Page 10 of The Lich's Leverage

Flustered didn’t even begin to describe how I’d felt all morning. I’d awoken from an erotic dream with no satisfying finale featuring the monster I was now certain was my mate. I’d brought myself to orgasm several times to try and get past the arousal that I was feeling. But it hadn’t helped. I blamed having to explain orc mating fights to Serena last night. In detail.

My head was still spinning. He was a lich. An undead mage who killed to stay alive. Knowing that, did it even matter if he was my mate? How could I be with such a monster? All these thoughts warred with the need for him to bury his cock in me so deep that I wouldn’t be able to think about his past anymore.

Even weirder than all of that, I didn’t have even a pang of anxiety all day. I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. It was nice, but disconcerting. I’d dragged myself through three sessions with other monsters, trying to stay mentally present. But by lunch time I was already exhausted. I got a longer than usual lunch due to a weird lockdown, but it wasn’t enough to even nap.

As I left the therapists’ common room, I heard the sounds of a disagreement around the corner. I stood still for a moment, torn between whether shouting out that I was coming was too awkward or if it was more disrespectful to just walk through an argument.

“It’s going to be fine, why are you freaking out, kid?”

“I just got this job; I don’t want to be fired.”

“It’s okay. That minotaur is in the infirmary now. He’s shown himself to be someone who gets into fights. We’ll sort it.”

I reached back for the door to the lounge and pulled it closed loudly enough that they would be able to hear it. The voices went quiet and I walked along the corridor. When I turned the corridor I saw Delaney and Billy standing awkwardly. I flashed them a smile and carried on to my therapy room. My stomach felt heavy, but I couldn’t place why.

I flopped into the chair and pulled my blanket around myself. Something was off. I kept going back to that overheard conversation. It was weird but not immediately alarming. My gut just kept telling me that something was wrong and I couldn’t shake it. I jumped when the door opened, and a guard led in Vedrac.

“Oh, thank you. Good afternoon, Vedrac. Please sit.”

It felt strange being so formal with him now, but I didn’t know how else to be. This wasn’t a situation I’d been trained for or even expected. Meeting my mate had seemed impossible a couple of days ago. He perched himself in the chair opposite me, amongst the blankets, and I smiled again at the contrast between him and the pastels. My body felt tense while we waited in silence for the guard to leave. Once the door closed and we were alone, I finally looked into his glowing blue eyes.

“How are you today, Vedrac?”

The words sounded stilted. Everything was weird now. But still no anxiety came.

“I’m good. How are you feeling after our dream meetup last night?”

I opened my mouth but no words came out.

He can’t mean that dream? What does…. Wait, what?

I stared at him. He smiled.

“I told you it was real.”

“So that…. What happened…. What I did…?”

“Yes. That’s why I didn’t let it go any further. But I wanted to, my love. By the gods I wanted to. You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh.”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.”

He gave me a moment to compose myself.

“So that’s why I don’t feel anxious today?”

“Yes. I drained some of it.”

“You ate my anxiety?”

“Yes. But only that. Nothing more. Although I recall there was something else you were keen for me to eat.”

I flushed hot, and my whole body felt sweaty. I’d been so blatant about my want for him, thinking it was all just a dream. I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

“It was one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me, love.”

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