Eyes following Avianna as she flutters over to the bars, they land on a shadowed frame, at the entrance of the alcove. My head tilts, and I stand slowly. I can’t make out who it is, but it’s definitely a person. They’re kind of just standing over there. Watching me.
“Ivory…?” I call.
He doesn’t answer. The figure takes a step forward, a stream of moonlight coming in from the skylight, illuminating the side of his face. A person I’ve never seen before…
Tall, pale complexion and black hair. He’s gets within about ten feet, and I catch the shimmer of violet eyes…
But sudden distinct footsteps in the garden spook him, and he scurries between the trees.
The clacking of dress shoes brings the familiar buzz of zeal I get every time he returns. My gut twists and flips in excitement, and I’m instantly shivering with anticipation.
I can’t fathom it, this reaction I’ve always had to him. I still feel stupid for being drawn to him in such a visceral way. But after the last few weeks, after everything we’ve done together, I don’t think either of us can deny this any longer.
We’re in arelationship. The nature of it is still up in the air, but it’s there.
I think The Ivory is my… boyfriend.
¿Dios, qué me pasa?
Ivory doesn’t stop. He unlocks the cell and strides inside without a word, rushed and a bit jittery. As soon as he’s within a few feet, I can see that he’s exhausted. Visibly stressed, white hair all tousled, tie loosened, five o’clock shadow overgrown by a couple of days.
It’s so interesting how he apparently grows this dirty blonde facial hair. Not dark, but still much darker than his hair and eyebrows. He also has these long, dark eyelashes, and it has me reeling from the idiosyncrasy of this person.
He’s a true rarity. One in a Million.
No greetings or explanations. He’s just on me. Fast and greedier than usual, he kisses me, gripping my jaw to hold me in place. And I’m just clutching fistfuls of his shirt at his sides, hanging on for dear life while this rocket ship blasts off before I’m even strapped in.
Ivory groans into my mouth, all but trembling with need as he kisses me dizzy, pawing at me and pulling me so that we’re flush. I can feel his heat and his hunger, and it’s intoxicating. Hypnotizing me even more than I’m already at his mercy.
This feelsvital, us together. We’re like oxygen at high altitude, disorienting but necessary in the shallow.
Yanking him back, I pull him toward the en suite, because I have an idea for something that might soothe him. And he doesn’t question it. He comes when I call him, like he’smypet. It’s so sexy I’m thrumming already.
Once we’re in the bathroom, we stop mauling one another long enough to breathe.
He gazes down at me, dark eyes alit with that ravenous craving as he whispers, “My Angel…”
“Are you okay?” I ask breathlessly.
He drops his forehead to mine and whimpers. An answer without words.
No…
“Take a bath with me,” I hum, stroking fingers through his silky strands of ivory.
He nods fast, pressing kiss after kiss on my bottom lip, like he physically can’t stop, hands on my neck and my chest.
I pull away just long enough to turn the water on and toss some fragrant oils and salts in. Then I undress us both in tandem. Naked, he sits on the edge of the tub, the sumptuous stone ledge around it, and I straddle him, our taut, heated bodies melting together.
It’s still wild to me, the way I feel so whole with him. Connected to my body in ways I never did before he touched me for the first time. I don’t disassociate when I’m with him, because he understands me; who I am, what I want.
I don’t feel like the parts of me aren’t mine. I know they are, and it’s fine, because he sees me. He makes me feelperfect, in every confusing facet of my identity. Like I’m not limited to one gender, one form.
Despite him pissing me off afterward, what I said to him that night was true. With him, I don’t have to be AriorAngel. I can be both, but most importantly, I can bemyself.
Iam… myself. And I just can’t fathom that such a treacherous person is responsible for me feeling whole for the first time in my life.
I just wish I knew what it means… If it’s going anywhere. If it ever could.
