He fucks his cock against mine with hard, quick thrusts. I hold his hips, then reach around to his plump, bare ass and down the backs of his thighs, my fingers digging in. Fuck. I’m going to come. It’s right there.
I’m so damn horny that it doesn’t take long for me to shoot all over my stomach. Keary continues to thrust against me until his cum joins mine. The touch of the sun retreats, and he remains over me for a minute before he pulls back.
His eyes land on our mess on my stomach. I’m horrified when he buries his face in it, rubbing it around until he’s coated. I stare as he sits back up, licking his lips. His face is painted, and when he leans over me, I shove him away.
“That’s gross.” I laugh and struggle to keep his face far from me.
Eventually, he concedes and leaves to retrieve a towel. We clean up and redress, then lie together on the floor. The sun was only here for a short minute, just that window in time to lend another hand in getting off, and now the rain is back. It’s so damn loud that it’s all I can hear. The room has turned dark. A streak of lightning flashes, making shadows reach across the floor. Thunder rumbles a minute later.
The storm is getting closer. Lightning continues, and the thunder grows louder and quicker. The door crashes open just as a bright streak of lightning makes the room shine like daylight. The thunderousboomshakes the walls. A scream follows it, and Keary leaps to his feet, running for the door.
NOTTO
There’s no such thing as a beautiful storm. Not when they have the power to resurrect a past that shouldn’t have happened. Storms need to be avoided at all times. No discussion.
We barely make it into the library before the storm settles overhead. I’m practically carrying Drystan as he falls into a panic. Nothing triggers his trauma like a thunderstorm. I’m not sure if it’s the lights, the electricity in the air, or the thunder.
The more violent the storm, the deeper he falls into the horrors of his past.
His eyes are almost entirely white as he collapses on the floor with his hands over his ears. His horns have been replaced by a massive rack of antlers. Spikes appear down his back, shredding his shirt. His skin is like muddy water, somehow both murky and transparent at the same time. There’s a fog that hangs around him.
I shove the doors closed, securing them so they won’t be blown open by the wind. Another burst of lightning, then a thunderousBOOMfills the room before the lightning has completely died down. Drystan screams again, curling further in on himself. His body becomes more transparent as his antlers grow. The spines on his back glint with a threat in the hints of light.
I wrap around him, careful to avoid his poisonous spikes. “It’s okay,” I assure him. “Just a storm. Nothing else. I promise.”
Keary’s there in the next second. Together, we sandwich Drystan between us. Together, we assure him over and over again that there’s no one else here. No one will ever hurt him again. He’s safe. It’s only a storm.
The storm rages on while Drystan continues to break down. His body becomes more and more defensive as he tries to fight off the abuse that’s just a memory.
But with a soul, the past and present can live together. They can move around you like one solid timeline. Everything happens together.
In moments like these, I know that Keary loves him. I can hear it in his voice. I can see it in the way he tries to protect Drystan from reliving his past. I can feel it in how tightly he holds Drystan. It’s careful, so he doesn’t hurt our sweet soul, but secure, making sure that Drystan feels him and knows he’s there.
If I didn’t see moments like this when Keary dropped his stubborn act, I’d have left him a long time ago. If he could actually convince me that he doesn’t want us, I’d do as he keeps saying and leave him alone.
But it’s all a lie, and the longer he drags it out, the deeper the fracture between us grows. Our monsters want to bond. They want to mate. I know full well that Keary feels it. There’s no way he doesn’t.
What I don’t know is why he insists on being a pain in the fucking ass about it. I don’t understand why he refuses to accept his damn mating. It’snota lack of attraction. It’snota lack of emotional attachment. I know everything it’s not. I just don’t know what itis.
I’m left more confused and frustrated each day because he’s willing to mate with this new human fucking pet. He’s willing to give this human everything he’s refusing to give us, and it’s driving me absolutely insane.
Why?!
If I were a different monster, I’d blame the human, but I’m old enough to know that matings aren’t a choice. You love who you love. That’s what a mate is. It’s love. Instant, consuming, infinite.
My frustration with Keary was so damn loud that it distracted me from feeling the same draw toward the human pet. I still don’t feel it to the fullest extent because I’m fucking frustrated with Keary’s goddamn stubborness and refusal to accept this.
I can’t give my attention to the pull toward the human pet right now, especially since any attention or interest either Drystan or I show him only sets Keary off. I’m jealous of his possessiveness for the human pet. I want that on me!
The storm is slow to move away. Drystan is slower still to come out of horrors that his mind has conjured around him. It breaks my heart that there’s nothing we can do to prevent this except avoid storms—which we typically are much better at. Our fucking fighting is what led to this moment. We’ve been so distracted with this boiling pot around us that we missed reading the atmosphere.
“I’m sorry,” Drystan whispers. His hands cover his face. He’s crying so hard that his tears drip from between his fingers.
“Don’t ever apologize,” Keary murmurs, gently massaging Drystan’s skull. “Everything is alright. You’re safe. We will never let someone hurt you again. I promise.”
Drystan sniffs. His breathing is hitched as he struggles to make a full inhale. His entire body shakes.
“I hate storms,” he whispers.
