Page 44 of A Soul to Steal

Ever since their sexual interlude within the forest, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. What Gideon thought would be a deterrent had done the complete and utter opposite. Rather than being disturbed, he was intrigued, curious, and… desired him. He didn’t know if Aleron wanted more, but he wanted to touch him again.

Gideon wanted to try other things too.

He healed near instantly in this world, which would likely make it pain-free – allowing him to just enjoy it.

But long before that moment in the forest, something about Aleron’s heart had begun calling to him.

He’d never really been a cutesy sort of guy, but he did like nice people. Aleron was sometimes cute, especially when he was excited or jealous. His heart of gold easily touched at Gideon’s own, and Aleron’s open mind meant he was accepting of everything. Other than the violent tendencies he already learned from Aleron’s past, which seemed more animalistic than malicious, he thought… perhaps… Aleron had more pureness than anyone he’d ever met.

Aleron’s naïveté sometimes made him come across as really sweet and innocent, which was making Gideon want to corrupt him.

Rather than a murdering, human-eating entity that caused people’s hearts to stop in fear, he had this growing, deranged desire to make him a sexual deviant. One who would punishGideon with his newly discovered powers of eroticism and sensuality.

Just the thought made a thrilling tingle race down his spine.

Fucking hell, what’s wrong with me? I’ve never had thoughts about anyone like that.Then again, most of his partners had been experienced. A preference, he’d thought.

Aleron was a Duskwalker. The fact heshouldbe far more dominant than him – a measly human – but wasn’t, was damn near so erotic it had him ravenous.

However, Gideon decided to wait on him.

Other than that one moment of petting, Aleron never approached a similar subject. Days must have passed since then.

He’d shown Aleron how to wield his body, taught him about it, and had inadvertently revealed his own desire in the process. From here on out, it would have to be Aleron’s decision – and whatever that ended up being, Gideon would just help support him.

His own discovery of sexuality and sex in general hadn’t been easy. He imagined that to be a tougher battle for a Duskwalker who didn’t have a deep understanding of anything regarding lust.

I have faith that he’ll figure it out.

As they passed through the threshold of the cave’s entrance, darkness descended upon them.

Gideon let out an awkward laugh. “I just realised that we won’t be able to see without a torch.”

He’d been absentminded about not being able to see in the dark due to Tenebris’ constant brightness.

Just as he halted with the intention of turning back, a strange, dim light slowly spread just further down the large tunnel. It didn’t come up to their path, but rather grew within the distance to highlight a potential area. The light appeared to be artificial;not like how Tenebris was unnatural, but like nothing he’d ever seen.

Hesitantly, he dragged Aleron deep within the tunnel, and the light expanded.

Just beyond, the area opened up into a daunting and massive cavern.

He paused once more and blinked rapidly at what floated in the air at chest height. A little ball, no bigger than the palm of his hand, glowed. It was one of the oddest things he’d ever seen.

Black in the centre, the silhouette of it glowed with tendrils of rainbows. The light it produced was white and entirely absent of colour. It was everything and nothing all at once.

There appeared to be hundreds of them floating at different heights within the cavern.

He moved forward. Just as he intended to go around it, the presence of his body repelled it to the side, and it darted out of reach.

Those little lights revealed what lay within the cavern.

Once more, his feet halted as he took everything in. Due to its overbearing size, the first thing that caught his eye was a stone statue situated within the very centre.

It was an effigy of a woman, reaching at least four times his five-foot-eleven height. Long hair, with loose corkscrew curls, framed a feminine face with strong features. Her brows were high, her cheeks prominent, and even her jaw and chin were stern. However, her nose, full and pouted lips, and the shape of her eyes were utterly feminine and soft.

Just her face alone was breathtaking, and the person who carved it did so with care and affection, noting even the tiniest of details. Long, uneven lashes, a cowlick curl that stuck up just a little higher than the others, and a natural wrinkle that formed at the outer crease of her right eye.

Even the cloak of feathers that rested over her shoulders, the hood back but crumpled around her neck, had intricate details. The parted front allowed all those viewing it to map out the line of her body, her breasts full, her waist curved, and her hips wide. The modest dress she wore revealed only a small amount of cleavage and the long length of her left leg from just above the knee down.

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