He trekked out of the palace, looking at the stairway and flipping it the bird, turning to the highway that would lead him back home in no time.
12
Oren
“Are you getting bored with me already?” Oren asked, leaning back where he was perched on Luc’s lap, bowtie undone and shirt halfway unbuttoned.
Luc had just gotten back from wherever he’d disappeared to that morning. Oren had really missed waking up next to him, so he’d tackled him to the bed the moment he’d walked in.
Well, tackled as much as someone of his stature could tackle someone Luc’s size.
Basically, he’d pounced, and Luc had gone down willingly, clawed hands gripping Oren’s thighs and wings wrapping them up.
Oren had claimed Luc’s lips like he had the right to them, teasing that forked tongue out until it wrapped around his. He’d thought in that moment that he’d never get tired of thesensation, the feeling that Luc could map out his entire mouth with just one sweep of his tongue.
Oren had shivered. He always did in Luc’s arms. He’d clung to him as tightly as he could and rocked his hips into Luc’s, wanting to feel that delicious friction. He’d wanted to drive Luc insane so he’d rip his clothes off and use his toys on him. He’d wanted Luc to let go completely and own Oren the way he wanted to be owned.
Instead, he’d found Luc kissing him slowly, the grip on his thigh loosening, Luc… soft under his hips. It had washed away the fog of lust and made him pull back, searching for the answer.
They’d been together for mere weeks. Oren knew he wasn’t the most experienced, but he didn’t think what they’d done so far was so bad Luc would be tired of it already. But Luc was avoiding his eyes. He was looking everywhere but at Oren.
Oren felt a wave of embarrassment overtake him and pushed against Luc’s chest to get up from his lap and off the bed.
“You are…” Oren said, pointing a finger at Luc. “You’re actually bored with me.”
“Oren…” Luc said, reaching out for him.
“No, don’t ‘Oren’ me. What the hell, Luc? I thought we were having fun and that you liked me.”
“I do like you.”
“Tell that to your cock,” Oren said.
“It likes you too.”
“This isn’t a joke, Luc.” Oren crossed his arms over his bare chest protectively. “What is happening? It’s fine if you don’t want to have sex, but you’ve been acting strange ever since the egg hatching. And this morning you just disappeared. I want some answers.”
Oren watched as Luc’s face fell and he ran a hand over it. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. It almost floored Oren to see the dejection in his eyes.
He felt awful for not noticing just how tired Luc appeared to be. Had this been here all along? It couldn’t have been. The devil he had first met had been cavalier, if a little hectic. When had that shifted? There was a slump to his proud shoulders and a droop to his wings that made them look heavy for the first time.
The devil appeared… vulnerable.
Oren slid back onto the bed next to Luc’s feet, cradling Luc’s clasped palms between his own.
“Talk to me, Luc,” he whispered. “I won’t mind if you don’t want me anymore. Just… don’t let it eat at you this much. It’s not worth it.”
“You’re worth everything,” Luc said softly, pulling one of his hands from under Oren’s and bringing it up to cup his cheek, pushing his glasses slightly askew. “This has nothing to do with me not wanting you. The opposite, really.”
Oren’s dead heart thumped at both the words and the gentle touch, but he still frowned and shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ll explain, but let me tell you this first.” Luc took a deep breath before continuing. “Hell is where I belong. I was made to be here, to live here. I like it here, always have. But… having you here made it feel like a home for the first time since the beginning of everything. You made everything better, Oren.”
Oren felt the weight of those words in his bones. They felt too charged, too emotional to be just a passing thing Luc was saying to butter him up. Too strong to be something he was saying to placate Oren.
But they were also all said in the past tense.
“Why does it sound like you’re breaking up with me then?” Oren asked quietly, an anxious hole opening in his stomach and making him feel like he’d fall right through it.
