Page 156 of Toxic

I couldn't ease his pain because the truth was that Liam was in a hopeless position. He had drawn the shortest straw of the three of us. I couldn't give up on Soren—I wasn't noble enough for that. But I also realized that what Soren had done to Liam had tainted our relationship, making it dirty and wrong. Toxic. There was no way to sugarcoat it, explain it away, or justify it. Soren knew he should NEVER have promised Liam a relationship, being aware he wasn’t romantically interested in him nor sexually attracted to him. He hurt the poor guy and broke his heart.

Only now, being in my arms, this was a brief moment where Soren was trying with all his might to forget, to not think. It was one of the reasons he wanted to have sex—to dissociate himself from reality, to lose himself in a fleeting moment of pleasure. Well, I could surely give him that. It was one of the few things I could do for him because I understood, to some extent, just how shitty he felt. I was an asshole too. I took him from Liam, slept with Soren, knowing he had a boyfriend.

We were really made for each other, we both chose to be assholes to others. A perfect match made in heaven… or maybe in hell.

I grabbed him by his ribs and under one of his legs, lifted him up, and carried him to the bed. Now Soren was lying flat, and I was on top of him, thrusting into him slowly, with drawn-out, almost lazy movements, hiding my head on his neck, deliberately prolonging it.

This moment lasted long enough for Soren to fall deep into relief and relaxation. Just the massage created by my body sliding up and down his back brought him comfort and peace. He sank into the feeling of being filled from the inside out, kneaded all over, experiencing an incredible, sweet fullness in place of the terrible emptiness he had torn in his heart when he hurt Liam. He needed that fullness to substitute for the feelingthat everything was in its place, fitting tightly, working well and flawlessly, as it was now, as I slid smoothly all the way into his inviting hole, eliciting quiet moans and groans from his lips.

When we both came for the second time, I turned him on his side and lay behind him and continued—because the strange magic between us caused me to literally never stop being hard, as long as I was in physical contact with his body.

The time we spent making love passed so slowly that Soren fell into a pleasant numbness, no thoughts in his head, just allowing himself to feel. Everything else was turned off, and it suited him well.

It wasn't until almost noon that I realized it might be time for us to eat. I pulled out of him, my cum dripping from his hole. For a second, I stared at the view. Soren glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just spread my arms and went to take a shower.

Afterward, I headed to the kitchen and started making lunch for both of us. Soren locked himself in the bathroom for a long time, and by the time he came out, the food was ready. He stood in the doorway, looking a bit lost.

"Please, sit down. I made lunch. I hope I'm as good a cook as Liam," I said, trying to smile, but it came out more rueful than anything else.

Soren didn't react; a bitter expression flashed across his face. He sat down silently and began to eat, muttering a quiet ‘Thank you’ under his breath.

When he finished, I took his plate and put it in the dishwasher. "Do you want to watch a movie?" I asked.

"I guess," he muttered, though I could tell he wasn't very enthusiastic. I probably got a taste of what it felt like for Liam to have such a passive, unresponsive boyfriend.

We spent the next two hours watching a romantic movie about a relationship between a beta and an alpha. It wasn’t arandom choice, of course, but Soren didn’t make any comments when it ended with a sweet HEA.

Afterward, I asked if he’d like to go for a short walk in the nearby park to get some fresh air. He replied, "I guess."

So that was the drill now. And off we went. As we walked, Soren took out a cigarette and lit it. I glanced at him sideways.

"They say you’re not supposed to smoke when you’re pregnant," I murmured.

He rolled his eyes and huffed in irritation. "Seriously? We both know how this pregnancy’s going to end, Skye. No point in quitting smoking."

I didn’t respond. What could I say? It was his choice.

We walked on, and Soren must have smoked three cigarettes. Obviously, the walk wasn't having the healthiest effect on him. We didn't talk much; he was just absent, staring at the sky, the trees, the grass.

We got back to the house, took a shower, and Soren lay down on the bed, saying, "When I lie on the bed in a towel, I want you to know that it’s a signal for you."

It sounded so mechanical—zero romance. But well, I had what I wanted. He’d moved into my place and broken up with Liam for me. For now, I had to be satisfied with what he was willing to give and make my peace with that. Otherwise, we’d both go crazy, and someone had to push us through it.

So I joined him on the bed, and for the next two hours, I made the same slow, lazy movements inside him, while kissing him tenderly and gently, which he accepted passively, his eyes closed. Soon, Soren reached his climax and drifted off into a slumber.

By evening, his phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. We lay next to each other, still and silent, and the sound kept coming back: bzzt, bzzt, bzzzzzzt.

Finally, Soren looked at me with an impassive face and said, "Do you mind if I step out on the balcony to take this call? I have to talk to him at some point."

There was no way around it. "The balcony’s all yours," I muttered.

I remained unmoved, lying down on the bed. Unfortunately, he seemed to forget that I had an incredibly good sense of hearing. He thought the balcony would be enough, but… that wasn’t the case. I could hear every word.

SOREN

Liam picked up after five rings. For a second, I’d hoped he wouldn’t, that maybe we could just avoid this conversation. But no such luck. There was no escaping this hell.

"Hey, Liam."

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