22.
Moth
S leep comes easily with the warmth of my flame beside me but does not last. Reaching to feel her body next to mine, I find only blankets and pillows.
She is gone.
Startled, I sit up and race to the door.
Sprout sits on the porch, his tail happily thudding as he nods his head in the direction of the woods. Heather is there, among the trees, her body transformed and beautiful under the soft moonlight. I inch closer to get a better look, but as I approach, her eyes widen, pulling her human features back over herself like a security blanket.
“Wait!” I order, stroking her feathers just before they vanish. Soft.
Even in this form, she is still so soft.
“It’s weird for you though, isn’t it?” she asks, still half-shifted. “I know how you’re used to seeing me.”
“You are beautiful.”
“Beautiful,” she echoes. “I knew you would accept me but… you really think I’m beautiful?”
I cannot help but smile. Perhaps now she understands the confusion I felt the first time she kissed me while transformed. It is not a form mortals are accustomed to, but she is no longer a mortal—and every inch of her is mine.
“What was it you said to me all those years ago now?” I muse, still holding onto her hand. I raise it from where it had rested over my heart to my lips. “’You are so, so pretty.’”
“I really am a wordsmith, huh?” She sniffles, her chestnut eyes dewy. The moon hits the defined curves of her body. Yet in this half-shifted form, she looks so small and uncertain.
“And I love you,” I say, trailing a claw from her shoulder to chin, a gesture that always makes her shudder. She trembles and leans into me, seeming just a little more relaxed. Her skin returns, and though her warmth is welcome, I am eager to see her full power.
“Does transforming get easier?” she asks. Flexing her hand, the nails grow and retract. “Almost every time it’s happened, I’ve been like so angry that everything becomes a blur…”
I hesitate. I’ve been able to shift forms since I was a child. It’s hard to say if it’s something that she will adapt to or not. “I will help you practice.”
“Yeah…” She nods. “I mean if you want to. I would like that.”
“Heather…” I begin, pinching her chin between my fingers. “Again, I will repeat myself: you are beautiful. I will keep telling you so even if it takes an eternity for you to believe me.”
“But do you…” she begins, rocking on her heels. I attempt to study her body language, but cannot imagine how, in a form so exquisite, she could doubt herself.
I have told her she is beautiful, accepted… but with the way she squirms, I don’t think she believes it. Unless there is something else she is waiting to hear.
Oh .
“You are desired.” The words are an understatement. I could never describe what burns in my chest for her.
Still she blinks at me.
“Yeah?” My flame questions and the doubt on her lips would be maddening if the way they pout was not so adorable.
“Yes.” I trail my fingers up the pale flesh of her arms, and feathers sprout in the wake of my touch. As I move to rub her shoulders, I speak the words: “In fur, flesh, and feathers, my need for you is the same.”
“And do you need me … now ?” She is surprisingly bashful in this moment. For a long moment, her eyes are downcast, obscured by long lashes. When her gaze flutters up at me, the chestnut color has been replaced with something pearlescent.
“Always.”
I watch her come alive under my gaze. My throat bobs as she moves from my grasp, sauntering backward, her body beautiful and bare under the glow of the moon.
I am glad we sent her mother to stay at Rosie and Clara’s. An interruption would not be welcome in this—or any—intimate moment between us.
“Prove it.” She takes another step back. No, as much as I would love to show her my desire, after all the time spent wondering and chasing her across the realms, I long to feel the same … dedication.
“No, my flame,” I say, summoning the kind of wicked grin I know will capture her interest. My wings unfurl behind me. “Tonight, I have a request…”
“ Oh? ” Her eyes grow wide with interest. “Tell me.”
“You will be the one to lead the chase,” I say, straightening my back. Her eyes burn into mine as heat rushes to her face. “Use your strength, claws, and mouth to mark me as your own—if you are willing, of course.”
Her eyes grow as wide as saucers, and I wonder if the request is too much for tonight. I will gladly wait—then I note the way she bites her bottom lip.
She is just as hungry as I am.
“That… that sounds. Yes. Yes, let’s do that.” She nods and her laugh lights up the forest. “Okay, okay, any requests or boundaries we need to flesh out first?”
I shake my head. “All I want is to be caught and claimed by the creature I love most.”
“Then Moth?” she says, stretching her arms over her head and shifting her weight from side to side as if she’s about to run a marathon.
“Yes, my flame?” I gulp as something primal awakens in me.
“ Run, ” she says, standing firm and powerful. It is an order I do not hesitate to follow.
Launching into the air, I fly at full speed. To catch me, she’ll have to transform, and my body tingles in anticipation of seeing her like that again. From flickering flame to screeching monster, she is mine to love in all forms.
And I do—usually Heather is warm against the cool of my feathers. I have often admired the way her freckles pop when she’s been exposed to too much sun and that funny way she squints when she laughs. As I soar above the trees, I think of the woman chasing me, I would not change one ounce of her humanity.
There have been times she has asked If I might love her a little less if we had met in a different time. I would not. I could not. If she had been a faerie in the Moth Court when I was still indebted to royal life, we would be seated together on the throne. But chasing each other down in these woods—her teeth on the base of my throat and breath on my lips—is the place we belong.
And with every wingbeat, I long to feel all those things and more, but each time my little flame gets close I manage to give her the slip. When I look back, she is frustrated—with adorable, narrowed eyes and her hands balled in fists. She lands with a thud, and despite myself I follow. If this is not a game she wishes to play, I will gladly find another.
“Help me,” she says, breaking the tension for a moment. I wonder if it is a ploy to get ahead, but I am not used to being in the position of prey, and I fold at her request. She extends her hands, holding mine tight as a smile appears on her lips.
“I thought about holding your hands like this when I shifted back the first time,” she admits with a deep breath. When her eyes flick back up to me, they have a milky sheen across them and have grown in size. I try to pull away, but the devious grin on her lips breaks into something that looks pained.
“You do not have to shift all the way,” I assure her softly. “We have a lifetime to explore each other.”
“I want to,” she says through gritted teeth, getting closer, so close, her form changes and contracts in my grasp, and I wonder if there is anything I can do to help.
“Perhaps if the pain was paired with pleasure.” I lightly tug one hand from her grasp. Once free, I trail my claws down her hip. “Then that might ease the burden.”
My fingers glide slowly across her flesh. Days have felt like lifetimes, and I will savor every touch. I do not want to rush even a moment of the pleasure tonight promises.
“Moth.” She groans as her body tenses under my touch. I allow my fingers to go lower, sliding until they reach the center of her thighs, I lightly caress her entrance, delighting in the way she shutters in response.
Retracting my claw, I dip into her core, circling and pulsing my fingers; the sound of bones cracking accompanies the sound of her moans until my fingers are slick with desire and the panting form of a monster is wrapped around them.
“Magnificent,” I marvel, taking in the sight of her strong shoulders and structure. Her exoskeleton begins at her hips, climbing to cover her breasts in a design that fades from gold to green. With her this close, the soft ring of feathers that covers her neck tickle my soft flesh, and I gulp. Truly magnificent.
How foolish I had been to suggest running from her.
With the hand she still holds, I guide her to touch my hardened cock as proof that this form is not only gorgeous, but it is her—and that is all I could ever want.
“You are desired, my flame,” I say, not breaking my gaze from her pearlescent eyes. I withdraw my fingers from her. “Now, chase me before I lose my resolve and fuck you right here.”
In response, her long claws dig deep into my hand, unwilling to let me go. She toys with my cock for a moment, the tip of a blunted claw dragging across the length. I lean into her, moaning into her feathers. If she keeps me here all night, I will be content.
“You’ll have to get away first,” she growls—a challenge. At full strength I have yet to meet a foe I could not best. I tug, but her grip is strong. Nothing like the times she has held me down at my request and I have play-struggled under her grasp.
She has me in more ways than one.
I kiss the tip of her beak, dragging my tongue down to her chin in a way that makes her shiver, but still, she does not let go. I smirk, rising to the challenge. I had thought I’d stay in flesh this evening, but it seems to get away. It seems Heather will not be the only monster flying through the woods tonight.
There is no pain when my body shifts, only the familiar feeling of hardening limbs as they stretch and lengthen. She’s bathed in the red of my eyes. Releasing my hand my flame lunges for my body; it isn’t hard to avoid her, but it is amusing to see those bug eyes of hers narrow.
“I’ll give you a head start,” my fiery monster whispers. “You’re going to need it.” Harsh and determined. I like it.
At her command, I launch into flight, and just as I wanted, she chases me through the sky. Her form is strong and soft all at once and a wonder to behold.
We race, dodging and circling each other, until finally, her talons hook mine, dragging me into flight along with her. Locked tightly in place, we whirl in the sky, free from shame or inhibitions.
“Do you surrender?” she asks, her thighs flush against mine. Her wings flap behind her beautiful and green as the world spinning around us.
“Forever.”
The sharpness of her mouth digs into my shoulder. With merciless ease she clamps down, biting as if I am still adorned in flesh and not a creature of shadow and sky. The second time she bites, the screams from my lips sing through the forest—and I do not mind.
Let the whole world know that I am my flame’s to take.
With ease, she slams us into a nearby pine; high above the forest floor, the rough of the bark scratches against my now folded wings. But there’s pleasure in the momentary discomfort, the way it aches in tandem with the friction of our bodies. I do not mask the whimper that leaves me. If I am to be weak for anyone, let it be for her. Let this woman take my pain, my pleasure, my heart. She will keep it safe, held tight in a place where neither of us hide our desires.
Another bite—this time at my hip, and the bloom of pleasure rises to a peak as she straightens. She grips my wrists, locking my hands over my head.
Our hips are flush, and with each roll of her body, she teases me until I am in blissful agony. When she finally releases my hands, my claws find my way to her hips, holding tight as I position our bodies to meet.
“Desired, my flame,” I repeat. “You are desired.”
“Show me,” she demands, and my bride does not have to ask twice. I kiss every inch of her from heel to beak, letting my hands trail across the hard and soft edges of her body. She quivers under my fingertips, but it’s not enough.
With ease, she flips me onto my back, holding me with one arm. My flame dives toward the ground, dropping my body onto the forest floor. She stands above me, her figure illuminated by the moon, rivaling the glow of even the brightest stars. But, she keeps herself just out of reach of my touch, a gleam in her large eyes, as I writhe with wanting just below her. Weak in her presence, I have shifted back to flesh.
She wants proof of my need for her? I am not above begging. Rising to my knees, I shower her in kisses. “Let me have all of you.”
I line up my cock with her opening, moving inch by inch into her welcoming body. We match each other movement by movement. She grinds into my hips, her body taking all of me so well. She is warm and tight, then suddenly—gone.
Flipping her head back, she screams—and her angelic face replaces the sweet creature I begged to take me. Every one of her forms is like art.
“I’ll need my mouth for what I want to do next,” she says, pushing me down by the shoulders with a force that seems to surprise her. And though her lips are soft on my skin, my little flame cannot help but use her teeth, biting down on the flesh of my calf before she moves between my legs.
Her nose slides down the length of my cock teasingly. She moves her face around in what feels like a nuzzle, pulling a gasp from my lips. She begins slowly, but each movement has the power of electricity. Her tongue knows every way to bring me to the cusp of pleasure-, then snatch it away in a cruel little game that keeps me holding tight to the edge.
I am not finished with her yet-—and luckily, my flame seems to feel the same.
Her hot mouth engulfs my cock, skillfully easing me deeper and deeper into her throat, until her nose touches my abdomen. I am at her mercy. I ache to touch her, but she keeps me pinned to the ground, feasting on my body in a way that makes me senseless.
There is no time to regain my composure. As soon as she releases me from her mouth, she is upon me, straddling my hips once more. She grinds against me, teasing and touching with her hands before impaling herself onto my cock. The sudden sensation rocks me toward the edge, ready to explode.
“Hold onto me,” she orders. “Transformed.” I can do nothing but comply; my bones move easily, throbbing as my length grows inside her warmth. She groans in response, shallowly rocking her hips. I am on the edge of certain bliss as she launches us into the air. Locked in her talons once more, we spin above the canopy of trees.
Under the moon, we cry out together. I feel as if tonight was as sacred as any ceremony; in the forest we are one.
Afterward, we lay together on a nest of fallen leaves, breathing in the air and the scent of each other. “Was that too much?” she asks.
“Never,” I say, brushing the tip of her beak just as her feathers give way to soft human flesh. One day, I hope she will know she has the freedom to be too much, too little, too loud, too quiet. As long as she is here —as long as she is mine.
“You are perfect, my flame,” I say, meeting her chestnut brown eyes. I need her to understand just how much I mean it.
“I love you.” She laughs. The feathers on her arms have yet to retract fully into her skin, and she fiddles with them like the loose wool of a sweater.
“Believe me, Heather,” I say in earnest. “Or I will chase you through our forest until you do.”
“That was my job tonight, remember? Though, you didn’t run that far.”
“How could I?” I ask, letting the feeling of being this wanted wash over me. For days, we have been fighting to get back to each other, and now she is finally here.
“I’m so ridiculously in love with you. You know that, right?”
“Yes,” I say, relishing the feeling of her warmth against my skin. “And I love yo—” A yawn escapes my lips.
“As much as I totally love the idea of sleeping under the stars,” she begins before trailing off. “Maybe let’s move this to the bedroom—beauty rest and all.”
“You couldn’t possibly be more beautiful,” I whisper, letting my claws trail down her jawline.
“Aw, babe—you abbreviated a word,” she squeals, hugging my neck.
“I suppose the time spent together has changed us both,” I say, trailing my fingers over the edges of her wings. “Is it going to be like this forever?”
“The unpredictable moments of peril or the bliss of our skin on each other’s skin?”
“Both, I guess.”
“It may be. I cannot predict the challenges we will face in our long lives—but I can say we will be facing them together.”
“Then that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?”
If all of this has taught me anything, it is that I do not wish for our lives to just be next to each other, I want to be fully entangled.
“You’re my best friend, I hope you know that.” She nuzzles into my shoulder. “I love our lives together. I love all the people in there, but you are my favorite most of all. You’re my person.”
“I am so glad you fell out of that tree,” I say, remembering the way she looked when I first saw her in these woods. Despite not wanting to be discovered, she awakened something in me. I could never have guessed how our relationship would grow.
“And I’m so glad you fell into my heart.” She tugs me close until our bodies are flush, and I am tempted to doze right here under the stars. “Forever, Moth.”
“Forever, my flame,” I say. It is a promise I will keep in all lifetimes.