19. Adam
nineteen
Adam
S eth is so sexy when he stands to his full height and wipes his spit and tears off his face with the back of his hand. I can't help my self-satisfied smile when he looks so debauched. He already looked wrecked after Essa sat on his face. After being used by both of us, he looks perfect. Something that would've had my stomach rioting only a couple of weeks ago.
"Bathroom?" I ask Essa, who's still biting hard into her weird little venom collector thing. She points toward a pair of ornate double doors that look like they belong outside some grand estate rather than in a single bedroom, but then again, Essa's apparently extremely wealthy.
"Go sit," I tell Seth, who does as I say without complaint.
It's been a long day filled with a lot of changes and too much drama already. He and I need to figure out how to tell Essa that there's a good chance her sister's been sleeping with her fiancé, or if she's not already, she wants to.
I don't know how Essa can't see it, or if she's told herself for so long that she's protecting Niivi, she can't see that she's doing the opposite. But then again, for all I know, this Iddis guy is a grade-A asshole, and he doesn't deserve Essa's sister. If she's anything like Essa, he definitely doesn't deserve her. I should know. I'm a grade-A asshole myself, and I still don't quite get why both Seth and Essa deal with it.
She claimed us both. You read up on this as much as I did. It's final and binding. She's not getting rid of you. I'm not getting rid of you either.
Seth's words stop me in my tracks halfway to the bathroom. My shoulders tense, my buttcheeks clench a little bit, and my toes curl in the obscenely soft carpet. I swallow hard before continuing to the bathroom, ignoring what Seth said in exchange for pretending I don't hear anything even though he's in my head. My insecurities are mine, even if they feel less severe when Seth tells me he and Essa aren't going anywhere.
The doors swing open much easier than I thought they would, considering they look ridiculous in size. I think about making a snarky comment to Essa about them, but when I look over my shoulder, her teeth are still dug into the device, and her body is tense with her tail wrapped around her ankle. I tell myself I don't say anything to her about how obnoxious this display is because her mouth is busy, and she won't be able to banter with me. It's definitely not because I don't want her feeling any more insecure about this.
Fuck me, I've gotten soft.
I bite my teeth to nothing but the cool air inside the bathroom. It makes me look like an idiot when my expression is reflected back to me in the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall across from the door. I scowl at myself and then look at my body, at all of the scars that crisscross all over from times I was injured just to see how quickly my body could regenerate, from the wounds inflicted to see how much my body could endure and still survive.
Anger surges to the forefront of my mind at the reminder of what happened to me, what happened to Seth. I ball my hands into fists, wanting to slam them into the reflective surface, to break into tiny bits so I don't have to look at what was done to me.
How could anyone want to look at me? The thought hurtles through my mind, causing my breathing to hitch.
Nope. I don't want to dive deeper into that line of thinking, so I run at the mirror, fists up, but before I can make what I'm sure is going to be a stupid decision, a strong arm wraps around my waist and tugs me backward.
"Get the fuck off of me, Seth!" I yell at who I assume is trying to keep me from hurting myself. My vision is cloudy, filled with red as the anger fills me and constricts anything else I might be feeling.
"Shh, calm. I don't want you to injure yourself. I will need you strong for what's to come." Essa's melodic voice is behind me, close to my ear. She keeps her body from pressing into my back too close, almost as if she senses that I don't want anyone too close to me.
My vision clears enough to see her behind me, not even straining to hold me back. That's a little concerning, considering she doesn't look that strong. I know she's powerful, but seeing her not struggle to restrain me with just one arm, well, it's humbling, to say the least. And to think I picked fights with her multiple times, and she didn't hand me my ass.
"There you go," Essa says.
Watching our reflections in the mirror, she lets her eyes fall, drifting over every pink, puckered scar across my torso, down my arms and legs, across my chest. I swallow hard as I try to decipher her expression. She masks it well, though I'm pretty sure her tail wrapping around my ankle possessively is her telltale sign of wishing to protect me.
She releases my waist when I stop struggling, and my body relaxes. The anger I felt like a tidal wave attempting to drown me has diminished, and in its place is just a deep, harrowing emptiness. I'd prefer the anger, honestly.
"If you are to break the mirror, use this," Essa says, holding up a decorative metal animal of some sort. Its weight is hefty as she transfers it to my hands. "I'd prefer to use the mirrors to admire one another as we have intercourse, but I understand if you wish to destroy them."
Essa steps away from me, her tail the last part of her touching me before it too reluctantly releases me. It isn't until she's passing through the doorway that I notice that she's still naked. And she just talked about fucking against the mirror, or in front of it, or I don't know, just somewhere where I could watch it all happen from a whole other angle.
"Wait," I call out to her, letting the metal animal crash to the marble floor. "You can't call it intercourse like some detached clinician."
Her snort is enough to have my lips twitching in the corners. Damn, I really, really have gone soft.
I turn toward the countertop against one side of the bathroom, grab a couple of hand towels, and get them damp with water. I should wait for it to warm, but I'm in a rush now that my anger has abated, and I'm more interested in getting inside mine and Seth's Haventh. I may have just come, but my cock is stirring back to life, eager for a chance to go again if it means I can sate some of my desire with her body.
When I exit the bathroom, I'm disappointed by the sight in front of me. Okay, disappointed is a strong word, but it fits, considering neither of my partners has their mouth anywhere on the other.
"What are you doing?" I snap, my voice hard in the silence of the room. Neither Seth nor Essa jumps or startles at the sound. If anything, I think they're mocking me with their not so sly looks at one another.
"I'm getting ready for bed," Essa tells me, sliding a pair of those same short, cotton underwear up her legs and covering herself. I refuse to admit that watching her thread her tail through the little tail hole in the back is amusing or cute or anything. I keep my expression annoyed. "We have many things to do tomorrow in preparation for the wedding. I believe it's to happen in just a few short days."
I growl, and any rallying my cock was doing has officially died out. "You aren't marrying him, Essa," I tell her, ignoring the flash of worry that passes over her features. Instead of soothing those fears, I undoubtedly make them worse. "I'm not allowing you to marry him."
"Allowing me?" Essa rears back like I've slapped her.
It might have more of an effect on me if she weren't still naked from the waist up and if her nipples weren't hard and pebbled, alerting me to the fact that she might not hate the idea of me dictating her actions. Or it could be because it's slightly chilly in here. But I like to think it's the former.
"Yes, allow you." I stomp toward her, tossing the damp washcloths on the bed beside Seth as I pass him. He gives me a small thumbs up that he hides from Essa with his body. He starts wiping his face, the dried spit on his neck and chest, and the smudged paint. I wanted to do that for him, but I need to deal with Essa right now.
She stands taller when I'm near, her nostrils flare, her pupils dilated into little slits. She looks fucking regal with all her little chains and jewels still on, but I have a point to make.
Seth won't turn around until she can calm this down because I'm pretty sure she's wearing what she calls her scary face. She might be mad at me, but her tail snaps around me, higher this time, as though this is foreplay for her, just like it is for me. Okay, so maybe my dick can try to rally one more time.
Her tail tightens around my thigh, tugging me closer to her as she snaps her teeth down at me. Her fangs contrast against the dark golden hue of her lips, but there's no venom in them now, no way to make me docile if I try to cause a scene. I wonder how long that will last before she can make me submit again.
She could force you to submit just with her strength, so don't be stupid. Seth's voice in my head is more amused by the situation than I appreciate, but his remark does have my lips curling up at the sides before I can stop it. He's either gotten more used to the effects of her scary face or not facing her helps him keep his cool.
"When you devoted yourself to me, you knew I was coming here to marry another. I will not love him, I will not care for him, I will not cherish him as I do the two of you. But I will be his wife."
I open my mouth to argue with her, but the full weight of her words barrels through me. Okay, maybe they don't barrel through me per se because my biggest motivator is arguing with Essa and seeing how riled up I can get her while pretending I'm not paying any attention to what she's saying.
Seth, though, he's sitting on the bed, listening to it all and hanging on every word. So when Essa lets it slip just a little bit that there's a chance she cares for us way more than we thought, his thoughts are screaming at me to stop being an asshole to her, to wrap her in my arms, and treat her like the princess she is. Too bad for Seth that if he wants that, he needs to learn how to look at our girl when she's angry.
I step closer to her, pressing myself against her until she's backing up against the wall. She eyes me suspiciously, probably confused about the shift in what's happening. I can fight with her and want to feel her body pressing against mine at the same time.
"I said you're not marrying him." I press my lips to hers, sucking down her gasp of surprise before she melts into me.
Her fangs snag on my bottom lip, but it only has me treating her rougher, biting down on her lip in return. Our kissing is more of a fight than anything else, but it's us, and that's all that matters.
When I pull away from Essa, her constricted pupils are blown out wide, making them look like the same ones a contented kitten might have. Fuck, I'd love to make her purr for me right now. To soften her after riling her up. It'll have to wait for another time, though.
"Are you two coming to bed, or am I supposed to be alone all night?" Seth asks, pulling us away from one another.
I turn to face him, gaze hardening to tell him he needs to not be so needy, but when they land on him, I can see the uncertainty on his face. Oh, he's worried I'll get bored of him now that I have Essa to entertain me.
Stupid softening of my heart. I blame Seth for this because he's the first one who burrowed his way into it and left a tunnel big enough for Essa to squeeze through.
"Our male needs reassurance," Essa tells me softly, her tail releasing my thigh slowly so I can step away from her.
I don't need her telling me what Seth does and doesn't need, but when I try to muster up the words to tell her as much, I find they don't feel very satisfying. No, I'd much rather share with these two than continue to fight about it as though we aren't inevitable.
Essa telling us that she practically loves us has warmed more of the ice in my heart, and as much as I want to continue pretending like I hate all of this, I need it.
I love Seth. I've loved Seth since we were created, a bond formed in the hell we were created from that turned into more as our lives and minds deviated from those of our originals. And now here I am after telling myself I wouldn't grow attached to anyone else ever again because caring for others is a weakness. It allows others to find ways to hurt you and manipulate you.
But I can't ignore it anymore. I can't ignore the swelling in my chest when Essa looks at me or the way she makes the universe not seem as shitty as it is. She's a beacon of light in the darkness of my own psyche. She reaches different depths that Seth struggles with, and he does the same.
How couldn't I love her? This creature who accepts my sharp bits and my bad attitude, who protects me from myself and my own stupid decisions.
"I'm not little spoon," I tell her without taking my eyes off where Seth is now turned on the bed facing us.
He gives me a small, awkward smile, and I reach out to him in my mind. He's already seen all of the thoughts I just had about him and Essa and how much they mean to me, but passing thoughts aren't enough to remind him of who he is to me.
You're mine. Always. And if you ever need reminding, you tell me. You know I like making you scream out who you belong to.
My smirk only grows as Seth's cheeks burn pink before the flush travels down his neck. Essa huffs as she walks over to him, running her fingers through his red curls.
"You both need to speak out loud instead of sharing secrets only with one another."
"No fun in that," I tell her, swatting her ass as I join her at the bed. "Now, both of you crawl in so I can figure out which of you looks like the better one to spoon."
"Are you seriously trying to pit us against each other for cuddling?" Seth asks, his voice filled with a laugh as Essa lifts the blanket and motions for him to slide underneath. He melts into the mattress with a little moan, and I realize it won't matter which of them I spoon because we're all about to pass right out from how long this day has been and how many changes have happened in such a short time.
"There's no need to pit us against one another," Essa says as she joins Seth under the blankets, tugging him close, her tail high on his thigh. "We can have one another, and he can settle for a pillow."
Seth shoots me a look that tells me he's laughing at my expense in his mind, and I don't fault him. The two of them cuddle up with one another, Seth's body molding to hers and vice versa as they relax.
I sigh and already know I'm not done for the night. Essa's hair is still down, her horns aren't wrapped, and she's still wearing all her jewelry. I might not be the most outwardly affectionate man, but I like to help where I can.
I shuffle around the room, ignoring Essa's watchful eyes and instead looking for everything I might need, even if there are about a hundred places where all her things might be. Seth's soft snoring fills the silence around us, and when I finally find everything I need, Essa's still just as suspicious as ever.
"Lift your head," I tell her, my words still harsh because I like how her nostrils flare when I tell her to do something.
She does as I ask, and I gently remove all her chains and jewels before brushing her hair and twisting it into a bun on top of her head. I secure it with a tie I found and then work the soft, satin material of her horn wraps around them. She doesn't speak as I work, but it doesn't bother me.
When her eyes close, I swell with pride at her feeling safe enough. When I finish caring for her, she nuzzles closer to Seth, her eyes never opening. I sit on the bed, legs crossed for a long time, just watching the two of them breathe in their sleep.
I've gotten so fucking soft.