“I’ll see you soon,” I tell him.
“Hmm? What?”
I grin. “Nothing. Catch you later?”
His gaze goes back to Zane, who’s now doing bicep curls. “Yes. Thank you for coming.”
I try not to burst into laughter as he starts up his run again, now going faster than I could ever hope to. I’m not really here to sweat. I was here for answers, and while I didn’t quite get them, at least I know Quilliyn is going to try.
“Tea,” Everest says, dropping a mug in front of me. I stare down at the contents, and he sighs loudly. “Just zitha this time. I know how the few days after oyen can make you a little—ah—sore.”
He’s not wrong. And it’s not that I don’t want a repeat of the other night, but maybe in a smaller dose. And maybe when I know what’s actually going on. I’m still processing the way it made me feel.
I lost control over all my faculties and couldn’t think about anything except getting that massive Vyastil cock deep inside me. I expected to feel some kind of shame for how fucking wanton I’d been, but I don’t.
“You reliving it?” Everest asks with a smirk.
Sitting back in my chair, I take a tiny sip of the tea, and after a moment, I feel the first tendrils of the monsters’ healing herb coursing through me. The relief is intense, and I drink a few more sips before I answer him.
“Do you still like it? Or do you take it to cope with how intense they are?”
Everest looks a little pale. “Is that how it was for you?”
“What? No.” I flush a little and can’t meet his eyes. “I’ve wanted him since the moment I laid eyes on him, and I feel like whatever the fuck I took just…you know…enhanced all that. I didn’t quite feel like myself, but yeah. I kind of want to do it again.” I take a huge gulp. “Sorry. TMI.”
“No, I get it.” Everest picks at his cuticles for a second, then drops his hands in his lap. “Did it change anything for you?”
There’s something in his tone I can’t ignore, and I look at him. “Change anything?”
“Like…between you two. Are you more…connected?”
I’m scared to ask, but I do anyway. “You mean hearing him in my head?”
Everest brightens. “Shit. Yes! Don’t tell anyone, by the way. Eissa knows about Rathyn and me, but it’s, like, ahugedeal in Vyastil society, and Eissa basically implied we could be killed for it.”
I swallow heavily. “Oh my god. Can they all do it?”
“No. As far as I’m aware, it’s some old trait they used to possess, like hundreds of years ago or something.” He leans his elbows on my desk. “Back when falling in love and gettingpleasure from fucking wasn’t the most taboo thing a Vyastil could do.”
“God, they’d be so much happier if they were allowed to jerk off,” I tell him.
He bursts into laughter. “You have no idea. Rathyn didn’t even realize sex could feel good for him.”
Fuck, that’s so sad.
“Was Cielo like that?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. It was almost like he was doing it for me and not him at first. But the more we—you know—the more he’s into it.”
Everest’s cheeks are slightly pink. “Yeah. Rath’s basically insatiable now. And not just for cum.”
I snort and finish the tea. The zitha has taken all the edge off my ache, which is amazing, but I’m a little worried I’m going to become addicted. And it’s not like they’ve done extensive studies on the effects of long-term use in humans.
But I’m not going to worry about it now. I just need to survive another day.
“I like what Cielo and I have, but I feel like I’m not doing enough,” I confess. “I talked with Quilliyn the other day at the gym and asked him if there was any way Cielo could see his family, but I don’t think he wanted to get involved.”
Everest scrunches up his nose, swallows thickly, and takes a deep breath.
