But the other…
The other was waiting.
That was the one I feared.The one that would only emerge forher.Once she was ready.
Clare kissed me again.
Slow, tender, exploratory.Her lips moved against mine with no urgency, no pressure.Just shared heat, and care, and that maddening scent that had sunk into my blood like a drug.
I wanted more of her.Everything.And I would give my all to her.
I could feel her legs still wrapped around my waist, the press of her breasts against my chest.Her skin was fever-warm against mine.
I was no longer as cold as I had been.It wasn’t just her body warmth that was doing the trick.It was the heat between us, intangible and yet more effective than anything a thermometer could track.
My tail twitched.Without thought, the tip slipped from the blanket and brushed the edge of her thigh.She shivered – not in fear, but in reaction.Encouragement.
Carefully, slowly, I brought the tip up, circling behind her back and curving along her spine.She arched slightly.My tail slid higher, teasing the edge of the scarf she’d left wrapped around her chest.
“Is this alright?”I murmured.
She nodded.Breathless.“More than.”
I let the tip of my tail flick gently over one breast, the fabric of the scarf slipping with each pass.Her breath hitched, and her hips shifted against me.
I groaned.“Clare…”
She looked up at me, eyes dark and steady.“Yes?”
“I’m close to a line I can’t uncross.”
Her hands slid down to rest on my hips, just above where the blanket pooled.“Then tell me what that line is.”
I exhaled shakily.“You know I’m not built like you.”
“I gathered.”She smiled – teasing, warm.“Explain it to me.”
I swallowed.This was not a conversation I ever expected to have like this, especially not while every instinct in me was sharpening to a point.
“I have… two,” I said at last.“Cocks.Usually inverted.They only emerge when needed.”
Her brow rose, but she said nothing.She was listening.
“I can control one,” I continued.“It’s… compatible.It responds to arousal, readiness, choice.”
“And the other?”
I hesitated.
“The other only comes out for a fated mate.I can’t summon it.I can’tnotsummon it.If it starts… I’ll know.”
“And so will I?”she asked.
I nodded.
Her lips parted slightly.“And is it… starting?”
I looked down at her, at the way she was pressed against me, breathing fast but not afraid.