Quiet Burn (Discordia University #2)

You Rock My World

Salem

K it Kat is going to be fucking furious, but as soon as I heard those noises, I knew everything was going to shit. Jasper and the guys can take care of themselves, but I wasn’t going to let my new favorite person get hurt again when the hammer came down. One of the sounds was definitely a small explosion and the other didn’t sound any better. Some kind of attack is hitting the royal courts of Autumn and Reaping back there, and I could give a fuck less what happens to any of them.

The traumatized guy I’m carrying like a sack of potatoes is what’s important and that’s why I’m running.

“I’m going to murder you if you don’t find a place to land and let me down!”

Chuckling to myself at his fury, I keep my eyes peeled for just such a place. The commotion in the marketplace is getting rougher and I’m worried we’re going to run afoul of some pissed off creature who will force me to fight. My demon would enjoy that far more than my panda—but we do much better in a dream space than in reality unless I’m being pumped up by Kit’s weird mojo. That’s a bag full of crazy I do not want to open on the surface and I’m sure he doesn’t either.

“I’m working on it.”

Squinting, I finally see two tents set back away from the main part of the bazaar, and I realize they’re probably bathrooms. The Fae are as fancy as you can get, so I doubt they’ll be gross. Just in case, I choose the one with the girly looking fairy on the side, bustling in quickly. Kit glares at me murderously when I set him on his feet, but I ignore it to go back and fiddle with the opening until it makes a clicking sound that I hope is a latch.

“Are you kidding me?!” he yells as I come back over to him. “I’m supposed to fight with you guys. You can’t just haul me off to put me in a glass jar every time there’s a hint of?—”

I can’t stop myself from stomping up to him and yanking him into my arms as the fear and adrenaline course through me. My grasp muffles whatever he was going to yell as I bury my face in his short hair, trying not to let my worry bleed into him. Kit is mad now, so he’s not having a panic attack about the others, but once he’s done taking me to task, he’s going to be scared.

The past few months have taught me a lot about how his moods and his condition work, so I know I’m right.

The muffled sounds of protest get louder and I blow out a slow breath as I finally loosen my grip until I can look down at him. His expression is angry, but I see the fear sparking in his eyes. I open my mouth to comment on it, but suddenly, all I can focus on is the tongue that darts out to lick his lips.

It’s not the time, but I can’t seem to make myself care as I dip my head down and kiss the guy who’s turned my entire world upside down. He squeaks adorably, but that only makes me growl a bit as I deepen the kiss and flick my tongue over the spot he just licked. I’m being careful, holding back the wave of pent-up need that’s now pounding in my ears to make sure Kit’s okay. When his lips part, I know he’s not going to freak out, and I grin briefly before sliding my tongue into his mouth.

The kiss is soft, but hungry, and my arms tighten around him again as I pull him close. I love having him in my arms without worrying about it triggering something, and even though my dick is jumping like a fucking bouncy ball, I’m totally fine with kissing my roommate like this for as long he’ll let me. In fact, I think doing this is definitely my new favorite thing.

“Salem, what the hell…” Kit murmurs huskily when our lips break for breath. “This is hardly the time to?—”

I put my finger against his mouth with a soft smile. “You’re stuck here with me until someone comes to tell me the chaos out there is over. Would you rather spend that time yelling or kissing?”

His eyes widen, and the shy expression almost does me in. I don’t know how anyone could have ever hurt Kit, especially in the way I know they did. He’s brave and fierce and loyal to a fault—plus, for someone who doesn’t do this, he’s not a bad little smoocher. “Um, I… I don’t… know?”

That’s a ‘yes’ for kissing if I ever heard one.

Grinning, I heft him up again, drawing a grumble of complaint as I carry him over to what appears to be some sort of sink. I place him on the edge, making our height difference a bit more manageable before I step closer and cup his face. “See, you say I don’t know with your words, but your heartbeat and that flush on your face say ‘kiss me, Salem’. Which one should I believe?”

Kit dips his chin for a second, then looks up, whispering, “The second one, I think.”

My panda damn near does a fucking backflip inside of me as I lean in to take his lips again. It doesn’t worry me in the slightest that Kit’s a dude because I honestly barely notice people until I have feelings for them in some way. I don’t care if the person I’m attracted to is another guy anymore than I care if they’re a purple elephant shifter, so unlike some people, I’m rolling with what makes my entire body sing with happiness.

But the unusual hunger in my gut pushes a bit harder as our tongues slide against one another and the desire to be as close as I can is overwhelming. My hands slip down his shoulders lightly to rest on his waist, then grasp his hips as I yank him as close as possible. The warmth emanating from his frame makes my animal preen in pleasure, and I curl my toes in my shoes as I fight for control of my increasing lust.

Suddenly, loud noises not far off make me pull away, holding Kit protectively as I listen to the sounds around our haven carefully. “Shhh,” I whisper. “I think I latched us in here, so hopefully, that’s just people running off or fleeing or something.”

“Salem, if they’re fleeing, we don’t know if the others are okay,” Kit mumbles into my chest. “I’m worried about them. Not that… um.. I mean, not that this isn’t… good.”

Damn, he’s so fucking awkward and cute; it’s almost painful.

“KK, I know you’re worried,” I say as I look down at him again. “But we both know that you being out there in an unfamiliar place with unknown enemies would be distracting for the others. They’d be too concerned about you and not able to focus on kicking ass. And let me tell you, Slash is insanely good at what he does when he can focus. It’s terrifying and beautiful at the same time like some kind of demonic killing machine.”

“Does he really eat them?” he whispers, wrinkling his nose. “Like for real?”

I snort, my eyes dancing as I brush hair off his forehead. “Oh, totally, especially if he gets into a battle in the water. The dude is like a goddamn thresher of bloodshed in the water and a tank armed with knives on land. You haven’t seen it yet, but you’ll love it.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Shaking my head, I tweak his nose. “KK, you’re a demon inside. You aren’t totally formed yet, but I promise you, once you are? You’re going to fucking love carnage. It’s going to make your whole body tremble with anticipation and glee. It’ll make you hot as hell, guaranteed.”

That makes him turn bright red. “I doubt it, Salem. I don’t even know what… you know… does that normally. Not really. I sort of… shut that all off and sealed it in boxes.”

Fuck that—no one should have to live without feeling pleasure.

“Well, we’re going to unseal it, my delicious little morsel, I promise.”

A soft laugh surprises me when he looks up at me from under his lashes with a shy grin. “Does that mean I have to say ‘yes, chef’ when I’m answering you now?”

My jaw damn near drops to the floor at the innuendo and all my former suaveness disappears. Blinking as my brain short circuits, I just stare at Kit wordlessly. His smile goes from shy to pleased to a wee bit wicked as he watches me fumble for any semblance of intelligence.

“Now I know how to get your attention, I guess.”

Only if you want me to fuck the shit out of you on the damn kitchen counter.

But I don’t say that because while we’re doing well right now, I know KK isn’t ready for that level of playful banter yet. “If you… You could… I mean, be careful with that.”

Kit reaches up and puts his hands on my chest lightly, still flushed and rumpled from the make-out session. “Good to know. That you like it and that it might… make you a bit crazy, I mean. I’m not great at reading signals sometimes, but being this clear with me is really helping.”

“I’ll tell you anything you want, Kit Kat, but you have to be ready for the answers.” My expression is serious as I squeeze his hips lightly. “I don’t want to scare you off.”

His eyes dart around for a second and he bites his lip, looking like he wants to say something. I wait patiently, so damn thrilled by how this is going that I’m willing to be patient as a saint if he’ll open up. “Um, this might be a weird question, but…”

“Uh-huh…”

Leaning forward, he whispers, “Is your… Xerxes was a half-snake and his…”

How the fuck do I answer that without wigging him out? Ahhhhh!

Taking a deep breath, I think about the question he didn’t actually ask for a moment then respond. “You’ll find it’s different than you’d expect in all three forms, and I’m not the only one. X doesn’t have any… steel… there, so there’s that but also… other stuff.”

“Whoa….”

I have to shake my head to clear it as Kit stares off into space, obviously considering what I said very carefully. This little breakthrough is straining the limits of my control, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stop now. This rendezvous in the middle of the chaos outside our hiding spot is everything, and I’m going to soak up every second of it before KK realizes what he’s missing out there.

“Don’t worry about that right now, Kit Kat. Just be here with me and enjoy what’s happening now.” I smile softly, pressing forward until we’re close again and brush my lips over his. “One thing at a time.”

This kiss is deeper, and I feel like it’s because he’s trusting me to take care of him, to make sure he’s safe. It makes my chest get tight as one hand comes up to cup his cheek as we explore one another. It’s lazy and gentle at first, but the desire building up in me has been a slow, quiet burn that sparks to life in this secret alcove. Kit kisses me back, his fingers holding onto my shirt, and a soft growl of need escapes my mouth when I stop to breathe again. The hand on his hip tugs him closer as my cock twitches in excitement and I can’t help fitting our bodies together?—

What. The. Fuck.

Ripping my lips away from his, I look at him, my eyes wild with confusion as it hits me. “Holy Belphegor's hammock, KK! Did… tell me that asswipe didn’t…. he didn’t hurt you there, either, did he ?!”

Fury fills my entire being and before I can stop it, my demonic guise takes over as I look at the guy I’m absolutely bonkers about in horror. If someone cut him, if that dead human walking did this, I don’t care how much effort it takes, I will hunt the motherfucker down and deal with this myself.

Luckily, Kit doesn’t pull away when I lose my shit, he just slaps his hands over his face and makes a weird, strangled sound. When I growl softly, waiting for a response, Kit lifts his palms, peeking through them with a very scared expression. “No… no. Salem, no. What you’re thinking… no. That’s not what happened.”

“But… you… I…” It’s hard not to be a loud, snarly asshole in this form, but I have to keep a lid on it so I don’t ruin this shit. “I don’t understand.”

Sighing heavily, the smaller guy reaches down, taking my hand off of his hip and holding it with the other one between us. His expression is hard to read—sad, afraid, worried, and something else. “I have something I need to tell you, Salem, and if you don’t want to speak to me again afterward, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Something tells me this is going to change everything and I don’t know if I’m ready to hear it in the middle of a battleground—but I don’t have a choice.

“I’m not actually a guy.”

OMG ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME?