Boots by Angel Martinez

when Willem woke on his back to fingernails combing through his chest hair. "Hey, there."
    "I woke you. I'm sorry." Something other than contrition lit those bright green eyes, though.
    He pulled Kasha, back in his human form, tight against him, the lithe, flexible body molding to his side as if it had always belonged there. Soft hair tickled under his chin when Kasha's head rested on his shoulder. He kissed the top of that dark head and slid his hand down to cup one perfect butt cheek, loving the way it fit in his hand.
    "Kash?"
    "Hmm?" Kasha nuzzled at his throat.
    "Why are some of your, um, parts still cat parts when you look human?"
    "Ah." Kasha levered up on one elbow to look into his face, that odd, wary look back in his eyes. "It took a bit for you to ask. Are you displeased with the cat parts?"
    "Hell, no. Excited, not turned off or freaked out. I was just curious."
    The little demon relaxed against his shoulder, letting his fingers wander over Will's chest, circling his nipples. "The demons from my home can often take two, sometimes more, forms. But it is in the nature of being demon that one retains aspects of each form in the shifting. The kitsune cannot lose her lovely triple fox tails. The Kiyohime will always have a serpent's tongue. I still have the ability to speak and walk upright as a cat, and retain certain, as you put it, cat parts as a human."
    "Guess that... makes sense."
    "I am what I am, dear Willem."
    Will chuckled at the Popeye drawl Kasha put in his voice and allowed those lovely fingers to wander his body a little longer.
    When Kasha reached for his zipper, though, Willem grabbed his wrist. "No, hon. Not tonight."
    Kasha raised his head, eyes wide and blinking. "Have I done something?"
    "Something wrong? No." Willem put a hand to the back of his neck and guided him back down. "Just want to hold you. That okay with you?"
    "I... " Kasha squirmed in his arms, rubbing his groin against Willem's jean-clad hip.
    Willem swatted his ass, the crack echoing in the cabin. "Stop that."
    "You're a closet control freak, do you know that?" Kasha subsided, clearly sulking.
    "I'd be lying if I said no," Willem said on a soft laugh. "But just in bed."
    He tipped Kasha's face up to give him a tender kiss, relishing the feel of those soft lips pressing and stroking his own. A fierce protectiveness surged through him when he gazed into those green eyes. He wanted to shield Kasha, from the world, from his pain, from his past. "I just think you've had people use you. For way too long. I need you to know I'm not. It's nice to have someone just hold you, not expect anything, isn't it?"
    Kasha took so long to answer, he thought it was one of those times his question was being ignored. With a little snuggle, Kasha settled again, sliding his arm around Willem's waist. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes, it is."

 
Chapter 6: Machinations Gone Awry
     
    The incessant chip-chip of a cardinal woke Kasha the next morning. He fought the urge to go out and kill the bird for breakfast, knowing Willem might be upset if he woke to see his cat devouring a ball of scarlet feathers.
    Instead, he waited, ears twitching in annoyance, while he distracted himself with the delectable sight of Willem waking. The slow stretch of that long, hard body and the bulge of morning erection under denim nearly drove him mad, but he behaved and kept his paws to himself.
    "I fixed your shirt."
    "Oh, thank you." Willem sat up with a yawn, and then did something so close to a cartoon double take that Kasha snickered. "You... how?"
    "Magic, dear boy. It's a small magic to sew on buttons."
    Willem picked up the shirt with a dubious look. "So will the buttons pop off when the spell wears off?"
    "I certainly could spell the thread to unravel at a delightfully inappropriate moment. Do you want me to?"
    "Ah, thanks, but no."
    He waited while Willem went out to brush his teeth and wash up in the stream. Teeth chattering when he came back in, Willem hurried back under the