Chapter 18 Ash
Ash
Ipractically danced my way through cleaning the locker rooms in full Disney’s Fantasia style.
All I had to do was use my hands to direct the shadows, and they did all the work for me.
They swept, mopped, scrubbed, and sanitized with me only lifting a finger.
Professor Blackwood was right. A little confidence and some constructive thinking was all it took to get my shadow magic almost perfectly under my control.
And the silver cuffs. Those helped a lot too.
Compared to shadow walking, the cleaning was easy.
With each practice session, I found myself traveling further and further through the shadows, my magic feeling like it was fully within my control for the first time in my life.
And spending each night with Silver helped a lot too.
With him I wasn’t an outcast or a bother.
The way he looked at me made me feel like the most special person in the entire world.
I found myself lying awake at night, just watching the moonlight dance on his skin.
He was quickly becoming my entire world. And the thing was… I really liked it.
I finished my cleaning duties quickly, not wanting to waste another moment I could’ve been spending with Silver.
As soon as the shadows stopped scrubbing, I locked the doors and headed across campus.
When I finally got back to my room, I found Silver sitting on the edge of the bed, his face buried in his hands.
“Hey,” I whispered, shutting the door quietly behind me. I walked over and kneeled in front of him, my hands on his knees. “You doing okay?”
He looked up, and I saw something in his eyes, a vulnerability I hadn’t seen before. But it was quickly replaced with a tired smile.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’m just… tired, I guess. Practices have been brutal lately.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I let my fingers dig into his thighs as I stared up at him. “Anything at all?”
Silver’s smile widened, his eyes lighting up. “What do you want to do?”
“I mean,” I shrugged, trying to be as coy as possible. “I’m already on my knees…”
His brows furrowed. “You’re right,” he nodded. “It would be an absolute shame to waste this opportunity.”
I felt my heart rate pick up as Silver’s fingers threaded through my hair, gentle but possessive. His silver eyes darkened as he looked down at me, and I could see the exhaustion starting to fade from his face.
“You sure about this?” he asked softly, his thumb stroking my cheek. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” I interrupted, my hands moving to his belt. “I really really want to.”
His breath hitched as I worked the buckle open, my fingers fumbling slightly with anticipation. I loved doing this for him. Making him feel good had recently become one of my main goals in life. And tonight I wanted to chase away whatever was bothering him.
I pulled his belt free and moved to the button of his jeans.
Silver’s hand tightened slightly in my hair, not pulling, just holding, grounding us both in the moment.
When I finally freed his cock from his boxers, I couldn’t help but admire it.
Thick and hard, the head already glistening with pre-cum.
Clearly my offer was having an effect on him.
“Gods, Ash,” Silver breathed, his voice rough. “A guy could get used to this.”
I glanced up at him through my lashes, gratified by the hunger in his expression. Then I leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his tip. His whole body shuddered.
I only had a few days worth of practice at this point, so instinct was my main guide. I wrapped my hand around the base of his shaft and took him into my mouth, trying to remember what had felt good when he’d done this to me.
The taste of him flooded my senses, the salty sweetness making me instantly hard. I hummed around him, and his grip in my hair tightened.
“Fuck,” he groaned, his hips shifting slightly. “Goddamn that feels good when you do that.”
I worked him slowly, taking him deeper with each bob of my head.
My shadows responded to my arousal, swirling around us both, wrapping around Silver’s thighs like they wanted to hold him in place for me.
The silver cuffs on my wrists grew warm, but my magic stayed controlled, channeled into the pleasure building between us.
I pulled back to swirl my tongue around his head, tasting more of his pre-cum. Silver’s thighs tensed under my hands, and I looked up to find him watching me with an intensity that made my own cock throb in my jeans.
“You’re going to kill me,” he muttered, his free hand gripping the edge of the bed. “You have no idea how much I love this. How much I love the way you look with my cock in your mouth.”
I smile around his dick, taking him deeper. I gagged slightly when he hit the back of my throat, but I pushed through it, wanting to give him everything.
“Ash,” Silver warned, his voice strained. “If you keep doing that, I’m gonna cum right now.”
There was an obscene pop as I pulled Silver’s cock from my mouth. I reached up, grabbing the back of his neck and forced him down against my lips. My tongue swirled around his, sharing the sweetness of his pre-cum between us.
“You can’t cum yet,” I whispered against his lips. “Not before you fuck me.”
Silver’s eyes flashed with desire, and before I could blink, he was pulling me up off the floor and into his lap. His mouth crashed against mine again, hungry and demanding, as his hands worked at the button of my jeans.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he growled against my lips, lifting me just enough to yank my jeans and boxers down. The cool air hit my heated skin, making me shiver.
“Good,” I managed to say, kicking my pants off completely. “At least you’ll die happy.”
He laughed, the sound low and rough. “Get the lube.”
I scrambled off his lap to grab the bottle from the nightstand, my hands shaking slightly with anticipation.
When I turned back, Silver had stripped off his shirt and was pushing his jeans the rest of the way off.
The sight of him—all purple skin and defined muscles—took my breath away. Goddamn he was beautiful.
“Come here,” he commanded, and I obeyed without hesitation.
I climbed back onto the bed, straddling his lap as he took the lube from my hands. The slick sound of him coating his fingers made my cock twitch with anticipation. Then his hand was between my legs, circling my hole with practiced gentleness.
“I love how eager you are,” he murmured, pressing one finger inside. I gasped at the intrusion, my body still sensitive from the night before. “Still a little sore?”
“I’m fine,” I breathed, rocking back against his hand. “More than fine.”
He worked me open slowly, adding a second finger, then a third. Each time he brushed that perfect spot inside me, pleasure sparked up my spine and my shadows pulsed around us. The silver cuffs grew warmer, containing the surge of magic that wanted to respond to every touch.
“I think you’re ready,” Silver said eventually, withdrawing his fingers. He guided my hips up, positioning me over his cock. “You sure about this? We can do something else if—”
“I’m sure,” I interrupted, lowering myself slowly. The stretch was intense, but I’d learned to breathe through it. Silver’s hands gripped my hips, helping to guide me down inch by devastating inch until I was fully seated in his lap.
“Fuck,” we both groaned at the same time.
I gave myself a moment to adjust, my forehead resting against Silver’s as we both tried to catch our breath. Being filled like this, connected to him so completely, felt like coming home.
“You feel incredible,” Silver whispered, his hands stroking up and down my sides. “Your ass is perfect.”
I lifted myself up slowly, then sank back down, finding a rhythm that had us both gasping. Silver’s hands moved to grip my ass, helping to guide my movements, and the angle had him hitting that perfect spot inside me with every thrust.
“Silver,” I moaned, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “Fuck your dick is big…”
“All the better to fuck you with, my dear,” he growled back, a grin spreading over his face.
I leaned back, my finger digging into his chest as I rode him. I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re stupid.”
“You like it.”
I bit my lower lip as my smile morphed into a moan of pleasure, his cock grinding deep inside me.
I loved watching his face contort with pleasure, the way his silver eyes darkened when I clenched around him.
My shadows wrapped around us both like a cocoon, responding to the intensity of what we were sharing.
The silver cuffs pulsed with warmth against my wrists, but they held, keeping my magic from spiraling out of control.
“That’s it,” Silver encouraged, his hands guiding my hips faster. “Take what you need, baby. Use me.”
I increased my pace, chasing the pleasure building in my core. Every time I sank down, his cock stretched me perfectly, hitting that spot that made stars burst behind my eyelids. My own cock bounced between us, leaking pre-cum onto his stomach.
Silver’s hand wrapped around me, stroking in time with my movements. The dual sensation was almost too much. I could feel my orgasm building, that familiar pressure coiling tighter and tighter.
“I’m close,” I gasped, my rhythm faltering as pleasure overwhelmed me. “Silver, I’m—”
“Cum for me,” he commanded, his voice desperate and rough. “I want to feel you cum around my cock.”
His words pushed me over the edge. My orgasm crashed through me with devastating intensity, my body clenching around him as I came hard across his chest and stomach. My shadows exploded outward, filling every corner of the room, and I distantly heard something shatter… probably that lamp again.
Silver groaned, his hips bucking up into me as my body milked his cock. I felt him pulse inside me, warmth flooding my insides as he found his own release. His grip on my hips was almost bruising, holding me down as he emptied himself inside me.
We stayed like that for several long moments, both of us trembling and gasping for breath. My shadows gradually receded, though they remained more active than usual, swirling lazily around us like they were satisfied.
“You’re incredible,” Silver murmured, pulling me down against his chest. I could feel his heart hammering beneath my ear, matching the rapid pace of my own.
“So are you,” I replied, pressing a kiss to his sweat-slicked skin.
We lay there in comfortable silence, my body still humming with aftershocks. Silver’s fingers traced lazy patterns on my back, and I felt myself starting to drift, content and sated.
“Ash?” Silver’s voice pulled me back from the edge of sleep.
“Mm?”
“I need to tell you something.” There was something in his tone that made my stomach clench with sudden anxiety. “Something important.”
I lifted my head to look at him, my heart suddenly racing for entirely different reasons. “You can tell me anything,” I assured him.
Silver’s expression was carefully neutral, but I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his silver eyes wouldn’t quite meet mine. “I… I’ve been holding something back. Something I feel like I should’ve told you a while ago.”
“Okay,” I nodded, getting more nervous by the second. Was this it? Had Silver had enough of me? Did I do something to drive him away?
“I’m…” he paused again, searching for the words. “I’m…”
“You’re what?”
He finally let out a long sigh, shaking his head. “Ash… I’m falling in love with you.”
My breath caught in my throat. The words hung in the air between us, and for a moment I couldn’t process them. Silver was falling in love with me?
“You’re... what?” I whispered, needing to hear it again, needing to make sure I hadn’t misheard.
Silver’s silver eyes finally met mine, and the vulnerability I saw there made my chest ache. “I’m falling in love with you, Ash. I have been for a while now, and I can’t keep pretending that this is just about a bond or a spell. It’s more than that. At least for me.”
My heart hammered so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
What was I supposed to say? That I felt the same way?
That the thought of being apart from him made me feel like I was drowning?
That every moment we spent together felt like the universe finally made sense?
“You don’t have to say anything,” Silver added quickly, misreading my silence. “I just... I needed you to know. I couldn’t keep it inside anymore.”
“No, I—” I started, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I feel the same way. I think I have for a while too.”
The relief that washed over Silver’s face was immediate and profound. His hands came up to cup my cheeks, pulling me down into a kiss that was somehow both gentle and desperate. When we broke apart, he pressed his forehead against mine.
He let out a shaky breath. “I was terrified you wouldn’t feel the same.”
“How could I not?” I asked, my fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “You’re everything, Silver. You make me feel like I matter. Like I’m not just some cursed witch from a forgotten family.”
“You do matter,” he said fiercely. “You matter so much it scares me.”
Something in his tone made my stomach twist with unease. “What do you mean?”
Silver’s expression shifted, and I saw that earlier vulnerability return tenfold. He gently lifted me off him, and I winced at the loss of connection. He grabbed a towel from the floor and cleaned us both up before pulling me back into his arms.
“It’s just nerves,” he replied at last, his gaze not meeting mine. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
I pulled him in tighter. “Me either. But we’ll figure it out, okay?”
He nodded, kissing my neck softly. “Okay.”