Page 84 of Mortis

I drew back from my hiding place and met his eyes, uncaring that mine were probably swollen or that I had bodily fluids smeared across my face.

“Th-that’s how you ended up near Blackthorn,” I said. “In Barrowfell W-Woods.”

Kael nodded. Then he reached for the box of tissues on my nightstand, the ones usually reserved for post-wank clean-up. He tugged a few free before handing them to me. I used one to wipe my eyes, wincing at how sensitive the skin had become. Another was sacrificed to my nose, and I cringed at the deeply unsexy sound that followed as I cleared my nasal passages.

Once I’d thrown the tissues unceremoniously onto the floor, promising myself I’d pick them up later, Kael curled his fingers beneath my chin and gently tilted my face towards his. His crimson eyes held mine.

“I have seen and done many terrible things,” he said solemnly. “And I would never wish to endure them again.”

His thumb brushed beneath my swollen eye.

“But if every road I had to take eventually brought me here to this room, to this moment, to you . . . then, Teddy, I cannot bring myself to regret the journey that brought me to your door.”

This fucking bastard.

He was trying to make me cry on purpose.

Still, I couldn’t deny that his words made my heart beat faster. That something bright burst to life inside my chest, fizzing like a sparkler before settling into a steady warmth as I imagined the days ahead of us.

Kael watching fireworks on Bonfire Night, smearing sticky caramel all over his face from the coated apples Arlo, Grandad, and I made every year.

Kael’s eyes lighting up when he received his very first Christmas present. The mountain of food he’d no doubt pile onto his plate when it came time for dinner.

Kael being the first person I kissed at midnight on New Year’s. My first ever midnight kiss on New Year’s, period.

Kael helping Grandad move caskets or sitting through endless episodes of Real Housewives with Arlo.

Kael no longer carrying the weight of his past on his shoulders. Smiling more often than not.

Kael tucked into bed beside me every night, his ridiculous hooves hanging off the end of the mattress.

Safe.

Happy.

Exactly as he deserved to be.

I cupped his cheeks and leaned in until my lips hovered over his.

“I’m so glad I found you munching on an old lady in the embalming room.”

Then I kissed him.

I held his face tighter, pouring every ounce of affection I had for him into the kiss. Every hope I had for his future. Every quiet, tentative hope I was beginning to have for our future.

Kael’s arms slid around my back and pulled me closer, pressing our chests together until there wasn’t even a hair’s breadth between us. My tongue peeked out to caress his lower lip, and he moaned happily, the rumble vibrating against my sternum. He opened his mouth, and I immediately deepened the kiss, tangling my tongue with his.

My hands moved into his hair, clutching at the smoky strands. Kael’s claws dug into my shoulder blades. Our breaths quickened, chests bumping together with every rapid inhale. The movement made my shirt drag against my pebbled nipples, which in turn made my cock twitch inside my pyjama trousers.

He must’ve felt my growing hardness against his stomach because he purred and shifted, pressing our groins together. I could feel the mound of his protective pouch, warm and swollen as it tried to contain his hard length. My head tipped back with a groan at the delicious friction, and Kael took advantage of my exposed throat, kissing along my jaw and down my neck, his sharp teeth grazing my skin in a dangerous tease. My eyes drifted closed as he buried his face against my neck and inhaled deeply. Then he leaned back and dragged his forked tongue along my jugular, following the frantic beat of my pulse until the tips flicked beneath my jaw.

My mind grew foggy with pleasure, and my hips refused to remain still. They rolled almost unconsciously, finding a steady rhythm that pressed my cock against the thick fur covering his groin. Precum leaked from my tip, coating the head of my dick and leaving a sticky wet patch on my pyjama trousers. My balls hung heavy between my legs, the need to come steadily building, pressure gathering low in my spine.

Kael’s hands moved south to cup my arse, squeezing hard enough to make me hiss as his claws dug into my skin. The slight pain tangled with my pleasure and dragged a whimper from my throat, my hips momentarily losing their rhythm.

When I felt his cock slip free, I gasped as it settled between my cheeks, thick and impossibly warm. His natural slickness soaked through my trousers and added to the mess I’d already made. When I rocked backwards, his broad tip rubbed against my taint, nudging against my balls. When I rolled forwards again, it dragged lower, teasing my hole through the thin material. My muscles clenched instinctively, then quivered when I did it again.

“You are exquisite, my treasure,” Kael whispered against my neck, branding the words into my skin. “I’ve spent a lifetime serving Greed, yet I never understood what it meant to truly covet something until you.”