Chapter 21 #2
Blue hair snorts and walks over to me. Pink hair stiffens and looks like he’s about to throw himself between us, but blue hair stops short of touching distance and leans past me, pointing out the window. “In that direction. Many clans live out there.”
Clans. Huh. I wonder if he’s, like, testing me or something. I look up at him. He’s towering over me, and his gaze is fixed on my cock again.
His tongue darts out, and he licks his lips.
“You are…very interesting. Your Vyastil allows you much freedom.”
I can’t help but scoff. “My Vyastil allows me to do whatever the fuck I want because I’m not his property. I’m a person.”
His eyebrows rise, and then he lifts a hand and brings it toward me. For a moment, I think he’s about to touch my face, but then he tugs at the pants I’m wearing and peers at my cock.
The shock of it all is so intense, I say nothing. I just freeze.
“Interesting,” he says again. “It is…small. It’s a wonder Rathyn has contracted you.”
“Fuck you,” I spit.
The Vyastil smirks, showing fang, and reaches for my dick. Before I can freak the fuck out, the pink guy hums something—a warning trill.
Blue hair pulls his hand back and smirks. His gaze roams me one more time before he turns on his heel, says something I can’t understand, and then they leave the room.
For the first time since this whole thing started, I feel exposed. That was definitely some kind of threat—whether it was aimed at Rathyn or me, though, I’m not sure.
I look over at the pink-haired Vyastil and let out the breath I was holding. “What’s your name?”
He blinks slowly, then bows his head. “Zynath.”
“You wouldn’t be related to Cielo, would you?”
His eyes flare wide, but he says nothing.
I think that’s my answer. Yes, he is. And it’s dangerous for him to admit it.
My gaze moves out to the horizon again. All I see are rolling hills and trees, but the way the blue-haired asshole said Outerlands like it was shit on the bottom of his shoe tells me I’m missing something important.
“Thanks for the backup.”
Zynath nods and says nothing, and I wonder if, like Cielo, he struggles with English. Whatever the case, I’m not going to press him on it. I know how frustrated Cielo was not being able to communicate, and it would be kind of a dick move to make him speak my language in his own home.
I look back over the horizon and wonder if Rathyn will ever take me out there. I know there’s a border somewhere. I know that war happens whenever the other species decides to attack.
I know it’s dangerous.
But obviously Vyastil live out there, so…
“My Everest.”
I jolt at the sound of his voice in my head.
“You are distressed.”
I peer over at Zynath and wonder if he knows what’s going on. When he doesn’t look at me, I conjure up the words inside my head.
“Are you coming back soon?”
“I am on my way.”
A moment later, he appears. He’s alone this time and strides over, stopping to speak with Zynath for a moment. I see it in his face when Zynath tells him about the blue-haired asshole, and I half-expect Rathyn to turn and take care of it.
I’m not sure I’m entirely opposed to whatever punishment he deserves, either. Only…he doesn’t do any of that. He looks angry, but his shoulders sag, and he holds a hand out to me.
“So much for defending my fucking honor,” I murmur.
Rathyn’s jaw ticks and his ears flick angrily, but he says nothing except, “Come. We will have dinner at my home, and then I will show you more of my world.”
I want to be irritated with him, and I am.
But it’s not enough to stop me from trailing along after him to the outside portal.
I fully plan to interrogate the shit out of him about the power dynamics I witnessed in that room, but as much as I can be a himbo some days, I know better than to do that in public here.
He holds my fingers as we pass through the second portal, and I take a deep breath the moment we’re in his place. The warm lights coming off the glowing walls are a strange comfort, and so is the fact that the place smells so much like him.
When the portal shimmers and then winks out of existence, I have just enough time to let out a breath before Rathyn has me by the throat, backing me against the wall.
For a moment, I think he’s pissed at me.
Then I realize that’s not what’s happening.
At all. He runs his nose along my jaw, followed by his tongue.
He does the same to the shell of my ear, then the side of my neck.
He bites down lightly, fangs just poking at the skin before he travels lower, laving at my pierced nipples, making my body hum in pleasure.
Then, before I can ask what the hell’s actually happening, he’s on his knees. He yanks my pants down to my ankles, then lifts my adorned cock and wraps his long tongue around it before sliding it back toward my balls.
I’m hard as fuck and even more confused until he shoves his nose into the joint between my crotch and my leg, sniffs, then licks there too.
“Are you…scenting me?”
He looks up at me.
“Like, covering me in your scent?” I’ve read enough werewolf erotica while trapped inside my aunt and uncle’s house all those years to recognize the signs.
His cheeks darken, but he does the same to the other side before pulling my pants back up and pressing his hands to the wall on either side of my head. His gaze captures and holds mine, and he’s breathing a little heavier than usual. He looks upset. No, worse than that. He looks devastated.
I quickly pull my hands from his hold and curl them around his jaw, pulling him in for a kiss. He goes easily, tongue dipping into my mouth, twisting around mine. His kiss is desperate. It’s needy in ways I’ve never felt from him before.
He pulls back, baring fang, growling deep in his chest before diving in for more. It’s…a lot. Almost too much. His hands are clawing at me, drawing pinpricks of blood, though I don’t think he realizes it.
“Rath,” I murmur, trying to ease him back. “Rath. Hey.”
He blinks slowly, like he’s coming back to himself. Then he sees the blood and color drains from his face, leaving him pale lavender. “Everest,” he whispers. He grabs my cock suddenly, holding it in a firm grip, and it attempts to thicken. “Your cage. Where is it?”
It takes me a second to realize what he’s talking about. “Uh. At home.” He growls. “Why, you suddenly want to lock my dick up after throwing such a big fucking tantrum about it the first time?”
His eyes narrow, and he squeezes me slightly tighter. “I would lock you away so that no other Vyastil may touch what is mine.”
Something about that sends heat coursing through me. “Yeah?”
He swallows heavily, his eyes locked on where he’s holding my dick. “It is mine. Say it.”
I kind of want to fight back, but I know I can’t. It would be a lie. “It’s yours.”
He purrs softly, his firm grip turning into something like a massage. I’m still stinging where he pierced my skin, but it doesn’t bother me. “You will wear it for me? So no other being can take what is mine.”
“I wouldn’t let them anyway,” I tell him, “but if it’s what you really want…”
“It is. You will be locked away for me. I will hold the key.”
I close my eyes against those words and nod my promise. It’s not a hard one to make. It’s not like I want someone else coming after me, and that other Vyastil really freaked me out. The way he looked at me was violating, and thinking about it makes my stomach squirm.
“For you. Because I’m yours.”
He purrs again, then starts to pull away, but I grab him by the waist. As if on instinct, his tail wraps around my leg from calf to thigh.
“I have hurt you.”
“Trust me, I’ve had worse from mediocre hand jobs,” I tell him. It’s an absolute fucking lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Rath,” I say when he gives me continued silence.
He lifts a hand and cups my jaw, dragging a thumb over my lower lip. “My Everest. You always shorten my name. Why?”
“I—” I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s a thing people do with their—” Friends. Boyfriends. Significant others. And I guess contracted cum providers in this case. Though that feels almost unfair.
This thing with Rathyn is more. I don’t have words for it, but I can’t exactly ignore it either.
“It is like butthead?”
I blink, then burst into laughter, collapsing in his arms. He purrs against me, rubbing his nose along my temple, and I can feel the curve of his smile as he presses it against the side of my head.
“Are you trying to be cute?” I ask as I pull back.
He cocks a brow at me and doesn’t answer, but there’s a playfulness in his eyes that wasn’t there before.
I sigh. “Sometimes when people—humans,” I clarify, “care about other people, they shorten their name. Like a term of endearment.”
“If you are struggling to say my name—”
“Rathyn,” I say. His ears flick in that way that tells me he’s turned on. “You know I can say it perfectly fine.”
“Should I do the same to yours? My…Ev?”
I realize I don’t give a shit what he calls me, as long as he calls me his. There’s a twinge in my head, and I realize he heard that thought. His head dips low, and I’m ready for another one of his possessive kisses.
His hand trails down my front and cups me where I’m hard and ready for his mouth. “My Everest,” he murmurs.
I kiss him harder as his long fingers curl around my cock. His tail unwinds from my leg, the tip slipping beneath the stretched waistband of my pants, dipping below and touching my hole.
I shudder. Fuck, I want that. Now that we know it’s safe, I wonder if he’ll give me his cock.
But even if he doesn’t, it’s his fingers and tongue and tail inside me. I’m not complaining, of course, but I hope he’ll fuck me soon.
“Come to my bedroom,” he murmurs.
I thread my fingers through his. It’s an easy request, and there’s no fight in me as he drags me along.
I feel sated in ways I didn’t expect to as Rathyn and I lounge on his way-too-comfortable furniture with a spread of Eretharian food in front of us. Most of it is good—a strange combination of earthy and tropical flavors.
I don’t like everything, but he quickly picks up on what I enjoy, and he hand-feeds me each item. It’s different, and I don’t really want to admit how much I like it.
He keeps me close, lounging on his chest as his fingers delicately lay bites of fruit on my tongue, and he kisses me on the temple every time I make a contented noise.
If I am some kind of pet, this isn’t exactly the worst way to live. I always thought I’d come back as a house cat when I died, and hey, if this is the preview, sign me up.
“Rath,” I murmur.
He hums and drags fingers through my hair.
“Those guys—those Vyastil from before—”
He stiffens, and I can feel irritation radiating off of him. But I need to know what the fuck happened back there. I don’t mind that he distracted me by licking me all over, then sucking me off three times in a row, but now that we’re done, I need answers.
“Who were they?”
“They don’t matter,” he says tightly.
“They clearly do. You literally almost ripped Cielo’s hand off for touching me. That blue-haired dude didn’t put his hands on me, but he was going to, and you didn’t so much as flinch.”
Rathyn stiffens again. “Mm.”
“Does he rank higher than you?”
After a long, drawn-out wait, I’m convinced Rathyn is going to ignore my question. He lets out a heavy breath. “He is…” He goes quiet, and I can feel the prickle of his thoughts. He’s thinking. “I suppose a human equivalent would be a prince.”
I lift off his chest and turn to look at him. “A prince?”
“He will rule the Vyastil when he comes of age.”
“Oh my god. That fucking guy? That smarmy, creepy asshole?”
Rathyn huffs something like a laugh and shrugs. “He is…not well liked.”
“Yeah. I can see why.”
His eyes glint and his ears flick. He’s happy I’m saying this. Did he think I was going to pop a boner for some jackass just because he’s a prince?
“His brothers are not as unpleasant as him.”
I frown. “I thought you didn’t have brothers. I thought it was just, like, a random egg situation.”
“Not every Vyastil will know their parents. Some do. High-ranking officials rear their own offspring.”
“So, like, the royal family?”
“Yes. And the…” He pauses and searches for an English word. “The admiral of our military.”
“Will I meet that guy?”
He gives me a look. “You have met him, my Everest.” When I frown, he huffs. “Eissa.”
I almost choke on my tongue. “Hold up. Hold…hold up.” I shake my head. “Eissa. Like, the really fucking nice guy who observed my whole…monster-dick-suck test thing? Who helped us with our contract?”
He makes an odd noise in the back of his throat. “I was unaware he did that for you until we sat down to sign our companion contract. That is not usual.”
I should fucking think not. I file that away for later because it’s weird. “How is that dude the leader of a military? He’s a marshmallow.”
“I do not know this word.”
“Soft. Squishy. Nice?”
He gives a trilling hum. “He is more than he seems, my Everest. But he’s a good leader. Fair and just. He is very well-respected.”
Biting my lip, I lie back against him. “And you. I know you said you’re not a breeder but…um…” I fucking hate the thought that he might want to fuck a Vyastil woman for an egg. I have no claim, but dear god…
“I will not procreate,” he murmurs, holding me tight. “Even if I should be asked to rear a Vyastil child, the egg will not be genetically mine.”
I sink against him and breathe in his scent. I don’t know why I needed to hear that. I don’t know why I needed to feel settled.
I let myself think about Rathyn and a baby—though I don’t think Vyastil are ever babies. Not like humans are. But what kind of dad would he be?
Jesus Christ, I don’t need to go there.
Turning in his arms, I kiss him, and he kisses me back—slow, steady, deep. With purpose.
“Sorry, today got weird,” I tell him. “If you want to go back…”
“I wish to show you something,” he murmurs. “Will you come?”
I smile at the double entendre, but I don’t mention it. Instead, I slide off his body and wait for him to stand. “What is it?”
“A…” He searches for a word. “Surprise. Do you trust me?”
I take his hand and let him pull me close. “Yeah, Rath.” His ears flick happily at the nickname. “I trust you.”
He leans in and dips his tongue into my mouth once more—still possessive, but more careful this time. And my heart throbs in my chest. My eyes feel heavy, and I let out a small yawn, trying to ignore that feeling welling up inside me.
I know what it means, but at the moment—considering this is nothing more than a contract—I refuse to give it a name.