Theo #2
Against all reason and guilt, a fire lit in my belly. The hunt was on. I ran after her, tasting her delicious traces on the wind.
I wouldn’t be the only creature tracking her for long.
She better have one of those jars in the pocket of her dress or so help me, we would be having a serious conversation about common sense in a world of monsters.
I wouldn’t always be around to protect her.
Possessive hunger doubled my speed. She was mine to catch. Mine to consume.
Footprints in the damp ground. The scent of her arousal on the breeze.
Crunching leaves in the distance. She couldn’t possibly be less discreet.
Finally, her pounding heartbeat filled my sensitive ears as I cut around a tree and—on an instinct that was less than gentle after years of hunting to kill—shoved her into a nearby trunk.
“I told you not to run.”
“Theo,” she whimpered, her head tilted to stare past me. The whites of her eyes were on full display.
What stole her attention from me? I wasn’t in the mood to share.
My head whipped around so I could look over my shoulder.
Ten yards away was a beast—standing on two legs and cloaked in mist—with a predatory skull for a head and large antlers catching just below the tree branches.
Its maw parted, and from it came a deep, loud wail.
A navy-blue tongue lopped from between its fangs.
Through the black mist shrouding its body, claws flexed. A challenge for Vivian.
Maybe this creature found her first—in its own territory—but it wouldn’t lay claim to a single inch of her flesh. That was mine.
I turned around, blocking the shrinking female against the tree trunk. My muscles began pushing outward as I grew, the seams of my clothing protested feebly. As my posture adjusted to my increasingly feral form, I released a warning roar.
I heard Vivian’s breath hitch. She was frightened by the sound—for good reason. Even half-feral, I could rip her limb from limb with one hand. She would see that power in action momentarily, if this monster challenging me for her life didn’t back the fuck off.
Bones rattled when the beast’s head tilted, sizing me up.
“If you’re gonna pick a fight, fucking do it!” I challenged. “She’s mine, and you’re wasting my time!”
Its bony jaw parted slightly and closed without a sound. Then, the black mist cloaking its body began vibrating—spreading—swallowing it into the shadows between the trees without a trace.
Wise decision.
Now I had Vivian to myself.
I didn’t want to be feral. It was heavily frowned upon in my culture.
So, I forced myself to relax. After a few deep breaths, I watched the pitch-black tattoos on my arms fade to their usual gray inkiness.
Normal. But no less dangerous to her. I was overwhelmed by the chase, her pounding heartbeat, my intimidation’s victory over another predator…
it was devastating to my self-control. Primal. Needy.
“Vivian.” My voice hadn’t gotten the message that it didn’t have to be monstrous anymore. “When I turn around, I better find one of those jars in your fucking pocket.”
I rotated to face her. She had both palms pressed into the bark as she stared up at me with wide eyes.
Her pulse raced in my ears. Her blackberry scent had grown tart with fear, but remnants of that sweetness lingered.
Or maybe those delicious notes were fresh?
Not only fresh but intensifying the closer I stepped. My chest rumbled with excitement.
I slapped two hands down where her visibly empty pockets lay over her hips. She whimpered at the impact.
“Feels empty to me, Little Goddess.”
“You left me,” she defended herself with a hoarse squeak.
“Within a protective border. You’re lucky I’m what caught you when you ran. I told you not to. You shouldn’t make such easy prey of yourself, or something may consider you for its next meal.”
“What was I supposed to do?!” Her hand smacked against my chest. “Just stand there after finding you—you—” she gulped, her cheeks burning violet.
Calm down, Theo. You need to calm down.
I’d won many a chase, all in the name of violence. This was different. These unhinged feelings weren’t appropriate. But I had won the hunt, and I was fucking hungry. I needed to eat.
“Vivian, I haven’t felt this way in a long time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I confessed, hanging my head. My elbows rested on the tree above her, keeping her caged in between my arms. “Please. Don’t run again. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You haven’t felt what in a long time?”
“Anything.”
There was the truth. I’d shut it all off. I was a machine. A machine that hadn’t felt an urge like this since the first time it took a life. Over a decade ago. Not only did I suddenly have feelings, but I was being bombarded by the whole fucking spectrum.
She stared up at me attentively, resting a palm tenderly against my cheek. “And now that you do feel something… what do you want?”
“I don’t ‘want’ anything. I need.”
“What do you need, Theo?”
My jaw tensed. Part of me didn’t know. Part of me knew and was afraid to admit it.
My desire was undiscerning. It demanded that I tear into her.
Devour her. Claim her. Break her. My hands flexed as I tried to tame the beast. My cocks strained against the denim of my pants, but it was my tongue that demanded attention—salivating relentlessly.
She slowly—cautiously—reached a hand out, cupping my groin. “Do you need to… come, again?”
“Oh, darling,” I groaned at her touch. “It’s not my cum that I have in mind.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“You made me hungry when you ran.” I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “And now, I need to eat, Little Goddess.”
I watched her throat swallow against the pattering of her pulse. That soft flutter of her jugular betrayed the adrenaline coursing through her veins. But amidst that bitter fear, was the growing sweetness of the juiciest berries from her field. The aroma was complex. Layered. Addictive.
“You… want to eat me?”
“Only if you don’t object.” I lowered myself to my knees—as I’d told her she deserved—and stared up at her with my jaw parted. I ran my tongue over the teeth that I couldn’t seem to make blunt again. Savoring the complex taste of her adrenaline-laced arousal.
Her cautious blue eyes sparkled like the crystals in the trees. “Do you really want to?”
“I’m on my knees begging.” I reached under her dress to cup the back of her soft calf. “Let me appease both the heavens and the depths of hell, by showing you how you deserve to be worshipped. That would satisfy the unholy beast within me.”
“I’ve never—what do I do?” She swallowed.
“Your only job is to submit and tell me exactly how good I’m making you feel. I’ll handle the rest. Do we have an agreement?”
My nervous female squeaked softly and nodded her head.
“That’s a good girl,” I praised, snaking my other hand under her dress to cup both legs.
I stared up at her, holding eye contact as my palms ran up her thighs.
They were clad in a thin fabric with satin detailing.
Such delicate materials under the grooves of my hands that were designed to rip.
Maybe another time. Knowing she had limited resources—clothing in particular—I forced myself to behave as I hooked my thumbs into the waistband and pulled them slowly down to her ankles.
She stepped out of them, and I breathed heavily.
She was bare for me under the thin drape of linen between us.
Her mouth-watering sweetness called to me, but it wasn’t time to feast just yet.
She’d never done this before. Why rush a meal that was already mine?
I kissed above her knees, over the fabric, as I untied the laces of her bodice and boots with both sets of hands.
That small amount of contact was enough to elicit a moan from her.
She would make much more obscene noises soon.
Once her bare soles touched the ground, I made a point of kissing the top of each foot.
Starving or not, I always paid my respects to the gods before eating.
Two hands gripped her waist and the other set found their way back to her calves.
I was pleased to feel the absence of a barrier as they rose past her knees and up her thighs.
She shuddered.
“Spread them,” I commanded, tilting my chin up to gaze up at her between her breasts.
“Is this the easiest way for you to do this? Maybe I should… lay down?” She looked so uncertain of herself.
“I told you to let me handle how I please you. Now…” I grabbed behind her knees and yanked them away from each other, forcing her feet apart. “Spread them.”
She yelped and instinctively grabbed onto my head to catch herself from the sudden shift in balance. I grinned up at her, pleased to feel her thumb curiously explore the small horns on my forehead. Now, it was my turn to explore her unique anatomy.
I returned my hands to their torturously slow ascent toward her core.
As I grew nearer, a soft fuzz tickled the back of my thumbs.
Quadmos didn’t have this. I ran a knuckle along the apex of her thighs, appreciating her fur.
She let out a needy moan. It must be sensitive everywhere between her hips if she was already providing such positive feedback.
That was good to know. But I wasn’t after “sensitive”, I wanted the key to her undoing.