“You said you were fine. You were not fine.”
“Was too. Look at me, still alive.” I whack the center of my chest. “Omph.” Okay, I might not be that fine.
Gem narrows his eyes. “Because I told Zhang to knock you out. We carried you into the room with the chalice. You wouldn’t wake up and I thought … fuck, Atlanta. You got so pale and, and, and …”
My fingers circle his slender ankle and yank. He yelps. Moving sends glass-shard-like tingles through my arm and down my spine, but I find new strength to pull his ass to me. My heart beats strong, and a swirl of a familiar friend stirs in my bones.
My star.
I let it rip free and immediately regret it. “Ow, fuck!”
“Serves you right.”
“That’s it.” My hand connects with his thinly clad ass hard enough to leave my paw print. He can wear that shit on his skin to prove to himself that I’m right here.
He spins and circles his arms around my bare torso. I carve a home for him there, making sure he can sink into me, wrapping one of my tender thighs around him. Gods, even my legs feel burned raw on the inside. I don’t like that I can’t dig my fingers into his hair, so I gently tug the leather thong until his red locks fall in waves over his back.
“Better?” I say.
“Much. Why does losing you feel like so much more? You’ve always led a dangerous life. You’ve always been a macho asshole who pretends he’s fine when he isn’t. But I nearly lost my mind. Atlanta, do you think we bonded?”
I shrug.
“Dunno, baby. Just know that my heart is as full of you as if we have.”
“That’s sweet enough that I’m actually going to forgive you, even though I know you’re going to do it again.”
I beam, having found good words that he likes. I press my lips to his neck, and he moans. My body twinges with almost the worst pain I’ve been in. Thinking I lost Gem is still number one.
“Fuck.”
“Problem?” he says, loving that I might have to admit defeat.
Fuck that, an Orion never admits defeat. “Tired. Imma fuck you so hard later,” I mumble into his neck. Sleep’s never come so fast for me.
* * *
The brightest morning comes. Gem’s asleep in my arms, and I inhale his moonlavender scent. This is the rest of my life. I’m a lucky bastard. I don’t know how I got a guy like Gem to fall for a guy like me. Not because I’m not good enough, but because we’re opposite.
Gem’s pristine, manicured, clean. Pretty.
My hands are always dirty, usually caked with blood or demon guts. Can’t seem to get the grime out from under my nails. I try to shave, but it grows back so fast that there’s usually enough shadow to scrape like sandpaper over his perfect skin. I don’t bother with hair because it’s too easy to grab in a fight. My bald head combined with my runes and standard hooded ensemble, make me look like a criminal.
I want Gem to be a princess. I usually twirl him, so he can dance through meadows carefree. I watch for danger, so he doesn’t have to. I do the messy shit so he can stay clean. I do the heavy labor so he can rest.
Though if we’re gonna do this space hunters thing, he’s gonna have to get better at combat. He’s trained for combat, but not like an Orion is. I’m his protector, but knowing my limits protects him too.
I wouldn’t call Gem frail. He’s got different kinds of muscles than I do—long lean ones—but they have girth to them. He just looks fragile when he’s standing next to me because I’m such a fucking brute. It’s beauty and the beast come to life.
And as innocent as Gemini appears, he’s a wild one in bed. Filthy, depraved, needy, and demanding. It takes a certain kind of man to handle all that, to keep him tamed while letting him run free at the same time.
Me.
You don’t get Gemini’s submission handed to you. It has to be earned. You have to win it from him over and over again. Sometimes take a beating to fight him for it.
He’s forgiven me, but I haven’t won over the wild thing inside him, which means I’m not getting near his ass until I do. Best way is to go in carefully, just like approaching any other wild animal.
My fingers find their way under his loose robes and ghost over his silky skin, leaving a wake of gooseflesh under them. I find his nipples. Gem fucking loves me toying with his nipples. It’ll be hard for him to resist. He arches against my hard naked body. I’m all thickness, barreled chest, and a torso that can catch his sleek form.
