Page 32 of Bizarre Bonds
A strained sound escapes me. Pleasure tremors through my veins. I grip Peri’s thigh, swivel my hand over her breast, pound into her again?—
We shatter apart at the exact same time: my cock erupting inside her, her channel clamping around the shaft with a blissful shudder that shakes her entire body.
My mind blanks with the rush of the release. The crackling pleasure whirls between us—mine, hers, ours—utterly consuming me and yet melding me with her.
We collapse onto my bed in a sweaty heap. Peri snuggles close to me, her hair beaming warm pink now.
“It’s even better like that. One good thing from this accident.”
“Everything about you is good,” I mutter against her skin.
And with her, in these moments when we’re entwined, I feel like maybe I could be good too.
If only I could be sure my endless venom will never poison her light.
12
Periwinkle
Jonah’s voice flows through the trailer’s small interior, calm and steady. “Think of something that relaxes you. A particular setting or scenery, or maybe a specific smell or sort of music.”
We all have our eyes closed, but I sense Mirage perking up with a hint of interest. “The gasps when I’ve startled someone just right!”
Our teacher’s tone turns dry. “That isn’t what I’d have thought of, but if it’s what you find most soothing, go with it. But let’s keep our personal imagery to ourselves so everyone can concentrate.”
Another thin waft of the emotions he’s been giving off since we arrived near the city-side rift trickles through me: lightly sour like watered down orange juice. Pale amusement drizzled with sharper frustration.
“Right, right,” Mirage murmurs, abashed. There’s a rustle that I suspect is him jerking his finger past his lips in a zipping motion.
My own lips tick upward with a smile at his playfulness, but I yank my focus back to the task at hand. Time to figure out my own relaxing imagery.
I’ve gone through this sort of meditative exercise before with Shanty in our one-on-one tutoring sessions. I’ve tried thinking of parks full of laughing humans or snuggling under soft blankets on my bed, but no matter where my mind goes, memories of some trouble that turned up in that setting seep in too.
The last time I visited a park on my own, I accidentally blasted out a flare of happiness and blinded a bunch of mortals. I’ve enjoyed wonderful interludes with Raze in my dorm bedroom, but it’s also the place Gloss splattered with her bloody, gristly prank.
I guess that’s a long way of saying a lot of things in the past month have sucked.
I can’t let that get me down. There has to be some sensation no blasts or bullies have left dirty fingerprints on.
What can I think of that’s only cozy calmness?
I grope through idea after idea, but none of them give me the reassurance I know Jonah wants us to find. If anything, I’m getting more anxious at the thought that I’m failing even in my own head.
Maybe I can’t go with anything all that personal. Something bland and innocuous should do fine.
I picture the vast blue sky dotted with a few fluffy white clouds, as if I’m gazing up at it while sprawled in a wide-open field. The clouds drift like dandelion fluffs in a gentle breeze. Everything is clear and bright.
Mmm, the clouds look almost like cotton candy. That spun sugar melting on my tongue…
The itch in my nerves dwindles. There, that worked well enough.
A deeper swell of relief reaches me from where Hail is sitting on the floor behind me, though it’s tainted with a trace of melancholy that’s tart as an unripe peach.
What does the winter fae take comfort in, and why does it make him a little sad too?
I don’t think I can ask without him glaring at me. Anyway, as Jonah just pointed out, we’re supposed to be minding our own business for this exercise.
The sorcerer’s words wind around us again. “You look like you’ve all settled in reasonably well. I want you to remember the imagery you’re picturing and how it feels. Sink into it and let go of anything that’s bothering you. When you have the urge to release your powers in a situation when it wouldn’t be wise or fair, reach for that place of calm. It’ll take some practice, but it can help you diffuse harmful impulses before you act on them.”
