A Soul to Embrace (Duskwalker Brides #8)

Chapter 42

“I’m not sure about this anymore,” Zylah said, as she pulled on the restraints around her wrists. She tugged them apart and the two inches of rope connecting them refused to budge.

Jabez’s bare chest brushed the tip of her snout as he leaned over her. A subtle gasp left her when he yanked on what remained of the enchanted rope that had been threaded through a natural notch in the wall and stretched her arms above her head.

“You’ll be fine,” Jabez rebutted. “If you get too stressed, I’ve tied you in a way I can easily undo.”

Although he didn’t say it, she could hear in his gentled tone that he wanted her to trust him.

She tried not to be self-conscious of the fact that the only item of clothing between them was his thin pants. Laying here naked while he bound her in a way that left her defenceless was nerve-racking. Her heart had been racing since this started, and her knees knocked together.

Desire and anxiety warred with each other.

She dipped her head back as best she could, since her antlers got in the way, and inspected how he tied her. He’d coiled the rope around each wrist multiple times before attaching them together. Apparently doing so helped lower the chance of cutting off circulation in her hands, but it was snug.

She yanked on the rope to test it. The natural, although thick, loop in the smooth bark creaked under her strength. He placed his hand over her wrists to stop her.

“Try not to break the wall. That isn’t enchanted against a Mavka’s strength.” Since he was straddling her waist, he leaned forward and stretched out until they were almost nose to nose, and his bergamot and sandalwood scent flittered in her senses. With his eyes staring into her orbs and his voice low, he asked, “Is it uncomfortable or too tight?”

The gems dangling from the chain of his left horn glittered in the disappearing sunlight and snagged her sight. She adored what the decoration meant, and that he wore something permanent, in the same way she held his soul between her antlers.

She wondered if he’d chosen the colours of the gems based on their orb and eye colour. If so, then she adored them even more.

Wanting to show she trusted him and the bindings were fine, she dabbed her tongue against the corner of his full lips. They twitched under her press and he leaned his head down.

“I guess we can begin then.”

Her head tilted to the side in welcome when every time he pressed a kiss down the length of her bony jaw, his tongue rolled between his lips. Although she knew her face to be unusual, Zylah... loved that Jabez never shied away from being attentive to it, like it didn’t matter that she was so different. Like... he found her beautiful, regardless of it.

And, as he bent down further to nip into the side of her neck, causing a shiver to break across her flesh, she melted under the power of his bites. In some ways, she felt spoiled by how affectionate his mouth had become with her in the past few days.

He shuffled down until he was able to get a knee between her thighs, and she let out a rasp when he gently bit into her shoulder. Her earlier hesitant anxiety began to thaw at each new pet of his mouth. Her heart raced for a new reason when his hands shifted down her naked sides, and his long, silky hair slipped across her fur.

As if he’d been able to sense her thoughts, he said, “I like that my fangs don’t bother you.” He lowered even more to lick her sternum before sinking them into the side of a breast, making her arch in want and her nipples harden. “They’ve always gotten in the way, but you enjoy them.”

Then he enclosed his lips around her nipple, and his fangs scraped against her as he sucked on it. A shallow moan broke from her throat and she pushed her chest against his mouth, uncaring of the sharpness when he lashed the tip of the hardened bud. She wanted it deeper until he’d sucked the whole thing inside.

He palmed the inside of one bent leg, and her inner thigh twitched when he made a path deeper between them. Her sight flared with purple as heat swelled inside her pussy. Zylah started to pant when he softened his abusive mouth by kissing between her breasts to make a path to the other.

His eyes shot up to hers as he messily licked across that nipple and then circled his tongue around it repeatedly.

“Jabez,” she moaned as she spread her knees for him when his hand stopped its path downwards.

His eyes crinkled in humour. “So easy,” he muttered, before he gave a playful snarl, shoved his face against her breast, and sucked hard.

Zylah knew she was easily aroused, and she really didn’t care. She adored this male, and the fact that he could be so naughty with her only set her alight. How was she able to resist him when he seemed to know her body better than she did?

He shoved his other knee between her thighs and forced them even further apart to fit between them. He kissed a path downwards, nipping at both her sensitive sides and causing goosebumps to puff her fur. He bit against the side of her navel, then lower down, before licking up over her hipbone, unbothered by the short, minimal fur there.

Although purple had blasted into her sight, she squeaked when he nipped at her pubic mound.

Is he going to lick me again? After the first time in the pocket of earth beneath Spiral Haven, he’d only done it one other time, and she was in love with the feeling. It always left her aching for more, like it was nothing but a naughty tease that had her insides quivering for attention.

Both his hands ran up her thighs to her knees as he backed away, and she produced a gruff noise of disappointment. He chuckled as he brought one of her knees closer and bit into her thigh right above it.

“Patience, bunny. I’ll get there.”

“Why do you call me that?” she asked, wanting to know what it meant. She couldn’t recall when he started calling her bunny, but it always made her insides flutter.

“Well, firstly, because of your skull and that little tail of yours that makes my dick go nuts,” he muttered as he manoeuvred her leg forward so he could nip into her calf muscle. She looked down to find his cock already hard and bulging against his pants, and she licked her snout in interest. “Mainly it’s because you’re a horny little thing and want to fuck like one. You’re also cute, fluffy, and soft like a bunny.” He bit into her ankle, causing her toes to twitch and clench in confusion at the pleasurable pain of it. “I’ll be honest, I’m... not used to pet names, Zylah. I’ve never given one before. I can call you something else if you like: baby girl, sweetheart, darling. It’s really up to you.”

“N-no, I like it,” she said, before letting out a squeak when he bit the side of her foot! “I-I keep calling you my enchanting thorn in my mind,” she admitted weakly.

“Really? I don’t mind if you call me that. I can be rather prickly.” Then, as if he wanted to escape the conversation, or maybe just punish her, he pressed his thumb into each of the toe bean pads of her foot. “I wonder if you’ll ever lose these? I hope not.”

Zylah shivered at the tickling sensation and had to stop herself from kicking him by accident. When he kept doing it with a dangerous look in his eyes, Zylah inwardly cringed.

“Stop that.”

“Why? It’s not like you can stop me right now,” he stated around an evil little chuckle. “Shouldn’t have let me tie you up if you wanted a say.”

When he tickled them purposefully for a split second, his grip on her foot tightened to the point that when she did accidentally kick, he held it firm and prevented it. She screamed in protest, only to moan when he stopped and bit into the side of her calf harder than before. With her nerves on fire from his tickling, her back arched at the sensitivity running through her muscles.

Her body unclenched itself and she produced moan after moan as he quickly lowered his head with bites. Before she knew it, his tongue dipped into the slit of her pussy and her sight closed to black as she spread her thighs in welcome. Her hips bucked into his face, and he produced a pleased growl when he licked up to her clit to swirl his tongue against it.

“Already so wet,” he grated as he licked across her pussy, before going the other way. “I guess you like being tickled.”

Zylah wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t muster the strength under the power of his tongue. That feels so nice. He slid it against one of her outer lips, then the other, before flicking side to side against her clit. It was warm, wet, and his breath fanned over her constantly.

She wanted so badly to grip his hair or horns so she could shove him against her pussy harder. Her legs pushed against his hands so she could enclose them around his head, but he refused to let her move them even an inch.

Zylah released an upset gasp when he pulled away and turned her to her front.

“Sorry, but I’m not done teasing you yet,” he said as he bit into her backside so hard blood instantly welled to the surface of her flesh. He pulled back, brushing a hand over his hair as he licked at his lips to taste her slick and blood. “We do have all afternoon and night, and I plan to make the most of it.”

He ran his warm hands down her back, causing it to arch downwards when his nails scored her lightly.

“Jabez,” she weakly cried as she shoved her arse up and stretched in reaction.

Her tail wiggled right as he got down to her sensitive hips, and he ground his cock against the cleft of her cheeks so he could feel her tuft move against it. His hands drifted to her sides, only to pull back so his nails could score her again and make her tail tremor in reaction when he got close to it.

He leaned over her and bit into her shoulder while thrusting against her.

“Do you want my cock inside you, Zylah?” he rumbled next to her skull, his soft voice hoarse with arousal and his breaths making her knees shake. “Do you want me to stretch you with my cock until you feel nice and full? Do you want me to fuck you until I flood you with my cum, while your tight pussy comes over and over again around me?”

Nodding, she whimpered, “Please.”

“Too bad.”

A raspy moan broke from her when two fingers slammed into her from behind. Her hips rose even higher when the tips of them prodded right against her most blissful spot, and pleasure struck her within an instant. Her hands struggled against her bindings when he began to thrust his long fingers, each time prodding right at that exact spot like the angle was perfect for it. He even hooked his fingertips downwards to shove against it harder and her toes curled in reaction, her feet lifting.

Her vision blurred as she looked at the wall in a haze while panting wildly. Her breaths came out more strangled when lust and need bled into her veins like an inferno whirling into a dangerous gust. She tilted her head back as she moved back and forth, trying to work herself on his fingers as he played with her.

“Does that feel good?” His husky voice sent her shivering in reaction. “Your pussy is already twitching so much. Fucking hell, Zylah. How can you be this needy? I’ve barely started.”

She didn’t even need to respond, not when her pussy clamped around him as she was sent hurtling into an orgasm. Letting out a loud cry, she shifted her hips back and forth faster as liquid gushed inside her spasming core.

Her abdomen pulsed repeatedly, and her body sagged forward as she rode the waves of bliss. His fingertips hooked downwards every time he thrust in, causing her sight to throb in and out of darkness.

The moment her body went lax, she was tossed onto her back. He let out a snarl as he buried his head between her legs to lap his tongue against her entrance, stealing the taste of her climax from her with messy licks. He wasn’t gentle with his fangs, but his moving tongue and lips distracted her from any stings as he ravished her with his mouth.

With a loud, aching moan, she could do little more than arch her back when he shoved his long tongue inside her before licking up to her clit to suck it. Her thighs parted even further when he shoved his fingers back inside her, and she hooked her feet over his shoulders to keep her to him. Using the rope around her wrists as leverage, Zylah bucked against his face, wishing, more than ever, that she could grab his horns or hair and fuck herself against it.

Sucking hard and constantly lashing her clit with his tongue, he pumped his fingers fast inside her. Within seconds, Zylah was sent hurdling into another orgasm and her knees closed around his head as her body tried to take over. She could feel her tendrils clasping his fingers, refusing to let go of them until she was done, and he fought against them to pump his hand hard and fast for her.

“Jabez...” she called as her back arched repeatedly, her entire body wanting to lift and float off the bed each time bliss struck her.

She leaned her head against her stretched biceps as she looked down at the top of his hair and horns, wishing she could see how he was wonderfully torturing her. Her pants were harsh, ripping from her lungs violently, and they didn’t calm even when her body stopped clenching and milking his fingers.

“Don’t stop,” she pleaded over and over again, her voice growing hoarser and more croaked with each second. “It feels so good. I love your mouth on me. Your tongue, your lips, your fangs. More. ”

She shuddered out a moan and tried to cross her ankles across his back to stop him from escaping her. He produced a wet snarl against her pussy as he removed his fingers to lap at her wildly. He grabbed the back of her thighs to give himself room to dip his head up and down, to come at her folds any way he could.

Every time he struck her clit, a quiet whimper broke from her. When he knew she was getting close again, he slipped his tongue inside her as far as it could go. She swore she felt a tendril trying to clasp around the tip of it and keep it inside as he thrust it.

Just when she was about to come, he stopped. He managed to wrestle with her legs and win so he could pry them away and shove them apart. Then he pulled away all too soon to lean back, and panic flooded her.

“No! Don’t stop, please .”

She kicked while trying to fight against the bindings so she could shove his face back down.

“Sorry, Zylah, but I can’t wait any longer,” he stated around deep huffs.

With his nose, cheeks, and chin covered in her slick, Jabez licked at his lips as he looked down at his pants. He fumbled with the ties before just tearing at them, and his cock sprang forth. He was fully engorged, and even his ridges had flared more than usual, precum making the head glisten. He didn’t bother to fully remove his pants, choosing to let them fall around his knees and stay there for now.

Jabez grabbed the back of her calves and slammed her shins against the mattress so her feet rested next to her antlers. The angle forced her back to curve and her arse to lift off the bed until her pussy was almost facing the ceiling.

“I was hoping I could hold off for a bit longer, but if I’m not balls deep inside you in the next few seconds, I’m going to go fucking crazy.”

He slammed his cock to the hilt in one go, and the broad head and following ridges popped past her entrance and bubbled against her most sensitive spot on their way in. Zylah screamed out a moan at the sensation, and at the blunt girth and hardness that speared her. Her pussy immediately squeezed as liquid heat flooded within, her brain disintegrating from the pressure of his cock.

“Oh fuck,” Jabez groaned, pumping his hips hard and fast without giving her a moment to adjust or calm. “You’re coming already.”

His hands tightened on her calves as he put more weight on them. With his eyes rolling, his expression pinched until his clenched fangs were bared and his head tipped back. He fucked into her wildly, and Zylah could do little more than take it with the way he held her down with her wrists bound.

She whimpered beneath him as she intimately felt his ridges within her swelling, snug walls. Her sight blackened as her orbs closed, when pleasure struck her like a bolt and ensured it continued on and on.

“That’s right,” he said around hot and feverish pants. “Come all night for me.”

Zylah shivered when the last of her orgasm was wrung from her. Her tense muscles loosened, and her body going lax made her bounce each time he shunted against her. Everywhere they touched felt like her flesh was being branded by him, and she hoped his hands just above her ankles left permanent marks.

His hips slammed harder as he opened his eyes and looked down to where she was swallowing him. A deep, dark chuckle vibrated past his lips.

“I’m going to show you what it feels like when I ruin this pussy, and I’m not going to stop until you beg me to.”

Shit, my jaw is killing me, Jabez thought with a complaining groan as he swirled his tongue around Zylah’s clit. She twitched in reaction before her thighs shook as he hooked his fingers right against her G-spot.

His hand ached, too, and he’d needed to take breaks between his mouth and fingers over the course of the last hour. Considering the passage of time in Nyl’theria, he knew it’d been many Earth hours since they’d started being intimate.

When he’d first fucked her, dusk had still been present. Night had long come, and their home was shrouded in darkness except for her glowing purple orbs and the dim light coming from both side tables powered by a mana stone he couldn’t see.

He’d made sure to come over her rather than inside her pussy so that he could taste just her without his seed messing her. Since then, he’d managed to keep his dick to himself and solely focus on his horny little bunny.

Her pussy clamped around his fingers, and she let out a soft moan, but her orgasm was light and powerless. It ended on a whimper, and the heels of her feet shoved downwards against his back like she wanted him away.

That high-pitched sound was all he needed.

He slipped his fingers from the swollen wet heat of her pussy and finally removed his tongue from her, thankful they’d reached this point after so long.

Despite how tired he was, he still fisted the base of his throbbing cock and positioned the head against the hole of her cunt.

The tip was already wet and saturated with precum, and just the meagre touch of her pussy had his balls clenching. Even the sight of her golden contraception enhancement chain gleaming in the low light around her waist had a shudder assaulting his spine. Knowing he could come inside her and fill her to the brim with his semen without a shred of worry, since she’d never remove it without communicating with him, always turned him on further.

“Wait,” she pleaded, looking down just as he started to mount her, only to throw her head back. “Jabez...”

He groaned in answer when he was seated deep and ground into her. As much as he knew she was done, he’d only fucked her once and his cock was desperate for release. He’d been a good boy, he’d been patient, he’d only taken her once and then gifted her climax after climax.

He may have been able to resist if it wasn’t for the fact he’d been drinking down her orgasms. The aphrodisiac component in it meant he needed this. It’d been tingling his engorged cock from the moment he’d shoved into her, and it’d been flooding his blood stream with each lap of his tongue for hours . Every fibre of muscle in his body was now buzzing with lust.

He thrust into her overused, swollen pussy, and his eyelids flickered in bliss at how soft it was, how snug it’d become. When she gave a whimper, he lowered his body and held her tightly in order to comfort her. He went slow just for her sake, but he also knew he didn’t need to pump into her like a feral beast.

He groaned against her neck when his cock pulsated hard .

This isn’t going to last long. Even with just a few pumps, he’d been waiting so long, his hips grinding against the sheets with need, that he was already close.

One of his hands slid under her torso to cup the back of her neck, while the other kneaded her backside and lifted her hips to greet his own. When she gave another little whimper, his ears drooped as euphoria threatened to obliterate him.

“Sorry, Zylah. Just hold out a little longer for me,” he begged, pushing into her until he reached her cervix to softly grind against it.

“I don’t like this anymore,” she whined, tugging on her bindings weakly. “I-I want to hold you.”

Unable to stop thrusting, unable to stop moving like his life depended on it, he shuddered. He looked up at her wrists, and his dazed mind tried to think of a solution outside of letting this beautiful creature go. When she clamped up momentarily, a pitiful moan escaped past his panting lips.

Jabez teleported them in place and she slipped through the bindings.

“I-I like this,” she whispered, as she wrapped her arms around his body so she could sweetly cling to him. “I like when our stomachs touch and I can feel you more deeply inside me.”

Fuck. Cute, he thought, his eyes crinkling in anguish at her pure words. He laid over her so more of their torsos touched and meshed together, and it tilted the angle of their hips differently.

A sharp hitch came from her like his cock rubbed somewhere perfect, and her thighs spread for him. He shouldn’t have let her be free. Now that her hands were clutching him, her claws gouged into his shoulder and side when her pussy wildly spasmed.

A flare of aggression cut through the languidness of his fatigue, and he fucked into her faster. Her claws ripped into his flesh, and he let out a roar, his fingers digging into her body to hold her still as his hips shoved into her harder.

He bit into the side of her neck, just as her pussy clenched around his cock, and he knew he was doomed. Zylah let out a whimpering moan as she milked him, producing just enough liquid slick to make his glides easier, faster, hotter. Her ankles tried to cross over his arse as he took her, and his fangs cut deeper and deeper until his eyes rolled back.

His balls drew up hard, clenching in his sac, and seed shot from him. He stopped thrusting and shoved his hips so hard she gasped.

“Oh fuck , Zylah,” he moaned as he released his bite to breathe through his release.

His nose scrunched when tenderness clamoured inside his chest and seemingly made his orgasm more powerful, causing pleasure to ripple down his spine and spark all throughout his groin. He squeezed her to his torso, as his legs shook and his toes dug into the bed to push himself deeper. His muscles leapt each time semen burst from him, while his face twisted in agonised rapture.

Once he finally emptied his balls, he basked in the aftermath so he could feel her heartbeat thrumming around his cock and against him, and so she could sense his all around her. Their panted breaths tangled together, and the mixture of their scents had him pulsating one last time in an intense aftershock that fucking pained him.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her cheek before slowly slipping his cock from her, needing to escape her as much as give her relief.

Her arms fell to the bed, letting him go when she was too tired to do anything else but exist.

Overheating to the point sweat was slipping down his bleeding back and temple, Jabez climbed off the bed to head to the bathtub that was built into the floor. He crouched, waved his hand over the purple mana stone, and watched as temperature-controlled water rushed out from the side of the tub to rapidly fill it.

He turned and found Zylah lifeless on the bed, and a grin curled his lips. Wiggling his aching jaw and hand bones, he approached her.

Her orbs went white when she lifted her skull to him, and the gasp she produced was broken, hoarse, and filled with utter panic.

“You’re still hard!” She turned to the side to crawl off the bed, but her legs were limp and barely helped her. “No! I can’t anymore!”

Jabez grabbed her ankle and pulled her across the sheets.

“And whose fault do you think that is?” he stated with a playful growl. “Now your pesky little enzymes can torture us both. I only came twice, Zylah. You usually beg for more, and I’m very inclined to give it right now.”

She screamed and shoved her hands against his chest, but she was surprisingly weak as she fought him. He shoved her knees to the sides with his own, laid between them, and thrust his cock against her clit while burying his face against the side of her neck.

“Please, Jabez. I’m sorry,” she whimpered, her body heaving against him with a sob. “I won’t do it anymore.”

His eyes crinkled in joy as laughter burst from him. “I’m joking, Zylah,” he said, lifting his face so she could see his humour. “No more for tonight.”

“You promise?” The heavy tone of distress in her voice hinted that she didn’t believe him.

He rested his chin against her chest and smiled up at her. “How do you feel? Finally satisfied?”

She shuddered and nodded, and he pressed a kiss to her sternum.

“Good, because fuck me, my whole body hurts.”

He cupped his chin to push his aching jaw side to side, before doing the same to his neck until he heard a satisfying, relieving crack. Even the back of his damn tongue hurt, and he could tell the underside was inflamed from overworking it.

Her orbs flickered with orange. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m happy to do this every night, so long as my mate is having fun. It was bothering me that I wasn’t able to fully satisfy you with just my cock, so I found a solution.” He turned his head and grazed the side of her left breast with his fangs. “You’re also so responsive to everything that I like touching and tasting you. I enjoyed every second of it.”

“Really?” she asked, her voice light with hope as her orbs brightened into yellow.

“Really.” He pulled back, stood, and then slipped his arms under her so he could carry her to the bath. “But I’m really sweaty and some heat will do us both good. I’m guessing you’ll want to sleep soon.”

They were both adjusting their sleeping patterns to Nyl’theria. Now that he was here, his body wanted to fall into its natural rhythm of sleeping away much of the night. Zylah, on the other hand, appeared to want to sleep equal to Earth’s cycle, but she was trying to prolong it to keep up with him. In return, he cut his sleeps in half so they could rest together at night, and right after the second sun had almost fully risen.

By the time he carted Zylah to the tub, it was nearly full. He hissed out a breath through his fangs when he sat down with her on the seat available inside it, and water touched her claw marks marring his back. Thankfully he’d dulled her claws every morning in order to stop her from cutting too deep, which also prevented her from accidentally hurting others with them.

Settling in the water, Jabez waved his hand to stop it prematurely, so it didn’t overfill. The temperature was perfect, making steam waft from the top of the water’s surface, and the obsidian would keep it that way for quite some time.

With her resting across his spread thighs and her shoulder against his chest, he leaned into the backrest. He placed his arms across the back of it and looked outside at Otholla starting to peek its way into the glass from the left side.

“I really do like this view,” he commented, eyeing the forest subtly glowing in the distance.

It felt like home, and it was what he always wanted – even if achieving it wasn’t how he’d planned.

“I like it too,” she offered as she slid an arm across his stomach to hold his side and keep herself steady.

She never floated in the water, and he preferred how heavily she sat in his lap rather than buoyantly bouncing away. Sitting in liquid heat, Jabez let his mind go quiet as he basked in the satisfaction of their sex, the bathtub and how it soothed them, and the view he’d always longed for.

Zylah lifted a hand and sheathed her claws to tap at the chain connected to the bands on his horns and make it sway. A subtle smile pestered his lips; he was pleased she liked them so much.

Organising them was one of the first things he’d done, and it’d drained almost all the funds the council had given him for entering the city. It was why he pushed for them to let him go mining for a mana stone today. Although it was a requisite of him being here, they were being fair and paying him for the work as well.

Every time he left the city or did anything for them, they were going to pay for his time.

Lezekos City was a trade city.

Food, housing, medicine, and basic furniture were all provided, but if they wanted nice clothing, quality adornments, or to add to their home, they needed to work for it or pick up a craft to trade with. Since they were new, it would take a long while for them to establish themselves. Doing work for the council would ensure he didn’t have to learn a craft, meaning he and Zylah were free to do whatever they wished.

In essence, he could be lazy and dote on her whenever he wanted outside of when they requested his aid.

“Jabez,” Zylah started, still playing with the gems dangling from his horn.

He tilted his head so he could face her. “Yes?”

Her teal orbs flickered with reddish pink and she nervously chittered. He frowned when her shoulders turned inwards shyly and she lowered her hand.

“Do you...” She squirmed and her orbs shifted entirely to her bashful or embarrassed hue. “Do you love me?”

His head twitched and reared back, not expecting the question; it sounded as though she’d been wanting to ask it for quite some time. He averted his gaze to outside, while his heart pounded harder in his chest, slamming deeply aching emotions into his veins.

“Yes, I love you,” he answered quietly, and without hesitation.

She pushed against his chest to sit up with a shocked gasp. “Really?”

Not liking how surprised she sounded, he pulled her back down and the water rippled around them. “Of course I do.”

I gave up... everything for you. What was that if it wasn’t love?

Some men, immoral and cruel like him, might be willing to burn the world for someone they adored, but he’d already been trying to do that. Such a sacrifice was utterly meaningless with a past already filled with rampaging bloodshed. Giving her the world through domination was in line with his goal to raze this city, but entering peacefully? Not in a million years did he think he’d ever do such a thing.

He gave up his goal, his idea, his revenge, and even... his sense of self. He essentially tore himself to pieces until all that remained was his obsession, infatuation, and tenderness for her. Until all that remained of him were the parts that were connected to her, and he was unwilling to let her go or see her be harmed through his actions.

It was also what kept him subservient and obedient to the councilmembers.

I hate being in this fucking city. He hated doing what they wanted of him. He hated that he’d been pushed to offer his services in a way he found abhorrent. He hated that he’d shared his lifelong secret with another being, an Elf, no less.

Every fibre, every cell, every piece of his being, didn’t want to be in the city. He despised their scents, their un-Demon-like features, their gazes, and hated the way they looked at Zylah with gross curiosity. Every time someone looked at her funny or was somewhat fearful, he wanted to walk right up to them and punt them in the face with one of his hard horns.

But he was tolerating it all, just for her.

He would continue to do so just so he could make her giggle like he had earlier when he chased her around their home , or fuck her until she begged him to stop. Just so he didn’t have to see her covered in her own blood again as she whimpered in his arms from pain.

His heart had shifted, and he’d been born anew for her, although nothing would stop him from being an arrogant, self-assured prick.

Nothing would change the essence of who he was, and he was just lucky she seemed to like it, mostly.

He may not be perfect, but he would try for her. And his pride and masculinity weren’t so fragile that he would be bothered by Zylah calling him her little bride, mate, enchanting thorn, or whatever she decided to settle on. He would just use it as a way to tease her by being overly dominant in those times to get a playful rise out of her.

He thought she might even like that.

A glittering drop floated into his periphery, and he glanced down to find her orbs were bright pink and shedding ethereal tears. She was looking off to the side with her hands clasped tightly, and a quiet whine ripped from her. He noticed then that her heart was beating excessively fast and her tail was shifting side to side against his outer thigh.

That answers what the colour pink means.

“Well?” he said with a light chuckle. “Are you going to leave me in suspense, or are you going to say it back?”

“I love you, Jabez,” she whispered as she looked up at him. “I think I have for a long while.”

“I love you too,” he repeated, just so she knew it was the truth.

He placed his index foreknuckle under her chin, lifted the underside of her bony jaw, and pressed a kiss to her incisors. She giggled underneath his lips as her pink tears floated faster and collided to create bigger drops.

He eyed them fondly, admiring her ethereal dark beauty while the aqua glow of his dual-coloured soul radiated above her. She owned the most secret parts of him, and he knew, in essence, that he owned hers as well – even if there wasn’t proof of it floating above his head.

I think you’re the only creature in existence able to make me give up everything and fall in love instead.

What a pathetically tender thought.