Page 175 of A Soul to Steal

Now with freedom to move, Aleron wrapped both his big paws around Gideon’s entire hand. Running the pad of his clawed thumb over his knuckles, Aleron played with them, caressing them so lightly that it tingled. It made Gideon look down as well.

“Your hands are so little.” Those words had never been uttered to Gideon before, considering his fingers and palms were meaty from years of swinging his axe and manual labour. “Soft, and yet they do not feel delicate.”

His claws are really long.

The curved backs of them were so glossy they reflected the firelight, the tips so sharp they almost turned into needles. Yet Gideon had never been hurt with them. Aleron’s touch was always gentle, but looking down at his large, calloused hands, it seemed impossible for him to be considerate. Impossible, yet the Duskwalker proved otherwise time and time again.

The dark grey of Aleron’s flesh was stark against the fire, whereas it gave Gideon’s tanned skin an orange glow.

The protruding white knuckles drew Gideon’s curious attention until something else caused him to bite the corner of his lips. The way Aleron’s tendons moved as he explored Gideon’s fingers showed utter strength, as did the thick, pumping veins that played across them.

From walking on them for years, it’d seemed he’d trained his hands to be massive, muscled, and fierce.

Underneath all the fur and feathers, was Aleron hiding an attractively muscular body? Right now, he just looked like a giant fluffy teddy. He even felt like it with how cosy Gideon was nestled against him.

Cute but dangerous. That was how Gideon had begun seeing him.

But that hand... he found it far more enticing than he should have. Gideon even wondered what it would look like wrappedaround his cock in a tight, claw-tipped fist. He bet he’d nearly hold him from base to tip, with just the head popping through.

Holy shit,Gideon mentally cursed, covering his mouth with his free palm and looking away.Why the hell am I the one having perverted thoughts right now?He peeked at Aleron’s orbs, finding them to be bright pink, rather than purple with desire.

Annoyed that he seemed to be the only one growing aroused, his dick jerking and thickening in his trousers, Gideon lifted a knee to hide it.

It’s just a hand.Okay, a pretty nice one, butstill.

Something was wrong with his heart. It shouldn’t be acting up over this, thumping his chest frantically.Just the day before, he’d had this Duskwalker’s cum in his mouth. Innocently holding each other’s hand shouldn’t even make him bat an eye.

Aleron finally moved away to wrap his arms across Gideon’s torso. It didn’t escape his notice that one large palm had snuck under his tunic and jacket to cup underneath his pectoral muscle, the length of Aleron’s fingers wrapping around his ribs. The other hand just held his hip.

Then Aleron bumped the side of his jaw against his own, and the big guy let out a little quake. He did it harder, like he wanted to score the bone with his short facial hair.

“Spikey. It is like you are scratching and tickling me at the same time.”

The pure innocence of this embrace, what the Duskwalker was doing and just said, touched Gideon’s very being. It petted his mind in a way it’d never been caressed before.

It made his chest tighten with tenderness, but his gut clenched with a painful knot.Is this all he’s wanted to do this entire time? Just fucking hold me and rub his skull against me?Once more, the overwhelming feeling of guilt tried to wrap around his throat.

Before he could linger on it, Aleron’s claws had Gideon bursting out with laughter. He wriggled and twisted his back.

“That tickles!” he hissed through clenched teeth, trying to escape the fingers moving up and down his side.

“You smell nice, and your hair is a nice colour,” Aleron stated, ignoring Gideon as he lifted and began gnawing on some of the strands.

When he realised the Duskwalker was purposefully messing with him, Gideon went to get up. He was pulled back down, and Aleron stopped tickling him and nibbling his hair.

Yet Aleron’s light chuckle deflated any irritation, and he ended up laughing with him.

“I will stop. Just stay.” Then the Duskwalker tentatively licked across the side of his neck. When Gideon didn’t stop him, Aleron did it again more confidently until he became incessant. “I just wish to hug you.”

Aleron was doing more than that, and yet... not enough?

It’s like he’s trying to pull me in every direction.Wringing his emotions until he’d twisted out all the ones Aleron didn’t want to remain.

When one of his clawed hands dipped down Gideon’s stomach to graze his flesh, it brushed over his scars. He thought that would bother him, as he hadn’t liked being reminded of them before. However, all he could think about was how Aleron just placed his palm low but didn’t go any further down.

The heat of it sent a tingle down to his groin, like the mildest, incidental tease.

All his life, Gideon usually let his feelings be captured before his body, but all this just made him internally ache. His dick was hard, seeming to tell him what his brain couldn’t, and it almost felt... easier to use his body. To give into it and let it lead the way. Give instincts and need the reins.

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