Page 59 of Tenebrous

“Yes.”

A reluctant smile stretches wide on my face. “You're actually really cute, you know.”

“I will hunt everything,” he announces stubbornly. His certainty should be ridiculous, but it only makes my heart ache.

If there was a way to chase a stick of cheese through the forest, I think Orion would spend every waking hour trying to catch one for me. He'd steal the sun from the sky, too, if only to trap it in his den.

But no matter how much I try to reason with this creature… He's never going to let me go. That much is starting to become completely, horrifyingly clear.

“You should sleep,” I whisper, reaching out to place a hand on his arm.

Orion looks down at my touch with a gentle expression. “We must eat.”

“We can do that later. When was the last time you slept?”

He reaches for me almost instinctively, and I let him pull me onto his lap. “It is not winter yet.”

I laugh in disbelief, heat spreading throughout my body when his half-hard cock slides against my skin. “You only sleep during winter?”

“Yes. For long periods. Otherwise, short rests.”

“So let's take a rest,” I murmur, guilt tearing up my insides even as I let the cover slide off my shoulders. “Want to feel you, Orion.”

His nostrils flare when that slick substance begins to leak from my hole again. “But your heat has ended.”

Heat? As in like… When an animal needs to mate? Is that what that was? Huh. How is that even possible, and why the fuck was it⁠—

No. I'll manage all those thoughts later.

Straddling his large thighs, I rub my face into the soft fur beneath his chin. “Humans mate for all kinds of reasons. Doesn't have to be only for, uh… heat.”

“No?”

“Mmhmm.” My palms run along his chest, and I nudge enough to let him know I want him to lay down. “Sometimes, we just want to feel safe. Or feel close to our partner. Maybe you're tired from a long day of hunting, and your mate wants to show his appreciation for what you've done.”

A rumble vibrates his chest when I slide down his body, fingers trailing over the hard ridges of his abs. When I position myself in between his legs on my knees, the sheer size of his cock this close to my face gives me pause.

Listen, I know it's cliché when those romance novels talk about fingers not even being able to wrap around dicks and stuff, but in this case, it's true. The thing is thicker than my bicep.

Still, though. Curiosity always wins with me, and I try anyway, using both hands around it to jerk slowly. How the hell did it even fit inside my ass?

“Benjamin,” Orion says, watching intently.

Holding his gaze, I lean forward to run my tongue along his shaft. “Just lay back and close your eyes. Let me lick you for once.”

He hums deep, spearing his claws through my hair. The touch is tender, sweet enough that tears of shame spring to my eyes, but I close them quickly before my monster can see, because I know how tears make him worried.

His knot starts to swell beneath my hand, and I squeeze it on impulse, which earns me a low growl and spurt of cum that lands on my cheek. Automatically, I run my thumb through the mess before popping it into my mouth to taste Orion for the first time, and…

Holy shit. He tastes… fucking divine.

I don't know if it's because he's, well, not human, or if it's this whole ‘mate’ thing he keeps talking about, but Orion's cum is like the nectar of the gods. My eyes roll back and I moan, sucking his sweet, milky essence off my thumb. His head tilts up once more, eyes hooded and curious. When I lean forward to poke my tongue beneath his foreskin, he groans, claws tightening on my curls.

“Fuck, Orion,” I gasp, reaching down to jerk my own length while I suck on the head of his dick. Another burst of cum hits the back of my throat, and I squeeze his knot again, suddenly desperate for more. If I could unhinge my jaw wide enough to swallow him whole, I would, but it seems only my asshole has that magic power. Which is unfortunate, because I want to fucking choke on him.

“Benjamin,” my monster says again, as if he can’t get enough of my name on his lips. He wraps a large palm around his shaft, and we work in tandem. I lick and squeeze; he strokes, filling my tongue slowly, milking every drop of sweet cum from his cock.

It doesn't take long for my orgasm to hit. Kneeling between his legs, I unload all over his knot as another mouthful muffles my whimpers of pleasure. Orion growls, his length somehow growing larger in my hands. Faster than I can process, he flips us around, and with a giant bellow, he holds me down as his cock erupts onto my face.