7. Willow
Willow
I wake up wedged between Rhune and Nyx, one of Rhune's wings draped heavy over me like a blanket, and Nyx’s arm curled possessively around my waist. Sasu and Kevin are curled up together at the foot of the bed, Sasu’s small body tucked comfortably in the crook of Kevin’s chest. Rufus and Circe moved to the floor sometime during the night.
Circe is stretched out near the door, while Rufus is sprawled on his side in the center of the room, snoring loudly.
It makes me smile to know they all feel safe.
The voice in my head is blissfully silent this morning, and I'm glad, but a part of me also feels… lonely. I try not to think about that too much, though. Instead, I stare up at the ceiling, trying my best to enjoy the cuddles, the warmth, and the comforting thump of my mates’ heartbeats.
I should be content, but for some reason, I find my mind wandering to Dravik. It feels like he should be here. The fact that he’s not makes my chest ache, and I don’t know why. I try to relax, but the cord in my chest has started tugging, insisting I rise from the bed and investigate.
Careful not to disturb my slumbering mates, I slowly ease myself out of bed and maneuver past the sprawled bodies of the familiars.
Taking one last glance over my shoulder to ensure they’re sleeping soundly, I slip out into the hallway, letting the thread in my chest lead me wherever it wants to go.
I find Dravik in what I assume is the living room, hunched over something on the coffee table. His massive frame blocks it from view, and no matter how I try, I can’t make out what it is.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I silently creep up behind him, glancing over his shoulder to get a good look at whatever’s holding his attention.
Clutched tenderly between his palms is a carved plant pot, and a strange and beautiful flower grows from it.
The long, thin stalk is surrounded by tiny, iridescent flowers spiraling upward.
The blooms themselves are pale silver with a shift of pink running through them, and the petals are many, growing outward and curved.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
Dravik carefully pours Welwig sap into the pot, and wherever it flows, it stains the snow a beautiful dark-blue color.
“What do you have there?”
Dravik startles, jumping at least an inch off his seat. He whips around, his eyes flashing with surprise a moment before embarrassment settles into the creases of his mouth.
“Willow. I didn’t hear you come in.” None so slyly, Dravik attempts to cover the beautiful flower from my view, but I haven’t the faintest idea why.
“What is that?” I ask again, pointing at the exposed part of the plant.
Dravik lets out a sigh. “It’s a Sweetfrost root.”
“Where did it come from?” I ask. “I haven’t ever seen one.”
“Yes… they’re incredibly rare, and it takes great care and attention to get them to bloom.” He lowers his gaze, refusing to meet mine. “I brought it back from the forest.”
“Oh.” I raise my brow, wondering why he’s being so cagey about it. “Any reason?”
His gaze is heated as he looks at me. He stays silent for so long I don't think he's going to answer. “I brought it back for you.”
“For me?” My breath catches. “W-why?”
He sets the pot down on the table, slow and deliberate. “Because you told me when you first arrived in this land that you missed the color from your home world, and I wanted to be the one to give some of it back to you.”
He stands from the chair, turning to face me, and I have to tip my head up, up, up to keep looking at him.
The heat in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine, and I find myself retreating from the hunger flaring to life.
He follows me, one slow step after another, until my back presses firm against the wall.
There's nowhere left for me to go.
He plants a hand on either side of my head, caging me in without touching me, and looks down at me, his eyes blazing. “I want to give you everything, Willow. Everything.”
He leans in, so powerful and gentle at once.
His lips find my jaw first, and he works a searing path up toward my ear. My skin prickles with every slight touch, sending pleasure searing through my veins and clouding my mind.
I tip my head back, giving him more access, needing to feel more. More of him, more of this. His hand slides over from where it rested beside my head, settling along the base of my throat. He’s not squeezing, just resting there, but the weight of it is enough to make my pulse jump.
I press back against the wall, but there's nowhere left to retreat to. With a rumbling growl, he crowds in closer until his cock presses against my upper abdomen, hard and thick even through the layers between us.
He rolls his hips, and I let out a shocked gasp. The size of it… It can’t be real. I thought the other demons were large, but this is… impossible.
“Dravik,” I gasp. “Dravik, what are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” he growls, lowering his head as a shudder runs through him.
“You’re under my skin—you have been since the day I looked into those beautiful eyes of yours.
I’ve lost my mind, and I’ll never be able to get you out.
Which is a problem, because now I’m addicted.
One touch was all it took from you, Willow, and I lost control. ”
He pulls away, looking like the motion causes him great pain. “But I can’t have you. I don’t deserve you. I would ruin you, and I refuse to do that to something so precious. Something so good.”
“I don’t understand,” I whisper.
He just shakes his head. “I won’t ruin you, Willow. I refuse to do it. You deserve better. More than this. More than a lust-fueled fuck on the floor of a stranger’s living room. You deserve… more than me. So much more than me, little one.”
I shake my head. I want him desperately, and I don't care about being modest about it anymore. I reach up, wrapping my hands around his horns, and he lets out a deep groan, a shudder running through him.
“Willow…”
Before he can say anything, I pull him down, finding zero resistance. Tenderly, I place my lips against him, kissing along the hard line of his jaw.
Dravik groans, and his hands slide down to grip my hips. When I get to the spot just below his ear, his palms tighten, and his hips jerk, dragging his rock-hard cock against my stomach. “Gods, Willow, the way I need you…”
“Whoops! Pardon me… Just gonna scootch by you guys real quick…”
The spell is broken as a deep voice breaks out behind Dravik’s shoulder. Dravik pulls back, his eyes shining with confusion and another emotion I cannot name. He steps back, holding his hands covertly over his pelvic area.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt! Please, continue. Just pretend I’m not even here.” The yellow demon gives us a bright smile and continues past us toward the coffee table. He snatches the bottle of Welwig sap from the surface and brings it to his lips, taking a long swig.
“Ahhh. Good stuff.”
Dravik rolls his eyes, stepping fully away from me now that the moment is gone. “Mind passing me that when you’re done?”
“Huh? Oh! Sure thing!” He passes the bottle to a grumpy-looking Dravik, then turns to me with a grin, completely unaware of the soured mood. “I don’t think we’ve met properly. My name is Cyprien.”
“Hi, Cyprien. It’s nice to meet you.” It would have been nicer under different circumstances, but still… “I’m Willow.”
“Oh, I know who you are,” he says. “My mate can’t stop talking about you. She’s fascinated by you and the entity inhabiting your soul.” He steps closer, gazing deep into my eyes. “Hellooo? You in there?”
Dravik steps in front of me with a menacing snarl. “She is not an object to gawk at. She is a female, and you will respect her as such.”
Cyprien steps back with his hands held in the air, but his smile never wavers. “I meant no offense, friend.”
“We are not friends, demon.”
He just laughs. “You are too much like Roark. I think the two of you would be good friends. You could waste the days sitting in silence next to each other, glaring at everyone with disdain.”
I bite my lip to suppress my giggle. Meanwhile, Dravik just rolls his eyes and stomps toward the exit. “I am going to find Willow some breakfast. Willow, call me if this one gets too annoying for you.”
As soon as he disappears past the threshold, Cyprien turns to me with a conspiratorial grin. “He is very protective of you.”
“Maybe a little too much,” I say with a laugh. “I like it, though.”
“I saw.” He waggles his brows, and heat creeps up my neck when I remember the compromising position Cyprien caught us in.
When I look back at him, Cyprien's eyes go wide, and his mouth parts with a shocked gasp.
“What?” I ask. “What’s wrong?”
“Your… your eyes.” He blinks, leaning in close to inspect them. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Are they bleeding again?”
“Bleeding?” He shakes his head. “No, not bleeding—although I am concerned that was the first place your mind went.”
“Then what’s wrong with them?”
“They’re… glowing. The red ring is, at least.”
“Oh.” I reach up, prodding the space around my eyes, but nothing feels tender or painful. “They do that sometimes. None of us knows why.”
“Hmm.” His brows come together in a deep frown. “If something unexplainable were happening to me, I wouldn’t rest until I knew what it was.”
With a shrug, he turns and exits the room, leaving me to stew.
You know what? He’s fucking right. I’ve gone too damn long without any concrete answers about what’s happening to me.
It’s time to figure it out. And the first person on my list of interrogation is Cin.