Vivian
“How’s your hearing?” I cringed anxiously, legs folded under me for some extra height as we sat next to each other in the lantern-lit alcove.
Theo’s earlookedhealed, but I was nervous something was wrong internally that I couldn’t fix. He said he hadn’t lost the ability to hear; but things soundeddifferent. How does one fix “different”?! How would I know when it was “normal” again?!
It felt like dumb luck that his limp arm had been so easily fixed… I was seriously out of my depth and scared to discover the limits of my powers. Especially since I really didn’t know how my magic worked. All I understood was that I wanted to heal, and the healing began.
“Have I ever told you that you have the most delightful voice?” he grinned, caging me within his arms as he started to crawl on top of me.
I giggled and fell back onto the furs beneath us. My fingers curled on either side of my head, one hand holding a blood-stained cloth. Wet hair tickled my wrists.
The cabin needed some work to feel normal again, so we opted to sleep in my alcove for the night to get some properrest. Thankfully, nature had taken care of outside cleanup on our behalf; the grove beasts and rain left a completely pristine field behind. It was like nothing ever happened out here.
After deciding on our little camping retreat for the night, we’d hurried food and as many soft items as we could to my old nook under the alcove. And now here we were, nude, smiling, legs intertwined in the first shelter we’d ever shared.
The quiet patter of rain against the leaves and the shallow creek was soothing. The air smelled fresh. Renewed. We were freshened up ourselves, having used creek water to scrub away the gore as we progressed through our healing together. Body part by body part, thought by thought, naked and raw, checking how everything felt one inch at a time. It was the most intimate, grounding experience of my life.
Bloody rag still in my hand, I dabbed away the last of the red on his shaved skull and smiled. “There, all better.”
“Thank you, Little Goddess,” he grinned, bending his neck to press his forehead against mine softly.
“I hope my fearless warrior feels well-tended to,” I chuckled, my eyes scanning him for the millionth time for any injuries.
“Very,” he murmured, a hand gripping my hip. “What if I want to tend toyounow?”
“More kisses on my ouchies?” I teased, rubbing the arch of my foot along his leg affectionately as I stared up into his eyes.
There was no way to accelerate my own recovery other than staying within my field—at least that I knew of. Although his boo-boo kisses were incredibly sweet, they didn’t remove the aches, scrapes, and cuts. The real healing Theo helped me with was internal. He encouraged me to verbally process thecomplicated feelings that today had roused. He even laughed with me at the worst of it when things felt a little too heavy to do anything but find humor in them. My head felt clearer, my strange reactions and emotions validated. I’d take that over faded bruises any day.
“Not what I meant,” he rumbled, tucking his head down to run his rough tongue between my breasts in one thorough lap.
“Oh.” I tilted my head back and parted my lips in a silent moan. “He wants to play doctor from the inside.”
“I amveryinvested in how you feel on the inside, darling,” he groaned, nuzzling his face into my skin and looking up at me with those deep walnut eyes. “If you’ll have me.”
There was a time not long ago where I’d used sex as a desperate way of grounding myself. I needed it to feel in control of my own body after an experience that had taken that away, shrouding who I was and creating a woman who was only capable of survival. Today had not been that way. It was awful,really fucking awful, but I’d felt like myself the entire time. I stayed present and protected us using skills that felt true to who I was. So, although I had a lot of pain and rage to process, I felt surprisingly resilient.
I had Theo. I had Nurghle. I had my home.I had myself.
Still, I wasn’t about to turn down a little stress relief. Just because I wasn’ttraumatized, didn’t mean it wasn’t factuallytraumatic. It would feel good to, well… feel good.
“I want to,” I breathed, meeting his dark gaze which patiently waited for the green light. The tips of his combined cocks were already pressing against my inner thigh, seeking somewhere warm and welcoming. “But I should warn you, I am really fucking tired.”
“What I’m hearing—” He pressed his face between my ear and neck. His breath whispered against my pulse while his voice rumbled in my ear. “—is my mate is tired, and needs her aftercareduringher rutting?”
“Would that be too culturally insensitive of a request? I know how much exhausting yourmatemeans to you.”
“If a female is already exhausted, then aftercare is the right thing to do.” A low note of satisfaction vibrated against my breasts. “You know how badly I need to do the right thing.”
I parted my thighs a little wider around his hips, wrapping my ankles around his soft edges. “Then do what you need to do to feelgood, baby.” Morality and pleasure: two of his favorite things. My wittiness seemed to go right over his big, horned, lustful head as he moaned and rolled his hips forward.
I felt his tips nudge my entrance, but he was gentlemanly enough to lick a finger and rub my clit instead of pushing inside yet. “How would you feel about stretching your legs after today?”
I laughed. “I don’t think they’ll spread any further for you, Theo. You’re going to have to make it work with my human hips.”
“Hmmm, that’s not exactly what I meant.”
Two hands grabbed my calves and unhooked my legs from his waist, pushing them back toward my head.
