19. Nineteen

The apothecary had what I needed, but I couldn’t fucking think as I sprinted back to the crash house. A tube thing, two hollow needles, and a tourniquet.

The owner made the wise choice to point me in the correct direction of the supplies when I threatened to rip his balls off with my bare hands. Apparently, I looked like a madman—which, to be fair—I was. This couldn’t be fucking happening.

This was Aryn.

Sending his fucking two-brain-celled ogre to do his dirty work was a big fucking mistake. I’d find that shit smear and send Aryn his head. And I’d stuff his big green cock in it just for added flare. If anything happened to Alora…

Pain will ensnare you until the very essence of your soul ceases to exist.

So that was his plan.

Go after anyone who matters instead of me.

I should have suspected as much.

The finger incident with Chris was just the beginning. And I was nowhere near the Under Cloud to warn them.

Part of me thought I could live without anyone. I’d lost so much already and would continue to do so. But there was a difference between someone dying of old age and being murdered. Alora was not allowed to be touched. She was one of the few people in this world that should live forever because she was perfect.

Forcing my legs to move even faster, I damn near crashed into a stall when a blast of light darted into the sky. It was suspiciously close to my crash house. Too close to Alora… and Vastian.

Move Atreyis! Move!

Whatever fuckery that was wouldn’t get near them, and if it did… so help me. I wouldn’t stop to breathe until every single person who did this was dead.

Bursting through the door, I tripped and launched into the coffee table. Growling, I gathered myself and headed to the bedroom. Adrenaline and a panic like I hadn’t experienced in fifteen fucking years speared my heart.

“What—”

“Caring looks good on you,” Alora said weakly.

She was sitting up, bandaged, and Vastian was slumped against the wall with his head buried in his knees. He was shaking. Torn between who to go to first, I settled on Alora because he wasn’t dying.

Tossing the supplies on the edge of the bed, I fell to my knees and took her hand. “Are you alright?” I asked, then kissed her knuckles.

She nodded softly. “Your boy saved me.”

I forced a smile on my face, but it didn’t reach my eyes. She looked like shit still. “What happened?”

“I need blood.”

She didn’t need to say more. Funny enough, I knew how to do this—for her and me anyway. It was why I offered. Apparently, I am a universal donor.

In the span of a minute, I’d gotten the transfusion up and running. It wasn’t perfect, but it’d do, considering the circumstances. Tucking her under my arm, I squeezed her shoulder. Vastian hadn’t moved a muscle, though. Since when did I become a worry wart like this?

“You alright over there, cherub?”

“Exhausted,” he mumbled.

Did he just fucking lie?

Alora pinched my arm. When I looked down at her, she gave me a knowing look. The—don’t bug him—look.

The three of us sat in silence for a while. I think they were too shaken to say anything, but I wasn’t. I was fucking furious.

After all this time, Aryn still couldn’t let it go. If I was such a problem for him, why not kill me? Wash his hands of the past and everything that was tied to it? Sadistic fuck was what he was. And now it was my mission to find a way to destroy him.

Once Alora was deep in her sleep, I slid from the bed. Vastian had since relocated to the living room.

Something was off, and if I had to pull out his teeth to get him to talk, I would. He was on the sofa. His long legs sprawled over the side, and his thick arm rested over his eyes. Those hands that brought me delicious torture were stained in Alora’s blood. One would think he was dead asleep, but his muscles tensed when I approached.

“As soon as night falls, I will leave,” he said softly.

Dragging the coffee table closer, I sat on the edge. “Where are you going to go?” Why did I want to reach out to him so fucking bad?

“All of… this,” he gestured to the room, “is my fault.” Then he moved his arm to massage his temples.

Screwing up my face, I leaned closer. “This isn’t your fucking fault. This was Aryn.” The name was practically laced with venom.

He looked at me, and full-blown sorrow swirled in his beautiful eyes. “I don’t know who Aryn is, but make no mistake, Atreyis. Everything is happening because of what I am.”

“Bullshit.”

He scoffed. “It’s not bullshit.”

“What makes you so special? Hm?”

“Nothing,” he whispered again.

Fuck this.

I jumped on him. He grunted under the impact. Situating my knees around him was tricky on that sofa, but I did it. Palming his shoulders so he knew I was serious, I narrowed my eyes.

“There is obviously something you aren’t telling me. Usually, I wouldn’t care. Usually, I wouldn’t even blow you a kiss goodbye. But this isn’t usually.” I swallowed thickly.

He slowly raised his hand, curling his finger under my chin and brushing his thumb over my beard, which I hadn”t had a chance to shave off. “More will come. It will never stop until she has me. Seeing what Alora means to you only makes my decision that more firm. I will leave so you two will be safe.”

This bleeding heart over here. “Did you forget that I can’t die?” Now I was caressing his fucking hair. This was ridiculous. Maybe if we’d had actual sex, I wouldn’t be like this.

“Why do you want to die so badly?”

I stilled, and he reached his free arm around my lower back. Weathering my lip, I debated telling him—the whole truth of it.

How would he look at me then? It would be different, for sure. You didn’t view someone the same after what I’d done.

“Because I still age. One day, I’ll be so old that my body will wither and become a shell, but I’ll still be alive.” That”s half true.

He frowned. “That is a twisted curse, Atreyis. Tell me how it happened, and maybe I can help.”

“No. We aren’t going there.” I motioned to get off him, but he anchored me there.

Then he sat up as if I weighed fucking nothing. Now I was full-blown straddling him, and my stomach flip-flopped. Those icy fingers caressed my back. My breath hitched when he leaned a fraction closer, glancing from my eyes to my lips.The tension from our nearness was so palpable the people at the port could probably feel it. Ever since that encounter in the woods, he hadn”t touched me.

“One day, you will have to trust someone because the answer to your problem might be sitting right in front of you, and you will be blind to it.”

“How did you save her?” Subject changes were my specialty, if you hadn”t noticed.

“I didn’t. That was you.”

Touche, Vampyr, touche. He did something because just stitching her up wouldn’t have allowed her to sit and talk like she was. But that”s fine. We were going to play this game, and I’d like to consider myself a professional.

“So,” I cleared my throat and straightened a bit, which was hard since he still had me pressed over his cock. “Are you going to keep me here? Or can I go have a much-needed cigarette?”

He clicked his tongue and ran his hand down my thigh. “I do enjoy this,” he said with a smirk. “But, go have your smoke.”

Well, that didn’t work. Where was the dominant beast from the woods? Pouting, I got off him and aimed for the kitchen.

Alora slept most of the day, and I sat around, stuffing my face out of pure boredom. Vastian was also asleep. I needed something to do.

Sitting around wasn’t something I ever did, especially since, in about 40 years, I’d probably be bedbound.

As I polished off the last slice of bread in the loaf, I tiptoed to the washroom. That little lap session had me daydreaming about two nights before. Vastian’s kiss and the best blowjob I think I’ve ever had. The door made a painful squeak when I closed it. Pressing my ear to it, I held my breath and listened.

There wasn’t a single peep from either of them, so the coast was probably clear. Who was I fucking kidding? They both knew the shenanigans I got up to if I was left to my own devices.

Now, what to use? The choices were narrowed down to a bar of soap or Alora’s hair oil. I settled with the oil. That soap would only leave a gnarly residue that would dry out my skin and make my scrotum smell like powder. No, thank you.

My pants were around my ankles and palm lubed up, I was already hard.

As I stroked my cock, all I could picture was his mouth. How he grabbed my ass and thrust me deep. As I tilted my head back, a moan escaped me. Cupping my mouth, I mimicked how he’d done it. Slow, teasing strokes that shot fucking fire through me. You’re probably thinking I was some twisted fuck because I was hiding in the washroom, jerking my cock instead of worrying about Alora. Well—you’re right because this was me. And I was hornier than shit.

What would Vastian feel like?

He was hung—I knew that much. Would he take me? Bend me over and fuck me hard? Would he let me play with his hole and make him scream? Gods, I could picture grabbing that hair and tugging him back. This oil stuff was phenomenal, and I was so close to coming. Then the door made that ear-shattering creak.

Fist stilling mid-shaft and my eyes widening to their limit, Vastian blinked at me.

“I… uh… got bored?” I shrugged and offered an awkward grin.

He stepped in and closed the door. It didn’t squeak again.

Folding his arms over his chest, he leaned against the wall. The way his eyes darkened and those teal orbs pinned me had me panting. “Keep going.”

My jaw hung open. The pulsing under my palm intensified when he licked his lips. “It would be better if I had some help,” I said, slowly resuming.

“You didn’t ask. Now you have to finish.” He smirked. Smug bastard.

Did he want a show? Fine. I pumped my fist hard and fast, keeping up the rhythm. I’d have to recuperate since my orgasm fell flat when he interrupted. But now that he was in there? I had a feeling it would be even better. The heat in his stare was fascinating, sure, but he was so hard the bulge strained against his pants.

I released my cock for a moment to spit on my palm, then continued. “Why won’t you let me touch you?” I asked breathlessly.

He pushed off the wall, stalking me, and I stopped momentarily. “Did I tell you to stop?” He cocked a brow.

This was what I was talking about earlier.

Continuing my work, I bit my lip as he closed the distance, propped an arm beside my head so he could look down at me, and whispered in my ear, “You’re going to come when I say so, Atreyis. Not before.”

“Then I have to slow down,” I breathed. Or stop. Or play with my ass. Anything other than furiously fucking my fist.

“No.” He leaned in and ran his tongue along my jaw, and my entire body shuddered.

This was my wet dream. How was I supposed to not blow my load when he was doing this to me? And better yet, had to wait for him to say so? But somehow, I was so into this that I was a whimpering mess. His lips teased the lobe of my ear, but he didn’t touch me. Cool breaths hit my skin as he angled his body so I had plenty of room but close enough to drive me insane.

Someone needed to get fucked here. I didn”t care who. As long as a cock was in someone”s ass, I was okay with it. I”d never been so desperate to touch someone as I was then.

“What were you thinking about, Atreyis?” He pressed a single kiss to my neck, and my cock jolted from the sensation.

“You,” I said hoarsely.

“Tell me.” Then he licked the spot.

“Fuck, I’m going to—”

“No. Not yet.” He growled, and my balls tightened.

Through ragged breaths, I managed to say, “What would you be like? How I’d take you, how you’d take me. What your cum tastes like—”

“That requires trust.” He trailed his fangs over my skin, and gooseflesh pricked down my arms. “But know this,” he paused to look at me while thumbing my bottom lip. “I would do anything to earn it.”

Everything was spinning, hot, and I couldn’t fight back anymore. “Please let me come, fuck, Vastian, please.” I was begging. Yep.

Lowering back to my neck, I felt his tongue once more, and then he whispered, “When I bite you, come for me.”

Yes, sir.

When I tell you I saw fucking stars, I was not lying. As soon as his fangs broke through my skin, my cock exploded. The sheer amount of cum that shot out was as if I hadn”t orgasmed in years. It was unreal, euphoric, and so powerful I couldn’t contain it. He didn’t care that it got all over us and didn”t stop draining me until he got his fill.

I’ll never be able to touch myself without being forever reminded of what he did to me.

And how he had to ruin it.

After we cleaned up my cum, he immediately recoiled from me. There were no lingering touches or arguing about whether or not I could suck him off yet.

Yes, what happened was mind-blowing, sexy, and satisfying, but he didn’t kiss me.

Boo-fucking-hoo, I know.

It was a thing that I needed, alright? And he didn”t do it. So when we left the washroom, and Alora was perked up, I didn’t miss a beat to go to her side. It must’ve been the transfusion because she looked back to her usual self again.

“Aryn knows he’s with you,” she said, inclining her head toward Vastian.

Blowing out my lips, I sat at the foot of the bed. “But he sent Tanner?” Scrubbing my face and trying to get my mind off the gross feeling that had been curdling in my gut, Vastian left the room.

Great. Now my bile has become cheese.

“I’m grateful you two showed up when you did, but I should have died. It stands to reason he’s confident I did. This could work to our advantage.” Her fingers ran over mine.

I laughed bitterly. “Don’t worry. That ogre made his last mistake.”

“Going after him won’t matter or change anything. Don’t be stupid.” She removed her hand.

Both of them seemed to love giving affection and then jerking it away.It”s just a taste to get you mindless and forget what it really was.

“Are you going to be able to leave tonight?” I stood now, not wanting to be near her anymore.

“I could go now, but the moon binds us, it would seem.”

“He’s leaving anyway. So after tonight, it’ll be you and me, like old times.” One could hope, right?

“We can’t let him leave,” she whispered so softly I had to strain to hear it.

And why the fuck not? I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. “If he wants to leave, he can leave. I’m not anyone’s master.”

“What was that in the washroom then? You two were not quiet.” She scoffed.

“Doesn’t fucking matter. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Damnit, Atreyis. You can’t do this again. Not now.”

My shoulders hitched, and my jaw tightened. “I don’t need either of you. Go fuck each other for all I care.”

With that, I left the room.

Vastian was braced against the wall, head hanging low, and he didn’t flinch when I stormed through the apartment to the front door. It was like the second things felt good, someone decided to dump a pile of shit on my head. Maybe I did this to myself. Perhaps I was just too fucked up to think things through like a rational person. There was a hollow pit in my stomach-cheese now. It was gaping and chasmic. I hated it. I hated this.

An ogre needed to die today. Right now.