19.A New Moon

20. A New Moon

“Sorry.” Toby places a hand on my shoulder and stares at me with big, sorrowful eyes. “I’m so sorry, Oliver.”

“There's nothing you need to apologize for.”

Toby leans against the porch railing and crosses his arms, clearly not agreeing with me.

He and I are sitting out on his front porch. It’s been a few weeks since I was here last. The sun is shining, and no one is being held captive by dragons, but the cozy area still feels a bit oppressive, like it did last time.

Probably because of Toby’s guilt.

This time, nobody’s trying to keep me out of the house. Efforts have been made towards hospitality: a pitcher of lemonade rests outside with us for refreshments. Toby and I decided to stay outside to give Liam and his sister some privacy. They’re alone inside talking about… well, any of the million things that needs to be said in their positions.

Liam’s sister has some work to do to make amends with him, but Bill is the only one who should ask for my forgiveness. That won’t happen right now. From what I understand, he’s staying at a hotel.

“My mom is inside apologizing to Liam, so I should apologize to you,” he insists. “You were tormented by dragons and all I have to offer is a glass of lemonade. My dad isn’t even getting any jailtime.”

“You think he should go to jail?” I ask, surprised.

Toby shrugs, face conflicted. “Maybe? Considering that you and Liam could have been seriously injured or worse? Yeah, maybe jail is exactly what he deserves”.

“You could have been injured too,” I say. “Or worse.”

Toby sighs. “Just seems like he’s getting off pretty light.”

“Can I have some lemonade?” I ask to break the tension.

He clearly sees through my clever distraction tactic, but given that he feels extremely guilty and ashamed for his father’s actions and I did make a request, Toby doesn’t feel comfortable denying me a drink. He slowly begins pouring us both a glass .

Bill accepted a plea bargain that amounted to a slap on the wrist. There wasn’t much for the law to do. By the time the matter was reported to the authorities, the dragons had been paid back for the value of what they lost and everything had been settled.

I am hopeful the justice Bill faces will be a suitable enough punishment. Not only does he need to make some restitution to Liam, he is a criminal in the eyes of the law and his powers are suspended for six months. Given how he acted so much better than Liam and loved passing judgement, his reputation being ruined should carry a lot of weight with him. It will be a long time before anyone believes his moral superiority act again.

Or maybe I’m satisfied because the consequences he faces personally are much greater. Toby and his mother aren’t even talking to Bill right now. For Toby’s sake, I hope his father can eventually regain his trust, but I know it won’t be easy.

After putting her son and brother in danger, Bill’s wife is done with him and already looking for a divorce lawyer. Bill stealing to help his family ended up costing him his marriage.

Toby hands me a glass with a weak smile. “I wish there was something I could do. The restitution Dad’s ordered to pay doesn’t cover everything, and it’s still going to take a really long time to pay even that back to Liam. Maybe I can cover the rest— ”

“Absolutely not,” I object, sure his uncle would do the same.

“It’s only fair. My uncle only paid because they had me.”

“Liam paid because he is a far better person than Bill or the dragons,” I correct. “That’s the same reason you feel so guilty. But it’s not your fault."

“Oliver, don’t…" Toby hops up on the railing and his feet swing restlessly.

“I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been there."

Not too long ago, I could hardly be kind to myself and now here I am on the other side of it. And it's so easy to see that Liam and his nephew have nothing to feel guilty about. They did nothing wrong. But I also know how hard it is to believe that when your family are the villains in someone else's story.

Rising from the swing, I come closer to him. "Someone you love hurt people. Any caring person would have a reaction to that. But it’s not your fault,” I state firmly, making sure he hears me and sees how much I mean that. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay?"

Toby sighs. “I’ll try.”

If Liam and I have any say in it, he’ll do a much better job than I did of letting myself off the hook.

Bill sucks. Toby himself, however, was a friend to me when I really needed one. I have every intention of returning that generosity now .

Liam comes outside a few minutes later, looking a bit shell-shocked. Toby falls into his uncle, and they exchange a long hug as the professor claps his nephew on the back and murmurs something reassuring.

"How'd it go?" I ask.

"Good." He sounds somewhat surprised. "For the first time in a long time, it was like she was my sister again."

Liam hasn't recovered from the shock yet, but it sounds about right to me. Between Liam and Bill, only one of them has questionable character, and it sounds like she finally realized it's not her brother.

Toby heads inside, and Liam offers me his hand as we head off the porch. “Has my family scared you away yet?”

I lace my fingers with his. “What do you think?”

“There’s still time for second thoughts. You are going to be seeing a lot more of them.”

“I am?”

“We were both invited to a dinner at my cousin’s next week,” he says as we walk to the car. “Everyone is glad Toby is alright and grateful to us.”

"Oh, your family has finally realized they were jerks who treated you terribly unfairly?"

"Something like that," he says dryly. "It only took a dragon attack."

"I’m glad for your sake, even if they don’t deserve you." I will try to forgive and forget and make a good impression on them. Liam deserves a loving, supportive family.

"I’m just passing along the invitation, Oliver. You don't have to go."

"Are you kidding? I’ll be there. This is part of the deal, you know?"

"The deal?"

"You agreed to share everything with me. That includes both our screwed-up families."

"Guess you're right." Liam gives me a soft smile, which tastes sweet like lemonade when I press my lips to his.

~

Liam waves an oven mitt through the air to clear the smoke rising from the oven. “Don’t get second thoughts now, Oliver.”

“I’m not, but—”

“Having your mother over for dinner next week is a good idea. She needs to leave the apartment sometime, and she wants to meet me anyway.” He smiles at me fondly like smoke isn’t wafting up from the dish he just placed on the counter. “I’m not a harsh audience, given I’m dating her son and willing to follow your lead here and give her the benefit of doubt.”

Liam was right. I can’t stop myself from loving her and there’s no need to feel guilty about loving her, even if I don’t agree with what she did .

She's trying to start over and do things right this time. I’d like to help her with that. Meeting my boyfriend and getting her out of the house could be good for us both.

However, my objection still stands.

“Liam, you really don’t need to cook.”

“…I thought it would be a nice gesture?”

Both of our gazes drift downwards to the steaming casserole dish on the counter. The blackened, smoky dish is completely inedible but could have been lasagna in another life. Tonight’s cooking exercise is a trial run, so he’ll be ready to make dinner next week. He’s underestimated how long it will take for him to learn this recipe, since we don’t have a lifetime between this week and the next.

“How about we just order from that Italian restaurant down the street?”

“Good idea,” he says.

I give him a cheeky grin. “I enjoy you following my lead.”

“Hey now. This is an equal partnership,” Liam says seriously, then cracks a smile. “Except for the times when we specify it isn’t.”

“I totally agree.”

As we clean up and get rid of the public health hazard known as Liam’s cooking, a thought occurs to me.

“Oh my god. How am I going to prepare my mother before she meets you? ”

“Prepare her for what? I don’t bite.” Liam blinks and admits, “Well, I bite you, but I'm not going to bite you on Thursday. Well, not when she's here.”

I roll my eyes. "No, I need to make sure she understands that the guy I'm dating is Liam Monroe, so she doesn't lose her mind."

"Huh?"

"I gave her one of your books. She loved it."

"Oh, I thought you took that book for yourself. If I had known it was for someone else, I wouldn't have had you 'pay' me for the copy."

"Nothing you had me do was anything I wouldn't have done anyway." I only stammer a little while saying this, as I recall paying him for the book with my mouth, in this room with my knees on the floor. "Give me a copy of whatever you think I should read first for free then."

“Yeah, that works… I could do that." Liam tilts his head and grins. "Or I could make you pay again.” Both of us are clearly on board for that option. Liam shakes it off first. “Hold on, let’s find her another book and I’ll sign it for her.”

I'm not sure what effect the full by Liam Monroe experience will have on me. Maybe I should let the professor give me some private lessons on his books. I may not have loved the idea of him tutoring me when we met, but some after-hours sessions are totally different. I could see myself being a very eager student .

We could definitely have some fun with that. Tonight, we have business to attend to first. Liam and I are preparing to make a new arrangement under the moon.

The impromptu declarations we made last time that included ‘everything’ are too much for regular ritual work and not something we can promise each time. Giving our hearts and everything to each other isn’t supposed to be a magical promise anyway; it’s something we are lucky enough to do day by day. Which means the ritual we’re doing tonight can go back to what we both enjoy, giving him all the power, not me.

“Our plan will cover from the first night of the full moon through the whole cycle and last a month. You will retain full control of your powers while I’ll be in charge of whether you can orgasm.”

That is exactly the arrangement we previously discussed. It sounds great… but I also know from experience it’s a bit torturous.

"Having second thoughts?” he wonders. “Would you rather have the ability to come at any time?"

I shake my head furiously. "There's no way I won't jerk off or come too soon if we do that."

"I know, that's the fun part." His eyes glint with excitement. "Then I get to punish you."

"O-oh. Maybe next time? You could also take my ability to, um, get hard at all, right?" I shake my head to clear my thoughts and focus. “No, I’m good with what we decided on. At least we have options for the future. You won't get bored anytime soon." Not that I’m nervous about that. Too much.

"Oliver, I'm not worried about settling down.” He steps closer and scoops me into his arms. “If I've liked someone romantically, they haven't been interested in kink. When I click with someone sexually, the passion elsewhere has been missing. Now that I've finally found the person who satisfies all my needs, what makes you think I will get bored or let you go anytime soon?"

Well, when he puts it like that...

“Good answer, professor.” I give him a peck on the lips. “Really, A+.”

“It’s easy to be a good student when you care about the subject matter.”

Liam and I gather what we need for our ritual and bring the items to the skylight. There may come a time when we’d like a longer arrangement instead of needing to start again each month, and he’s already started looking into our options there. Even when partnering with the same person again, his arrangements have never lasted longer than a month. He likes having a break or cool down in between to reassess and revise as needed.

But that might change, now that the nightbrand has a steady boyfriend. For the time being, we can keep trying different ideas each moon cycle and see which ones suit us best.

“Oh, can you grab the pliers, Oliver? They’re on the desk— "

The pliers float over and drop in his palm before he finishes speaking.

His eyes light up the natural way, without the moon’s influence. “I love watching you work your magic.”

“Same here." Watching him work in the moonlight is the most beautiful sight. "I think I’ll miss you being in control of my powers."

“One day,” he assures me.

In the future, we could specify that Liam only has control of my powers at night or in the bedroom. I eagerly anticipate him having that control again and wonder how it will be different now that both my powers and I are in a better place.

However, the timing isn't right to make that particular arrangement again where he controls my metal magic. I need to spend time getting to know my element once again and getting in sync with it. My powers and I have to trust each other with me being in control.

“One day,” I agree. Once me and the metal are in a good place again. “My magic and me look forward to handing the reins over to you again.” Just for fun, to see what devious new ideas he’s dreamed up.

"Speaking of reins,” Liam says. “How do you feel about leashes?

"Leashes?" I squeak. My mouth drops open and doesn't close.

"Wow, I surprised you. Not exactly leashes,” he muses. “What’s a nicer word for leashes? "

"Uh…"

"A chain? It’s your damn brand.” No longer hidden under a watch, Liam’s gaze sizzles as it locks onto my left wrist. “I really need to attach a chain to your wrist and then lead you around by it."

"Lead me where?" I wonder. Hopefully nowhere too terrible as I'm already on board. Leashes I’d need some time to think about. Attaching a chain to my brand, however, and knowing how crazy the mark on my wrist drives Liam? Yep, need that to happen immediately.

"I don't know, probably into my arms." He winks. "Or onto my cock."

"Oh my god," I gasp.

His hand strokes my flushed cheek. "Love making you blush."

"Better be careful or one day I'll get used to your depravity."

We separate and give ourselves some space as we start preparing our candles for the rising moon. Even with some distance between us, his intense gaze has my heart racing.

"Oh darling, I fully expect to turn you into a wanton whore one day," he says huskily.

"Uh, it's good to have goals? But I'm not sure that will ever happen.”

"It may take a lifetime, it may not. Either way, I am going to thoroughly enjoy making you blush and then thoroughly enjoy having my wanton whore. The key is..."

"Thoroughness?" I whisper, swallowing hard .

Liam smiles sweetly. "That and you."

Another thing that I will never get used to is how easily he switches between filth and romance. Yet I wouldn't have it any other way.

When the time comes, we both step into the skylight together with smiles on our faces. We link ourselves together once again. It's not the first time and not the last.

For now, we'll keep pledging ourselves to each other, one moon cycle at a time.