Tired, light brown eyes blinked open, slowly focusing in on Hikaru’s female face. Hikaru’s smile was warm and full of concern. “How are you feeling, Aaron?”
The human licked his dry and cracked lips. “T-tired.” His eyes began slipping closed again.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Hikaru kindly offered. “Let’s see if you can stay awake a little longer, sugar. There’s someone here who’d like to talk to you about what happened with the charm you purchased and used.”
Mr. Detling’s eyes blinked before shifting my direction. His features tightened when he saw me. “Another one? What is it now?”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “Another one?You’ve already spoken with another warlock?”
For an exhausted human, Aaron Detling still managed to roll his eyes. “Jeez, don’t you guys talk with each other?”
“Apparently not,” I deadpanned. My fingers clenched. “Do you recall what he looked like?”
“Fucking hell…he looked like a warlock.”
My lips pulled back into a snarl. I couldn’t tell if this human was being obtuse on purpose or was simply an idiot.
“Oh, honey,” Hikaru purred, “I know what you’re talking about. All warlocks look the same to me too. They’re all big, buff, and full of themselves.” Hikaru threw a wink my direction. “But there are a few differences. I know they can be hard to decipher. Did this one have a lot of white in their hair or was it just a little?”
Seemingly happy to ignore me, Aaron Detling focused on Hikaru’s smiling visage. The tension seeped from his body and he relaxed into his hospital bed. “He had a lot more white than this one.” I could only assume Mr. Detling referred to me.
“And his fingers? Did you see those?”
“Black as coal and covered in ugly rings.” Aaron Detling yawned and his eyes fluttered. “God, I’m tired.” I suppose malnutrition and dehydration would certainly do that to a person.
“I know sweetie.” Hikaru ran his fingers through the human’s hair. I had the overwhelming desire to rip those fingers from the mousy brown hair they were tangled within. It was an irrational urge that needed purged from my mind—immediately.
Hikaru glanced my way when Aaron Detling’s eyelids slipped closed. His gaze remained focused on me when he asked, “Do you still have that nasty charm that did this to you?”
“No.” The word was little more than a ghostly whisper.
I stiffened, but it was Hikaru who asked, “Do you know where it is?”
“The other warlock took it.” Cracking a yawn, Aaron Detling’s head tilted as slumber pulled him under.
Standing there, the pressure in my head and chest built to alarming levels. I could feel magic crackling around me, eager for guidance, ready to take out the looming threat. Only thethreat wasn’t to be found within this room, and the building magic had no outlet.
“Come on.” Hikaru grabbed my arm, jerking me away and into the hall. Buzzing filled my head and I barely heard Hikaru greet others as he pulled me along. Gaia knows why, but I allowed it. I didn’t so much as dig in my heels or give Hikaru’s clutching hand a protesting jerk.
Instead of heading for the elevators, Hikaru dragged me to the stairs. Banging the door open, he pulled me down two flights of stairs before twirling me and slamming my body into the wall. “Look at me,” Hikaru demanded. “Damn it. I said, look at me!” He grabbed my chin, forcing my head down. The sane part of my brain registered that Hikaru’s form was more familiar. His fox tails swished around him with agitation and his green-gold eyes seemed lit from within.
“Fuck, you’re a vision.” Hikaru’s tone was reverent as his fingers danced up and down my arms. “You have no idea what you look like, do you? All that magic swirling around you, desperate for guidance.” Hikaru rubbed his cheek against my chest before going up on tiptoes and doing the same against my neck and jaw. My chaotic aggression found a new focus and homed in on that singular outlet.
“Let it go.” Hikaru’s breath ghosted across my skin, leaving gooseflesh in its wake and sending my blood pounding through my veins. “I can take it, let it go in me before you hurt someone.”
Hikaru didn’t wait for me to respond. Just as he always did, the kitsune took the lead, slamming his lips into mine. He had to yank my head down to reach, but Hikaru was surprisingly strong for someone so lean.
I didn’t fight it. I let Hikaru drink from my lips, pressing and eating at my mouth. The magic begging for direction found its target and eagerly flowed from me into Hikaru. Groaning, thekitsune absorbed it, taking the untamed magic into himself and cooling its fire, leaving me slumped against the cinderblock wall.
Finally pulling away, Hikaru tilted his head back and gasped. “Fuck, that was…we should have done that a long fucking time ago, Niki.” Hikaru’s body grew lax as he leaned into me. I’m not sure where I found the strength, but I held onto him, pulling Hikaru’s body against mine, the cold wall at my back supporting us both.
Inhaling, my eyes slipped closed as reality slowly filtered back in. It’s as if the past few minutes had happened to someone else, not me. “W-what…what was that?”
Hikaru’s claw-tipped fingers danced along my chest as he continued leaning his cheek over my heart. “Thatwas damn near orgasmic.” Hikaru’s light chuckles turned darker. “Thatwas also a nightmare in the making. Honestly, Niki, how did you survive before without me?” This time, when Hikaru glanced up at me, his beautiful eyes were mischievous again.
“Hikaru, tell me what?—”
He slapped my chest and pulled away. I hated how much I wanted to pull him back. “I swear, sometimes you’re simply no fun at all,” Hikaru pouted while crossing his arms. With a put-upon sigh, he took another step back. “You were out of control, Niki. That’s what happened.”
