He gave me a mock glare. “I have a high metabolism.”

I laughed. “Sure. Well, I could go for a sandwich. Want me to go out and get some?”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll order us some.” He fumbled to pull his phone out of his pocket, lifting his hips, which immediately drew my gaze to the thick length still snaking down his pant leg.

My tongue pressed hard to the roof of my mouth. God, I wanted to see his dick now. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to see how the barbs on it swirled down his length—all the demiurgus in the videos had had different patterns. They were kind of beautiful, in a way.

But Greid needed time to process. And he was high. Maybe once we were really comfortable with each other and I knew his reactions well in a sexual situation, I’d be comfortable doing stuff with him after he’d smoked a little. It wasn’t like shade was mind-altering, it just made him loose and relaxed. And hungry. But then again, Greid was always hungry.

Tomorrow, I decided. Maybe once we’d discussed the rest, he’d be comfortable enough for me to play with his dick. Make him come.

Well, I thought slyly, watching as he tapped on his phone. Make him come eventually.

I was definitely going to be bringing up edging tomorrow.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Thirty

Beryl

Greid ended up working until gone 10 p.m., and when he finally emerged from his workshop and shuffled into the living room, he looked so tired that I knew we wouldn’t be having any more intense discussions today.

I heated up the dinner I’d ordered for him—I’d actually gotten a bit worried when he didn’t even emerge for food at any point—and curled up beside him as he started wolfing down the enormous portion of lasagne.

“Did you manage to get it finished?” I asked him, firing up Gloom Falls on the TV.

“All the metalwork, yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “My vision’s gone blurry from those fucking goggles.”

I squeezed his thigh in sympathy, then sat back to let him eat in peace. When he finished, he reached for his smoking tin and started rolling a joint, then froze.

“Oh, wait.” His tired eyes darted to me. “Did you, um, want to talk about—”

“Not tonight.” I grabbed another blanket and tucked it over his lap. “You’re tired. There’s no rush.”

“Yeah, I… guess not,” he said in a hoarse voice, which made my mouth twitch as I glanced at him.

But a minute later, he was relaxing back into the couch as he took deep drags of his joint, exhaling each one with a sated sigh. He slumped down further, and further, until his head tipped onto my shoulder.

My chest squeezed tight. Pressing a kiss to his hair, I squeezed my arm behind him so I could play with the long strands. After finishing his joint, he snuggled into me deeper, and eventually ended up with his head in my lap and his long limbs curled up under the blankets.

I sensed it the moment he fell asleep, his head becoming a little heavier as he stopped watching the TV, his body going completely loose. I continued playing with his hair as I grabbed the remote and put on an episode of Our Neighbours the Humans that we’d already watched, because I didn’t want to keep watching Gloom Falls without him.

I wasn’t at all tired yet, seeing as I’d spent the day lazing around doing nothing. My legs were starting to ache, but I didn’t want to move, especially when Greid shifted in his sleep, a long arm curling around my leg as if he wanted to hug it to him.

Fierce, possessive longing rose inside me. He was so sweet. Kind and affectionate and generous. I genuinely could not understand how Agma hadn’t been able to appreciate him—all of him. But at the same time, I knew that people were wired differently. What worked for one didn’t work for another.

I thought Greid and I would work well. So well.

We were already so close, despite the relatively short time we’d known each other. But living together didn’t leave much room for mystery, and besides, I liked that he knew me better than anyone bar my aunt. It was still a novelty for me to be able to just be myself, to not always have to watch my words or make sure I was acting a certain way around others. Greid just accepted me and didn’t expect anything more. I’d never had that before.

Something about his submissive nature called to me, made me want to give him anything he wanted, fulfil all his desires. But not just in a sexual way. I wanted to look after him in all the ways I could. I wanted to make him happy.

I was already starting to feel the urge to go out and explore the city more, maybe go to a bar, not the one I worked at, for some drinks, or out to dinner. But I would never force Greid to go with me. I could make other friends for that. And I didn’t want to do it often, I just wanted to experience it all. But I knew that this—staying in with him, just being together in the quiet, lounging around in our comfortable PJs—would be what I craved most nights. It already was.

Greid’s leg kicked out from under the blanket, his socked foot twitching rapidly. I suppressed a chuckle and went still when he started squirming, but he just shifted around onto his other side and settled again with a long exhale, burying his face in my belly.

I kept my fingers in his hair, lazily sifting through the strands, and I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I felt him stir. My eyes were drooping, legs stiff from staying in the same position for so long. But I smiled down at him when he snorted and blearily lifted his head, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

“Shit, sorry,” he croaked, scrubbing his face as he sat up and yawned. His jaw cracked open wide, showing me all his back teeth.

“It’s okay.” I reached up and pushed back the strands of hair caught on his face spikes. He turned his cheek into my palm, yellow eyes drooping shut again. “Maybe you should go to bed.”

“Yeah.” He swung his legs off the couch and stopped again, swaying a little. I knew that kind of exhaustion, where every tiny movement felt like it expended all your energy. I remembered it from long, backbreaking days working on the vineyards.

Greid yawned again and rubbed his eye with a fist, and god, I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go. I wanted to take care of him.

But I couldn’t invite myself into his bed, even just to sleep. I really, really wanted to spoon myself against Greid’s back all night and feel the warmth of him soaking into my skin, but he probably wasn’t ready for that. I hadn’t even seen his room.

Pushing off all the blankets, I stood and stretched, then held out a hand to help him up.

“I’ll blow out all the candles and lock up,” I told him. “You go to bed.”

“’Kay,” he mumbled, already shuffling for the door. He must have been really tired. He usually rushed to do everything before I could. But then he stopped and fidgeted. “Night, Beryl.”

“Goodnight, Greid.”

He still didn’t move, shyness creeping into his face, so I walked over to him. The moment I was in reach, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I sighed with pleasure, melting into him.

“Your hair always smells so good,” he mumbled, sounding half asleep as he sagged and dipped his head to press his lips and nose to the crown of my head.

I chuckled. “Thanks.”

After a few more seconds, I felt him drop a kiss in my hair before he released me and stepped back. “Night, berry.”

My mouth twitched. “Berry?”

“Beryl. Sorry. Slipped out.” His ears gave a weak flutter, but he was too tired to be embarrassed. I watched as he turned and dragged his feet across the hall into his own room, and once the door had shut behind him, I went around blowing out all the candles before turning off the TV.