“So much for defending my fucking honor,” I murmur.
Rathyn’s jaw ticks and his ears flick angrily, but he says nothing except, “Come. We will have dinner at my home, and then I will show you more of my world.”
I want to be irritated with him, and I am. But it’s not enough to stop me from trailing along after him to the outside portal. I fully plan to interrogate the shit out of him about the power dynamics I witnessed in that room, but as much as I can be a himbo some days, I know better than to do that in public here.
He holds my fingers as we pass through the second portal, and I take a deep breath the moment we’re in his place. The warm lights coming off the glowing walls are a strange comfort, and so is the fact that the place smells so much like him.
When the portal shimmers and then winks out of existence, I have just enough time to let out a breath before Rathyn has me by the throat, backing me against the wall.
For a moment, I think he’s pissed at me. Then I realize that’s not what’s happening. At all. He runs his nose along my jaw, followed by his tongue. He does the same to the shell of my ear, then the side of my neck. He bites down lightly, fangs just poking at the skin before he travels lower, laving at my pierced nipples, making my body hum in pleasure.
Then, before I can ask what the hell’s actually happening, he’s on his knees. He yanks my pants down to my ankles, then lifts my adorned cock and wraps his long tongue around it before sliding it back toward my balls.
I’m hard as fuck and even more confused until he shoves his nose into the joint between my crotch and my leg, sniffs, then licks there too.
“Are you…scenting me?”
He looks up at me.
“Like, covering me in your scent?” I’ve read enough werewolf erotica while trapped inside my aunt and uncle’s house all those years to recognize the signs.
His cheeks darken, but he does the same to the other side before pulling my pants back up and pressing his hands to the wall on either side of my head. His gaze captures and holds mine, and he’s breathing a little heavier than usual. He looks upset. No, worse than that. He looks devastated.
I quickly pull my hands from his hold and curl them around his jaw, pulling him in for a kiss. He goes easily, tongue dipping into my mouth, twisting around mine. His kiss is desperate. It’s needy in ways I’ve never felt from him before.
He pulls back, baring fang, growling deep in his chest before diving in for more. It’s…a lot. Almost too much. His hands are clawing at me, drawing pinpricks of blood, though I don’t think he realizes it.
“Rath,” I murmur, trying to ease him back. “Rath. Hey.”
He blinks slowly, like he’s coming back to himself. Then he sees the blood and color drains from his face, leaving him pale lavender. “Everest,” he whispers. He grabs my cock suddenly, holding it in a firm grip, and it attempts to thicken. “Your cage. Where is it?”
It takes me a second to realize what he’s talking about. “Uh. At home.” He growls. “Why, you suddenly want to lock my dick up after throwing such a big fucking tantrum about it the first time?”
His eyes narrow, and he squeezes me slightly tighter. “I would lock you away so that no other Vyastil may touch what is mine.”
Something about that sends heat coursing through me. “Yeah?”
He swallows heavily, his eyes locked on where he’s holding my dick. “It is mine. Say it.”
I kind of want to fight back, but I know I can’t. It would be a lie. “It’s yours.”
He purrs softly, his firm grip turning into something like a massage. I’m still stinging where he pierced my skin, but it doesn’t bother me. “You will wear it for me? So no other being can take what is mine.”
“I wouldn’t let them anyway,” I tell him, “but if it’s what you really want…”
“It is. You will be locked away for me. I will hold the key.”
I close my eyes against those words and nod my promise. It’s not a hard one to make. It’s not like I want someone else coming after me, and that other Vyastil really freaked me out. The way he looked at me was violating, and thinking about it makes my stomach squirm.
“For you. Because I’m yours.”
He purrs again, then starts to pull away, but I grab him by the waist. As if on instinct, his tail wraps around my leg from calf to thigh.
“I have hurt you.”
“Trust me, I’ve had worse from mediocre hand jobs,” I tell him. It’s an absolute fucking lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Rath,” I say when he gives me continued silence.
He lifts a hand and cups my jaw, dragging a thumb over my lower lip. “My Everest. You always shorten my name. Why?”
