Page 19 of It's In His Hiss

She looks up at me, cheeks flushed, eyes wide and unguarded. “Are you sure?”

Gods. She’s asking me? Like I wouldn’t tear the moon from the sky if she asked for it?

“I’m sure,” I whisper, voice low and rough. “But I need you to be.”

She nods, tugging me by the hand like she can’t get me to the bed fast enough. “I’ve waited my whole life for the right person. I didn’t think he’d have snakes for hair, but… here we are. And if you stop now, I’ll curse your bookshelves with an unending loop of self-help manifestos and calorie-counting cookbooks.”

“That’s cruel,” I murmur, kissing her again. “You’re cruel and beautiful.”

“Just the way you like me.” Her fingers curl around mine, and she grins, radiant and unashamed. “You’re stuck with me, Gordy.”

I bark out a laugh. “Like that’s an issue.”

I kiss her again, slower this time. Reverent. My hands finally map the curve of her back, the softness of her waist, memorizing every dip and rise.

Her clothes scatter like leaves in a storm—her dress tossed over the desk chair, her bra half-hanging off a bookshelf, panties lost to the void. She gasps when I lift her easily, tossing her onto the bed like she’s made of moonlight and miracles.

The sight of her—naked, flushed, her hair a halo against my pillow—sends something primal through me. My blood hums. My skin buzzes. My snakes begin to shift, restless and excited.

She’s stunning. Lush and soft and made of stardust and wild things. “You are so fucking beautiful,” I whisper, reverence laced into every syllable.

“I was aiming for ‘ravishing sorceress,’ but I’ll take beautiful.”

She’s nervous. I can see it in the fine tremble of her muscles. “We don’t have to?—”

“No,” she says quickly, eyes shining withsomething fierce and vulnerable. “I want this. I want you. You’ll be my first, Gordy.”

Fuck.

I nod, something primal and terrified and ecstatic sparking in my chest. “I haven’t been with anyone since I was transformed, so it’s like my first time, too. I’m… not sure what to expect, but I swear I’ll make it perfect for you, Al.”

She smiles softly. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to us, Gordy.”

Something in my chest loosens at her words, and all my worries melt away, along with my clothes. Finally, I’m naked in all my green-skinned glory before her avid gaze.

When Alice sees me—reallysees me, every inch of me, her eyes widen, and not just in appreciation.

Because… yeah.

There’s the snake.

Emerging, curious and almost preening from the tip of my cock like it wants to join the party.

Alice stares. Blinks. Then starts laughing so hard she nearly falls off the bed.

“Is it—does it wave?” she gasps, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Only if it likes you,” I say dryly, trying not to die of embarrassment as the snake flicks its tongue and makes a little chuffing sound.

“Oh, my god, is that approval?”

“I think you’ve been deemed worthy.”

She bites her lip, then reaches out, tentative but brave. “Can I…?”

“You can do anything you want,” I whisper, my voice hoarse.

She touches it. Gently. Curiously. The snake wiggles and gives a pleased little sigh before retracting enough to reveal me fully.

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