Page 54 of Tenebrous

“As you slept.”

My gaze flies to the gnarly gash in my thigh, still puffy and irritated, but… not at all infected like it probably should be. And not very painful, either. I'd noticed the sharp, burning sensation had begun to fade over the last few sleeps, but I'd thought…

“What about the poultice?” I ask, eyeing him curiously.

Orion huffs. “Human blood. My licking is not as effective.”

I marvel over this while I begin to ride him again, using my palms on his pecs for leverage. “That's kind of disgusting.”

“Dis… gusting?”

“Humans don't go around licking each other's injuries.”

Confusion scrunches his features. “No?”

“No. It's gross and unsanitary. Causes infection.”

He considers my words with surprising seriousness. “But I licked here.” His fingers trail from my hips down to my ass, pressing against where we're currently joined. “You liked.”

Jesus. “Licking is usually a… um, a pleasure thing. For humans.”

Weirdest fucking conversation I've ever had.

“I do not understand,” he grunts, picking up his pace as he thrusts into me.

It takes all my strength to keep talking despite the urge to curl into his chest and let him take me hard like he did in the tunnel. “You know… mmm… what I don't understand is what the f-fuck is happening right now. Why am I so. Fucking. Horny.”

My nails sink into his chest, causing him to rumble out a growl that vibrates the water around us. “Mine. You are mine.”

“H-how?” I cry out, trying to force myself down on his knot as hard as I can.

“My human,” he answers, finally giving me what I need after several more thrusts. “My mate.”

His knot sinks inside me, stretching my hole to capacity, and I come all over his stomach as he fills me to the brim with his own release.

Just like last time, my stomach swells with it. I watch in a horrifyingly curious daze before collapsing against his chest, suddenly drained and completely out of breath.

Mate. That word ricochets around my skull for a few scattered moments until it settles somewhere deep. A dark, quiet place inside my brain lights up, latching onto it—onto him—as though some metaphysical part of my being had been sleeping and has now opened its eyes.

“Impossible,” I whisper into his fur.

Strong arms wrap around me tightly. “It is so. You are mine. And I am yours.”

“But…” With a frown, I try to pull back and look at him, but my body resists. Exhaustion pulls at my limbs. “We're both male. You… You tried to kill me in my car.”

Orion goes completely still. “… Car?”

“Big machines the humans use to get ‘round.” My voice is sluggish, thick from exertion. “You climbed on top and smashed the window.”

His heartbeat picks up beneath my ear, thumping loudly. “It was not I.”

“Yes, it was.”

“I do not lie.”

Something about the conviction in his voice makes my thoughts stumble. My mind reaches for the memory, but it feels strangely distant, softened by what feels like a lifetime underground despite it only being a few weeks, at most. Still, it couldn't have been anything else.

“You're wrong,” I mumble, slurring through the darkness threatening to consume me. “You're the only… big... hairy... thing…”