Page 100 of A Soul to Embrace

“No. This is enough for now,” he answered, finally lifting to kneel between her legs. He pushed his shaft back inside his pants, and she wanted to pout that he was hiding it away again.

He grabbed the bottom of her dress to tug it up, and she lifted her hips to give him access. Although disappointed he’d rejected the idea of continuing, she couldn’t help being confused about why he was stripping her.

“Why are you taking this off?” she asked, as she lifted her arms for him willingly.

“Because I came all over it,” he stated with a quiet chuckle. “If we don’t clean it before it dries, it’ll stain.”

He moved to kneel beside her and slipped his arms behind her back and knees. Zylah let out a surprised squeak when he lifted her into a cradle as he stood, then walked her towards the pool in the middle of this underground pocket of earth.

Even though he took her to something that could drown her, she had full trust in him and didn’t feel the need to question what he was doing. He wouldn’t hurt her.

He carefully placed her backside on the ground with her knees together and to one side. Then he dropped into the water and began rubbing the material of her grey dress together to clean it. He did the same to his pants without removing them.

He offered her his side the entire time. His lips had lost their usual hard press, but his brows were furrowed once more. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then he averted his gaze with his ears drooping further than ever before.

She had no idea what any of that meant.

He appeared relaxed and sated, but as usual, his hidden thoughts remained guarded, even upon his face. She wished she could decipher them, and that he was easier to read.

Purple still lingered in her sight, but she scratched at the fur around her neck when shyness crept around her heart. She had questions after what just transpired between them.

Would they be able to do this again? She wanted it more than anything, especially with the way a fluffy feeling had sprouted in her chest. She liked the physical contact, and she was still in awe he could touch in so many different ways.

His lips drew her attention, and she shivered at the memory of his sharp fangs scraping against her. She doubted she’d be able to look at his face the same way now, especially when recalling the image of his head between her thighs instantly had her body pulsing. She squished them together.

I wanted his dick inside me, but he said no. Why?She didn’t understand what the issue was.But he touched me.The yearning she’d felt before had now grown claws, and they tore into her stomach with needandwith uncertainty.

After what he said in the forest, it was like he’d been planning on letting another male gain her attention. Like... he didn’t care for her.

“Does...” Zylah started, before having to stifle the urge to chitter in nervousness. Part of her wanted to cover her exposedand tingling chest, but she also didn’t find her nudity that much of an issue. It was only because he’d touched her breasts with his hands and mouth that she was suddenly bashful about them. “Does this mean you like me?”

He paused what he was doing, and staring down at her garment with both hands, he fisted it tighter. He never looked at her as he said, “I’m attracted to you, yes.”

Hope swelled behind her sternum, as did tenderness and a mess of other emotions. She tilted her head at him, as bright yellow flickered in her sight.

“I’m surprised you answered that.”

“Kind of hard to hide it now,” he answered with a dull chuckle, before turning to her.

She wished humour was present in his handsome features as he laughed, but it was missing. He waded towards where she was, and once more, she noted he was avoiding meeting her orbs.

Her tone was coy as she tried to soften her next question. “Why were you hiding it?”

He cupped handfuls of water to her chest, and the coldness of it shocked her. It didn’t take long for her to realise that he was washing away the seed that had collected on her chest. He seemed to be extra attentive to anywhere his release clung to her fur, lightly scratching to clean it.

She liked that he was caring for her in this way when she’d never considered this issue. Now that he was doing it, she knew her fur being unclean would have bothered her in the future, especially if it grew clumpy.

He is very considerate.

“There is much you still don’t know about me,” Jabez finally answered after a short bout of silence. “There are secrets I keep that I know I must share with you. Any affection you holdtowards me could subside at learning them, and I thought it best to refrain from any intimacy.”

“Oh,” Zylah muttered, her orbs sinking back to their normal teal. She fidgeted under the weight of his words as uncertainty clutched her stomach and knotted it. “So they are not pleasant?”

His lips hardened into a flat line before gentling. “No.”

He threw her dress over his shoulder and hopped out of the water. She noticed it steaming, as if he was using some kind of magic to dry it like he had done to his pants earlier. Just as she went to get up on her own, he held his hand out to her and she flinched in surprise. She gingerly took it.

“I’m not the kind of person who shares my thoughts easily,” Jabez said as he helped Zylah to her feet. “I’m also very calculating when it comes to what I disclose, and when. My intention has always been to speak with you on such matters, but it was difficult in the beginning.”

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