FENN DRAX #4
In one motion I grab him around the waist and lift him into the air, my hands sliding under his thighs.
I press him lightly against the tree and allow myself to cover his neck with unhurried, wet kisses, probably leaving a few hickeys behind.
Marlow tilts his head back, surrendering to it with a truly feline kind of pleasure.
The cherry blossom scent of his long hair brushing against my skin is dizzying.
Over the past two weeks, his body has adjusted to mine. He doesn’t need long preparation anymore, and I take full advantage of that convenience now.
In a few quick movements, I push his pants down and lift him back into the air. Sex against a tree trunk carries something almost romantic in it, the forest all around us, the scent of pine, sun-warmed forest floor.
I see it in Marlow’s eyes, bright and sparkling, a subtle smile forming on his lips as my fingers slide over his ass, searching for entry.
He’s already wet, and I’m rock hard, which makes it perfect.
So I press against his wet, soft entrance, sliding into him inch by inch, looking him straight in the eyes.
I love these moments. When he gives me his most intimate tunnel to take over. He always has that particular expression, something utterly submissive, sweet, almost innocent, as I push in, as I break through his pink ring.
I leave a small kiss on his raspberry lips, then another soft peck, and another.
We exchange these sweet, very delicate kisses, something entirely foreign to me, yet unexpectedly wonderful.
I am inside him, but that’s not the only thing that matters.
I discover so much more in this connection between us.
I feel him, his entire being, his fears, that inner curled-up part of him, his sadness and painful loneliness, like a wound carved into his soul.
All his dreams, bare, vulnerable, trembling inside him.
"I see you, my love," I whisper. "So clearly."
It does it. Marlow suddenly lets out a sound, like a painful exhale, a choked breath.
It’s as if something wanted to get out of him, waiting for an opportunity, compressed inside and desperate.
"I’m so lonely! I always was, but I don’t want to be, don't let me be, Fenn…
" His voice breaks even deeper, his lips trembling. "It hurts. It pushes me into darkness… I’ve been there and I don’t want to go there again," he mumbles, his eyelids tightly shut.
"Only a monster could understand it, because I carry one inside me. "
I kiss his wet lips. "I do. I feel the same. Will you… will you belong to me, Marlow? Only me? I will fill the emptiness, the loneliness, if you let me. I promise."
And again that breath, that strange, trembling ache inside him, like it rises from his soul, from the days when he kept falling and couldn’t get back up.
And I make a small, soft thrust of my hips, sliding into him with a slow, tender motion, the way I want to enter into his life and bring him change, joy, fullness.
I see a clear line of a tear on his cheek, and I press my lips to it, tasting salt and pain.
"Nobody ever wanted me in their life, Fenn… not beyond my body."
"And nobody ever wanted me either, not like this, not as a…" I interrupt and hesitate before finishing, "human."
I speak it feeling a shiver inside me, something powerful, like breaking through a barrier, an opening, hope, a plea for being treated… normal.
"We still can have it, Fenn; we can have it all, can’t we?"
He whispers desperately, looking into my eyes, mint-green and silver brightened by tears.
"We can, baby, we can. I will fight for it and never give up."
"Don’t… ever… never…"
I answer him with a gentle movement of my hips, sinking deeper into him and painting kisses across his pale, tear-soaked cheeks.
"We found each other… I’m never letting you go."
He wraps his arms tightly around my neck, and the forest surrounds us with swaying branches as I move in his heat.
And for a moment everything is beautiful.
And for a moment everything is perfect.
But can a monster hold happiness?
Or are these only fleeting moments, gone with the wind?
◆◆◆
That horrible day, Reed wakes me up.
"Get up. Lomax wants to talk to you."
"What’s this about?" I growl. I’m never in the mood to talk to that weird doctor. "I’ve got a day off today. I’m supposed to leave in about half an hour."
"I don’t care. Lomax wants to talk, so you’re talking."
"Shit," I curse under my breath because I was supposed to leave the facility with Marlow for his small birthday celebration. We want to go to the place where the town of Rainbow Spring gets its name, a beautiful set of waterfalls that create fairy-tale rainbows…
"What does Lomax want?"
"You’ll see. It’s definitely not something you’re going to like," he drawls with a strange smile.
I feel a nervous shiver, but I get dressed and follow Reed.
We move through the labyrinth of corridors, but not to Doctor Lomax’s office. We enter one of the underground laboratories, protected by a reinforced metal door.
Interesting. Why would he want to talk to me here?
Dr. Lomax is standing bent over some machine that might be a large microscope or another kind of analytical device.
He slowly straightens and turns as we enter.
I notice he’s not alone. Against the wall, on a white bench, a young alpha is sitting, watching me in silence. He doesn't have a nose clip, which is unexpected.
There is also a large machine that looks like a CT scanner or something similar, a huge chamber, clearly a device capable of scanning an entire body.
The door behind Reed closes. He leaves, and I’m alone with the doctor.
Lomax’s shark-like eyes follow me as I approach. He points at a stool with his bony hand.
He folds his arms across his chest.
"Recently, someone pointed out to me that this entire program may be built on very fragile foundations."
I grimace.
"Let me guess, Dr. Lee."
He ignores me.
"I’ve always wondered why Blue Lowen shut down his version of this program so quickly, as if he didn’t see any potential in it, even though some of his results were very promising, and yet… they simply stopped. Maybe it was scientific intuition?"
I clench my teeth because I’m starting to worry about where this is going.
If Lomax really had a conversation with Dr. Lee, or reached his own pessimistic conclusions, I’m in trouble.
"I have a theory that you don’t have control over how you activate the reproductive system of the people you have sex with.
I believe it’s simply part of your nature, as if your body somehow, perhaps magically, stimulates their gonads.
Your pheromones and hormones, however, don’t produce the expected effect.
We are at a standstill, Mr. Drax. None of the program participants has entered a full heat yet. "
I listen to the whole lecture without being sure what his goal is. One thing is clear, nothing good will come of this.
"But it was the case with betas too. They never entered a full heat and still got pregnant."
Slowly, almost predatorily, he tilts his head.
"Well, they were entering a so-called hidden heat. But here, it does not happen. So… I do have equipment now that would allow me to observe what happens in an alpha’s body while you have sex with them… and to see it directly, in action."
I freeze and immediately become alert.
I glance toward the unknown alpha sitting by the wall. He watches me in complete silence. He looks about twenty-one, slim, with short brown hair and a youthful face.
I don’t recognize him from the program, even though I know everyone from watching them through the cafeteria window. This is someone new.
Doctor Lomax follows my gaze.
"Yes, you’re looking in the right direction.
This is the alpha who agreed to participate in such an experiment.
But he’s not the only one. Two others are waiting in line.
We want to see how it all unfolds in real time, and it may shed light on the mystery of the process…
because we urgently need a breakthrough. "
I swallow.
"Am I supposed to have sex with him now?" The words barely come out.
Dr. Lomax raises an eyebrow.
"I assume that is how you activate your partners’ fertility, so yes. Would that be a problem? From what I know, in the previous program you did it with nine betas, so I’m sure you can manage."
I stare at him for a while blankly.
There was no problem then because I didn’t have anyone I loved.
I suddenly become aware of that thought in my own head.
Loved?
I’ve fallen in love with Marlow…
Oh, fuck.
And that changes a lot for me.
"Yes, there is a problem," I force out, feeling my jaw tighten.
"And what problem would that be?" Dr. Lomax grits out, "I assume you understand that refusal means immediate removal from the program and exactly… zero dollars in your account. And that’s not all," he adds in a strange, vindictive tone.
"As you remember from your court agreement, your ten-year sentence was reduced to participation in this program only, but if you withdraw, you will end up behind bars again. "
I close my eyes. I feel a wave of stress.
"You can’t do this, Doctor Lomax. That would be cruel."
"I can do whatever I want because I run this program. And right now we are not moving forward. If I don’t get concrete results, the board will fire me.
So you could say we’re in the same boat.
I took a huge risk by taking over this program, and I will not lose this position or my standing with the board over my effectiveness. " His voice cuts like an electric whip.
I feel a faint but painful vibration through my entire body, nerves, tension, and pure panic…
The unknown alpha looks at me with an unreadable expression, while mine is probably the embodiment of desperation and despair.
"So what will it be, Mr. Drax? Either you show us your secret, or you go back to prison."