“He was.” I sighed. “Babs said he cancelled, saying he couldn't leave D.C. just yet.”
“Interesting.” Kroven continued his pacing. “I’ll have to see if I can get any details out of Exo and—”
“Kroven,” I said, standing up and grabbing his hands with a smile. “Take a breath. This is good news, right?”
“It is.” Kroven nodded, glancing down at our melded hands with a smirk.
“Then great. Exo can wait a minute. You can exhale knowing that one less thing is off your plate.”
Kroven heaved a breath and then quickly pushed it out, squeezing my hands in gratitude. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine. “You're right. And thank you for going out of your way to get confirmation.”
“No problem.” I scoffed playfully. “Although I know one way you can thank me.”
Snickering, Kroven used one of his hands to tilt my head up so he could kiss me. His lips pressed against mine felt like lightning, even though I'd repeatedly felt it before. Kroven was a narcotic that I was becoming helplessly reliant on, and before Iwas fully addicted, I needed to know what exactly was happening between us.
“Wait,” I said, breaking our kiss. I stifled a smile as Kroven groaned in protest. “Can we talk about...what's going on here?”
When I led him back to the couch, both of us sitting with one hand still intertwined with his, Kroven had a settlement of worry between his brows. “Are you having seconds thoughts about…the things we’ve been doing?”
“No,” I assured him, squeezing his hand so he could feel the validity in my words as much as he could hear them. “The opposite, really. I really like you, Kroven. And I guess before things get…complicated, especially with everything going on at the blood centers, I just wanted to see where your head was at about…us.”
I don’t know why I was so nervous. Before actually sitting down and addressing the magnetic pull I felt toward Kroven, I’d wanted nothing more than to define what we were doing. Now that it was out in the open, I feared that Kroven was only interested in a frivolous fling. The notion of this being a mutually exclusive sexual relationship sounded great, in theory, but I wantedmore. I wanted Kroven in a way I hadn’t wanted anyone before.
Being rejected by him would be the most painful shrapnel to imbed itself into my chest, and I was bracing myself for that laceration.
“Sebastian,” The low growl of my full name itched away at something deep inside of me. As much as I had chastised him for using my full name in the past, there was something about the wayhedid it that made it okay. “I know this thing between us is still new, but I want it more than anything. I’m sorry if I’ve given you any other impression.”
I shook my head. “You haven’t. I guess I wanted us to talk about it, and what we maybe wanted going forward. Because I want you, Kroven. In every way.”
He took a deep breath at my words, seeing the depth of the lust in his eyes as he took in my admission. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. Please.”
Lifting my free hand, I cradled my palm against his cheek, smoothing my thumb over his alabaster skin. “I mean it. I know you’ve never been with a human before. And I’ve never been with an Orb before. What I really want…is to know if you want to pursue this on a more serious level with me.”Just say it.SAY IT, I screamed at myself. Closing my eyes, I mentally pushed myself to get out the words that were waiting in the wings to be freed. “As my boyfriend. If that’s something you want too.”
Kroven nudged his cheek into my palm as a half-smile lit up his face. “There’s nothing I want more than to be yours, Sebastian.” Just hearing that made my dick fill up to its full potential. “I just want to make sure you understand what that means.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Kroven held up a hand, trying to gain more time to explain himself. “What I mean is, are you ready to be seen out in public with an Orb on your arm? Are you expecting us to go to dinners and go to the movies like a normal couple?”
“But we are a normal couple.” I insisted. “There’s nothing abnormal about our feelings for one another.”
“While I agree with you, the rest of the world may not.” Kroven shook his head. “Look what’s happening at the blood centers. This could just be the beginning of the Orb hate, and I would never forgive myself if you got caught up in that.”
“I want to fight against the protestors, Kroven. And anyone who thinks that Orbs are lesser than. I want to go out to dinner with my boyfriend, Orb or not. I want to hold his hand while we’re shopping. I want it all. And I want it all withyou.”
He tightened his grip on my hand, gazing into my eyes with those intense and beautiful crimson eyes. “And you’re okay with being stared at? Silently or verbally ridiculed for being associated with a blood sucking monster?”
Feeling bold, I pounced on him, relishing at the shock on his face as I landed against him and lightly pinned him underneath me on the couch. I could feel how hard this was making him as his cock started to go rigid against my own. Kroven hissed, gasping at the contact. I grabbed his chin with my hand, averting his gaze from where our dicks were pressed together so he had no other choice but to look into my eyes.
“They’re the monsters.” I leaned down and claimed his lips with mine, feeling him shed his previous concern as it was replaced by the heat we constantly fought to keep under control. “If I have to fight to prove that we’re doing nothing wrong, then so fucking be it.”
To make sure he was paying attention, I ground my crotch against his, reveling in the sight of Kroven writhing against me. Before he could mewl into the physical touch, I flipped a switch. I lifted off of him, taking back my seat on the couch. The look on his face over teasing him made me a little worried. Kroven looked like he wanted to eat me for distracting him with my dick. Sudden thoughts of Kroven’s long purple tongue in my ass filled my mind, and I regretted baiting him instantly. He sat back to his prior position, giving me squinted eyes that told me I was eventually going to pay for what I’d just done.
Don’t threaten me with a good time.
“So what do you say, Kroven?” I said in a suddenly more innocent tone than the lustful one I’d used when our bodies had been pressed together. “Do you wanna defy the odds and go steady with me?”
He guffawed, tossing his head back and my chest warmed at the sound, per usual. “Going steady. Haven’t heard that in a long time.”
Instead of answering me outright, Kroven retaliated by ambushing me on the couch, pining my down against the cushions in a role reversal. Because he was an absolute brat, he asserted his point by grinding his cock against mine as he heldmy shoulders in pace, looking into my eyes like he could get lost in them.
