Page 68 of Elas

We settle back into our reading, and after a few tense minutes, August slides his feet into my lap. Our eyes meet over the folders, and I reach down and grab his foot, silently rubbing my thumb into his arch. He hums happily, and some of the tension between us dissipates, though my mind keeps drifting.

We finish reading those files and move on to two others, but they don’t give us new information. It’s more of the same experimentation and observation, although in August’s file, there’s more of a push to extract something from the pair. It’s the newest file we’ve seen so far, only seven years old.

My eyes are trying to cross as I close my folder, the pages blurring together as a yawn stretches across my face.

“We should save the rest for tomorrow,” August suggests, and I nod my agreement as we tuck the files away, hiding them underneath the couch in a box that blends in with the floor.

My restless legs stand and walk to the window, where I cross my arms and stare into the distance. The sun set recently, and the cloudless navy sky merges with a faint orange on the horizon. August’s feet pad lightly to approach me from behind.

“Do you want to talk about it?” His voice is gentle, but it still makes me flinch.

“Yes? Maybe? I don’t know,” I respond, just as quietly. “The marks changing threw me for a loop, if we’re being honest.”

“I always want you to be honest with me, El.”

My eyes close at his sweet sincerity. “It made me realize I haven’t given much thought to how this affects you.”

“What do you mean?” His fingers wrap around the bottom of my shirt and hold on, but I continue to stare unseeing into the distance.

“It never crossed my mind that you may not be all in with this… with us.” An unamused laugh blows from my nose. “Arrogant of me, isn’t it?”

“Elas—”

“It’s alright,” I interrupt, surprised at how heavy my heart is. “At first, I was too busy wanting to know you, to have a piece of your light, and now? Now I’m too busy falling for you to consider you might not want the same thing. I always was too selfish for my own good.”

“You aren’t selfish,” August whispers, his hand more insistent as he gives my wrist a tug, and reluctantly, I turn to face him. “You’re falling for me?”

My eyes close again for a moment as I take a deep breath, inhaling his scent. “Fates be damned, August. I’ve been falling for you since before we ever touched. Maybe it has nothing to do with these marks, and maybe it has everything to do with them. Maybe none of that matters. All I know is I want you.”

Something in my very foundation splinters at the gentleness in his eyes. “You have me. You’vealwayshadme.” His arms snake around my neck as he pulls me down, and our foreheads meet as he nuzzles my nose with his. Warm breath blows across my skin as soft lips graze me in a featherlight touch. “Ever since you walked into that prison and smiled at me, you’ve had me. Sohaveme, Elas. Make me yours.”

The final threads of my restraint snap as I claim his mouth, hands moving to his back and holding him against me. He gasps as I slide my palms to his thighs and lift him, never separating our mouths as I carry him into the bedroom. Research and worries are forgotten as his palms land on my cheeks, and nothing else matters as he slants his lips over mine. His tongue dips into my mouth, and the sweetest moan vibrates between us as he kisses me.

It’s unbridled, unrestrained, like he’d also been holding back this whole time without meaning to. “Everything,” I murmur against his kiss. We reach the bed, and his eyes are hazy as he pulls away to look at me. “I want everything you have to offer. Those imperfect pieces that you hide from the world, and the messy ones that aren’t always put together. I want them all, August. All of you.”

“It’s yours… I’m yours,” he breathes. “Only yours.” Then he’s kissing me and swallowing any words that might try to find life. He’s so desperate to get closer that his nails dig into my back, stinging through the thin fabric of my shirt, and his teeth pinch on my lip. I drop to sit on the bed, August straddling my waist as I fist the hem of his shirt. I wrestle it over his head, and his lips don’t leave mine until they absolutely have to. Like magnets, we’re connected again as soon as I toss his shirt to the ground.

He strips my shirt next, and I can’t help my growl as those fingernails dig into bare skin. “Kitten’s got claws, does he?”

“Sorry,” he murmurs, then calls out as I stand and spin us, dropping his back onto the bed as I position myself between his legs. I’ve never hated pants as much as I do at this moment. I rock my hips forward, grinding my cock against his.

“Don’t apologize, doc. Maybe I like being the one to see you lose control like this.” He mauls my mouth again, and I smile against his kiss. More teeth, more bites and nips, and his fingers dig into my back as he thrusts off the bed. We’re insatiable, quickly moving from sweet and patient to frantic and desperate. Both of us are only wearing thin sweatpants, and I reach between us to shove the material down.

Bare skin meets bare skin, and August lets out the most beautiful moan as his legs wrap around my waist. Slick leaks from my cock and mixes with his pre-cum, wetting our skin before I surround us both with my fingers. His cries get louder, his head falling back on the bed as his hips thrust and his heels dig into my lower back.

“That’s it, pretty baby. Such a needy mate,” I murmur, and he nods an enthusiastic agreement as I chuckle. “Tell me what you want me to do to you.”

“Please?” he whines, trying to silence me with a kiss. I retreat, and he chases my lips with a pout.

“Please, what?” My grin is teasing as I fist us tighter, jerking us together. My body grows tense as he gasps again, his cheeks flushed and pink. “Come on, doc. Let me hear you say it.”

“Please fuck me, Elas,” he begs, thrusting faster. Release hits me in a rush—my core squeezes, my balls draw tight, and my cock pulses against my fingers. I throw my head back as my lips part in a shout, thick spurts of slick shooting over his stomach. The clear liquid coats my hand as I continue to jerk us. August is seconds away from coming, arching his back and clawing at the bed as the tendons in his neck draw tight.

And then I release him.

“No,” he wails as I stand, shoving my pants to the ground before yanking his off his legs. I push his legs apart, watching his muscles squeeze and flex as his body searches for the release it was denied. I drag two fingers through the mess on his stomach and spread it over his hole before slipping both fingers inside him. He calls out again, his knuckles bleaching as he fists the sheets.

“Don’t worry, baby. We’re just getting started.”

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