Why was he starving if he can get a meal from any human?
Does Phin feed him?
How are we going to modify the oath so we can talk to each other and Phin at the least?
“You were the first person I ever enthralled, and you have always been my favorite food. As I said, the magic enthralls the food that feeds us best, and the moment I met you, my magic latched onto you. I was just a kid, so I didn’t really understand what was happening. My tastes didn’t become as refined as they are now until after we hit puberty. You’re always at a low level of arousal when you’re around me, and when you’re sexually aroused you taste perfect. I can eat other people, but only when they taste like you. Phin is the only exception I’ve ever met. My parents wanted us to separate for college because I’m so picky that very few humans can feed me. They wanted me to get away from you so that I could broaden my tastes, and when I didn’t they were extremely upset. That's why I haven’t gone home except with you since we left.”
“Why the fuck did you insist that we live separately?” I demand, frustrated by the separation he enforced on us, especially now that I know I’ve basically been feeding him for the last twenty years. I’m pleased that I’ve been able to feed him, I love that both he and the universal magic chose me for him, but I’m also a little pissed that he decided to deny me the life I’ve wanted since we were kids.
Gael huffs and deflates, and Phin holds him closer, a steady, stable presence in a conversation that he might not even be able to have with us; I don’t really know the limits of the oath he swore. “Because I thought my parents were right. I thought I was too picky. I have you, and you are sublime. Why would I ever go seeking anyone else to feed me if I have you? You are myfavorite, Sin. My favorite food, my favorite person, my favorite Sin. I would eat nothing but you for the rest of our lives, but that’s not good for you. Certainly I won’t drain you dry, but there’s a reason you’ve never dated anyone. There’s a reason you’ve never had other friends. I’m not good for you if I cling to you like that. We both need other people, but neither one of us will seek them out unless I force it. I love you, and I thought that meant that sometimes I have to be away from you.”
I’m not sure if the churning in my stomach is the result of the distance he’s insisting on or the realization that I’ve been uninterested in anyone who isn’t in Gael’s sphere of influence because he’s basically consumed that desire out of me.
No. I am not going to blame Gael for his needs nor for things out of his control. “We have Phin now, and you’re both moving in with me. No more separation, no more starving yourself, no more pretending that we don’t need each other more than air. I love you both. Gael, I don’t miss whatever desire for other people you’ve taken from me because you’ve been consuming my energy. I have you and I have Phin and that is enough for me. I don’t need a white knight to sacrifice himself to save me from a fate I willingly choose. I’ll take the white knight act to fix the communication issue we’re having because of a short sighted oath, but not about my love and lust.” I give him a quelling look when he thinks about protesting for a split second, and he gives up, so I stand, looking down at our boyfriend. “Phin, do you have any questions or concerns?”
Phin rocks his head side to side and shrugs. “I can’t say.”
Stupid fucking oath.
“Gael’s going to work on that this week. Right now, we’re going to the bedroom, and we’re going to fuck you into the mattress. Then,”—I turn to Gael, projecting what I really want—“I think you should fuck me, and after, we’ll get some sleep.Tomorrow we’re going to pack up Gael’s apartment and move him into this house. This weekend we’ll do the same for Phin.”
I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m not living one more day without my men in my house with me. It’s big enough for now, and if we decide later we want more room, we’ll go house hunting together, or maybe we’ll have a house built to fit us. Whatever we decide, we’re going to do it together.
Eighteen Days After Gael Left
Sin
My phone buzzing under my cheek wakes me up from a terrible night of sleep. I barely get my eyes on the name of the caller before I swipe to accept and put the phone to my ear. “Where the fuck have you been?” I demand, my ire softened by my sleepiness.
“I had some family stuff to do.” Phin sounds awful, like he also didn’t sleep last night.
The exhaustion in his voice wakes me up more than the buzzing did. “I’ll come get you. Call in to work. You need sleep.”
He sighs. “I’m already in your driveway, I’m just too tired to carry my suitcase in.”
“Be right there,” I tell him, rolling out of bed.
I push my feet into my sandals at the door and walk out in my sleep shorts to find Phin sitting in the driver’s seat of his truck with his head leaned back and eyes closed. The door is open, and he has one foot out, but he looks like he lost the energy to move before he got further.
I reach in, sinking my fingers into his ginger beard, and I narrow my eyes at the black circles around his eyes. He hasn’tslept a wink. Besides that, there’s dried leaves in his hair and a stick in his beard. His clothes are dirty, and his boots are covered in mud. He looks at me through his exhaustion, but his eyes don’t want to stay open.
“Sorry,” he whispers. “I was going to text you, but my family…” He drops off in the middle of that thought, and I shake him to rouse him again.
“Let me help you into the house,” I mutter, annoyed with whatever his family did to him that left him this exhausted, and annoyed with him for driving afterward. “You’re lucky you made it home safe,” I complain, helping him to his feet, but taking a heavy part of his weight as I help him into the house.
“Home,” he hums sleepily, but it’s a happy word coming from him. “I love coming home.”
