Chapter 6 #3
This time, the noise he makes is almost like a challenge. I have enough space to pull back to see him, and he lifts his free hand between us. He points at me, then his thumb drags under his chin before his hand forms a fist and circles it over his chest.
‘You not sorry.’
I grin down at him. “Okay,” I whisper.
He lets me go only to sign, ‘Again.’
Again? Again?
My lips tingle, and I curl my hands around either side of his jaw and pull him close. His skin beneath my lips is soft and warm, and I can feel his ears flick against my fingers. He hums low and melodic in his chest—a sound of relief and pleasure.
Fuck.
“You like that?” I murmur as I pull back.
He licks his lips, then says very clearly, “Yes.”
I don’t draw attention to it. Instead, I rock back on my heels, which sends a fresh wave of pain through my body. Hissing, I drop to the chair beside him as that weird flicker against my temple knocks once more.
“Dannntehhhh,” he says, reaching out to touch my knee. He wets his lips and then switches to sign. ‘What’s wrong?’
I shake my head. “Nothing.” I want to sign back, but the pain has spread, and I know my hands will be shaking if I try.
He tilts his head to the side as his piercing gaze calls me a liar.
“It’s like the other night,” I explain. Closing my eyes, I take in a few more lungfuls of air. “It’ll pass.”
His chair makes an obnoxious noise on the wood floors as he scoots closer to me. His chest brushes my arm, and then he starts to purr. Loudly.
My lips twist into a smile that feels a bit closer to a grimace. “Thank you.”
He taps my arm, then says, also surprisingly clearly, “Beeeed.”
“You need to eat,” I remind him.
He snorts a laugh. “Nooo.”
As I compartmentalize the pain, I lean back to look at him. “Cielo. You’re still healing. You need to eat.”
He shakes his head firmly. I remember Everest telling me how they rarely eat much. Once a day is usually enough for Rathyn, but he’s also the monster who’s getting fifteen servings of cum, which Cielo is not.
And there’s not a chance I can give him an extra one right now. Not with how I’m feeling.
But he looks determined, and frankly, bed sounds amazing. I’ll regret not eating in the morning, but I’ve gone longer without food before.
“Okay,” I relent. “Meet me in there. I’m going to try taking some of that tea Everest told me about.”
Zitha, he’d called it. I found it among the herbs Rathyn had left behind for Cielo, and texted a photo to Everest just to be sure.
The leaves are small and dark purple, almost spiny.
He said I can take them on their own since they dissolve, but he says the effects are less intense if I water them down.
“Zitha,” Cielo says. It’s a mix of English and Eretharian—like a musical note with a word attached. When I nod, he scoots back. ‘I make.’
I want to argue, but he seems determined, and in all honesty, I just want my bed. “Okay,” I whisper. I manage to stand with the help of the table, and I force myself to take steady steps until I’m in the hallway where he can’t see me.
The moment I’m out of his sightline, I collapse against the wall and bite back a short sob. Fuck, I hate this. I hate it so fucking much.
I hate not being in control. I hate how the pain can ruin these soft, necessary moments with people I care about.
I hate that I still don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me, and that I have no idea if it’s ever going to get any better.
I make it to the bedroom with just enough strength to peel off most of my clothes. The cool sheets are slightly uncomfortable on my tender skin, but they warm up after a second, and I close my eyes as I listen to Cielo move around the kitchen.
It’s a little loud. It reminds me of Luca since he’s almost never aware of the sounds he makes. It’s an odd comfort, though the way I feel about Cielo is anything but brotherly.
Even with the pain shooting through me, I’m reminded of how much I want him as Cielo appears in the doorway.
He takes up so much space that he has to duck to get his body through, and I can’t help but drink him in.
All those muscles, his blue skin, his rainbow pools sitting over onyx black.
It’s so inhuman, but so enticing that it makes me ache for his touch.
He’s cradling a steaming cup of tea between his massive hands like it’s something precious, and he makes a soft, almost mournful trill as he kneels at the side of the bed.
I sit up halfway and stare at the liquid inside the mug. It’s an odd, shimmering purple—like those ridiculously expensive high-end bar drinks with edible glitter in them. My fingers are still trembling when I reach for it, and he cups his hands around mine to steady them as I take it.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He hums, then says, “Dahnnte.” It’s even clearer than before. I wonder if it’s because he’s just getting used to so much human speech, or if it’s something else.
I have no idea and no ability to focus on that when I’m hurting this much. Closing my eyes, I breathe in the scent of the herb. It’s earthy yet somehow also refreshing—almost like the breeze off the ocean.
Bracing myself, I bring the cup to my lips and take a tentative sip. I’m prepared for something that tastes like poison, but it isn’t that at all. There’s not a lot of flavor to it, though the liquid seems thicker than water, and it’s rich.
It doesn’t take more than a prompting hum from Cielo for me to take another drink. Then another. After that, I’m barely aware of gulping it all down, but by the time I open my eyes, the tea is gone and so is the pain.
Everest was right. It wasn’t a dramatic withdrawal, and it didn’t take forever. It was like a single inhale and exhale. It was there. And now it’s not.
I stare at him, and he stares back.
I choke on a laugh. “That actually worked. Holy shit.”
He nods, his fingers touching his forehead. ‘I know.’
“That’s fucking amazing. How long will it last?”
‘I don’t know. It works different in humans. I’m sorry.’
“No, no. That’s okay. I’m just…” I flex my fingers and stare down at them.
My body feels…normal, and I don’t remember the last time I didn’t feel at least a twinge of pain, even when I wasn’t in an active flare. I glance up at Cielo, and he’s staring down at my hands with intense concentration.
He looks so fucking good right now.
I know I shouldn’t, but something in me snaps. I reach out, almost unthinking, and tilt his chin up. He sucks in a breath as I lean forward, and without a single moment of hesitation, my lips find his.
For a moment, I’m overwhelmed at how soft he is. How pliant. His lips dance against mine, a mimic of my own, and it’s a reminder that he’s never done this before. That snaps me out of it as I break the kiss and pull back to look at him, searching for proof that this was wrong.
Or maybe that it was right.
Cielo’s eyes are wide, and a low trill emits from his throat. He shifts back slightly and his rainbow eyes meet mine.
“Was…was that okay?” My voice is slightly hoarse, and I quickly clear my throat. “If that was wrong…”
“Noooot wrooonng,” he all-but sings, very softly, almost under his breath.
He hasn’t moved farther away, his warm breath still hitting my lips. Then, before I can speak again, his tail sneaks out and wraps around my ankle. He tugs me forward with a possessive yank, my ass sliding along the mattress until it’s nearly hanging off, and I’m practically in his arms.
My breath leaves me in a rush as I lean forward., kissing him again.
He’s better at it this time. His lips part, and I reach out with both hands, cupping his cheeks to angle his head, and he follows my lead immediately. I know the Vyastil don’t kiss each other. I know they don’t show affection at all.
And I know that Rathyn is different now that he’s with Everest, which means I have a feeling Cielo will be, too. Hell, with the way his mouth is moving against mine and how his tongue is teasing my lips, a little more practice and he’s going to be the best kisser I have ever had.
I nip at his thin bottom lip, and his skin flutters, that low trill he makes sending shivers down my spine.
I pull away, and I see his rainbow orbs shining. His mouth parts open just a bit, and his tongue darts out like it’s chasing the taste of me.
I shiver. “You want more?”
He nods, and I push off the bed entirely, shoving gently at his shoulders before falling onto his lap. His hands clutch onto my hips, his claws emerging and then retracting. It’s almost like he’s malfunctioning.
It makes me heady with lust.
I stroke my hands across his smooth cheeks and undo his hair from the two buns at the back of his neck. His eyelids flutter, and when my fingers rake across his scalp, he stops breathing.
I meet his gaze, feeling him tremble beneath me before I bring his lips to mine and slowly push my tongue into his mouth. He tastes like earth and rain, and it’s almost overwhelming. I groan against him as I kiss him deeper, and he holds me tighter against his body.
A low trill in his chest grows into a soft growl as I swirl my tongue around the ring pierced in the middle of his. His grip on me tightens as I feel him tentatively push his way deeper inside of me. Our teeth clash for a brief moment before he pulls away, his breathing labored.
I press a palm to his chest and feel two uneven beats. “Two hearts?”
He nods, and my fingers curl against him. He stares down at where my hand is, and then lifts his own and presses it against my chest.
He must feel the way my singular heart is thundering because his ears flutter.
A moment passes, then two. It’s thick and tense, like neither of us is sure what comes next, and then our mouths meet in a rush of endorphins and yearning.
His soft growl is back, and I feel it vibrate up my spine as our tongues slide against each other. His is far longer and thinner than mine, forked at the tip, but he doesn’t shove it down my throat like I thought he might. Instead, he twines it around my own and tugs.
I wonder what his piercing would feel like around my cock. How his long tongue could curl around me and stroke me to completion.
Fuck, it makes me even harder.
I shift on his lap, tugging on his thick strands of violet hair as I grind against him, desperate for friction. His growl grows stronger, his entire body shaking, and I feel his claws poking into my skin.
The sensations make me moan, the sound rough and stuttered as it escapes my throat.
I want to bleed for him. I want him to bite me.
To suck me.
To taste me.
But before I can beg for any of that, he lurches back, his eyes wide, breath heaving in his chest. He looks…almost afraid, and my heart sinks for a second, but he doesn’t let me go.
He stares at my swollen lips, then down to where his claws have pierced my skin. Pricks of blood sit on my hips where my shirt has been rucked up, and I swipe them away.
He tries to snatch his hands away, but I grip one of his wrists, bringing his palm back to my skin. “It’s fine,” I say, then point to my hard cock. “This means I liked it. I promise.”
Cielo nods, but he still looks horrified, his teal skin paling to a light blue. His fangs dig into his lower lip, and after a moment, he shakes his head and takes his free hand to his chest to sign, ‘Sorry.’
“No. I mean it, Cielo,” I say, and stroke a tender touch along his jaw. He purrs just a little, leaning into me. “It’s fine. I’m not hurt. In fact, I think…” I point to the already healed wounds. “Look, the zitha is still working. I’m okay.”
He doesn’t seem to believe me, however, because he doesn’t go back in for the next kiss I desperately want. He gently lifts me instead and places me on the bed before standing up with a grace I could never possess.
‘I need….walk…’ His signs are slightly off, and I frown when I see his ears slightly bent down, his tail coiled tightly around his waist.
“Cielo,” I beg, but he’s already stalking from the room, his head down-turned, his claws clacking on the wood floors.
I want to chase him. I want to order him back to my bed so we can pick up where we left off. But clearly, this is too much for him, and if anyone knows what it feels like to need a moment with things that are overwhelming, it’s me.
So I let him go, feeling his absence the moment I hear the front door open and close. And fuck, I feel very alone.