I wish to bite him. My fangs ache to sink into his skin, my tongue to taste the very life essence of his blood.
But I do not.
Not now.
Perhaps not ever.
But it is a lovely thought to think he could be forever mine.
“Alright,” he says. He takes a single step back, then reaches up to cup my face. “Are you feeling better?”
“Better,” I repeat.
His smile lights him up from the inside out. “Good. I’m going to hop in the shower, then we’ll meet Everest and Rathyn at the theater. Sound good?”
It sounds like a lot of things I don’t understand, but it doesn’t matter. So long as I’m with Dante, I will remain the most content Vyastil in this realm.
twenty-three
DANTE
I’m doing everything I can not to think of the mental images Cielo sent me of him curled up in the dark, on a wet, hard, stone floor, covered in bleeding wounds, feeling like he would never see the light of day again. But with this connection he and I share, it’s almost impossible not to.
It’s almost as if it happened to me, and it once again makes me want to fucking rage.
How could anyone hurt him? How could they justify causing that kind of pain to someone who would never, ever hurt another being in his life?
I don’t let myself dwell on it. Once we have Cielo’s clothing situation handled—and that’s using the term loosely because I can still see the fucking panties, but at least they’re partially covered—I shower and get dressed.
I’m still feeling little tendrils of a budding ache tugging at me, letting me know that a flare might be on the horizon, but I have the zitha, heat sex, and cum herbs on my counter from the accidental bag swap. And if it means a month with no pain in exchange for a wild night with my monster, well…
It’s not exactly a hard ask.
The movie will be over before we know it, and considering Cielo and Rathyn aren’t really into human food, I can use that as an excuse to skip dinner. I’m sure Rathyn would prefer to eat out with just Everest anyway.
Cielo makes a little hum of excitement when he sees Everest and Rathyn standing outside near the ticket booth. “Friennnnds!”
I grin at him as I pull into a parking space. “Yep.” Turning the car off, I touch Cielo’s arm before he can open the door. “Do you have any questions before we go in?”
He frowns. “Quesssstions?”
“About this. I mean, we haven’t done this, you know? I know Everest sort of explained the concept of a date, but…”
“Fannnncy clothes, pooopcorn…”
I lift his hand and kiss the tips of his claws. “Yes. Hand holding. Cuddling over the arm of the chairs. Watching a movie.”
He does a little eyeroll. ‘I know movies,’ he signs.
“Yes, but this is going to be on a huge screen and loud,” I warn him. We’re seeing a rom-com, so at least there shouldn’t be any jump scares or massive explosions. But Gia and Amara never go because the noise is always too overwhelming, and it sends Amara into sensory overload. “If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me, and we can leave.”
Cielo quickly shakes his head. “No. No leave date. Exxxxsitted.”
I pull him close and kiss him for a long moment before leaning back and grabbing my keys. “Okay. But it won’t bother me at all if you want to leave early.”
He gives me another annoyed look, and my heart twists. He feels comfortable enough to do that now.
“You are late,” Rathyn says as we near.
