He chuckled and selected some drama. “Okay, then. Let’s start with the intense shows, then we can nap with the comfort shows.”
“Mm, I like that idea.” He clicked it on. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down beside me. “Looks like you’re pretty smart, too.”
Thankfully, I had seen this show, and I knew exactly where he was in the season. I wrapped my hand around his and laid my head on his shoulder. He pulled my legs over his lap.
Ciel hooked his finger around my chin to encourage me to look up. The show played on in the background, but everything else faded.
“Thank you, Leona,” Ciel murmured, sealing his lips briefly against mine. “You were right. We needed this.”
I pulled him back to me. The kiss was lazy and slow, more comfort than arousing. He didn’t try to push it further and neither did I. It was just soft touches, enjoying each other in the safety of our home while we still could. It was our own way of processing the pain we carried.
With each other.
When we broke the kiss, both of us flushed, his ice-blue eyes pierced into mine. Dark circles ringed them, but the exhaustion he’d held earlier had somewhat faded.
“Your eyes are so beautiful,” I breathed. They really did look like the bright blue sky on a clear day.
He glanced away. “My mother’s were the same color.”
I turned his face back to mine. I wanted him to remember the goodness and the joy of the memories he shared with them. His parents loved him so much. “I’m glad you get to carry them for her.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. Our bodies molded together as we cuddled on the couch and sweet, relaxing contentment spread through each of my limbs.
Yes, this was exactly what we needed.
42
LEONA
When Cas walked into the living room a few hours later, he immediately locked onto how I was practically curled into Ciel’s side. We’d caught up to the most recent episode of the drama and had switched to a comfort show of mine, but the best part had been the lazy kisses we’d continued to share. I’d grown needy and desperate for more, trying my best to remain patient.
I knew what I wanted.
I tensed as Cas studied us. Cas was still…adjusting to my relationships with the rest of the guys. And he’d obviously come to physical blows with Ryuji—something we still needed to talk about.
But instead of saying anything, he sat on my other side and pulled my foot into his lap. He kissed my forehead. “Morning.”
“Hey,” Ciel responded, fingers playing with the curls in my hair.
“Hello, sleepyhead,” I teased, then gasped as he tickled my foot. “Hey! Stop that!”
“Ciel, you should know this for future reference,” Cas said. I squirmed, laughing, and trying to pull my foot free. “Leona isticklish on her feet, her knees, and in that dip in her collarbone. But if you try her armpits, you’ll get absolutely nothing.”
I squealed as Ciel’s fingertip gently prodded my neck. “Cut it out!”
Ciel laughed. The light sound echoed through the room. How often had I actually heard him laugh? “Cas, you are a goldmine of information.”
Cas smiled and then dove in earnest, encouraging Ciel to do the same. I kicked and jerked as they tickled me, gasping for breath, and begging them to stop with tears running down my face until finally they relented. In the squirming, my head had slid down to lie on Ciel’s lap and somehow Cas had wedged himself between my knees.
All three of us recognized the position we were in at the same time.
“We were just watching some TV,” Ciel said quietly, but I didn’t miss how the words were hesitant and nervous. “Leona wanted to take a rest day.”
“A rest day, huh? That sounds good.” Cas moved to sit back, but I hooked my leg around his thigh, holding him in place. His pupils went wide, and he gulped when he looked from me to Ciel. “What are you doing, princess?”
It felt like I had cornered two wild animals, and one wrong move would send them both bolting in opposite directions.
“I’m…resting.” Head still on Ciel’s lap, I reached out to cup his chin and pull his face to mine. Cas moved in between my legs, but I tightened my hook around his thighs to keep him in place. When I broke the kiss with Ciel, both of us breathing heavy. Cas still stared at us.
