There was something wolfish present in the way he looked at her now.<i>Hungry</i>, predatory, perhaps even a little possessive. It was there in the grin he still wore on his face, even as her tongue acted like flint to create sparks when she spoke. In fact, it was the stubbornness that she demonstrated now, that hint of sass and that little bit of agitation that emanated from her that brought an excited flare into his eyes that swam gold-green. He always did like them on the mouthy side. Not quite bitchy, but demonstrating enough lip to let the world know who was in charge of what.<br/><br/>“You are going to need much more than a hot minute before you summon<i>anything </i>else, my dear. Try at least.. a couple more of those dates. I feel that demon hunting together is a fifth date kind of activity, especially after that display in your living room. That was a little more intense than I expected, and here I was trying to take it slow.”<br/><br/>That grin threatened to split his face in two with how much it broadened. He had a look like a kid that had just been given a brand new sports bike for his birthday and then some. Hefting himself up from where he still crouched between her legs, James ran the calloused palms of his hands up the underside of her legs and along her thighs as he pulled himself up, only to lean forward to ensnare her lips with his in a (mostly) stolen kiss. The drag of his mouth was brief, as was the trail of his touch on her bare skin, before he drew back and propped himself instead on the arm of the chair he'd lowered her into.<br/><br/>“I can just show you the fire in my loins again if that's what you really want, Lane,” he teased her without remorse. He even dropped a wink before adding, “We don't have to just talk about it.” The man only thought that he had jokes, and by the flavor of his voice, the suggestion was at least half of one. Regardless of his present mood, he sensed her agitation by the snark levels in her voice. His teasing stopped there, even though his tone remained the same: the man was enjoying himself too much.<br/><br/>“And there's nothing wrong with things being a<i>little fucked up</i>. That's my world right there. I've been making things just a little more<i>fucked up </i>since before the word was popular.” He paused long enough to let his eyes dance across her features. “God, you're amazing,” he capped it off with, his head tipping back so that he could let out a sudden laugh.<br/><br/>Don't mind the way he assessed her like a scientist might study a new experiment once he had come down from his high and tempered his expression to a fine tuned stare that now probed her too deeply than a look should. It was a look that saw too much into her sunken features after she had drained herself after unleashing so much power at once. He shook his head and tutted softly when she accused him of needing to apologized, but smiled just the same. An ironic curl of his lips.<br/><br/>“I'm sure there are a great many things that I should be apologizing about, but I can tell you right now that there's a list that I will<i>not </i>be apologizing about. First, I will not apologize for stepping into your life, nor will I apologize for last night. I'm not going to apologize for brewing that tea, nor for allowing you to drink it. I most certainly am not going to apologize for the fact that you ripped a hole between the veil and here without<i>any </i>prep work or defenses prepared, without warning, and using nothing but your own<i>raw power</i>to summon a lesser demon that could have easily ripped your throat out if you hadn't have smite it in midair. Sweetheart, I think you brought this one on yourself, because I'm sure as hell not going to say that I'm sorry for not stopping you from your own recklessness. So tell me – what would you like me to apologize for?”<br/><br/>He had always been a difficult man; she knew that from Adella's memories alone. But Adella still had never learned very much about the man himself and the past that came before her. It would take a little more than a demand for an unknown apology to knock him off his particular high horse. His expression did soften after the rant, however, and he reached out to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking along the delicate bones in her face. Regardless of how sharp his tongue became, there was an underlying gentleness in how he carried himself that went hand in hand with the rough edges.<br/><br/>“Once you've explained how and why I owe you an apology, I'd like to know exactly<i>what </i>you are that you can wield that much power in one go. Not fully human. I wonder if you even knew that part.”