Page 39 of Entranced By the Basilisks

My face burns. I’d known from the beginning that Ari wanted more from me than mere friendship or teaching me to defend myself and I’d still gone along with his plans.

I’m too tired right now to consider all of Ari’s angles. I don’t know his exact strategy with Emilia, but I’m curious. Emilia inspires a pang of hunger in me, an ache. I should run as fast and far from the situation that is brewing among the three of us as I can, but I’m too weak to abandon this now even when I’m sure this is going to end terribly for me.

It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make to be here. To help her in whatever way I can.

“You can take the guest room at the end of the hall,” Ari says, shedding his seductive voice to that of a host.

I take the clothing and nod in response as I head to the room he directs me to, needing to get away from the temptation that he is. It doesn’t escape my notice that Ari has arranged Emilia and me on either side of his room. I should read more into that, but memories and stress pull at me.

The room is beautiful and extravagant in the same way Ari is, but this room is more masculine and in blue tones compared to Emilia’s. The simpler patterns and lines of the furniture fit me, but there’s nothing to distract the burn of arousal at the memory of how our relationship started. I remove my clothing with no thought except for the relief of the cool air against my tight, newly shed-free skin.

A shower is the only thing that will help me fall asleep with how brightly arousal burns. It’s like the tease of being around Ari has left me crackling dry, ready to go up in flames at the barest hint of a spark.

I need sleep to restore the magic I used today, and no sleep is going to happen until this arousal burns out. I move to the shower and the hit of water doesn’t do enough to dampen the blaze. What’s worse is that I don’t want it to.

My mind castigates my weakness for Ari and now this attraction to a human who has been thrown violently into our world, but my body still hungers.

I wrap my hand around my hardness, hissing at the harsh sensation on sensitive skin, and remember how this all began.

“Good, now again,” Ari says.

My lungs and muscles burn in exertion, and it shows with my every move. My body aches where Ari has landed hits. I know he’s pulling his strength and a couple of weeks ago it wouldn’t have bothered me as much as it does now. Ari has instructed me in hand to hand for two weeks and it feels like I’ve made no progress. I haven’t been cornered again since Ari found me bloodied and helped heal me, but it’s only a matter of time.

“This won’t matter if they shift,” I say. The frustration coursing through me makes this all feel useless. And every time Ari’s body presses against mine it’s taking more and more not to physically react.

“Oh, Jasper, if we wrestle while I’m in my shifted form, we won’t be focusing on you learning to fight for very long.” The heat in Ari’s eyes has my stomach tightening. There have been innuendos aplenty since we started this. I’d written it off as the way Ari speaks. He’s flirty. It doesn’t mean anything.

But after a couple of weeks in his company, sharing meals, and getting to know each other, his teasing seems more direct with me. It’s impossible to even contemplate a Zeyad having a relationship with an Adder. Ari is the last of his family name, but his station is high.

Nothing lasting can come from us, but my body doesn’t know that.

And if I give in to the heat between us? My heart wouldn’t survive, whether I’m just a passing fancy for Ari or not.

I swallow, praying that the loose athletic shorts don’t betray my body’s interest in his teasing. I almost regret taking my shirt off because it makes me just that much more exposed, but Ari is always shirtless when we do this. It had seemed silly not to follow suit.

“You know what I mean, Ari. I’m helpless against them,” I pant.

Ari’s face grows serious. “You are only helpless if you give up. Everyone has weaknesses that you’re unaware of. If that wasn’t true, the cowards that go after you wouldn’t work as a group. And this isn’t just about them. This is about you being confident in your abilities.”

I swallow, my frustration cut short by his words. I remind myself that he doesn’t have to help me. He could be like all the other serpent kin and ignore me or take whatever frustrations they carry out on me.

Ari raises his hands again and gestures me forward. I follow the direction and throw punches, unworried about hurting him after so much time going through the motions. I couldn’t hurt him without him letting me. Ari isn’t just stronger than I, he was raised to be a warrior and fight in battles long before our world adopted the appearance of civility.

He blocks my hits with ease, but I realize how much harder I’m hitting than before.

“Good. Now go on the defensive,” Ari says, throwing a strike that blurs slightly, but I still dodge. The next I block, though it hurts to.

Pride blooms when Ari grins at me. “You are making progress.”

A seductive tilt of Ari’s mouth makes my body throb, but I don’t allow myself to become distracted as he sets in again. The punches are lighter and not as fast, but he still wears me down, pushing me farther backward. Ari lands a hit and I fall back into the wall gasping. Ari’s there before I can react, pinning my body to the wall in one of the holds we practiced.

“You win,” I say to stop the exercise.

He can’t possibly miss my erection pressing against our bodies. The air between us is heavy with tension. Ari releases my arms slowly but presses his body harder against mine and I gasp at the teasing grind.

Ari’s grin is full of satisfaction. “Do you want me to stop holding back?”

Yes. Desire like nothing I’ve ever known before flares, and I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from begging. Ari’s eyes catch on my mouth and his composure cracks. He grips my hair, the tug providing a sting that tightens my whole body.

---