Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Caspian
“Right, X, what the fuck has been going on? Your reply message to Saxon was vague and annoying,” I demand the moment we are out of earshot of Lila.
Thankfully Saxon will keep her busy while Link and I interrogate Xavier.
I want us all to be on the same page before we go to the surface of Celestia.
We don’t need any surprises being sprung on us once we are down there.
When I look at the warlock, though, I can see dark circles under his eyes, and his exhaustion is suddenly clear.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t being deliberately obtuse.
I guess he’s probably been run ragged, trying to keep our wife happy and healthy, and he looks gaunt, like he hasn’t been feeding properly.
“What is wrong with you?” I ask, and he grimaces and starts to shake his head in denial, but Link puts up a hand and runs it over Xavier’s body, examining him from head to toe.
“You’re exhausted, and you’re starving.” Link sounds incredulous as he pulls his hand away from the warlock, who collapses onto a sofa now that we’ve returned to the living room.
His head flops back, and he closes his eyes against the glare of the artificial light.
“How does one who feeds from emotions, which are all around us, starve?”
“Because the idiot is big on consent. All warlocks are, it’s why they have harems, and if someone, say an asshole dragon and a confused snake, haven’t given him consent, then he won’t feed, and Lila on her own wouldn’t have been enough to sustain him without their active intimate bond.
Am I right?” I look down at the barely moving warlock and see his head nod minutely.
“I haven’t really been able to feed since the gem market on Rilu, which was before our trip to the cavern and journey here.
Lila is a riot of emotions, but because she’s my intimate and she’s upset, they are bitter and unpalatable.
” His words are barely audible. “The snake and dragon wouldn’t allow me to feed from them, nor would they allow Lila to mimic them. ”
“What? Why the fuck not?” Link sounds agitated, which is a surprise because he’s such an emotionally balanced being, unlike us shifters who are more primal with our feelings.
“So many reasons,” he mutters, and I know if we don’t do something quickly, then he’s going to fall asleep.
“Well, you are always welcome to feed from me. Feed now,” I instruct him, and he wrinkles his nose slightly.
“You’re annoyed and worried, and so is the cyborg. It’s unappetizing.” Of course it is. He is into decadence and feeding from beings who are sexually aroused or stimulated in a way that is extreme. My worry must be as bland as Lila’s sadness.
I reach out and haul the cyborg to me. Link has been my constant companion since Lila has been gone, helping me with our children and comforting me when my longing for my mate became extreme.
We’ve been sleeping in the same bed for days now.
I just needed the comfort of family, and he gave me that without question.
I’ve grown quite fond of the doctor, and I am not blind.
I can see what a delicious snack he is, and my kraken is in full agreement.
I fuse my mouth to his, which drops open in shock, allowing my tongue access.
I wrap my arms around him and pull his body against mine.
I think I surprised him, and when it takes him a moment to respond, I start to panic that he isn’t receptive to my advances.
I’ve woken up to find myself wrapped around him the past few nights, and he hasn’t complained a bit, so I thought maybe there was mutual interest. I’m just about to pull away when I feel his cock rapidly harden against mine, and his tongue slips out, caressing mine as his hands thread through my hair and hold me in place.
Holding Link is so very different from holding Lila.
He’s tall where she’s small, he’s wide where she’s narrow, and he’s hard where she is soft, but it is no less thrilling.
Caspian the man is well and truly bisexual, and my kraken is now in complete agreement.
Being mated to Lila is a hundred times better than finding myself locked into a mating with one person for the rest of my life.
The fact that she is open-minded enough to let me play with her other mates is a blessing in itself, and having her participation will be the icing on the cake.
If she had been against it, I would have been happy with just her, but I’m even happier now.
“Oh yeah, that’s it. Fuck.” Xavier almost sounds pornographic as he feeds on our emotions, and knowing he is getting something out of this carnal display as well makes it all the more delicious. Finally, I pull away, and Link blinks as he rubs a finger against his lips, his eyes hooded with desire.
“Was that okay?” I ask him, and he nods slowly.
“Yes, very much so.”
I see guilt fill his eyes, and he glances around.
“Don’t feel guilty, robot man,” Xavier slurs, intoxicated from drinking the lust Link and I were putting off, and when we look at him, his pupils are blown, and he’s got a very visible tent in his pants.
“Your wife is a perv, you know that, and she would be fully into what the two of you just did. In fact, she would want to be the meat in that sandwich. You saw how she watched when I kissed you. She’s greedy, and like a Pokémon trainer, she wants to catch them all. ”
What the fuck is he talking about? “Quiet, warlock, the adults are talking.”
He just continues to mutter, so I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to Link, ignoring the now drunk but healthy warlock.
I cup the cyborg’s cheek and press another short kiss to his mouth. “Thank you for doing that, and he’s right. Don’t feel guilty. She would love to see it, but I will wait until I can get her between us before we go any further. Plus, we have a grandpa to save, so this can be continued.”
“I know Lila won’t be upset, since she was very enthusiastic when Xavier and I gave her a blow job together…” He trails off and shrugs.
“It feels like cheating because she’s not here?” I ask, and he nods, relief in his eyes that I get where he’s going.
“It is fine, I completely understand, and it does a little bit. I would much rather have her very enthusiastic participation too. Okay, so how about you interrogate the warlock?” I suggest, backing away, and I see him relax minutely.
“Yes. I want to know exactly why she was so upset about Silac and Tirrian.” We both turn to glare at the warlock, who had been rather tight-lipped when Saxon questioned why she had been so upset.
He sticks out his tongue and blows a fat, wet raspberry at us, and I glare at him. “Holy shit, man, get it together. Why are you reacting so strongly?” I reach down and give the warlock a little shake, and he startles. The fog in his eyes seems to clear slightly.
He clears his throat and adjusts the tent in his pants, a light blush warming his cheeks to a deep shade of lavender. “Fuck, I haven’t reacted to lust like that since I was a teenager and had my first feed on it.” Xavier shakes his head, trying to clear it.
Link hurries over to the fridge and grabs a bottle of Skarrian water for him before returning and holding it out.
“Thanks, man.” Xavier takes it gratefully and pops the top, downing the contents within a few gulps. “Whoa, that was intense. Sorry, but thank you both so much. I was pretty much on empty. I’m so glad there were no enemies nearby, otherwise they would have easily been able to overpower me.”
“Okay, well, we discussed it, and we don’t think it’s a good idea for any of us to go off on our own anymore.
With the orb rumor floating about, people are going to get curious, and who knows when one of us may be snatched up and interrogated?
I’m assuming that’s what happened to Liliana.
I wonder what kind of state we will find her in.
” Link drops down onto one of the seats next to Xavier, and I take one across from them.
“Yes, Lila and I had much the same conversation on the journey here, not to mention how much she missed you all. She was practically despondent by the time we arrived here, and I’m not sure what kind of condition Liliana will be in when we finally find her.
Zamala said we would need a petal from the flamegem and a carevasta bear to revive her. ”
I grimace, thinking about having to appeal to a carevasta bear for help. “That is going to suck.”
“Big time, and as for the snakelet and the dragon, well, here is what happened.” It takes Xavier about half an hour to give us the lowdown on both Silac and Tirrian.
I’d known about Silac’s arranged marriage, but I had no idea her family was the Bravalana basilisks.
No wonder he is reluctant to break that arrangement.
But Xavier assures me he is taking care of it, and very shortly, our naga should be available to pursue Lila to his heart’s content.
I frown, uncertain about how I feel about that.
Silac and I were once lovers, and I care for him deeply, but I thought that was all in the past. To know that we will now be sharing a mate is somewhat hard to wrap my head around.
I’ll have to think on it for a while and see where I stand on all of this.
“When you say Tirrian’s dragons, what do you mean by that?” Link, of course, latches onto the one little bit of intrigue.
Xavier shrugs. “I have no idea. He basically didn’t say another word to any of us once we left Rilu. I think Silac knows, but he’s loyal to his friend and won’t betray his secrets.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” I agree.
“Do dragons have multiple forms?” Link asks, and I can tell that Xavier doesn’t know. I certainly don’t. Species interaction was frowned upon until recent times, and we certainly haven’t been interacting long enough to know everything about all the different shifters.