They stood in the middle of Maria's bathroom, a parody of the position they first took when Mark slowly entered her the day before-sweet Lord, it was hot. This? His wingspan blocked her from seeing what they looked like from behind, but the front was shocking enough.

Much of the wings, shoulders, ribs, hips, and outer thighs were covered in thick black feathers. His exposed flesh was marbled, snarled in ridges that defied the humanity within him. His eyes still disappeared into his face, save for the red ring that flashed every time he glanced around.

The memory of them flitted through her mind, which caused her to wince. This wasn't the human he pretended to be. "I don't think I can do this, Préachán."

"I didn't think you could. It's why I won't eat your food." Mark blinked as the monstrosity that was his face started to soften.

Maria turned around to face him and raised her hands to his cheeks, forcing him to focus on her. "No, I didn't say you needed to change."

"I want to."

She nodded and watched as he slowly absorbed the monster back underneath his skin while his ash blonde hair cascaded down past his shoulders. The teeth didn't fully recede: some pulled back while the rest snapped off with a sickening crack, then fell as dust or twinkling stars. A trail of blood trickled past his lips.

Maria couldn't help wincing.

"What?"

"Humans fear their teeth crumbling like that-have you seen our nightmares?"

"It's my natural state. I don't know anything different, and wouldn't have thought to look for that." Mark took a deep breath. "Now, why are you worrying about me and not the man I just killed?"

"I've been trying to not think about it. Is Liam really dead?"

"Liam will walk this world for the next 40 years a better man than he ever was, but the human soul in that body is gone."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Then I guess I should get angry at you, try to avoid you for a few days, get delirious for your touch, and come begging for it while debasing myself because you are evil, right? Nico couldn't leave me alone with his friends. Liam's been looking for a chance to harm me, I'm sure."

"He was going to torture you until you told him where Nico's body was. He had thoughts about the mirrors..."

"I don't need to hear any more. You kill everyone that has a copy of those videos, and I won't care if they could claim innocence. There ought to be consequences." Maria buried her face in his chest.

Marc wrapped his arms around her. "Next time you want to leave some dumb party, call me then. Didn't you know you were walking with the possessed?"

"No?"

His arms tightened around her, but not painfully so. The barest brush against her memories, pulling out one day of lovemaking without dwelling on feeling aroused, just to open a conversation on how to tell she was in the presence of Other-beings, as described by Lugh. Of course, that was intertwined with her worshiping his chest and more with mouth and hands, instinctively leading to repeating that same thing on Mark.

But she understood the peculiar type of uneasiness that kept her out of Kim's car was far different in feeling from the abject and human fear of Liam. Kim's feel was a part of her first reactions to Nico and Mark. Thrones were very adverse to Demonic entities, and if it wasn't for the mitigating power of his fey bloodlines, being with Préachán could permanently damage her. That's why she never had any interest in Nico-there was nothing for her in him.

It was Mark's arousal that jarred her out the memory-she laughed as she looked down between them. "Ready already?"

"Woman, you were touching me." He grabbed her under her arms and started a dead curl to pull her high enough to rest in his arms as clothing faded away. "We are going through these memories too quickly. It's not good for you."

He slowly fit her onto him as he said that, which caused Maria's smirk. Idly, she wondered if he knew why she wanted him right here and now-he often did. "But it's results feels great."

Mark shook his head. "We haven't even started moving yet."

He leaned against the massive tub, giving her the hint of a lap to rest on while her shins were on the edge of the porcelain. He began guiding her hips, slowly moving her in a slide against his chest, allowing her breasts to trace lazy circles on him. Every bounce up tugged her nipples downward while the bob down tuned them up. It was the slowest taunt of play. He felt thicker than usual, each thrust down on him filling so tightly that she involuntary gripped against him with just a taste of the high they were aiming for. In the back of her mind, she thought the phrase minor orgasm. The corner of Maria's lip curled in amusement as she kissed him right underneath his jawline. Immediately, he hunched over to kiss her back. Maria would have lost rhythm to the taste of peach wine if he wasn't guiding her.

Her hands skimmed around to his back, to hold him closer as the pressure built into a steady wave that rocked her with each move. Vaguely she understood why sometimes people described it as being adrift at sea, wanting to stay lost, away from the shores that crashed and ended this feeling, but there's only building towards an inevitable end or losing their way altogether. So Maria fell against the shore that was Mark. Her world shattered-she couldn't focus on moving, collapsing against him as her lips lost contact with that heady wine that was his kiss.

He gripped her hips harder, continuing their dance to the rhythm of her soft cries against his chest.

It didn't take him long to follow. His hands slid up her back to pull her in tighter as he throbbed inside her. He leaned his head back, raggedly trying to catch his breath.

"Did we just do that without any of your powers?"

"Pretty much." His voice was shaky, so he cleared his throat. "Surprised me that you were so ready."

She waggled her eyebrows at him like a dork. "I read an article as a teen about primitive man and sex that said that after a fight was the best time for both to get off. I've been wanting to try it for damn near a decade."

Mark chuckled. "You're a bit of a freak aren't you."

"There is nothing wrong with curiosity." She lightly slapped his arm, not trying to hurt him. "Now, why would you connect being unwilling to sleep with something inhuman looking with a lack of love?"

Mark moved them from the bathroom to her bed, falling back on it with her on top. "It's as much my real form as this is. Besides, do you love me?"

"Ah..." Maria's smile faded. "I'd like to think I could, one day, but I'm not stalling because you look inhuman at times. That's just attraction, not feelings."

~~~

They didn't speak much about feelings as the weeks passed.

Midterms finished without any real struggle for Maria, so they scheduled her first OB appointment thereafter. The baby's due date was October 24th, which meant it had been conceived somewhere in her first month with Lugh. Maria took a couple of summer courses so she could lighten her load in the fall, due to this date and not wanting to fall behind. Mark warned her that it might be too much, but she reminded him that he would be there for them anyway.

The memories of Lugh became little strings of pearls that she wore around her neck, as they explained so much of her actions that she couldn't pin to reason as the months passed.

It was late August when she realized her feelings for Mark were more than just lust or convenience-thankfully not when he was with her. He was dominance, patience, and wickedness wrapped around an unsuspected and random strand of innocence. It was that streak that caused her to fall for him-the things he didn't understand about himself or humans, that made him stick out. She wanted to feed him, that cultural instinct to not let him leave the table until every taste bud had been satiated was killing her. No way in hell I'm telling him, first.

A month later, Mark paused right as he was entering her-plain froze on her. He had been searching through her mind, trying to figure out what experience would work on an uncomfortably pregnant woman when he found her self-realization by chance and made the decision to use a day he would have left locked in her mind if he could.