Chapter Seven

He released Zyke’s wrists, leaning back to feel the cock below his ass that was just as hard and insistent as it had been before. It didn’t seem so intimidating anymore with Zyke beneath him and close to breaking, and Vale straddling him. Maybe they should have tried it like this in the first place.

Reaching behind him, he guided the tip to his entrance. This time it was easy to find, his rim still soft, with fresh slickness weeping from him as his own cock firmed again. He braced himself, willing himself to relax as he rocked back, slowly leaning more and more pressure on that single spot.

It didn’t take nearly as much force to take him the second time. It popped through in the same way, the ridge of the head locking inside him as the first inches slid deep with a few other nubs already resting inside.

His chest heaved as he paused, his legs trembling as he held himself upright. The pain was fleeting this time, too, settling to a soft glow that had him throbbing. Zyke didn’t exactly fit, but the nubs were surprisingly pleasant as he shifted, taking just a tiny bit more.

Zyke lay frozen, his eyes wide and his lips parted in a pant that Vale could agree with. He might as well have run a marathon from the way he was breathing, his heart pounding beneath Vale’s fingertips where he braced his hands against Zyke’s chest.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

He settled farther, taking the next few inches that filled him up more than any toy ever had. He was already so deep, with so much more to go before he hit that knot that would lock them together.

“I—is it okay?” asked Vale, his voice trembling as he tried to take another inch, only to yelp and pull up when it ached somewhere inside. Something dragged as one of the nubs slipped out of him, the smoothness not smooth at all anymore. He shivered at the sensation, sliding back and forth over the spot a few times just to feel it again.

Zyke nodded, flexing his hands where he was digging into Vale’s hips. He didn’t pull or push, instead resting there as Vale took his time.

When Vale sank back along that same inch, this time it slid inside with little resistance, something in him shifting—opening. His eyes rolled back, his hips stuttering as he was suddenly right at the edge of orgasm, slamming his hips the rest of the way down.

Throbbing, he came, his cock twitching and spurting as slick trickled from his entrance, coating Zyke more than he already was. He jerked his legs, clinging tight as he threw his head back, the scream caught in his throat.

“Fuck, you’re so deep. Why are you so fucking big? Why do I like it so much?” He clawed at Zyke’s chest, whimpering as he came down. “I’m not sure if I can do that again.”

He was suddenly powerless, his limbs stretching over loose bones and skin that barely kept him contained. He wasn’t sure if he could lift himself or even rock back and forth to get Zyke off. He was just a heap of nerves, stripped raw and weak.

“Is it enough?” asked Vale, shifting so his head was hanging low between his trembling arms. All his weight was on Zyke, his ass as close as it could ever get—or so he thought.

Zyke gripped Vale’s hips, rolling and shifting that little bit deeper. It burned, aching in a way he’d never thought possible. He could split apart, but it still didn’t cover the sensation that consumed him, pinpointed at their connection.

“Okay?” asked Zyke, his voice so gentle as he slowly sat up, holding Vale in his lap and tugging him close. He stroked the back of Vale’s neck with one hand, the touch so much softer than he’d ever been.

They may have been gentle with each other before, being careful in the past because of their difference in size and strengths, but they were never soft. This was something dangerous—saying they were something more than just friends.

He couldn’t bring himself to care, closing his eyes and drifting with the gentle rocking that he could imagine was a boat lost at sea, searching for the same thing he was. Every few thrusts, something dragged inside as one of the nubs slipped in or out of him, bringing him closer and closer to another edge.

“Hurts?”

Vale opened his eyes at the sound of Zyke’s voice, leaning so he could look into his face. His own cheeks were wet, but he wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t scared or hurt anymore. He just was.

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” He gasped as Zyke slipped a little farther out before immediately sliding deep again. “Feels good…really good.” Those nubs were going to be the death of him, stroking over his insides and bringing something alive that he hadn’t known existed.

Zyke beamed, nosing against his throat before kissing him and making him shiver. Vale gripped his shoulders, rocking a bit as he gained a bit of strength back. His cock hadn’t stopped aching the entire time, ready again, even if he wasn’t.

“Just like that,” said Vale, bouncing a little as Zyke shifted, and he brushed the spot that had fire lighting on his skin. On the next thrust, he missed it, but Vale arched, leaning back until the head of Zyke’s cock slammed right against it.

“I—” He really did scream this time as he came, his hips jerking and sending Zyke’s cock into his prostate over and over. Zyke suddenly gripped him hard, pulling him in tighter as something swelled.

If he had thought it had hurt the first moment, it was nothing compared to now as Zyke’s knot swelled wide, locking him in place. He couldn’t breathe, his heart hammering and his mouth open wide in a silent breathless gasp. It hurt so fucking good.

Zyke grunted, closing his eyes and flexing his grip as something warm and wet flooded Vale with an insistence that spread him wide. It kept going—filling, aching, until he collapsed against Zyke’s chest, barely conscious or alive, as far as he was concerned. Their connection tugged painfully from the angle, forcing him to curl his body, lest it break him.

“You okay, Vale?”

Vale grunted, hating the clarity of Zyke’s voice. He hated the position more, now that Zyke was back to himself. Vale could have been the only one to stop it, and he’d failed.

Guilt sank deep into him, churning his gut and turning the comforting weight in his belly into nausea.

“That was…good?” said Zyke.

Vale wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a statement or a question. Either way, it was completely inaccurate.

It was the best fucking thing he could have ever imagined. He never would have thought his body was meant to go through something like that—something so primal that overwrote every textbook he’d ever read and every sane moment he’d had in his life.

“I guess,” said Vale, turning his face into Zyke’s chest and closing his eyes against the wince as Zyke’s cock twitched. He couldn’t catch the embarrassing moan, or the dribble of slick that somehow made it past the knot that was plugging him. How humiliating.

“I don’t think I’ll need to go again, if you were worried about it,” said Zyke, his voice soft and hesitant. “Sorry for being rough.”

Vale looked to the wounds on Zyke’s arms—the perfect curvature of his sharp teeth. The bleeding had stopped, the spots crusting over, dark and almost brown.

“Why did you?” He touched the edge of one of the bites before immediately drawing his hand back. “I’m sorry if I upset you. It was my fault, right? Because I kicked you out?”

“Not really,” said Zyke, shaking his head. His cheeks looked pale under his sweat, He was probably hungry and thirsty, his biology crueler than words. “My beast was trying to protect you. When I hurt you, my beast turned on me.”

“Oh.” Vale rubbed a hand over his face. There was a spot that he was aching to touch, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was sure his belly was swollen from Zyke, and soft, and fuck he wanted to rub it. But that would make everything that had just happened real.

“There’s a chance I could get…” Vale trailed off, finally not able to resist. He whimpered as he placed a hand on his belly, so full and sated that it was nearly unbearable. “I’m not in heat, but there’s still a chance.”

It was terrifying. He wasn’t ready. He was pretty sure he never would be.

“We could go to the clinic and get implants if you’re worried,” said Zyke, touching Vale’s shoulder and leaving his palm to rest there. “I’ll have to go out and buy condoms, too, but they don’t tend to work too well with shifters like me.”

“Why?” asked Vale, suddenly burning to know. He rocked ahead as Zyke’s knot finally started to soften. It slipped from him all at once, something incredibly sharp biting into him as it did.

“Ow.” He jerked away, grabbing at his ass and the fluids that were pouring from him. The sting was already gone as if it hadn’t been real, but he’d felt it. He was certain. “What the fuck?”

“Because of that,” said Zyke, rubbing a hand over his face. His normally tanned skin looked bleak with his flush faded, dark smudges beneath his eyes. He looked like he could sleep for days, then go for a nap. “Feline shifters have some extra accessories. I probably didn’t tell you about that particular one.”

“What?” Vale looked at his fingers. They were smeared with white, more of it dripping from him as he tried and failed to clench himself shut. “What the hell was that?”

“Barbs,” said Zyke, rolling to his knees before standing. He staggered his way to the bathroom, flicking the light on and disappearing within. Vale padded after him, clutching at his hole when a rush of cum attempted to seep from him.

“You could have warned me,” said Vale, wincing with each step. His belly felt strange—like things had shifted around inside. And his ass was on fire.

“I didn’t know that was gonna happen,” said Zyke, turning the water on and dipping his head down to drink directly from the tap.

The words thudded into Vale’s chest, sinking its claws in and cutting deep. Zyke hadn’t known—which meant he hadn’t wanted it. Zyke had probably trusted him not to let it get too far, and Vale had smashed that trust into a thousand shards of regret and distrust.

Vale turned away, crawling back into the filthy nest. He heard the shower flick on and off, but he made no move to get up, even though his skin crawled. When Zyke snuggled into the nest behind him, placing a soft kiss on his shoulder, he barely contained his flinch.

“We’ll go to the clinic in the morning. Sleep well.”

Vale let his eyes drift shut, but he didn’t sleep a wink.