Chapter 17 Venom
Venom
She kissed me.
Not the cautious brush of someone testing a theory. Not the desperate attempt of someone alone and scared searching for comfort.
A real kiss. Soft and deliberate. Trusting.
I should have pulled away. I knew I should.
Instead, I froze.
Not from the cold this time – though I could still feel it clinging to my limbs like chains, slow and creeping, stopping me from functioning.
From the shock of her lips on mine. From the heat of her skin.
From the roaring, rising wave inside me that had nothing to do with logic and everything to do with her.
Clare.
My mate.
The one I had promised restraint. The one I wasn’t supposed to touch, not until we were safe.
I kissed her back.
Just once. Just enough to taste the breath between us, to feel the shiver that ran through her when I opened my mouth and touched hers fully. I was careful to keep my fangs pulled back, leaving just the tips exposed. As much as I craved to bite her, claim her as mine, I knew that she was not ready.
And then I tore myself away, breath ragged, the ache in my chest almost worse than the cold.
“This is a mistake,” I rasped. My teeth were no longer chattering.
She didn’t flinch. She just looked at me like I’d said the sky was purple. “Why?”
I closed my eyes. “Because I want more.”
She was silent for a moment. I could feel her still pressed against me, all soft skin and steady warmth and alluring scent.
“Then say stop,” she said quietly. “And I will. Right now.”
I opened my eyes and looked at her. Really looked.
She wasn’t seducing me. Wasn’t playing some kind of game. She was offering – on her terms. And giving me the choice.
No one had ever done that before.
“I don’t want to stop,” I admitted. The words came out raw. “But I don’t want to lose control either.”
“You won’t,” she said.
Glycon help me, I believed her.
Her body shifted against mine, her thighs hugging my waist, her arms warm and steady around me. My coils had already begun to encircle her without conscious thought.
I forced myself to still them.
She noticed. Of course she did. She was observant like that.
“It’s alright,” she said softly. “You’re cold. You need this.”
I needed so much more than warmth.
I needed her.
But more than that – I needed control.
Because I could feel the shift starting. Deep in my core. That low, coiled pull of instinct unravelling. My body preparing for what it believed was inevitable.
One of my cocks began to stir – a pressure low in my abdomen, subtle but insistent, pushing against the sheath that kept it protected and hidden. That part of me I could summon at will. The functional part. The part used for pleasure, bonding, sex that didn’t matter.
But the other…
The other was waiting.
That was the one I feared. The one that would only emerge for her. Once she was ready.
Clare kissed me again.
Slow, tender, exploratory. Her lips moved against mine with no urgency, no pressure. Just shared heat, and care, and that maddening scent that had sunk into my blood like a drug.
I wanted more of her. Everything. And I would give my all to her.
I could feel her legs still wrapped around my waist, the press of her breasts against my chest. Her skin was fever-warm against mine.
I was no longer as cold as I had been. It wasn’t just her body warmth that was doing the trick. It was the heat between us, intangible and yet more effective than anything a thermometer could track.
My tail twitched. Without thought, the tip slipped from the blanket and brushed the edge of her thigh. She shivered – not in fear, but in reaction. Encouragement.
Carefully, slowly, I brought the tip up, circling behind her back and curving along her spine. She arched slightly. My tail slid higher, teasing the edge of the scarf she’d left wrapped around her chest.
“Is this alright?” I murmured.
She nodded. Breathless. “More than.”
I let the tip of my tail flick gently over one breast, the fabric of the scarf slipping with each pass. Her breath hitched, and her hips shifted against me.
I groaned. “Clare…”
She looked up at me, eyes dark and steady. “Yes?”
“I’m close to a line I can’t uncross.”
Her hands slid down to rest on my hips, just above where the blanket pooled. “Then tell me what that line is.”
I exhaled shakily. “You know I’m not built like you.”
“I gathered.” She smiled – teasing, warm. “Explain it to me.”
I swallowed. This was not a conversation I ever expected to have like this, especially not while every instinct in me was sharpening to a point.
“I have… two,” I said at last. “Cocks. Usually inverted. They only emerge when needed.”
Her brow rose, but she said nothing. She was listening.
“I can control one,” I continued. “It’s… compatible. It responds to arousal, readiness, choice.”
“And the other?”
I hesitated.
“The other only comes out for a fated mate. I can’t summon it. I can’t not summon it. If it starts… I’ll know.”
“And so will I?” she asked.
I nodded.
Her lips parted slightly. “And is it… starting?”
I looked down at her, at the way she was pressed against me, breathing fast but not afraid.
“Yes, but I can still control it,” I said hoarsely. “But what is getting harder to control is the urge to bite you.”
Her breath caught.
I felt her heartbeat against my chest. Strong. Not panicked. Excited.
“Would it hurt?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
I closed my eyes. “Not in the way you think. But it would mark you. Permanently. I don’t want to take that from you without knowing you want it.”
She was silent for a long moment. Then she leaned forward, her forehead resting against mine.
“The chii have already marked me. They didn’t ask for permission. I appreciate you did. And you’re right. I don’t know if I want that. But I also don’t want you to stop touching me either.”
“Touching?” I asked hoarsely.
“Maybe more.” Her gaze flicked down my body, as if searching for my cocks.
My restraint snapped – not into violence, not into frenzy. But into action.
I shifted, laying her gently down on the folded coils of my tail, cushioning her from the cold metal floor. She gasped as I wrapped her in my body – not trapping, just holding. Secure.
The blankets pooled around us like a cocoon.
My hand slid along her side, down to her thigh. She shifted, opening herself to me, her body inviting, warm, human – and mine.
And slowly, reverently, I let myself respond.
One cock extended, sliding free from the protective slit at my groin. Just one. The one I could choose.
The other stayed hidden.
And for now… that was enough.
Clare was beneath me, nestled in the cradle of my coils, eyes wide and dark and full of need.
She’d told me not to stop.
So I didn’t.
My fangs extended. It was no longer under my control.
I shifted above her, adjusting so that my cock – thick, ridged, flushed dark with arousal – pressed gently against the seam of her thighs. I was careful, slow, giving her every chance to pull away.
She didn’t.
Her hips bucked up instinctively, seeking my cock. I groaned low in my throat, the sound vibrating between us as I rocked against her, once, twice, the motion slow and teasing. Her thighs tensed around me, and her breath came faster.
I used the tip of my tail to stroke over one breast again, the scarf slipping aside under the gentle pressure. Her nipple hardened, and I circled it lazily, drawing a breathy moan from her lips.
“Is this alright?” I asked.
“Don’t you dare stop,” she whispered hoarsely.
That was all the permission I needed.
I hooked one arm under her thigh and drew her closer. My cock slid through the slick heat between her legs, unhurried, savouring every inch of contact. She was soaked – warm, welcoming, her body ready for mine.
I angled myself, pressing the head of my cock against her entrance. She shifted beneath me, bracing one hand on my chest, the other gripping my wrist where I held her.
“Wait,” she said softly.
I stilled immediately. “Too much?”
She shook her head. “No. Just… let me look at you for a second.”
I did. Let her take in the reality of what we were doing. She looked between us, and I followed her gaze. Our bodies were bathed in shadow beneath the blanket, but I was sure she was able to make out my cock, hard and eager.
“So big,” she muttered. “And…different.”
“I won’t hurt you. I’ll go slow,” I promised.
Her fingers flexed, and then she nodded.
“Okay. Now.”
I pushed forward.
She gasped, her mouth parting in a silent cry as I stretched her slowly, inch by inch. I moved carefully, giving her time, watching her face for every flicker of tension or hesitation.
“Clare…”
“I’m fine,” she breathed, voice trembling. “Keep going.”
I slid deeper, the ridges along my cock dragging against her inner walls in a way that made her moan aloud. Her back arched, her hips lifting to meet mine. She took all of me, inch by thick inch, until I was buried to the base.
Fuck, she was tight.
And perfect.
I stayed still for a moment, letting her adjust, my forehead pressed to hers, her breath mingling with mine. Her body trembled around me, not from fear or discomfort – but from the sheer intensity of it.
When she finally rolled her hips, I groaned and began to move.
Slow strokes at first, savouring her, every thrust a delicious slide of heat and friction. Her fingers dug into my arms. Her moans grew louder, breathier. I angled my hips, changing the depth until I found the spot that made her cry out, her body clenching around me.
“There,” she gasped. “Oh gods, there–”
I gave her everything. Every ounce of control, of restraint, of instinct honed over years of discipline – all undone, all poured into the rhythm of my body moving against hers.
My other cock was fighting against its protective sheath, against the control I wielded over it. I held on by a scale’s width. I couldn’t go back on my promise to her. I couldn’t go further than this tonight.
My tail tightened around her delicate body, not trapping, just holding her still as I fucked her, each thrust driving deeper, stronger, her cries growing wild.
She shattered around me with a choked cry, her back bowing, her legs shaking. The way she clenched down on me sent me spiralling.
I growled, low and feral, as I came, buried deep inside her, my cock pulsing as I spilled everything into her warmth.
I didn’t bite her.
I wanted to. Every nerve screamed for it. But I didn’t.
Instead, I held her. Let the tension drain from my body as she curled against me.
My tail loosened. My arms stayed wrapped around her.
Her hand drifted up to my chest, her cheek resting above my hearts.
“Still cold?” she asked, voice barely a whisper.
I kissed the crown of her head. “Never again.”