“Human relationships follow certain conventions, like declarations of love and moving in together. My parents fought a lot, so I didn’t have great role models in that department. Dad would just do whatever he wanted and push Mom’s feelings aside.”
Ashmedai’s hand was still on Nicolas’s jaw, and he gave him a shake. “Conventions.”
“Yes.”
“Forget.” A claw tapped Nicolas’s forehead.
“Forget the conventions?”
“Yes. You don’t know them. I don’t know them. Who cares?”
That was true. They didn’t have to meet any social expectations. All that mattered was that they were together. So what if anyone else thought their relationship was weird? It felt too right to ignore.
Ashmedai gripped his jaw again, pulling him from his thoughts. “Find the kids. Then time for us.”
That settled something nervous and fluttery in his gut. “Yeah. We’ll figure it out, right?”
“Yes. As long as we are together.”
It was the same thing Nicolas had just thought to himself, wasn’t it? He smiled. “Yeah. I like the sound of that.”
“Me too, my light.” Ashmedai pushed at his shoulders until he was on his side again, facing away. His strong arms tightened around Nicolas’s body, his cock nudging ever so slightly deeper inside him and making him groan. “Sleep now.”
Nicolas reached back, touching Ashmedai’s hip. “It doesn’t, uh, retract?”
“Does. Needs to be sheathed inside something. Getting dry hurts. Sheathed in you. No need to retract.”
Heat flushed through him. Ashmedai kissed his shoulder.
“Okay?”
It was more than okay. It made him feel incredibly hot but also comforted, somehow. He hadn’t wanted the sex to end, had wanted their bodies to be joined forever. He could think of nothing better than falling asleep like this. It wasn’t forever, but it was enough for now.
“Yeah,” he croaked. “Yeah, definitely okay.”
“Sleep now, my light.”
And just like that, the withered roots in his heart came alive once more, sprouting fresh blooms that filled every dark corner. The only thing that left him feeling cold was…
“I won’t see you in the morning, will I?” he asked, already disappointed.
“No. But I will be here when night comes.”
That was better than nothing. He just had to hang on until nightfall.
Chapter 14
Ashmedai
Ashmedai’s nightswere no longer filled with death and misery. As promised, he waited in the shadows until the sun fell, biding his time until the light waned each day and Nicolas climbed into bed. And then he joined him, waking him with soft kisses and hungry touches, their bodies rocking together until they were sated. Sometimes they talked; other times Nicolas dropped right off to sleep when they were done, wrapped in Ashmedai’s arms.
He couldn’t deny that he wanted more. He wanted to see Nicolas smile. Wanted to be there when he was awake. But for now, this was enough. There was enough separation that Nicolas could do his job and neither of them had to be miserable. If this was what Nicolas needed to do to stay focused, so be it. Ashmedai could wait.
During the day, for lack of anything better to do, he often found himself at the Rink. The best time to find others there was in the afternoon. Early mornings usually saw the place empty, since most of them kept late hours. They arrived inthe afternoon to work their day jobs and then patrolled after dark.
A week after this new arrangement with Nicolas, he appeared in the Rink, and several of them did a double-take at the sight of him.
“Nice threads,” Shadrach remarked. “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever open that box. You’re welcome.”
