My stomach clenches as I look back at Aurelio, who pretends to be unbothered by the information, but pales just enough for me to notice. The fact that he had such a close brush with death still keeps me awake at night. I’ll probably have nightmares about it for the next year or two. I can’t bear the thought of losing him, let alone on my selfish adventure for experience. I’ve grown far too attached to brush off his loss now.
“Alright, then, how do we get rid of the Oni’s scent?” I ask.
“You can scrub yourself off in the river. It’s not a perfect fix, but if you grab some strongly-scented flowers and keep them on you at all times, it should drown out the rest of the scent until it fades.”
“That settles it. Aurelio, we’re finding a river!” I decide.
“Fine by me. I feel absolutely disgusting.”
I check the position of the sun, noting that it’s only high noon. We have plenty of time to take a small detour. I send Lief to look over the treeline, and he returns with information that seems promising: a winding path cut straight through the trees, far too windy to be a road. We head that way, and sure enough, I hear the rushing of water through the forest, and we happen upon a wide, deep river.
“Perfect. Thank you, Lief.”
“Do I have to go to give you two some privacy?” Lief huffs, blowing a strand of his hair out of his face.
“No, I don’t mind. Aurelio’s more likely to do something stupid than you are.”
Aurelio scoffs. “Ouch! I’ve always treated you respectfully!”
“One can never tell the future,” I say, shooting him a wink. “But I’m teasing. We have to wash our clothes, too, if we’re going to get the Oni’s scent off us in time to face those orcs. We can’t have them running away while we’re trying to gather them up.”
I set my bag aside, pull everything out of my pockets, then jump straight into the river, sighing gratefully as the cool waters rush past me. I dip my head underwater and scrub the grime out of my hair, then resurface, finding Aurelio just walking into the water to join me. He stops short when I stand up in the water, his eyes slowly trailing downward. I see the slight twinge of pink on his face and instantly read his thoughts.
“Like what you see?”
Aurelio instantly looks away. “That was not my intention.”
“What if I liked it?”
“Then that was definitely my intention.”
Aurelio wades through the water toward me, a small smile on his face. He wraps his arms around me and holds me against his chest. Just the graze of his arms on the small of my back has my whole body lighting up with a sort of electricity. His eyes gaze deeply into mine, and I’m suddenly lost in his.
“I must be the luckiest man alive,” he breathes.
He kisses my cheek, and I shiver from the small gesture of affection. My eyes dart to his lips, and I’m feeling those butterflies all over again. Feeling a little brave, I decide to go all in, yank him in by the shirt and bring his lips to mine. He melts into the embrace. He’s gentle with me, and I’m not demanding anything more than I’ve already taken.
“What is this for?” Aurelio murmurs.
I shiver again from the feeling of his hot breath tickling my neck. “It’s a treat. For surviving.”
“That’s all?”
“Well…it could be a little more than that,” I admit.
My lips tease his neck, drawing a small gasp from him. His grip tightens around my waist, and I muffle my laugh against his neck as his manhood eagerly anticipates me.
“Unfortunate. I’d give it to you if Lief wasn’t watching,” I tease.
“I’m not—That’s not—It’s not like I can stop it!” Aurelio protests. “I’m not asking for anything!”
“But I am. The first chance we get, you’re mine.”
Aurelio’s lips part in shock. I take the unintentional invitation to slip my tongue between them. He moans unexpectedly, and although the sound is drowned out by my lips, it has excitement coursing through me. I’d like to have a moment with him again, like we had in the river on the way back to Celestia. That moment was so incredible, it’s etched into the outline of my soul. Even death couldn’t make me forget the way he made me feel.
“Later. Later, you’re mine,” I pant.
“You don’t see me protesting.”
