Page 17 of Bonded to The Boo Hag

“I read the information your lawyer sent, Palmer. Feeding accelerates innate healing abilities. Feed from me.” His eyes locked with mine, accentuating the demand.

“I— I’m fine.” I turned my face away. Gatlin cupped my chin, turning me to face him, his eyes wide and clouded with confusion.

“So I wasn’t imagining it; you have been avoiding this. Why won’t you feed from me, Palmer?”

7

Gatlin

“So I wasn’t imagining it; you have been avoiding this. Why won’t you feed from me, Palmer?” I asked, confused.

She fidgeted, and I had to tamp down my reaction to having this admittedly beautiful woman sitting on my lap. Who I put there even though there are miles of couch on either side of me.

I gave in to the moment, my hand leaving her chin and sliding up the smooth skin of her jaw. I knew she was glamoured to look a certain way, but the skin I could feel was real, and it was soft to the touch.

I stroked my thumb along her cheekbone. “It doesn’t bother me,” I admitted.

The small sips she had taken to get me used to her feeding were gentle and felt like someone was giving me a back rub or playing with my hair. I understood the sensation would change the longer she fed, but I wasn’t worried.

I trusted her, I realized. Maybe it had started with those six weeks of care she willingly gave my sister before we bonded, or perhaps it was when she let herself be vulnerable in front of me that one night at dinner last week. It didn’t matter when it happened. It had.

She sighed. “We’ve made such headway, I didn’t want you to look––it’s silly.”

My eyes searched hers. “I was upset with myself at first. I shouldn’t like it when a monster feeds from me.”

Palmer flinched.

I brought my hand down to the back of her neck. “But you kept coming back and being kind to me even though I was less than polite. My mother would whoop my ass for how I’ve been behaving. You were literally saving my sister’s life, and all I could fixate on were my preconceived notions of what I perceived a monster to be.”

Her eyes continued to search mine while I massaged the back of her neck and shared with her my guilt and no small amount of shame. “Still, you were kind to me even though I honestly didn't deserve it. I tried to hold onto this idea of what a monster was. At every interaction, you obliterated prejudices I didn't know I had. You took the time to help me understand how your world works; you shared your people’s history, giving me access to information from your library and beings around me. You granted me so much grace. I've realized just because you feed differently than I do, it doesn’t make you monstrous. That was what I was actually afraid of, being locked in a contract with something evil. You are the farthest thing from evil. I am sorry I made you feel like you should be ashamed of who and what you are.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she relaxed into my touch.

“Someday, I’d like to paint you, Palmer,” I said quietly. “All of you, if that’s allowed. I’ve been studying your eyes; they are the real deal, aren’t they?” I pulled her closer, my other hand on her lower back.

I need to know they are truly hers, that what I am seeing in them is real.

“I didn’t see the reason to pay extra to change my eye color,” she murmured as my hand rose to the back of her head, kneading the muscles there.

“Your eyes were what first drew me in, more than your perfect glamour,” I whispered, watching her open her eyes, the silver irises beautiful in the light. I hadn’t noticed the gold that shot through the center; I hadn’t let myself get close enough.

“You say the most dangerous things, pet,” she murmured, leaning down and kissing me.

Pleasure coursed through my system. I knew what the draw of her taking lifeforce felt like, and she wasn’t doing that. This was my authentic reaction to the woman in my lap. I pulled her closer, taking over the kiss, and her hands clutched at the fabric of my shirt.

I bit her bottom lip, causing her to growl, lust punching me in the gut at the sound. I leaned back, panting, “Feed from me, Palmer. Make me feel good.”

She whimpered when I captured her lips, kissing her deeply. As our tongues battled for dominance, I felt the first tug on my lifeforce. Her breasts rubbed against my chest, reminding me there was more than just her mouth to explore. I fought to keep my arousal under control, but with my throbbing cock locked between us, held back by nothing more substantial than my slacks, it was challenging to keep this as only a kiss. The urge to pull up her ridiculously tiny leather top and free her breasts for me to taste was riding me almost as hard as what my brain wanted her to really ride.

Palmer moaned while her hands slid up my pecs, pushing me back gently as our kisses began to shorten. Finally, we stopped, our foreheads resting on one another, breaths mingling.

“That was, wow,” I murmured, kissing her again.

“I— I didn't mean to go so far,” she stammered, her breath hitching as I kissed up her jaw.

I bit her ear gently, her gasp making my dick jump. “I’m not complaining.”

She laughed, the throaty, sensual sound causing me to remember with clarity the very big empty bed to my right.

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