Me: Yes to both, though Cielo’s still recovering, so you probably shouldn’t stay long.
I know Everest has been beside himself since Cielo was banished to Earth. But he’s worried about his friend, and the least I can do is let him see that Cielo’s okay.
Besides, I have a feeling Cielo will appreciate seeing Everest again.
“Everest and Rathyn are headed over,” I tell him as I set my phone back down. “I hope that’s okay.”
He stares at me, and his hand moves up, signingyes.
“Yeah, I figured you’d want to see them. They’ll be here in like…shit. Maybe twenty minutes?”
Cielo glances over at his pink jacket, which is draped over the back of a chair, and my chest constricts. God, he’s so fucking cute. I never thought I’d say that about a monster, but something about him is different.
His hand moves up to his hair, and he fiddles with the braids. They’ve come undone, and his long fringe is hanging messily around his face.
“Oh, let me fix this for you.” I reach out and brush a few strands away from his eyes, and he leans into the touch. My chest aches for him. “I can help you clean up before they arrive.” He nods, and I give him a gentle smile. “Okay, sit up as best you can, and I’ll get you all nice and pretty again.”
When I finish, Cielo is looking much more put-together. I thank my cum for that and my attention to detail when cleaning him up. The blood that was caked to his skin has been scrubbed clean, and his hair has been neatly styled in two Dutch braids.
He looks happier, healthier.
My cum is magic. Who knew?
I glance over at Cielo, and his fang peeks out as he smiles at me. His arms shift in his pink jacket, pulling it tightly across his shoulders.
Fuck, that thing is way too cute on him.
And god, the way his ears fluttered when he put it on? It did something to my insides. I felt like I was melting, which isnotsomething I do.
Not ever. Not for another man and not for a monster.
But something about Cielo is…there aren’t really words for it. From the moment I saw him, I felt a strange sort of pull toward him that’s been impossible to ignore.
He makes me want to wrap him up and cuddle him, to hold him tightly and tell him everything will be okay. But it’s more than that. It’s almost like an instinct. The longer I went without seeing him and Everest, the more I obsessed about where he was and what he was doing.
And now he’s living with me, but the feeling hasn’t subsided at all. In fact, it’s only gotten worse.
I glance down and realize my phone has been blowing up the entire time I was getting Cielo cleaned up. Fan-fucking-tastic. Luca’s told Gia and Amara I have a Vyastil at my apartment, and now they’re demanding to meet him. My entire family is so goddamn nosy, and this is bound to be a disaster, but they’ve invited themselves over for dinner now, and I have a hard time telling them no.
I can throw together a pasta that will placate them, but I’m a little worried about the chaos. If Cielo needs time alone, he can lie in my bed while we eat, and Gia and Amara can fuss over him another time. But keeping them away from him will be like a full-time job.
“Everest and Rathyn should be here any minute,” I say. “And I hope you don’t mind, but my cousin and her wife want to meet you.”
He gives me a tired look but nods. I have a feeling he’s lying and trying to make me happy. I want to call him on it, but I also know he probably needs this little bit of dignity.
Before I can say anything else, I hear a knock on the door. “That’s going to be Everest.”
Cielo perks up immediately, which makes me feel better as I walk over and let them in. Everest looks terrified, and Rathyn is very much his stoic self, holding something large and bulky in his hands.
“Hi. So good to see you. Come in, come in,” I say and step aside, letting the two of them move into the small living room. Everest doesn’t even hesitate. He rushes over to Cielo the second he lays eyes on him, kneeling beside him and touching him gently.
The connection they have is special. I know they’re just friends, but still…it makes my chest pinch in an uncomfortable way.
Rathyn looms over me, and I stare up at him. His tail is wrapped around his thigh, his claws poking out of his fingers. “I have a gift.”
He holds it out to me, and I take it in my arms, grunting as I’m bogged down by the weight of it.
“What is this?”
