8. Phial
eight
Phial
I have died and gone to the highest plane of the afterlife. The mother has blessed me. No, she has more than blessed me because I'm in a room, alone with Avery. Yes, sure, we've been in rooms alone before, but this is different. This is a room she has chosen to be intimate with someone, and she's asked for me to be here with her.
I can't help the smile on my face when I finally get Jia out of the room and turn to face Avery. Her face is the brightest shade of pink, and I don't think she's ever looked so beautiful.
I take in the room around us, and yes, there are so many soft, safe places for me to make her feel comfortable enough to maybe take her clothes off. Maybe a little more.
"Where do you want to start?" I ask, trying and probably failing, not to sound too eager.
Avery's eyes widen at my question, and I figure I sounded too enthusiastic to be here. I'm not taking it back now, though, and I don't want to. I'm more excited about this than I've been for anything in a long time.
I stay standing by the door even though, more than anything, I'd like to stand close to her and feel the heat radiating off her body. I stood far too close to her the entire time we walked here.
But I didn't touch her, so I'm still a good friend. A good friend who wants to slowly strip his friend of all of her clothing and imprint the image of her in his mind.
"Well, I don't really know." Avery licks at her lips, her gaze moving from me to all the soft places we could get acquainted. "I had a plan, but that was before you were here, and I'm not quite sure what to do now."
My eyes narrow slightly as I take in what she's saying. I don't know if she means she's altering plans in a good or bad way because it's me with her now and not a Rytharian male. I can do most things they can do. I mean, there won't be any purring, there won't be any fingering since my claws might snag inside her, but that's only like two of ways we could pleasure one another.
Surely, her plans weren't to have him purr for her and stick his fingers inside of her. My eyes narrow further. Was that her plan?
"I was going to sit on the loveseat and get to know whoever was helping me today, but we already know each other, so I don't know." She chews on her lip again.
I let out a relieved sigh. So, there were no plans for anyone's fingers to go anywhere today. Good. This is good.
"Then let's sit."
I move over to the loveseat and wait for her to get comfortable before situating myself. I lift my tail and toss it over the armrest since it'll be pinched between the back of the couch and my body if I don't. Avery notices and scoots further away, giving me more space to sit sideways. I don't wish for her to go further, but it's not like she has much space anyway. I need only to shift my knee an inch or so, and we'll be touching.
"What did you want to do next?" I ask, keeping my tone light and a smile on my lips. I don't want to scare her away. In fact, I want to do the opposite so she might feel safe enough to press her body against mine.
"I already know pretty much everything about you," Avery says, blowing out a long breath.
My friend is still there. She only needs a little coaxing to come out to play with me again. She's nervous because of what this room represents. I need to show her that we're still close with one another, can still joke, and be comfortable with one another, even if there is a chance of fornication.
Mother, please. I hope there's fornication.
"Well, we can skip to the next part of your plan if you want." I shoot her what I hope is a charming wink. When she flushes and giggles softly, I think it's working.
Avery tucks a strand of hair behind her head, the motion drawing my attention down her body to what she's wearing. I didn't take it in earlier because I was too busy trying to calm myself enough that my feathers would go down.
She's wearing a light-colored dress that ties over her shoulders and reaches her mid-thigh. It's not normal wear for Rytharians, and I wonder where she found it. Maybe she altered something of Sloane's or K'Vella's to fit her. Where she got it doesn't really matter because it's beautiful on her.
"I didn't have the rest of it planned out yet." She looks up at me through her lashes, her fingers fiddling with one another in her lap. "I thought things might progress naturally once we were comfortable with one another."
"Are you comfortable with me?" I ask, reaching my hand to hers and stilling her fidgeting.
It's the first time I've initiated contact with her since I freed her from the smuggling ship. Her cheeks are still rosy, though I do think some of it is fresh.
"I am," she says, the words barely a whisper. Then, with a little more confidence, she adds, "Of course I am."
I wrap my fingers in hers, making sure my claws are as retracted as possible. I don't keep them sharpened, so they're dull and unlikely to hurt her, but they can be intimidating when they're so close to the skin. I wonder if it feels strange for her since I have one less finger than her. It feels a little strange to me but in a good way.
"Is this an okay progression?" I ask, watching for any hint that she might be uncomfortable or not want it. It's just handholding, sure, but it's more than we've done the entire time we've been friends.
"This is good," Avery says, her voice breathy. I blink a few times, trying to figure out how I've gotten this reaction from her when all I've done is check on her and hold her hand. "Maybe more."
I don't hesitate at her request. I scoot closer to her on the loveseat. My hand stays interlocked with hers as the other moves to her shoulder. I skate my fingertips across the tie of her dress and smile when goosebumps appear on her skin. My fingers move from the curve of her neck, back down her arm to her forearm, touching her lightly, letting her get used to a male's hand.
No, not any male, just me. My hands are the only ones she needs to be comfortable with.
"Does that feel okay?" I ask when her eyes have been closed for a few moments too long.
The pleasure crew pendant is still glowing green against her dress, but I need to make sure she hasn't gone all nonverbal and flashed back on me. My biggest fear is that I'll get so caught up in touching her and being with her that I won't notice she's reliving nightmares.
"Feels great," she murmurs, her words heavy and husky, and I'm just now realizing that this might be much more for her than I originally thought. Now, I only need to find a way to broach the topic with care and charm and nonchalance.
"Are you turned on by this?" Nailed it.
Avery's eyes shoot open, and her body stiffens. Okay, so maybe my charm and nonchalance need some work. I move around where I'm sitting, making myself more comfortable because I've definitely been getting turned on by touching Avery. My cocks are out of their pocket and straining against the fabric of my pants like they might be able to bust out of them if they harden up enough.
"I'm sorry," Avery says, shaking her head. Her eyes fill with worry. Well, this certainly won't do. "I don't want things to be weird between us. It's just been so long, and these Rytharian hormones are so different."
"Avery." I move both my hands to clasping hers. She stops talking and looks at me. "I only asked because I couldn't believe I was able to make you respond like that from simple touches. It isn't a chastisement or a judgment." If anything, I'm fucking proud of it, but I don't need her thinking that I'm only thinking about myself right now.
"We're good?" Avery asks, biting her lip.
"We are more than good," I promise her. "Now, does my touching turn you on, or do you want me to stop asking and keep touching you?"
"We detected the word stop was used. Are you still good in there?" a voice asks as the speaker cackles to life and has us both jumping.
"I'm good," Avery says, her voice catching in her throat as she says it, the pink in her cheeks growing a deeper shade of scarlet.
The speaker turns back off, and Avery looks at me before laughing. I return my hands to where they were, wanting to touch her for any amount of time when I get the opportunity to be near her.
She looks at our hands, how I'm slowly rubbing my thumb over her palm, and then looks up at me. "I'm turned on by this."
The stupid, happy chittering sound in my throat that happens when I'm immensely happy starts up, much to my annoyance. I've only made the sound twice since being off my planet. Earlier, when Avery chose me to be the male to help her with physical touch, and just now, when she's admitted to being turned on by something I'm doing. She can either guess from my reaction to the sound that I don't want to talk about it or she doesn't care about it because she doesn't mention it.
"What do you want next?" I ask, trying to keep myself from jumping too far ahead.
She sets the pace. I can do this. It'll be easy. I just have to keep asking her what next and doing exactly what she tells me. Easy, easy, easy.
"What do you want?" The words are said with so much sincerity it hurts my chest.
How do I tell this wonderful, amazing woman that I want everything? I want anything she can give me. I'll take morsels. I'll take feasts. I will consume her whole if that's what she wants.
"I haven't done this in a long time. Especially not since I've been altered. I trust you." She presses her palm to my chest, feeling my heart beating rapidly against her palm. "How would you progress this? I'll tell you if I don't like something, okay?"
I lick my lips, my head nodding softly a few times. My mind is racing. There's so much to do, so so much to do. I can't go crazy, though. We need to move slowly. I can do slow.
I shift around on the loveseat until I'm leaning closer toward Avery. I wrap one of my hands behind her neck, checking to make sure it's okay. I continue when she remains alert and doesn't try to pull away.
"Put your hands on me, Avery," I whisper.
"Where?" Her eyes are wide as she darts them from my lips down to where her hands are back to fidgetting in her lap. When her eyes return to my mouth, I can't help the smile that splits my lips.
"Anywhere, just put them on me so I can kiss you."
"Oh." The word is a breathy little gasp.
She doesn't quite get her hands on me, but those lips are so inviting, and I've wanted to taste them for so long. I brush my mouth against hers, just a quick, easy kiss to see how she likes it. Her eyes are closed when I pull away, her hands fisted in my shirt.
When she makes a soft keening sound in the back of her throat, tugs on my shirt, and lifts her face back toward mine, I deepen the kiss and try to make her feel how strongly I feel for her with just my lips.