“Thank you, Kian. I know I'm not always the easiest—”
The shaking of his head stopped me before I could drag the outside into our time. “No, I don't want to hear anything like that. If you were anyone else, I wouldn't l–like you as much as I do. So, for right now, let's just be you and me.”
I nodded and whispered, “You and me.”
Despite the certainty in my words, my mind swirled because of the stuttered 'l' he tried to smooth over. What should I do? Should I do anything at all?
Resorting to my old tactic of distraction and procrastination, my fingers danced down his body until I grabbed his cock. My fist wrapped around it and a slight groan slipped free from both of us. I would never get over how much I enjoyed his sharpened teeth, the tang of his blood, and how his warmth cemented something inside of me. Our lips met, and as my hand worked, I decided that I wanted to stay like that forever.
His breathing sped up, and he finally closed his hand over mine, stopping me. When I tried to wiggle out of his grasp—my intentions set on returning the favor—he gripped my hip, pulling me tighter to him.
Just as the tip of his cock touched me, he drew his head back. With his blazing blue eyes searching mine, he asked one last time, “Princess?”
Running my palm down his grey-stained cheek, I shook my head. “No regrets, remember?”
My hand continued down the hard muscles of his body until I reached his ass. With it splayed flat, I applied pressure, nudging him forward.
“Promise? I don't want to hurt you.”
“Hey, when have you known me to hold my tongue?” I asked. To put him at ease, I added, “If it hurts, I'll tell you.”
He didn't understand that sex calmed the monster more than the tabs and alcohol did, and when we chose each other, that pleasant effect on my monster lasted longer than usual. Besides, even if it hurt me, I would endure it.
That thought startled me because it skirted too close to the line between like and more, things I didn't want. My mind raced, the words ricocheting around and bouncing off the sides of my skull.
Then he entered me, and everything except him faded to where it waited for another chance to reappear. His languid pace and careful movements left me nothing to concentrate on beyond how our skin burned against one another.
With his face buried in my hair, he whispered, “You are my favorite place, my favorite taste. I need you here. Right here, where it's just the two of us on the fringes. Where my heart dances to the rhythm of yours.”
His emotions took advantage of his honesty, evading the cage he'd erected around them. They felt like bruises and hugs and a pleasant burn licking at the shadows inside me.
My lips couldn't admit it, but my fingers dug into his skin as if I could tell him through my touch that I wanted to dance on the edges with him, too. Instead of speaking, I bit down on his collarbone, and the instant his flowery-sugared blood hit my tongue, he sped up.
Buried in his safety, I allowed the tears to spill over once again. The quiet evidence of my own emotions soaked into the bed until he stopped and dragged me with him as he rolled onto his back.
With my head bowed, all I saw was the black backdrop of my wild hair. When he reached up and pushed one side behind my ear, I regarded him, his eyes shining as he stared up at me. His face twisted up in distress.
His soft fingers brushed the trails of my tears away as he asked, “Am I hurting you?”
My vision became all black again as I shook my head violently and lowered myself until I laid against his chest. His palm ran along my hair over and over. I'm ruining this, too.
Propelling myself up, my fingers splayed over Kian's heart, and I traced light patterns on his skin. My crooked smile didn't ease the expression on his face, so I leaned forward, answering his question. “Nah. You make me better.”
Even that danced too close to things I didn't want to think about or admit. Of the three of them, Kian had somehow wormed his way deep inside and planted roots. And the thought that scared me the most was that I didn't wish to