“No. Not like everyone else,” he said, the glint in his eyes going right to my core. “And yes, I came over here fully intending to seduce you.” He lifted his head and whispered in my ear, “It’s what I’m good at. Just like you’re good at evading demons and kicking ass.”

“Kicking ass?” I questioned as he dropped his head back to the arm of the couch. His hand was exploring again, and I didn’t want to move.

“Yeah,” he said, and I jumped as he found a ticklish spot. “I like a woman who takes care of herself.”

“Not much of a white knight on a horse, huh?”

He raised one eyebrow. “Oh, I could,” he said. “But I’m a lazy son of a bitch.”

I laughed at that, and he joined me with his own chuckle as his grip about my waist tightened. With a little lurch, he lifted me from him. “Hold on,” he said as he stood, swinging me into the cradle of his arms as if I was a five-pound bag of sugar. With his vamp strength, he held me with one arm and hoisted his pants up loose about his hips. “Shower?”

My arms were laced about his neck, and I inspected it for bite marks. There wasn’t a one, though I knew I had bit down hard enough to leave them. I also knew without looking that he hadn’t made a visible mark on me despite his roughness. “That sounds great,” I said as he shuffled forward, his jeans still unzipped.

“I’ll get you a shower,” he said as I looked behind me to my amulets, pants, and one sock strewn on the floor. “And then we’ll open all the windows and air the church out. I’ll help you finish making your fudge, too. That will help.”

“It’s brownies.”

“Even better. That uses the oven.” He hesitated before my bathroom door, and feeling cared for and wanted in his arms, I pushed it open with my foot. The man was strong. I’d give him that. This was as satisfying as the sex. Well, almost.

“You have scented candles, don’t you?” he asked as I flicked on the light with my toe.

“I have two X-chromosomes,” I said dryly as he set me atop the washer and pulled off my last sock. “I have a candle or two.” He was going to help me into the shower? How sweet.

“Good. I’ll get one going in the sanctuary. Tell Ivy you put it there in the window for Jenks, and you can keep it going until sunup.”

A whisper of unease pulled me straight, and my motions grew slow as I pulled my sweater over my head and dropped it onto the washer. “Ivy?” I questioned.

Kisten leaned against the wall and took off his boots. “You don’t mind telling her?”