Eighteen

Khush

I woke up underneath a bright sky, and for a few minutes, I simply watched the leaves flutter in the slight breeze, moving hypnotically as they almost lulled me back to sleep.

The arm around my torso squeezed, and that, coupled with the weight on my chest, made me finally look down.

Scrappy was curled up on my chest, her whiskers twitching as she dozed peacefully.

At my side, Dustin lay with his eyes closed, his face pressed against my shoulder, his arm thrown over my torso. How long had we been napping? Had we missed lunch again? Jacinta was going to kill us.

It was another few moments later that I remembered how I'd ended up here. Well, not exactly. I had no idea who put me in bed, but I could make an educated guess. No, I remembered freaking out after the call from my mother...Shit! Had I really made the ground shake?

The last time I'd had an outburst that big, I'd brought down almost half of the underground city I'd lived in with my parents. It was what had finally prompted them to search out Headmaster Zephyr and hand me over, and I'd known even then that I wouldn't hear from them again, and for years, I hadn't.

I was sure my mother had some selfish reason for calling now, that meeting Dustin was just an excuse, and I didn't care.

Dustin stirred at my side, and I glanced down at him, pinned in place by the sleeping cat. He blinked slowly, and his eyes widened when they met mine.

He shot upright, his palms cupping my cheeks as he glanced down at me. "Oh my God, you're awake. Thank fuck!" he blabbered, then leaned down to smack a kiss on my lips. His palm covered my forehead, and I realized he was checking for a fever.

When he was satisfied there was nothing wrong with me, he slumped over me, burying his face in my throat. I wrapped my arm around his waist as Scrappy gave a disgruntled meow and leaped off the bed.

"Sorry if I scared you," I murmured, and he jerked upright to glare at me.

" If ? Of course you scared me! I thought you were having a stroke or a heart attack or something, you asshole!" Dustin smacked my chest, and I noticed his eyes were brighter than usual, gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Shit, I'd really scared him, hadn't I? Not by causing an earthquake, no, but by the way it'd affected me . He was scared because he'd been worried about me.

Sitting upright, I pulled him close, and he practically climbed into my lap as he threw his arms around me, clinging tightly. I wrapped my arms around him, lengthening my tail and surrounding us both with it as I tried to comfort him.

"I'm okay, Dustin. I'm okay. I'm so sorry I scared you," I murmured into his hair, breathing him in as he did the same to me, his lips pressing against my neck. "Is everyone okay? Did anyone get hurt?"

Dustin shook his head against my neck, then sighed softly before pulling back and meeting my eyes. "The headmaster used a spell to stop you before it got worse, and it knocked you out."

"Yikes, and we were doing so well too."

Dustin's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"That spell is something he uses when one of us gets out of control. It takes a lot out of him, so we try our best to not let ourselves get that far."

"Oh," Dustin murmured, and I lowered my head, focusing on his orange nails and remembering how much fun I'd had painting them.

"It wasn't your fault. You can't always control your emotions, no matter how hard you try. It's just not possible."

I glanced up at him, and he met my eyes steadily, his blue eyes warm and sincere and entreating. I knew logically that he was right, but I still felt bad for causing trouble for the headmaster. Maybe I should've let him handle my mother after all.

Thinking of her was enough to raise my hackles once more, so I pulled Dustin close again, focusing on him and only him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Dustin's voice was soft as he asked the question, hesitation lacing each word, and I thought about saying no outright, but then changed my mind. I knew I needed to talk about that shit with someone, if simply so something like this wouldn't happen again. What if Dustin had been in a tree or something when it happened? What if he'd fallen and hurt himself? I couldn't risk that happening again.

And if I had to talk to someone about it, there was no one I could think of talking to except Dustin. It was strange how much I trusted him after knowing him for such a short time, but I did. Our mate bond was growing stronger every day, and I didn't think there was anyone I could trust more than him. There was no one else I felt safe being vulnerable around either.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Dustin whispered when I didn't reply, his fingers running through my hair as he held me close.

"I want to. Just maybe not right now," I said, and Dustin gave me a squeeze.

"Of course. Whenever you're ready."

Dustin's stomach growled, bringing a welcome relief from the tension around us. Chuckling, I pulled back and glanced down at him. "How about we go get some lunch?"

Meeting my eyes, Dustin smiled brightly, then nodded. Sliding off the bed, he offered me a hand, and I took it, following after him. Today had been a whirlwind of emotions—and it was only the afternoon—but I was confident that as long as I had Dustin, I'd always come out on the other side.

Dustin

Jacinta didn't punish us this time. Instead, they'd left us dishes laden with food and covered in foil right on a table in the dining room, along with a note hoping Khush felt better now, and to come see Jacinta at dinner so they could make sure he was really fine. It was sweet, and it reinforced the thought once more in my mind about just how caring the residents of the Sanctuary were.

As we ate, we talked about lighter topics, like the people we'd surprised and shocked this morning with our snake-and-human duo. It'd been fun, walking around the city with a snake around my neck, especially when a few kids had cornered me to ask me a hundred or so questions about Khush.

We talked about everything but the topic we were both studiously avoiding, and I realized that maybe the best way to get Khush to open up would be to do the same myself. Maybe we could both be each other's listening ear. Wasn't that what partnership was all about, after all?

After finishing our meal, we washed the dishes, put them in their right spots, and left the dining room.

"Oh, I found a book in the library today with some info about nagas. Is it all true?"

"Depends on which book it was," Khush said with a little smile. "Most of the books in there were written by humans with no real knowledge of supes and were based almost completely on rumors."

"The one I read was about Indian myths with pages of handwritten notes in between."

"Ah, the handwritten notes are the real deal. They're inserts written by various supes that the headmaster collected. Most of that collection is his, and the rest of us add books whenever we buy some from the human world."

Well, that made sense. This was the headmaster's home too, after all, and I wonder what had prompted him to create this place. Khush had explained to me how this whole place was made from the headmaster's magic, and then they'd added some real things to it like furniture or the material used to build the houses. It was a mix of magic and physical things, but the Sanctuary wouldn't exist without Zephyr Morrigan.

On our way to the cabin, we ran into Silas and Keoni, and Khush spent a few minutes assuring his friends that he was okay now. Promising to talk more at dinner, Khush and I continued on to our cabin.

Once inside, I wrapped my arms around Khush again, just happy to be near him.

Until I saw him lying on the floor, I hadn't realized just how much my feelings for him had grown in the last few weeks.

Khush was such an amazing person. He was sweet, shy, and surprisingly grumpy sometimes. He always kept me on my toes, and did so many little things that made my day. Ever since I'd met him, there hadn't been a day where I hadn't wanted to be closer to him, and I didn't think that would ever change.

The voice in my head that used to warn me that I was rushing things had been blissfully silent since I moved in, and I wondered if even my deepest instincts knew that he was the one for me.

"Dustin?" Khush questioned, his hands holding onto my waist as I clung to him.

Pulling back just enough to meet his eyes, I said the words dancing on the tip of my tongue. "I love you."

Khush blinked, then shook his head, then blinked some more. He seemed to be utterly speechless as his lips moved without voicing anything, and I rose up on my toes and pressed my lips to his, offering him an outlet for whatever he was feeling.

He kissed me like a thirsty man getting his first sip of water, with an intensity that stunned me. His tail wrapped around my legs almost too tightly, but I didn't care.

I pressed closer to him, my palms trailing up and down his back as he slid his tongue into my mouth. I could feel his skin warming up the more I touched him, and I traced every inch of his back that I could reach.

Khush turned us around, and I gasped into his mouth as I found myself pressed up against the door, his hands on my ass.

Sliding my hands up his back, I slid my fingers into his hair, tugging at the short strands as I pressed my groin against him. I could feel his cocks hardening and sliding out of their hiding spot, and I threw my legs around his hips, groaning softly when his fingers dug into my ass cheeks to keep me from slipping.

I rocked against him as he kissed me, and when my lungs started burning from the lack of oxygen, I ignored it. I felt like I could survive without air, but I couldn't go a second without our lips touching. I needed Khush more than I needed oxygen at that moment, and he seemed to feel the same.

"Fuck, Khush. I need you," I begged, pawing at his tank top. Why was he wearing it anyway? He should always be shirtless.

Pulling back, Khush gazed at me, his lips pink and wet, his eyes dark with desire. His forehead was beaded with sweat, strands of his dark hair hanging in front of his eyes.

Removing one hand from his neck, I slid my fingers through his hair, pushing it away from his face as he pushed into the touch like Scrappy did when she wanted more pets.

"Are you sure?" he asked, then pressed his dicks against my groin when I gave him a puzzled look.

"Fuck! Yes, yes I'm sure! I want you inside me!" I declared. It'd been a while since I'd been with someone, but I needed it now. I needed Khush.

I wanted us to be pressed together, naked skin against naked skin with no space between us. I wanted to feel all of Khush against me, to assure myself with a touch on every inch of him that he was really, truly okay.