Chapter 17 #3
“It has two shower heads. We could shower togeth—”
Before he could even finish, Milo had darted off the bed, tossing their dress in one direction and their boxers in the other. “I have never wanted anything more in my life than to shower with my 4G, triple S!”
Rowan gingerly stepped through the carnage that was now the bedroom floor. “I know what Triple S is, but what’s 4G?”
Milo froze, their ass sticking up in the air as they pulled two towels out from where they were folded neatly under the sink. Rowan couldn’t help but stare at the pink marks his fingers had left on their hips. His hawk preened and lifted up one of his taloned feet.
When wild hawks mated, part of their mating dances involved landing on each other’s backs mid-flight.
Though it wasn’t the purpose of their dance, their talons would often scratch and mark their mate.
When hawk shifters mated, their fingernails would shift into talons, and they would mark their mate’s back.
There wasn’t a specific place they had to leave their mark, but as Rowan stared at Milo’s bare back, he decided right above the cute dimples in their lower back would be perfect.
“I would love to answer that question for you, but my pony thinks the reason you’re staring at my ass is that you want to see their tail, and is trying very hard to shift right now,” Milo said, wiggling their butt like they couldn’t help themself.
“Assuming that is not what either of us wants, I’m going to focus on keeping them under wraps. ”
Rowan was still curious, but he could always ask them again later. “We probably shouldn’t shift in the bathroom, but if you want to shift later today, or at any point this weekend, please feel free to. I’m probably going to go on a quick flight after this—if that’s okay.”
Milo straightened up and turned away from Rowan as they said, “Of course, sweetheart. I know that’s why we’re here.”
Rowan’s hawk lowered his foot and tilted his head in concern.
“We’re also here to spend time together,” Rowan said, following Milo into the shower. He turned the knobs, adjusting the temperature until warm water was streaming from both showerheads. “If you’re worried about me being gone, I can try to keep my flights short?”
“No, no, it’s fine. Seriously,” Milo said, but they still wouldn’t look at him. They turned their face up into the stream of water, and Rowan watched as all evidence of what they’d just done disappeared down the drain.
“Okay. If you need anything from me this weekend, though, please don’t hesitate to ask. I want this weekend, and my cabin, to be for both of us.”
Milo pulled their head out of the spray and gave Rowan a soft, but genuine-looking smile. “Okay. I will, I promise.”
After they finished showering, Rowan invited Milo to come outside and shift with him, but the sun had already set, and Milo stepped one toe outside into the cool night air and opted to stay inside instead.
Rowan tried to let go of his worries and give his hawk a fulfilling flight, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Milo would actually stick to that promise.
His worry only deepened when he returned home, and Milo didn’t voice any opinion on dinner or, more importantly, dessert.
“Do you want to watch a movie? Or are you ready for bed?” Rowan asked after Milo finished the bowl of ice cream he’d served them.
“I think—” Milo interrupted themself with a yawn. “I might need to go to bed early. You’re welcome to stay up, though. It won’t bother me.”
“I’ll probably just read,” Rowan said, walking over to the in-wall shelves lining the fireplace.
He ignored the glass chessboard Troy had gotten him several birthdays ago.
Apparently, Raina had mentioned that Rowan used to play, and Troy thought it would go well with the cabin's decor.
He had been right, but Rowan had never taken it out to play.
His siblings had never cared much for chess.
Maybe he and Milo could play this weekend, or the next time they came to visit.
There was no rush, especially not if Milo was feeling out of sorts.
Rowan grabbed a random book, and Milo eyed the shirtless man on the cover. “Maybe you can read to me? Give me some sexy dreams instead of the ones I’ve been having.”
Rowan would have happily read to Milo the entire night long, but by the time they got ready and settled into bed, Milo only made it through half of chapter one before conking out.
Rowan’s hawk was antsy, pacing around and picking at the feathers he still needed to shed.
Rowan almost considered going on another flight, now that Milo was safely tucked into bed, but he didn’t want them to wake up while Rowan was gone.
Instead, he read twelve more chapters and was finally able to fall asleep somewhere around midnight, when his hawk had tired himself out and collapsed into his nest.
He wasn’t asleep for long. Something pulled him and his hawk from sleep, and as he blinked his eyes open, the clock read three am. He grunted and rolled over, hoping to find a new spot in bed to sink into, but his hawk squawked feebly, and he jerked back, having nearly rolled over on top of Milo.
They were curled up only a few inches behind Rowan, their eyes open, gaze distant.
“Baby?” Rowan gruffed.
Milo blinked slowly before raising their chin to look at Rowan. The bags under their eyes were dark against their pale skin, and their mouth was pressed in a tight line. “Sorry,” they whispered. “Did I wake you?”
They didn’t sound like someone who had just woken up. They sounded like a person reaching the end of their rope—and then some.
“I think I woke myself up,” Rowan lied. “What about you? Did you just wake up?”
“No,” Milo whispered, but it was barely more than an exhale.
“Nightmare?” Rowan guessed, and Milo curled up even tighter. “Is there anything I can do? Do you want to hold hands, like we did last time? Or maybe I could try to put my hand on your back?”
Rowan’s hawk let out a pitiful cheep. They both knew that might be a stretch for what they could offer right now. Their nerves were raw, and even the shift of the bed sheets each time Milo breathed felt like too much.
“Is there…any chance at all you could…fuck me?” Milo whispered, the strain in their voice nothing compared to how tightly they fisted the sheets in front of their face.
“It’s the only thing I can think of that might help me fall asleep.
It could even just be with one of the dilators we didn’t use. I don’t care.”
That…might actually be doable.