Chapter 10 #2
His body leaned, closer and closer to me. Not the usual, “hey give me my head pets,” but more so leaning until his body collapsed onto mine.
I landed with a thump, the plate of pasta barely hanging onto the bed.
Oryx snorted and shook his head, his horns grazed my head and I squeaked not to alarm him too much.
“I’m sorry!” He pushed off me and patted my arms. “I’m sorry, I must have…”
“Did you fall asleep?” I sat up and grabbed him by his petrified skull. “You fell asleep. Have you not been sleeping?”
Oryx covered his eye holes and shook his head. “I sleep, when I need to,” he whined.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Oryx,” I chastised. “Am I kicking you when I sleep?”
Oryx demanded we sleep cuddle. The first night was rough for me because I had a monster holding me, nuzzling my neck the entire night. Once I realized he really meant no harm and he wanted to cuddle, I relaxed. Slightly. He made no attempts to eat me.
I don’t know why I trusted him more than anyone else but I soon fell asleep with his arms around me and the purring from his chest lulled me into the deepest of sleeps I’ve ever had.
Oryx tapped his forehead several times with his claws. “I did not want to sleep. I wanted to watch you.”
Aww, how insanely creepy.
“Friends don’t watch friends sleep. It’s kind of weird.”
Oryx tilted his head. “But why, you are pretty when you sleep. Especially when you make the growling sounds. You are like my little monster.”
Excuse me?
“What growling sounds?”
“It goes like this…” he laid his head on the pillow and made the exact same sound of a snore.
This little shit.
“That’s a snore and it isn’t cute!” I squealed and pushed him in the chest. “How dare you say that’s cute. It’s embarrassing.”
“Embarrassingly cute. I like it.” He covered his eye holes again with his hands.
“And that is why you haven’t slept? To watch me sleep and snore?”
Oryx glanced aside and absently scratched at his torso.
His abdomen was a masterpiece, the plane of his abs chiseled with divine precision, as if a deity had fashioned them with meticulous care.
His physique was robust and muscular, a landscape of strength embellished with a fine dusting of human hair that trailed down and merged seamlessly into his pants.
The fabric of his trousers hugged his form so perfectly that they seemed custom-tailored to his impressive build.
Did he do that for me? Wearing nice clothes like that?
Even his hooves looked like they were shaved down, looked polished and the hair on his legs looked brushed.
My cheeks flushed with heat, and I turned my gaze elsewhere, desperately trying to avoid his eye holes.
There was no denying the growing connection between us, but it felt like we were teetering on the edge of something forbidden.
He wasn't just from another world—he was a species I couldn't even identify.
How could I possibly justify this? And yet, the pull between us was undeniable, leaving me torn between desire and the fact we were both way too different.
Oryx hung his head. “I also have night terrors, so my Lord says.”
I turned back to him, my brows raised high above my head. The monster has night terrors? Shouldn’t he be the one invading everyone’s dreams?
“I have dreams that terrify me, they are so bad I have to chain myself to the wall.”
Ah, that was why there were chains.
Was it weird that I was happier to know I was the only prisoner he's had.
I’m mental. Something is wrong with me.
And why was I thinking about this now, when my monster was terrified of his dreams?
I shifted closer to him, feeling the soft fabric under me, and tentatively wrapped my arms around his neck. His shoulders tensed and he jolted slightly, clearly caught off guard, as I usually leave it to him to initiate a lot of our touches.
He immediately pulled me onto his lap and held me close. “I can’t wake from the terror. My Lord can’t wake me either. I thrash and ruin the room. I destroy things. The chains keep me within my bed. I didn’t want to sleep while you are here, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Be still my heart.
“Oryx, you must sleep, it isn’t good for your vessel, your body, to go without. Has it been three days? Almost four? You are going to get sick!”
“I don’t want to hurt you. You are weak. Besides, monsters don't get sick.”
Wow, thanks for calling me weak.
I rolled my eyes. “You will be the first if you don’t sleep. I have an idea. You are going to sleep. You will be chained, I will stay awake. I will go to the other side of the room if you get bad.”
Oryx sat up abruptly, his body went wild, and he shook his head vehemently.
"No, you will leave! You can’t leave!" His voice was a blend of desperation and command, echoing through the space.
The hair on his arms and back bristled like a threatened animal, standing straight up as if charged by an unseen energy.
The intense fury that I had witnessed once before, when he had mercilessly ended Leo's life, surged forth again.
I raised an eyebrow, not bothered by his temper. In fact, I found it a little hot.
Down kitty.
“I can promise you I will not leave this room, in fact, I can give the swears of all swears that I won’t.”
Oryx tilted his head and crawled closer to me. I held up my pinky finger, and he stared at it. “What’s this?” He poked it with his claw.
“My pinky finger, bone head. Now do what I’m doing.”
Once he did the same I hooked our pinky fingers together. “I pinky swear I will not leave this room. I will stay awake and make sure you get the best sleep. Then in the morning you can cuddle me back and I can take a nap.”
Oryx tapped his forehead with his claw. “This swear? Is it like an oath?”
I nodded. “Yup, it’s very serious where I’m from. In fact, so serious I’ve never done it with anyone else. You are the first.”
His ears rose up in excitement. “I am your first?”
I pursed my lips together and snorted.
“Yes, my first pinky swear.”