Chapter 12 Alabaster
ALABASTER
I force myself to dematerialize, leaving her to enjoy the rest of her afternoon.
What? I can be generous. She rarely gets the opportunity to be out of these four walls—the least I can afford her is to give her the illusion of more freedom.
The image of how she molded to me so beautifully, and for the whole world to see, sticks in my mind.
My pretty Calli does love to put on a show, it would seem. So shameless.
Now back in her room, I realize once again I’m not alone.
Well.
Less alone than I usually am with you watching me. What are you doing here again? Aren’t you supposed to be keeping watch over the brother?
Whatever. I can understand your interest, human, but know that I’m spoken for.
I walk down the stairs to sift through the library and see a tiny black cat with beautiful orange eyes staring up at me. Oh my fucking Gods.
“KITTY!”
I jump over to the fluffball and begin to squish her little face. She purrs into my hands as she willingly accepts my aggressive cuddles. I fucking love cats.
“You’re a beauty,” I say, scratching the underside of her chin. Her purrs ring through the room, and I smile to myself.
Interesting. Maybe I misjudged our hunter. He must have brought this kitty home.
“I wonder what the story with you is.” Just picturing Cade in a position where he felt he needed to bring home a cat is hilarious to me. “He didn’t see you coming, did he?”
I carefully pick up the cat and walk upstairs, lying down on Callisto’s bed. The cat makes biscuits on my chest.
Yeah, I could get used to this…
I must have nodded off because I hear the front door shut, Jack’s and Callisto’s voices traveling. The little feline is still curled up on my chest, content and sleeping. I carefully set her down next to me on the pillow and creep through the door. Calli speaks up from the kitchen.
“Thanks, Jack, I really needed that.” She sighs. “Wait, what’s this?” I watch as she picks up a small note from the counter, reading it aloud.
“What’s up with all the cat food?” Jack asks.
“So you won’t be alone. P.S., her name is Karma.” She stands there for a moment.
“I see cat things but no cat,” Jack speaks up.
Calli begins looking around underneath chairs and tables before her gaze catches on a window—cracked open.
“What an idiot. He brought home a cat and left the window open. It’s probably long gone by now. And why did he buy so much food?”
She goes over and picks up the bags, reading the labels off. “Pro kitten plan, digestive care for elderly cats, indoor joint health? What the fuck, Cade?”
I double over laughing at the top of the steps, my stomach tightening and my face hurting from the smile stuck on my face.
This fucking guy.
I see Karma walk past me, little paws hopping down the steps. The second Callisto notices, her face lights up and she crouches down.
“Oh my goodness, you’re so cute!” she says in a high-pitched voice.
Karma rubs up against Callisto’s legs, and when Jack bends down to beckon her, the cat totally ignores him.
“Aww, c’mon, don’t be like that.” He steps over and scratches under her chin and she purrs, thrilled for the interaction.
“She likes you!” Callisto says in that sweet voice of hers.
“Look at us, we’re like a little family,” Jacks says with a stupid-ass smile on his face.
Their eyes meet. Jack’s face softens as he continues petting Karma.
My Callisto and my cat are staring up at him as if he hung the fucking moon. A low growl rumbles in my throat. How dare they look at Jack like that.
I’m unable to hold back my rage as the air begins to vibrate around me. I quickly glide down the steps with the intention of doing… something. I don’t know what. When I approach Jack, Karma comes over to me. Mewing into the air, still purring.
Fuck.
I can’t be mad at a face like that.
Jack is unbothered, but Calli looks up. She notices Karma trying to get my attention, batting at empty air. I hear her heart begin to pick up.
Can she see me?
No. But her eyes… always feel like they’re staring straight at me.
A smirk plays on my lips—Jack doesn’t do that to her, but I do. I’m gonna make sure I’m the only thing that makes her heart race.
“You okay?” He waves a hand over her face. “You look like you’re spacing out.” He gives her an awkward laugh.
“Yeah,” she says, her attention back on him. “My bad. Listen, I really do appreciate everything. You seem to take my mind off things so easily.”
“Must be my charming personality and rugged good looks.” He gives her an exaggerated bow.
She giggles. “I’m serious, Jack.” She nudges his shoulder. “You’ve always been there for me when I need it most. I don’t know what I would do without you right now.”
Oh, she’s gonna find out. Cuz I’m gonna fucking kill him.
He begins to lean in closer to her. “Calli, I need you to know—”
I put my hand out in front of me, forcing the temperature of her body to rise. I feel her heart skip a beat, and she pushes her hair behind her ear. Jerks away and stands up quickly.
“Sorry, I, um, I think I need to go to my room… Can we talk about it later?”
“Yeah, for sure.” The moment is broken, and Jack rubs the back of his neck, his face red.
Fuck you, dude.
I follow Calli up the stairs. Opening the door to her bedroom, she beelines to her balcony.
She leans over the railing, scanning the horizon.
I bring my body flush with hers again, and she inhales. Like she’s scenting the air.
“I know you’re here…” she says. “I can feel your hands on me.”
I smirk, but she can’t see it—it’s too soon to let her see me. I’m not done playing this game.
I angle my head down, my lips brushing her ear. “This view makes me miss my world.”
She surprises me by asking, “What does your world look like?” My hands completely wrap around her waist now, our bodies flush.
“It’s filled with vast forests and mountains that touch the clouds,” I say. “Much like this one, but bigger. Better.”
“Better?” she says, like she’s in awe at the prospect.
I grin. “The flora and fauna shift with every biome, evolving into strange and beautiful forms depending on the region. The flow of time feels… different there. The planet doesn’t spin like this one.
Tidally locked, one side forever facing our star, about half the size of this one.
Never moving across the sky. The side closest, nothing but scorched rock and lava in an endless day.
A miserable place, but I do miss their mead.
On the other side there is no sun, just three moons that push and pull the tides, the surface nearly uninhabitable.
But below is one of my favorite places.”
She stares out at the horizon, almost like she’s in a trance at the prospect. “What is your favorite place?”
“The Underground.” The way her body tenses at that brings a low rumble up my chest. The Underground is a cavern the size of a continent.
Bioluminescent algae coats the walls and ceiling like stars in an endless night sky.
I don’t miss the war on resources. We are good at war.
That’s probably why Alok is so dead set on bothering me, to avoid the chaos and meddle in my life. “Perhaps I’ll bring you there one day.”
“I think I’d like that.” Fuuuck, she’s perfect.
I don’t know what it is about her. The way she moves, the way she thinks, her stubborn, relentless personality… it all makes me gravitate toward her. I want to break every rule I’ve been taught, to forget what I am, forget why I’m here, just to be near her.
I bring my lips down to her collarbone, just brushing it, and she arches for me. Angling her hips so that she pushes further into me.
“Why can I feel you but not see you? Are you here to hurt me?”
“I would never hurt you, unless you want me to.” Her thighs clench at that, and my hands trail down her body. She’s quivering in my arms. I bring my second hand up, gripping her throat. She gasps, but I don’t stop there. Instead my tongue flicks out, licking from her shoulder up to her collarbone.
When she lets out a whimper, I am done for… my eyes rolling into the back of my head. Her taste and responses are intoxicating.
“My shadow.” She finally looks up, like she’s seeing me again. How does she do that?
“You’re breathtaking,” I growl.
“And yet you’re taking my breath.” I loosen my hold on her neck just a little, and she breathes in deep. Almost like she’s trying to catch her breath. Her pupils are blown wide, and she darts out her tongue, wetting her lips.
“Do you like it when I touch you?”
“I don’t know.”
I grind my teeth at that. “Did you like it when Jack touched you?”
She blinks at that. “What?”
“I plan to erase any memory of him, every touch, every caress. When I am done, the only memory will be of me, and how I claim you.”
She angles her chin up, defiant. “Jack is just a friend.” I drive my hand down until my fingers edge her pussy, claws slightly out. Just for her to feel a little bit of bite.
“And that is all he will ever be.” She moans at that, eyes still defiant, but her body is singing for me.
Undoing the button on her jeans, I dive my hand underneath, feeling how wet she is for me. How much the fear, fight, and I do this to her. Her eyes flutter shut. I grip her chin with my free hand, angling it straight ahead once again. “Watch the view, feel all that I do to you.”
“Oh Gods,” she mewls as I circle my fingers over her clit. Her whole body jerks at the movement.
“Call to the heavens, but you will come for me.” I up my pace, diving a finger in between her folds, and I’m met with no resistance. She reaches behind her, trying to grip me, but I stop her with a growl.
“Put your hands on the railing.”
“But I just want to touch you, feel you,” she whines. I smirk, adding a second finger. Calli gasps. “Not what I meant.”
I chuckle. “Oh, I know what you meant, but this is my time to play. And your time to obey.” She gulps at that, biting her lip to try to hide her cries.
Her head falls back as her inner walls finally clamp down, and she comes all over my fingers.
“That’s my good girl.” I finish and bring my fingers out, licking them clean of her essence.
She may not be able to see me yet, but she felt everything I did to her.
The groan that leaves my lips at her taste—honey and something floral. “Time for bed…” I whisper.
Almost in a trance, she’s still riding the high from her orgasm.
Or maybe just a bit of buzzing from the idea that a shadow got her off.
That I did that to her, and will do it again.
She turns from the balcony, walking back to her room, and I follow, seeing Karma already making herself at home on the bed.
Calli pulls the covers back and climbs in. She smiles over at the little kitty there and whispers to the room. “Will I see you again?”
My answer is instant, a brush of my lips on the top of her head as she drifts to sleep.