Page 131 of A Soul to Steal

When the hemp ball caught little glowing flecks, he fell to his forearms to blow on it. Once it was lit, he used a spare stick to shove it within the depths of the wood he’d placed in a cone shape.

“Didn’t you mention that your kind can use magic?” Gideon then asked. “Shouldn’t you be able to just click your fingers and make some fire?”

Aleron tipped his head. “I have never used magic before, so I do not know if I can do this.”

Yes, he’d mentioned that Mavka could use magic, but he didn’t actually know any spells or the extent of his capabilities. The closest he had gotten was changing his form and sheathinghis claws, and Ingram had demonstrated those.

Oh, apparently there was body changing magic he could do to penetrate his partner by shoving his claws into their abdomen, but he didn’t know why that’d been necessary to learn. Gideon had taken his cock just fine within Tenebris.

Perhaps Emerie had not been a good teacher, like Gideon. Ingram must not have prepared her properly.

When the wood finally caught fire, Aleron cast it an envious glare of green orbs. He’d been hoping it would never light, so that Gideon would be forced to seek his warmth. As much as he would have liked to draw his little human into his side and blanket him with his wing, he didn’t.

His wings meant a lot to him, and being horribly rejected for them once was enough to stop him from trying a second time. He didn’t want to violate Gideon’s space and make him feel suffocated by his need to embrace his little human with them.

He would like his bride to request it from him – although that seemed increasingly unlikely. He’d rather make fire.

“Ah, that’s a little better,” he rasped, wiggling his fingers at the heat coming from it. “This should also dry you.”

He waved for Aleron to approach, and his heart leapt at the invitation to come closer. That was, until Gideon immediately stood and walked away as he removed his jacket. He spread it out on the floor.

Why ask me to come closer only to leave?he grumbled, his sight flaring red in annoyance. Then it turned dark yellow when Gideon grabbed the hem of his cream shirt and lifted it.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting warm. I need to remove my wet clothes and dry them, otherwise I’ll just keep freezing,” he answered, grunting as the wet fabric clung to his chest and arms.

Struggling to remove it, he flashed Aleron the muscled plane of his abdomen. The trail of hair from his navel down to his pants had him licking the inside of his mouth.

When he finally removed it, his back was to Aleron as he laid it on the ground beside the jacket.

Aleron hissed out a breath when his wings tightened nervously against his back and the right one shot pain down his spine. As much as he wanted to stare openly at his bride’s naked torso, especially since his dipping back muscles flexed and danced, he couldn’t.

The last time he’d seen Gideon without a shirt had been the day they arrived back to Earth, and before that... this human had been naked, content, and thoroughly fucked, as he laughed within his wings. Now just the barest peek felt like too much, and it brought on wildly conflicting emotions and desires.

He wanted to reach out and glide his claws up his bride’s spine, knowing he enjoyed it, but Aleron was too scared. When he stood and faced the fire, revealing his chest and the dusting of hair covering it, he wanted to drag him closer and lick at his little pale-pink nipples.

Aleron wanted to play with his bride, but knew he would only be hurt if he tried. He longed to just hold his hand – what hope did he have for more?

From the corner of his sight, Gideon did something that had his mouth going dry. He reached for the ties of his pants and undid them. Aleron’s heart sprinted in his chest cavity. Although he tried not to look, he found his skull turning to him. Gideon lowered his trousers, revealing white shorts that had turned see-through in some areas due to the rainwater.

His fur and feathers puffed despite their drenched state when Gideon bent over to lay his pants down near the fire as well! The shorts were tight against the cleft of his ass when he leaned forward before crouching, and it revealed more than it hid.

Purple flashed in his sight, and he choked back the sudden saturation of drool within his maw. He turned away, looked up at the ceiling, and just hoped for strength.

Too much had happened since returning to life, and all of it had prevented him from having lustful thoughts for Gideon. Now he was almost completely naked, and Aleron wanted more.

Yet, no matter what he wanted, he... knew it was one-sided. It radiated a coldness within his heart that had his sight returning to its normal pink colouring, cooling the desirous heat that had started to swell. Even his cock stopped twitching.

Gideon’s scent warming from the fire, so decadent and lush, made him feel like he was breathing in ash. His smell was always at the tip of his snout, but he wanted it on his tongue for the first time.

He does not want this from me.

Aleron was only truly permitted to touch when he cradled him for flight. It was the only chance he had to embrace his bride, and he did so tightly and with affection, even if the little human didn’t know it.

The constant restriction acted like a set of chains around his torso. They constricted him, ached his whole being until he found it difficult to evenbreathe. They were weighty, cold, and made him feel undeniably alone at times, despite his bride being right next to him.

Seemingly unaware of how his near nudity affected Aleron, Gideon turned with his hands on his narrow hips. His thumbs dipped into the hip and pelvis lines that ran lower, and led towards the darker hair covering his groin. Somehow, his wet hair being brushed back made him appear even more handsome than he did just a second ago.

---