“Well, the contortionist is safe but we have another problem,” Nelson said, coming back into his office.
I stopped glaring at Tallis and turned my attention back to Nelson. He stood beside his desk, tapping his finger on a stack of papers.
“What’s wrong?” Tallis demanded gruffly.
“There’s been a landslide, not too far from here. Only about a mile away,” he said somberly.
“A landslide? Is anyone hurt?” I asked, perking up.
“It happened late at night when no one was around. It does cover the road we were going to take to our next location, but no one was injured,” Nelson assured with a nod.
I sighed and relaxed into the chair. The landslide must have been on my pack territory. They weren’t common, but I rembered one from my childhood that hurt a lot of people. I was relieved to learn that it hadn’t caused a lot of casualties this ti.
“The road isn’t a well traveled road, but It will be a while before they clear it, so we will be stuck here until it is cleared,” he explained, “Anyway, we aren’t planning to leave until the ceremony ends. So hopefully by then, the roads are cleared.”
Tallis nodded in understanding. I couldn’t tell whether he was upset about the news or not. For so reason, I was a bit happy.
“Now, because space is tight, your little friend is going to have to bunk with you, Tallis,” Nelson said, winking at again and swiftly changing the subject.
“What? No. That is unacceptable,” Tallis argued, shaking his head. His brow creased deeply.
“You know how it is. The two of us are the only ones with actual rooms. The rest of the perforrs share a tent out on the lawn,” Nelson said, arching an eyebrow at Tallis.
He grumbled and shook his head. Clearly he didn’t like that idea either.
“If that doesn’t appeal to you either, he can always stay with ,” Nelson suggested, smirking at his brother.
Tallis snorted and glared at the floor.
It was a bit odd to have Nelson refer to as ‘he.’ I needed to get used to it now that I was in disguise. Normally, when I was in disguise, I tried to avoid interacting with anyone. It had been to prevent people from recognizing , not for to role play long-term.
“Those are all our options,” Nelson shrugged.
“Fine, he will stay with ,” he ground out through gritted teeth, his jaw tensing, eyes refusing to et mine.
I glanced over at Nelson who smirked again and winked at . My jaw loosened as I realized he’d planned that whole setup. He really wanted to spend the night in a room with Tallis.
Maybe this was going too far. I didn’t even want to know what was going through Nelson’s mind...
Tallis made it clear he didn’t care what anyone else thought of him, but his brother was ddling with his love life now, and things could get very sticky and complicated. Maybe I was better off staying at the pack and putting up with Hawke...
“Then it is settled. The two of you will bunk together. I’m going to head off to bed and I’m going to assu the two of you will do the sa,” Nelson said. He gave us a casual wave and left.
Sighing, I got to my feet and stretched, my back popping. Tallis was still standing there, looking grumpy. He might not have been tired, but I was exhausted.
I yawned, heavily hinting that I was ready to go to bed.
“Co on,” he said forcefully, motioning for to follow him with a hand.
We headed across the big event tent to where there was another small room closed off by thick, velvety curtains. It was a cramped room with just one twin sized bed, which hardly fit in the small space uncomfortably.
Imdiately, I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. I yawned again and rubbed my weary eyes.
When I looked at Tallis, he was standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets, his head turned toward the curtain door. Being inside a tent, there weren’t any real doors or windows anywhere. It was a little stuffy.
“If you’re really that miserable about having bunk with you, you had other options,” I pointed out.
“You’re tired. You should rest,” he told firmly.
I noticed how he didn’t really answer my question. He also refused to look at . I laid down on the bed and looked up at the tent ceiling, red velvet.
Tallis still hadn’t moved and I wondered if I was being too needy or presumptuous, taking his bed. I got up and sat down on the ground. Tallis still didn’t say anything, so I curled up and closed my eyes.
It was probably too much to expect him to be a gentleman and actually offer the bed to . He didn’t seem like the selfless type. When he didn’t say anything at all, it was hard to tell what he was thinking or what he wanted to do.
I could have been lying on a bed or razor sharp rocks and it wouldn’t have mattered. For the first ti in days, I actually felt as long as he was here, there wasn’t anything I needed to worry about, and that I could finally take a good night of rest.
With that thought, my body relaxed, my eyes dropped instantly and I fell asleep.
***
*Theo*
I kept my eyes averted until Ciana’s breathing evened out. Glancing at her, I saw her chest rising and falling evenly. Her eyelids rippled as underneath, her eyes shifted back and forth. She must have been dreaming already.
Even with the makeup that made her look like a boy, I could see her real beauty underneath. I wished she’d wash that crap off. Right now, I was Tallis, I wasn’t Theo. I couldn’t ask her why she was disguised as a boy or anything else that would make her think I was curious about her.
In her sleep, Ciana sighed and rolled onto her back stretching her legs out on the ground. She looked peaceful but I knew she’d have a sore back in the morning from sleeping on the ground.
Wind whipped through the tent and she shuddered. Turning on her side again, Ciana hugged her knees to her chest and shivered in the cold air.
I chewed the inside of my cheek and glanced around. Could I really just leave her on the ground to freeze? No, I couldn’t.
I sighed, stepped forward, scooped her up and brought her over to that tiny, sorry excuse for a bed I’d been sleeping on.
Ciana mumbled sothing in her sleep and curled into , whispering sothing about warmth.
A smile tugged at my lips, but I fought it off.
Her delicate fingers tightened around my shirt as I lowered her onto the bed. She nuzzled her nose against my chest and wouldn’t let go.
Carefully, I tried to pull back once I was sure the thin, springy mattress was supporting her. On second thought, that horrible mattress was probably less comfortable than the ground...
Ciana muttered a protest and her hands pulled on my shirt. I wasn’t balanced and I fell on top of her.
Before I could move, she had her arms and legs locked around like a boa constrictor. Clearly, she’d been spending too much ti with Perceval.
I swallowed my irritated groan, realizing there was no way I could get away from her without waking her. Seeing as I was supposed to be a stranger, if she woke up and found us like this, she might freak out and I’d have a lot of explaining to do.
The warmth of her body pressed against and her fingers clung desperately to my shirt. Despite myself, the heavy organ between my legs stiffened and pressed against her leg.
Damn it! This was going to be a long, torturous night.
Sighing, I tried to relax. I could feel every inch of her body pressing against , her arms and legs clenching around as she dreamt. My pants tightened and my desire ached for release. It should have been driving crazy but I found I was addicted to being close to her, if only to feel sothing pleasant.
It was dangerous... I warned myself, but no matter how I tried, my body wouldn’t move an inch away.
Ciana nuzzled her head against my neck. Her nose brushed my skin, her soft breath tickled down my throat. I swallowed hard, clenching my muscles against the desire to grab her and pull her closer.
Flashes of when we’d been together in the Moonlit Crystal realm surfaced in my mind. I could so clearly rember how warm and wet she’d felt, completely surrounding and sucking deep inside.
I bit my lip to stifle the equally pleased and annoyed groan that rose in my throat.
Fuck, how I wanted her!
I wanted to claim her body in the real world, not just in that vision we’d acted out.
Her warm lips grazed against my neck and she sighed, her head tilting back slightly. I caught a glimpse of her plump, pink lips, slightly parted in her sleep.
I’d felt her lips before. I knew well how warm and soft they were, and what feelings they elicited within .
Again, I swallowed hard. Try as I might, I couldn’t pull my eyes from her inviting lips. With her head tilted back, she was perfectly angled toward , waiting.
Like a man possessed, I leaned in and pressed mine to hers.
Ciana moaned in her sleep and squird against . Her legs tightened around my hips and she rolled her body against mine.
Heat flared through and my throbbing cock was ready to burst at any mont.
I jerked my head away from her, breathing heavily. She still slept on, mumbling sothing incoherent as her arms got even tighter around .
I’d had trouble with self-control lately. My powers had been all over the place, but it wasn’t my fatal powers that I was concerned about right now.
It was the burning desire.
What was I doing?! Kissing a young woman in her sleep?! Theodore Crimson, how despicable you were!
Reluctantly, I pulled away from Ciana. There was nowhere else I would rather be than locked in her warm, enticing embrace all night. I was still concerned about how she’d react if she woke up.
The last ti we’d been in a situation like that, she’d freaked out. I hadn’t realized how big of a deal it was for her then. I wasn’t going to make that sa mistake now.
When I stood up, she sighed and reached to the empty space, like she was searching for to pull back. There was a mont where I thought about throwing it all away and just falling into her embrace again.
But I couldn’t.
Sighing, I turned away from her.
It was better to let her rest.
I left the room desperately searching for a cold shower.
#
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