“Wouldn’t that make it harder, Orpheus?”
“Yes. I can smell your blood, but your touch is keeping the hunger at bay.” Then he lowered himself, slipping his arms underneath her so that he could hold her. “My will to not harm you, Reia, is strong.”
His voice is going back to normal, she thought, her smile growing brighter.
“Do you want to lie with me?”
“I do not think that is wise. I don’t know how long I can keep my control in your presence right now.”
“Please?” She drew him in tighter. “You’re really warm and it’s making my pain go away.”
His hand was on her lower back, and the heat of it was easing the aching of her cramps to the point she could barely feel them. The momentary relief was worth the risk.
“I would like to stay with you,” he said, nuzzling the underside of her jaw. She turned her head up so he could do it freely. “But I will have to leave if I feel I may not be able to control myself. Thank you for calming me.”
I’m surprised it worked.
Reia tangled her hands in his fur and tugged him to his side on the bed next to her. She turned to him, facing his chest as his head rested above hers on the pillow they now shared.
“You said me touching you was helping. Do you want me to keep doing so?”
“Yes,” he answered, before a shudder rippled through him.
“I would like that more than anything.”
“Okay, I will. On one condition, though. Could you please keep your hand on my back?”
Moving her hands between them, she started undoing the buttons of his shirt.
His hand moved to clutch both of hers.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to touch you. It’ll probably feel better if I’m doing it directly.”
It took him a moment, but he eventually released her, allowing her to open his shirt and untuck it from his black trousers. She nearly shivered in his delectable heat when she slipped her arms around his torso and felt his body against hers.
Her arms were bare, letting her feel how soft his fur was and the firm texture of his skin. She pressed her stomach against his, gaining heat from both sides as he placed his hand over her back once more.
Reia started stroking his back with tickling fingertips and palms, being light and gentle with this big beast in her embrace. He gave a deep huff, one that sounded of contentment.
His eyes were still glowing red, still rather bright with hunger, and she knew she was cuddling into a creature that was barely resisting the urge to consume her.
“Where did you go?”
Purple flashed for a second when she brushed her hands all the way down his protruding spine bones and fins until they found his trousers. She paused, not expecting the colour change, but it was already gone, and she moved her hands up once more.
Did I imagine it?
Since she wasn’t timid about delving into it, she dug her fingertips through his fur where it was the longest, right around his shoulders and upper back. It was silky in her grasp.
“To hunt, to ease my hunger.”
“Did it help?” She lightly scraped her long nails up his neck until they found the base of his skull.
He shuddered, his head twitching with a shake, as purple flashed once more before fading. Nope, definitely not imagining it.
“No. I am never satisfied.” He drew her closer and mashed their bodies together. “It never fades. Never goes away. I am always hungry, no matter what I do or how much I eat.”
Biting her bottom lip in uncertainty, she tilted her head up so she could see him clearly. Then she raked her nails down his back, not too hard but with a little more pressure than she’d done before.
His body arched, shuddering, as the purple this time held in his orbs until she was finished with her hard stroke.
“Be gentle, Reia,” he warned with a pant.
She pressed her thighs together as a pulse ran through her core. I’m turning him on.
Giddiness sailed through her.
She was enjoying doing this. I wonder if I can take away his hunger by making him aroused. Perhaps this was a silly idea, teasing a Duskwalker, but she couldn’t stop her hands wandering from his back to his sides, slowly making their way to the front of his body.
She even reached up and pressed her lips over one of his long-pointed fangs near the front of his snout. His hand shot up, cupping where she’d placed her lips.
“You kissed me.” His voice was filled with awe. Simply because of the way he said it, Reia leaned forward and kissed his fur-covered neck. “You kissed me again.”
He sounded just as dumbfounded the second time, and she almost laughed.
She buried her face in his chest, and her eyes fluttered in bliss at the deep draw she took of him through her nose.
