Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-three
Once Skylar double-checked the blinds and that she’d truly locked the door to The Bean Alchemist, she spun around to Vorg, who leaned back against the front counter.
He looked as sexy as he had last night, his horns, tail, and glow all on show again.
He didn’t seem to mind that he was dressed in her clothing except for how obviously constricting it was.
With the way he was reclined, it showed off the glowing hair trailing down from his navel and the lickable vee lines of his hips.
Cleanup had never been so easy, nor quick, since he’d used magic to tidy up as if they were in some kind of fairytale book.
Damp cloths had wiped down tables, chairs, and even walls, while brooms and mops had moved on their own to clean the floors.
Sugar jars had refilled themselves, and her coffee machine had steamed itself out as the scattered coffee grounds had been whisked away to the bin.
She could get used to this.
“Okay, time to talk,” she said, gesturing to a table between them and taking a seat.
He took the one across from her and leaned his elbows on the table with his hands folded to match hers. Her shoulders were stiff, whereas his were relaxed.
“I feel like we’re kind of doing this backwards, but... what are you?” she asked, trailing her gaze down his hunky body. “I couldn’t find anything in my spellbooks or grimoires about you, or even your little skowl thing.”
“I’m a metamophorfura,” he answered, his forked, glowing tail swaying behind him. “We tend to start out as a being with multiple appendages, as you first saw, and transform into something else, essentially mimicking the creature that feeds us sexual energy.”
She bit her bottom lip, scraping it against her teeth as she played with her fingers. “So I really did create you?”
He hummed in thought as he looked up at the ceiling momentarily. “Not create, not truly. I’ve been alive for centuries, but yes, you helped evolve me.”
“What? Like a freaking Pokémon?”
His blue brows drew together. “Pokey mon? Skylar, I may understand much of Earth, as do most within the multi-dimensional realms, but I’m not entirely privy to your human customs. Any obscure reference will be ineffective.”
“It’s a...” She waved her hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. So you feed off people like the incubi and succubi?”
“I feed on everything. I can eat, although it was through absorption in my first and second forms, and although I can feed on sexual energy, it has never been my food source until you.”
This time she frowned and shook her head, absolutely not understanding.
“It is exceedingly rare for someone to want to feed us and evolve us. Many intelligent beings consider us inferior due to our lack of an initial humanoid form, and many believe us to be limited in sentience. Which is untrue, even as we attempt to prove it through sign language with our appendages. I only know of one other metamophorfura who has transformed through willing means.”
“Willing?” she asked with a gulp.
“As incubi might drain their prey to death, some of us have attempted to force our transformations through less-than-pleasant means. When you first changed me, I needed to hide within my home, as I would have been destroyed immediately upon discovery. It’s doubtful anyone would have believed my transformation had been consensual.
” He opened his hands, held them wide, and shrugged – a surprisingly human-like gesture.
“However, those who take extreme measures to evolve are also exceedingly rare, but there are monsters within every species, no matter who or what they are. Most of us just eat whatever we are near, whether that be a person, a creature, or a plant. We are omnivores and usually lie-in-wait hunters. Except for those of us who have chosen to live within the city, like me, and join society despite the way they ignore us unless it benefits them. We are useful, strong, and are one of the most powerful and magically equipped creatures. We’re exceptionally intelligent and adaptable.
” Then he grinned as he added, “We are better.”
With a grimace and her eyes open wide, she whispered, “So you might have eaten me?”
“I did eat you,” he said with a wink. “Out, that is. I thought I was rather blessed when you not only summoned me but willingly fucked me. Had you refused my claiming, I intended to go into hiding, but I much prefer this. I can eat anything, should you wish to share a meal, but I will mainly feed from your energy, and in return, will feed you magic. It’s a unifying bond that works both ways, although most do not know this about us.
They may have been more inclined to help us had they learned we offer power in exchange. ”
“So that’s why my magic abilities have grown!” she exclaimed.
His purple-tinged lips curled as he remained silent to let her absorb all this new information. Turning inwards, Skylar pondered her next question, tapping the side of her pointer finger’s knuckle against her lips.
“Do you like this form?” he eventually asked, tilting his head as he regarded her.
Then his grin grew mischievous as he leaned back and palmed down his chest. “I can only change to the three, but I can morph into any of them at will. I can also conjure my appendage form as an exterior spell. But with this one... you humans add to your bodies, and I can pierce it like you have yours, or give it tattoos as you have.”
Then, as if to demonstrate this, he glamoured his body from the neck down with an array of random tattoos, most of it blackwork and swirls, shapes, and lettering she didn’t know.
Skylar squeezed her thighs together when her clit throbbed in delight, because she’d always been a sucker for tattooed men. Seeming to notice the dilemma of her growing arousal, he leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin in both hands with a deep chuckle.
“I will take that as a yes. This is temporary, but I can leave it until I have covered my body for you. I don’t mind a bite of pain.”
Escaping the conversation that might turn perverted, since her mouth had started watering, she switched the topic to something else. “What is darklight? You keep calling me that.”
“It is darkness that eats the light and sparkles in reaction to it with magic only a few of us can hone. If you don’t like it, I can call you something else.
What do you humans use? Sweetheart, darling, baby–” He went to say another word but, apparently, something in her body language gave her away, because he grinned once more.
“So, on the subject of piercings, is that something you want? I have quite the tongue for one.”
He parted his lips and let his tongue fall forward, and the length exceeded three times that of a human. It also glowed like much of him, and the sides had what appeared to be soft spikes running down them.
Her first thought was: I bet that would feel amazing inside me.
She squirmed at the unbidden images her mind conjured up, her ears heating.
“Can you explain our bond? You said something about immortality, but I, uh...” Skylar licked her lips as her cheeks flushed in memory of her lust-filled haze the night before. “I was a little distracted.”
He slurped his tongue back into his mouth and gave a little pant before his eyes dipped to her chest, where his mark was hidden beneath her shirt.
One of his horn limbs extended, and he pulled the neckline of her shirt down to reveal it for himself.
“Had I been given adequate time, had you been in my realm rather than me being limited to the few hours that particular summoning spell allows, I would have attempted to court you properly first. Many species can intertwine their lives with their chosen partner. Some can offer immortality, others can’t.
” The end of his tendril brushed over the circle of his mark, and the attention to it, just above her breasts, made her nipples tingle.
“You are mortal, and I can’t give you immortality.
In bonding with you, I threaded my life force to yours instead, ensuring I will only live as long as you. ”
Somehow, her heart both squeezed in sadness for him, and swirled with warmth at the same time. She couldn’t help the way she nibbled at her bottom lip in uncertainty. “But you didn’t know me. Why would you give up your immortality for a stranger?”
She couldn’t understand that.
“I’ve already told you. I was smitten with you the moment you sat that ass over me and offered your pleasure, your body, your vulnerability, and proved you saw me as more than just a mindless monster.
You did more than most ever have. You treated me as a person and listened to my voicelessness when I explained and consented, just as I did for you when you were nervous.
” Then his lips curled into a bright smile as he said, “You’re also beautiful, and I like the way my glow highlights your face when you’re twisted with pleasure. ”
Skylar opened her mouth to respond, but she didn’t know what to say to that. She’d found his first form cute with his drooping limbs, and it’d ticked off one of her major kinks. She liked it just as much as she liked this more humanoid version, and she’d learned to adore his second one as well.
Actually, she been a little disappointed at first when he’d appeared with a face, but she was also really thankful for this new version.
Oh, who am I kidding? I like all of them.
He swirled his horn limb around her mark once more, and his eyes seemed to droop. “I will meet my end at the same time as you – no matter how that happens. You, on the other hand, will only lose this mark if my life ceases. I am yours, for however long you want me.”
So Skylar had all the control? It was permanent, but only to a certain degree? What would happen to him if I decided I no longer wanted this? Her mind shuddered in repulsion of what that would mean for him.
His mind obviously didn’t go that way, or he didn’t care, because his nose wrinkled, just as he noticeably shifted in his seat. “All this talk of me claiming you... I’m really fucking hard right now.”
Skylar let out a silent squeak and clamped her thighs together again. “Is all you think about sex? Are metamophorfura like... some kind of lust creature or something?”
“Not usually, no. But we are gluttonous beings by nature, often overfilling ourselves on things we are infatuated with. And you, Skylar, have just bonded yourself to a very devoted and obsessed male.” As if to punctuate that, his tail seemed to unconsciously sway while making a heart behind him, and he softly purred in utter contentment.
She squirmed in her seat, finding his gaze intense.
He regarded her with utter adoration, and she’d never been looked at like that before. Like nothing else could compare to her. It reminded her of last night.
If he kept being this sweet, she could easily find herself falling for him very quickly.
When she didn’t answer due to her stomach flipping and fluttering, and her heart sprinting with growing tenderness, her questioning felt pointless.
She’d always wanted a partner who would be able to keep up with her high libido, and now she apparently had one that would not only meet it, but exceed it.
All the nervous flutters, the shy, bashful tremors... these were what she’d been hoping for when she went on her date with Oliver. She’d never felt them at the restaurant, but now the sensations were intense as she sat across from Vorg.
“You look cute with your cheeks pink with need,” he murmured with his heavy-lidded gaze deepening. “I really want to flip you over this table, so you better keep asking your little questions before I give in.”
She almost moaned when his tail swayed to the side, slipped under the table, and glided up her pant leg to caress her skin. A shiver spread up her spine when it tickled just right.
“C-can we get pregnant?” Probably something she should have asked first!
Oh shit. What if it’s too late?!
“No idea. We only procreate with each other, although our sexual energy doesn’t transform us, and it’s less than pleasurable. It’s mainly for reproduction. Like I said, I only know of one other bonded metamorphfura, and she is hidden away by her lifemate.”
I guess I better start drinking contraceptive teas just in case.
“I’m also unsure of whether my reproductive abilities have changed now due to my transformation to emulate your species.” His gaze softened even more, almost drunk on the appearance of her. “I think you’d look adorable filled with my eggs.”
“Okay! That’s enough questions for now!” she exclaimed, her heart pounding because what the fuck.
Eggs?! She hoped not!
Or did she?
She covered her face when it grew hot in a blush. I don’t fucking know anymore.