” Cass whispers back. “This is—this is okay, right?”
JJ’s smile widens. “Very.”
“Good,” Cass murmurs. Deliberately, he leans down and presses a kiss to JJ’s lips, then another; he trails kisses across JJ’s cheek, follows the curve of his jaw, skims his lips down the side of JJ’s neck?—
JJ shivers, tipping his head back to give Cass a better angle. Cass takes his time, working his way down to the neckline of JJ’s shirt and nipping at his collarbone before licking his way back up.
JJ barely stifles a gasp. Cass’s lips curve as he props himself up on his elbows, meeting JJ’s eyes. “Tell me what you want, Julian.”
