71. Kitaro

Chapter 71

Kitaro

V anra returned to their room in a daze. He melted into Kitaro's embrace as the shifter prince hugged him tightly, finally making him feel safe after everything that had happened.

"I regret I failed to protect you yet again," Kitaro mournfully said. Guilt ate away at him for not being there when Vanra needed him most. His dragon howled with a need for more retribution against Mitsuki.

"You were there to stop me from purifying him out of this Realm." Vanra looked at Kitaro's burns. "I'm so sorry I hurt you."

"It was a small price to pay to get you away from my brother. Think nothing of it."

Vanra shook his head. "No, I can't look at this every day and be reminded of what happened. Come over here so I can heal you."

They sat down on the bed. Vanra pushed up Kitaro's sleeves, wincing at the weeping sores he had unwittingly caused. "I'm so sorry."

"Do not distress yourself over it."

Vanra linked their auras together, which felt like a refreshing balm to Kitaro's soul. The intimate connection comforted him as he watched Vanra use his healing powers to undo the purification damage. The wounds were not deep, so it didn't take long for his skin to return to normal.

Kitaro mourned the loss as soon as Vanra withdrew his aura, breaking their connection. He kissed the back of one of Vanra's hands. "You are truly magnificent."

"If I was, you wouldn't have gotten burned," Vanra disagreed with a frown.

Kitaro needed to stop Vanra from spiraling out with his anxiety. "Let us make a promise to each other. I will stop feeling bad for not being there for you in time if you stop feeling bad for the minor injuries that were easily fixed."

The human smiled faintly. "I'll try."

"What will make us both feel better is getting my brother's scent off you." Kitaro stood up, then pulled Vanra up to stand by him. "May I join you in a bath?" He didn't want to push after what Mitsuki had subjected Vanra to.

Vanra's smile grew. "You're right. That'll make us both feel better. "

Kitaro led them into the bathroom, where they both disrobed. Vanra got into the bath as Kitaro grabbed towels and a washcloth to bring over with him. He sat down next to the human in the water.

After wetting the washcloth and lathering it with soap, Kitaro gently used it to wipe the trace of his brother's scent from Vanra's lips. He took care with washing the human's neck where Mitsuki had licked him. His dragon clawed his way to the surface, needing reassurance that their ward was fine.

Vanra tilted his head to give better access. Kitaro's dragon took advantage of it by kissing his way up Vanra's neck after he rinsed it off.

"I thought this was supposed to be getting me clean," Vanra teased.

"We prefer to bathe you with our tongue," Kitaro's dragon murmured, sensuously licking Vanra's neck before kissing him once more with a soft moan.

"That's not really efficient." Vanra looked Kitaro's dragon in his silver eyes. "Hi."

Kitaro's dragon felt it owed Vanra an explanation for his absence. "He would not let us out earlier because we would not have been able to restrain ourselves from vengeance."

"Please don't do anything," Vanra pleaded. "I know your instincts are telling you that you're honor-bound to punish Mitsuki, but I'm begging you to leave it alone. I want this to be over, and that will only prolong things. "

"He touched you, he tasted you, he indulged in your heat scent. He deserves to lose his life," Kitaro's dragon growled. Their need for revenge warred with their desire to not upset Vanra. "But we do not wish to hurt you further, so we will stay our hand for your sake."

The scent of Vanra's relief washed over Kitaro's dragon. "I know I'm being selfish by asking you not to do anything, but I'm too scared of how Mitsuki will retaliate. Please don't put me in that position."

"We would do anything for the sake of your happiness." Kitaro's dragon nuzzled against Vanra's neck before kissing it again. "If that means letting our foul brother live another day, it is what we must do."

"Thank you." Vanra initiated a sweet kiss with Kitaro's dragon.

While Kitaro's dragon continued placing kisses down Vanra's neck and moving across his shoulder, he also used the washcloth on the other places Mitsuki had dared to touch. It filled them with the need to reclaim Vanra for their own.

Vanra tensed as Kitaro's dragon stroked his cock. "Please don't."

Kitaro's dragon obeyed, regretting that they had pushed too far too fast.

"Sorry, I just can't tonight. I know you want to claim me to prove I'm yours, but it's too weird after what happened." Vanra bit his lip as he looked down in embarrassment. "I don't want to be aroused this close to the incident."

Blue seeped into silver as Kitaro successfully pushed his dragon back to take control. He leaned forward to kiss Vanra's forehead. "Understood. I apologize for my dragon pushing too hard."

"No, I'm sorry I'm not in the right headspace to let him lay claim to me." Vanra sighed. "I feel wrong asking you both to ignore so many of your natural instincts. It's probably twice as bad because of my heat."

Kitaro waved away his concerns. "There is no need for apologies. My dragon should have shown more restraint. This is why I kept him at bay for so long."

"No, he was fine. I'm just overthinking everything. I hate that I'm probably upsetting him by not letting him reclaim me from Mitsuki. Or both of you."

While it was true both Kitaro and his dragon were disappointed they couldn't bring Vanra the pleasure only they could, they understood. "We should not have pushed you so soon."

"Please understand there is a part of me that is complaining about why I am being stupid enough to stop you when it would probably make me feel better in the end," Vanra told him with a wry smile. "But I need some time to clear my head."

"Take all the time you need. We can wait."

Vanra hugged Kitaro. "Thank you for understanding. "

Kitaro returned the hug, nuzzling against Vanra's neck. He savored the scent of his own arousal mixing with Vanra's heat scent. It stirred his lust, but he wouldn't push. "Let us retire to bed, then."

"That sounds great." Vanra accepted Kitaro's help with getting out of the tub, but he blushed when he saw the shifter's prominent arousal. "I'm really sorry…"

"Think nothing of it." Kitaro handed Vanra a towel, then wrapped the other around his waist.

"I promise I'll make it up to you later."

They returned to the bedroom. Pausing by the bed, Kitaro caressed Vanra's face. "You are always worth the wait."

Vanra went up on tiptoe to kiss Kitaro. "I'll never understand what I did to deserve you, but I'm really glad I did it."

Kitaro curled around Vanra in bed, holding him close. He stayed awake long after the human fell asleep, indulging in his heat scent that made Kitaro achingly hard. But out of respect for Vanra, Kitaro did nothing about it. He could wait.