We stayed like that, Kal’s face buried against my neck and his arms around me. I kept stroking his silky hair, my earlier annoyance with him disappearing. Disappointing parental figures was something I understood; though, the emperor, with a fucking long name, seemed leagues kinder than my grandparents.
Turning around, I cupped his cheeks, his long earrings tickling me. “I’m sorry I left.”
“You feel bad I got yelled at,” Kal surmised. “It’s not your fault.”
I wanted to agree, but at the same time, I felt guilty.
“It was not your fault,” he repeated. “His anger was about my past indiscretions. It has nothing to do with you.” When I didn’t respond, he continued, “I was suffocating you.”
“A bit.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I don’t think you’re weak.”
“You don’t?”
“No. I was, I am, scared.”
I grabbed the front of his damp shirt; Kal hadn’t changed from our time in the rain. “Afraid you're going to disappoint your dad?”
“I’m afraid to lose you. I need you, Seth.”
Heat surged to my gut and shot straight to my dick, making it stiffen. No one had ever wanted me, let alone needed me. I captured his lips. The kiss was slower and softer than any of our previous ones, but just as perfect.
“I’m not trying to control you,” he said, lips brushing mine, “but I need you to be safe. When you disappeared, I realized how quickly you could be taken away.”
“I get it.” I placed another kiss on his lips. “I get it.”
I lay on the couch with Lucy sprawled in front of me. I stroked her side, and she purred loudly. My favorite baking show played in the background, lending a calming atmosphere.
The smell of cinnamon enveloped me when Kal sat behind me. I reached back and patted around for his arm.
“What?” he asked, sounding tired.
“Lie down.”
Kal settled behind me, and I lifted my head for his arm while pulling his other over my waist. He snuggled close. “My Seth,” he whispered, his breath tickling the back of my neck.
Swallowing, I focused on what I’d rehearsed in my head when he was in the shower. “My grandparents were abusive.”
“What?” Kal started to roll me over, but I remained firm, refusing to budge.
“It’s easier if I don’t have to look at you.”
I stayed focused on the show playing in front of me. It was season one, and one of the judges was explaining why she’d chosen a specific dessert for the bakers. I couldn’t pay attention to her words, because of the panic hammering inside of me. My past could be wielded as a weapon if Kal chose to do so.
He nuzzled my neck. “I’m safe with you, right?”
“Of course.”
“And you are safe with me.”
I took a deep breath. “My mom got pregnant with me when she was young, seventeen.”
“Why would her age be a factor?”
“She was a child, not married, which was a big deal to my grandparents.”
“Was she… hurt?” Kal asked carefully.
