Page 133 of A Soul to Steal

The gestures may be small, but they meantso muchto him.

Did this mean they were growing closer again? Rather than avoiding him as though his touch ignited pain, he’d offered contact between them.

He wanted it. Aleron tried his hardest to hide it, but his body wasstarvedfor affection.

As much as he worried about how he would react to Gideon petting his wings, he did desire his hands upon him – anywhere. He ached for it so desperately it sat like a hungry pit in the centre of his stomach, eating away at his essence.

He hesitantly crept closer.

He gave Gideon’s back his own. With his shoulders turning inwards and his head lowering nervously, he sat down.

“I was not avoiding you because of what has happened,” Aleron said quietly, not wanting his bride to feel rejected. “It is that my wings are sensitive,” he admitted, his orbs flaring reddish pink in embarrassment.

“Oh. Well, it might hurt a lot while I’m trying to massage you, then.” A creak of knees informed him Gideon had stood, but he closed his sight in nervous anticipation. “If you’re worried about the pain, maybe it’s best if I don’t.”

Aleron guessed Gideon had taken his statement a different way than by what he insinuated. He didn’t correct him.

Instead, he flared his wings to gesture to them. “It is fine. Just... be careful.”

Do not arouse me, little spring. I do not know if I can take it.

The threat of it paining him actually brought him relief. Hopefully it’d keep his desire at bay, and instead allow them a moment to bond. He sincerely longed for it to bring them closer and would do just about anything for that chance.

“I’ll let the heat get to it first. Usually that helps to ease sprains and tense muscles.”

Gideon stepped to the side and heat brushed over him from behind. The light wind coming from the cave mouth whistled inside, but it was mostly subtle. The entrance was facing east, so the southerly winds didn’t force their way in too badly.

With darkness blocking his vision, he just nodded.

For a few minutes, all Aleron could feel was his feathers drying from the fire. The storm outside rumbled thunderously, while the pelting rain showered his ears in a constantshaa.It would never be louder than his bride, not with the way his senses were always so acutely hyper-focused on everything about him.

His breaths were close, his heartbeat lulling. His scent of a purple flower he couldn’t name, and the patchouli he taught him of, wrapped around his being.

Aleron heard the shuffle of feet moving behind him and he stopped breathing. Tension shot through him as he waited for the thrill of his bride’s touch.

Instead, a yelp shot out of him when Gideon lightly pressed the webbing between his thumb and forefinger against the underside of his wing base. He stopped himself from bouncing forward to escape, but his orbs opened up to white.

“Sorry,” Gideon grumbled. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

The next moment, Aleron’s back twitched into an arch of pleasure when the male did the same to his other wing.

“What are you doing?” he asked, unsure about the conflicting sensations.

“I, uh, don’t really know much about having wings, so I need to feel around both.” He drew his thumbs down his back at the same time, tracing the two same muscles on both sides, before returning to prod around the base of each. “You have fur and feathers, so I can’t really eyeball you.”

Aleron jerked forward at pain only to ease back at pleasure. “Why would you need to put your eye on me? Is that not painful for humans?”

It was an honest question.

The chuckle that fell from Gideon surprised him. “It’s a saying. It means I can’t see with my eyes, so I have to with my hands instead.” He circled his thumb over a rather tender spot, but he didn’t yelp this time. “I think I found a fairly large knot. Let me know if I press too hard.”

Hissing in a breath, especially since he stopped caressing his uninjured wing, he just nodded. He tried not to jerk and bow his back to flee, but he was unable to help it. He’d never experienced anything like this.

The massage may be unfamiliar, but so was injuring his wing from flying. Both new, both strange, both leading to this moment where he slowly began to relax as the pain dulled. Adifferent kind of pleasure spread across his back, and he took it in.

It didn’t stir lust, but it did radiate tenderness within.

Gideon’s nimble fingers weren’t shy, and they even rubbed up the arch that drooped until he met the elbow. Aleron’s orbs darkened in contentment, and his chest nearly hummed and vibrated with it.

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