Page 109 of Cosmic Soul

“Zoltilvoxfyn, release him,” Kalvoxrencol ordered.

“Caleb,” Seth cried.

I ignored them both.

Arching, he pressed a light kiss to the corner of my lips, sending sparks through me. “Sunshine,” he whispered. His fingers slid up and down my back, the pressure hard, hard enough to be unpleasant, but that wasn’t what bothered me. The movements were achingly familiar. The pattern—up my spine, across my shoulders, and down my sides. I knew this. This was not something I’d told anyone, nor had Caleb. No one but us knew.

“Caleb?” I asked, barely believing it.

A bright smile pulled on his lips. “Sunshine.”

Something snapped in my mind and sent me reeling like I’d been punched. This was Caleb. My Caleb. He was nothing like I remembered or expected, but all the same, he was mine. He’dcrossed the universe for me. He fought off oblivion for me. He, against all odds, found life again for me. All for me.

I gripped his cheeks and pressed my lips against his. He moaned, and I swallowed the sound, feasting on it. I swiped my tongue against his. Thrusting in and out, I claimed his mouth. I went to the hem of his tunic and tried to yank it off, but his wings were out, blocking my efforts. Frustrated, I shredded the fabric with my claws; it came apart with ease.

Caleb clutched my back, hard enough to the point of pain. He probably didn’t know how to regulate his strength. That was something we would worry about later. I needed Caleb, and I needed him right now. I did not care if Seth and Kalvoxrencol were still there. I did not care that we were in the garden for anyone to see. Caleb was mine. I’d thought he was gone, but in truth, he’d been fighting to come back to me. I would never deserve the loyalty and love he had for me.

He trembled beneath me, and his hard cock pressed against mine through his trousers. I rutted into him, and he gasped. My lips wandered over his face and down the wide column of his neck. I pushed his head to the side to nibble on the tight tendons.

“Permissions,” I demanded.

“What?”

“Your permissions. I need them now before I take you.”

He did not answer me, so I pulled back. His eyes were wide, pupils blown. Tremors wracked his body, and his wings hugged his sides. I glanced down, and his tail was hugging his leg. Caleb was afraid. Why? He didn’t fear me. Or did he?

His hips bucked into mine. “Why did you stop?”

“You wish for me to continue?”

“Of course.” His shaking hands pulled me closer.

Suddenly, I understood. Caleb had no idea what his own body was telling him. It had been over twenty cycles since he’d hadone, and he’d never been a drakcol. He didn’t understand the signs.

I gently kissed him, keeping the pressure soft and the tempo slow. I traced his lips with my tongue, tasting him, then nipped the bottom one, drawing it into my mouth and sucking. Caleb moaned beneath me, hips canting against mine, but the tension in his body didn’t leave no matter what I did.

“Let’s go to our quarters,” I said against his ear, and Caleb shivered, drawing away. I stood, my erection tenting the front of my trousers. As much as I burned for Caleb, I wanted him to be comfortable more. He was far more important than the flash of lust raging through me.

Besides, as I glanced at him, then quickly away, I still had a hard time accepting the drakcol in front of me as Caleb. He wasn’t my Caleb. I should be grateful, and I was, yet I longed for a smiling face with bright blue eyes and creamy skin.

Hooking my arms beneath him, I helped him up. He grimaced, making my soul scream in terror. “Did I injure you?” If I’d hurt him, I would never forgive myself.

“No. I—Yolkeltod’s body was in an accident. It's still recovering.”

I traced the scar on the side of his head, and he shivered. “This is Yolkeltod?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

He lifted and lowered his shoulders. “The Crystal. I guess.”

That was as good an answer as any. I wrapped my tail around his, and he shied away, yelping. A needle stabbed me at the rejection.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “The tail is even more sensitive.”

“Ah.”

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