19. Nico

19

NICO

I got what I’d been waiting for on Friday night. My heart nearly exploded out of my chest when I saw the text from Cyrus and, hands shaking, I opened it to read it in full:

I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning, bright and early. Get a good night’s rest, because you’re going to need it.

“Thank God,” I breathed. “Cyrus, man, you know how to keep someone on edge.”

With my weekend plans cemented, it was hard to fall asleep despite Cyrus’ request for me to come well-rested. I would need it, he’d told me. What did that mean? Were we finally moving on to the next step? Was he going to…no, I couldn’t allow myself to get my hopes up. It was probably more of what we’d already been doing: playing around with toys or something else fun but safe. Whatever it was, I would eagerly lap up the attention as long as he was willing to give it to me.

I threw some things into a bag as soon as I had confirmation that I would be seeing Cyrus. I packed enough to stay the whole weekend if he asked me to. I wanted to be as prepared as possible.

I got up way too early Saturday morning, took a hot shower to wake up, and hopped in my car, hoping Cyrus would be awake when I arrived. If he wasn’t I would just have to sit out on his doorstep in the cold for a while. It was nothing I couldn’t handle.

He’d left me a space to park out in front of his house and I pulled up a little too quickly, scraping my tires on the curb. The lights in the living room were on, which meant he was awake. Cyrus was much too conscientious to forget to turn the lights off before going to bed. I knocked on the door before pressing my ear to it to listen for his footsteps.

“Cyrus, it’s me, Nico. Sorry, I’m a little early,” I called to him.

The door swung open and I pitched forward, tumbling into Cyrus’ arms.

“Careful, my dear fellow,” he laughed, “or you’ll break one of those thin little bones you humans need so much.”

“I got a little too excited, I guess.” I blushed, trying to hide my face from him, but he tucked a finger under my chin and tilted my head back.

“Are you hungry for breakfast? Or tea, or coffee? I have everything.”

“I am hungry,” I said slowly, “but not for breakfast. I think I’m ready to go straight to dessert.”

Cyrus nodded and took my hand in his. “Let’s go to the bedroom, then.”

“No.” I pulled my hand away. “No, let’s stay out here – do it on the couch or something.”

He glanced out of one of the street-facing windows nervously. “ Out here ?” he hissed. “The neighbors might see.”

“Who cares? Most people fuck in their own homes.”

“ I care.”

“Then close the curtains.” I tugged on the fabric, smoothing each panel over the window until it was fully covered. “You can do the other one.”

“We’ll still cast shadows.”

“Let it go, Cyrus. Everything will be fine.”

Carefully, he drew the curtains on the other window, shielding us from the outside world. I flicked the switch to turn the overhead light off, washing the room in darkness.

“Now they won’t even be able to see our shadows.”

Cyrus nodded. “That’s better. I’m still not sure that no one will be able to see us at all, but I think it’s good enough.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, yeah, if they peek in through the window they’ll see everything. But if they’re being a peeping tom, that’s their problem. Now, come here and let me touch that gorgeous leathery skin of yours before I get cranky.”

He narrowed his eyes, looking at me incredulously. “Do you really love everything about me as much as you profess you do?”

Love . There was that word again. He wasn’t using it in that pesky forever and ever context, but it still burned my ears when I heard it.

“You know I do.”

“Then come over here and prove it to me.”

I smiled. “Well, look who’s in a bossy mood today. The orc’s got some attitude, hm?”

“Oh, I can stop if you don’t want me to boss you around,” he said apologetically.

“No, no, I like it.” I moved toward him, turning and letting him wrap his arms around me, his hands pressing into my chest till it was almost difficult to breathe. Almost .

“Now, tell me, what do you have in store for us today?”

“You’ve been putting in so much of the work these last few dates, I thought I might offer you a little something in return. How does that sound?”

I could tell by how serious his tone was that he’d been thinking about this all week, and it would have been funny if it weren’t genuinely thoughtful – and a little painful, knowing he had feelings not shared by me.

“I’d love that,” I said, lowering my voice to a near-whisper. “And what do you plan to do to me?”

He led me over to the couch, pushing the coffee table out of the way. It slid so easily, I would have believed him if he said the floor was made of ice. Then he directed me to get onto my knees, arms resting on the seat of the couch, and relax.

The couch was almost too tall for me to do what he asked, but I lifted my arms high in the air and rested my head next to them, letting my chin sink into the cushion. I would kill to own a couch this plush and cloudlike, but I was pretty sure Cyrus paid dearly to have one that fit him, I didn’t have that kind of money to blow on a fancy couch.

“I hope you don’t mind if this takes a long time,” Cyrus told me, his voice coming from directly behind my back. “I want to repay you for all the time and dedication you put into pleasuring me last week, and this is the best way I know how.”

“I don’t mind one bit,” I assured him. “I’ll take anything you’re willing to give me.”

That was confirmation enough and he rested both his hands on my shoulders, his fingers digging into the knots in my back from work and stress. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and waited for him to begin.