“That’s my good girl,” he whispered softly into my hair. “You look so pretty when you shatter.”
My mind went blank. Nothing existed except for tingling pleasure in every cell of my body. I let my eyes drift closed and inhaled his masculine, smoky scent. My arms hung limply over his shoulders, hands touching behind his neck. As my body recovered from its climax, I found myself incredibly lulled. I didn’t want to get off this warm man who smelled like campfire and hadexclusivelylooked out for my best interest since I met him. “I’ve got you,” he had said that first night; apparently, sexual satisfaction was part of the deal.
“Are you fully spent? Or will you be needing more?” His head nuzzled against mine affectionately.
“I’m so sleepy.” I hummed, finding it hard to summon the words after my first orgasm in god knows how long. As far as my memory was concerned, this could have been my first one.
I was too subdued to care as his hands wrapped under me, and he rose to his feet. My legs dangled, feeling quite secure in his hold. I felt weightless and unbothered as he carried me hooked over one single arm.
After a moment, we lowered back to the ground, and this time he gently rolled me to my side on a fur pelt of bedding. I cracked my eyes open just enough to see he’d placed me near the fire. My brain latched onto its crackling sounds, letting their static fill my blissful nothingness. I could think, feel, and act another time. Right now, I was happy to melt into the ground.
Graysen
She’s been out for hours. I stared at the well-satiated female sleeping in front of my folded knees. I hadn’t planned on touching her on this trip. In fact, I hadn’t dared allow myself to consider the possibility of touching heranytimein the future. It was a guaranteed way to excessively complicate an already devastating situation. But when Faeryn had implied sexual exploration with other males, something had come over me. My failing attempts to resist the pull towards her snapped.
My soul craved her more than anything in this world, or the next. I wanted her to wantme. I wanted her to wantonlyme. If I couldn’t tell her not to pursue others—which I couldn’t—I could at least remove her incentive to do so. Selfish, yes, but I intended to be entirely selfless in my servicing. I didn’t need anything in return. If I could have the honor of keeping her safe, happy, and pleasured, I would consider myself the luckiest male alive. She would want for nothing within my tight grasp.
I had taken a walk once she was asleep to cool myself off—figuratively and literally. My palms were becoming dangerously hot and threatened to burn a hole in my pockets. Years ago, I had a normal amount of self-control over my flames, but that was no longer the case. While concentrating on not burning her moredelicate regions, I had accidentally let some of my predatory features emerge again, but she didn’t seem to be scared off.
Encouraged by her acceptance of my… alternative features after the water dragon encounter, I had dared to make a show of tasting her with my “feral” form’s tongue once it appeared.That’s right, Pet, you don’t need to be afraid. This monster can please you.Stay with your monster.Hopefully, it would provide incentive for remaining loyal to my services when she was in need.
Monster and pet. What a suitably complicated pairing born from the biting words of my scared and confused female. I had once been deeply troubled by these perceptions, but now I could only see the potential.What a dangerous thought.
A thought for another time—or never, if I knew what was good for me. I wouldn’t let this go beyond her release. I was keeping too many secrets to feel justified taking her for my own selfish yearnings. This would have to remain a one-sided vice. I would fill the role of toy if it meant she didn’t go inquiring about “What they say about waking up next to a Quadmos” again. Mykie had said she had grown aroused at the pub that night. Was that because of that dumb, over-referenced stereotype? Had it been Theo she had been thinking about? I’d hate to have to kill one of my closest friends to avoid the competition, but surely, he would understand.
I hadn’t expected her to be so quick to explore sexuality after I found her. A part of me I wasn’t proud of yearned to never leave this island again, strictly so I couldguaranteebeing the only focus of her desire. She couldn’t be mine, but I wasn’t sure I could live with her being anyone else’s.
Possessiveness aside, staying on Eitreawouldbe the perfect solution to my problems in general. She would be safer here. But as I gazed down at her sleeping form, I knew thatkeeping her on the island against her will would just be another form of holding her captive. After losing so much, she deserved to live as normal a life as was safely possible. I could give that to her. It was my only true means of reconciliation.
I watched as Faeryn’s lids fluttered open, clearly dazed and taking in her environment. My throat caught with apprehension; all this time to think, and I hadn’t once considered what I would say when she woke. Should I leave it up to her to initiate? Or was that too much pressure on someone who just woke from a post-orgasm nap?
“Hi, Graysen,” she mumbled, brushing her bouncy waves out of her face. Her hair dyed withmyash. My palms tingled at the thought.
“Did you sleep well?” A safe question, although I had to stifle the purr in my chest at the unspoken implication that her nap was my doing.
She laughed quietly and nuzzled her face into the furs, not successfully hiding her blush from me. “The best sleep I’ve had yet. I guess I have you to thank for that.”
I fought the urge to assure her I would be happy to continue evoking her wanton murmurs in the future. She seemed, at least on the surface, to be content rather than regretful. Now was not the time to push my luck. I needed to resume my true responsibility: establishing a feeling of trust. No matter how much I wanted to rip those just recently dried pants off her as a trophy, it was time to be a gentleman again. It wascruelhow much she made me want to abandon that cause.
“I imagine you’re quite hungry.” I gestured to the egg she removed from the backpack earlier in the day. I should have made her eat last night, but rest had taken priority. The fact that she had energy left to spend on me was impressive.
“Breakfast sounds lovely.” She smiled appreciatively, sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest.
Allowing my attention to fixate on providing her with sustenance, I fetched the pan and egg. It would quadruple in size with heat, creating plenty of nutrition for us to share. I used one hand to hold the cast iron above the flame and the other to crack the shell and let the yolk spill into the pan. The contents sizzled and immediately began to puff up into a fluffy consistency. I lived on these for many months of travel during my nomad days, and considered my technique near-perfected.
“So, what do you want to do today?” There were many hours left before starset, and I intended to continue dazzling her with the magic of the island. Hopefully, she wouldn’t push for anything too intense. Feeling her weakly quiver against me had only stirred my protective instincts into overdrive, especially after last night’s close call. I wouldn’t fail to protect her again.
“You said you would take me flying on a dragon.” She sounded hesitant, as if unsure she could still hold me to that promise. Understandably.
“Anything other than flying, by chance?” The idea of her being endangered by my own volunteered interests again was chilling. Would I be prioritizing my drive to show off and share a part of myself over her well-being?
She furrowed her brows at me. “I wouldn’t mind a walk on the beach.” She paused before sternly stating, “After we fly.”
My shoulders slumped in exasperation. “Fae, it’s just that I’m worried after yesterday. These wild animals aren’t entirely predictable. And when you’re a mile in the air, it’s difficult to recover from a mistake.” Surely, she could understand why I was reconsidering at this point. I carried the pan to the bag and retrieved some utensils.
“It’ll be okay,” she assured factually. “There are no territorialfriskywater dragons in the sky.” She shimmied her shoulders with amusement at her own levity.
“That may be true, but there are other unpredictable factors to worry about.” I set the hot pan on my knee as a table and handed her a fork to dive in with me.
