Page 82 of Starve
He sighs against my throat, and jerks against me when I grind my hips up against his body. “No. She’s not. I knew she had ulterior motives for helping you, but…” He sits up just enough to stare down at me, eyes hungry and nearly feral. “You’ll have to forgive me, little bird. I can’t be mad at her for this.”
“I’m not mad at her either,” I’m quick to agree, and at his urging I wrap my leg around his uninjured hip. “I just—” He sinks into me suddenly, and the combination oftoo muchandnot enoughhas me throwing my head back and howling.
Cairo purrs encouragingly and dives to bury his fangs in my throat; marking and licking over where Tyler dug his nails in. “I just wish she could’ve been more upfront about it!” I gasp and urge him into motion with a roll of my hips.
He doesn’t need convincing. Cairo slams into me, not bothering to be gentle, but I don’t want him to be. The raw, predatory claim of him inside me and the way he slams into me with every stroke stokes a fire in my chest that didn’t exist until now.
“She isn’t upfront about anything.Fuck, little bird.” He arches off of me, eyes closing as I drag him closer with my leg around him. “You’re so tight. So fucking perfect for me.”
“Well, I hope so. Because I think you’re going to be stuck with me for a while.” Reaching out for him, I wait until he’s loweredhimself to me before shifting to roll Cairo over so I’m straddling him in the dirt and gazing down at my lover.
He could flip us back if he really wanted to. I have no doubt he could snarl me back into submission or just pin me with his strength. But he gasps approvingly, keeping his eyes on my face as I place my palms on his abdomen and lift myself up, only to sink back down on his cock.
Both of us let out appreciative hisses, though his has more of a natural, practiced purr to it than mine does. He grips my hips in both hands, his claws pricking me just enough to send a shiver through my body.
“I love you,” I say, tasting the words on my tongue as I feel myself getting closer. The statement also drives me to ride him in earnest, rocking my hips and taking a second to feel him as deep inside me as he can be before lifting myself up again.
“Not as much as I love you, little bird,” Cairo retorts. “You saved my life.”
“Yeah.” I grin down at him. “And you saved mine. I didn’t understand before, but Agatha was right.” I gasp again, head thrown back, and focus on rocking my hips until Cairo drags me down against him and shoves his hips upward so he’s meeting every movement. Our teeth continue nipping and biting at each other in a fake battle for dominance.
“What was she right about?” he whispers, getting just as breathy and uncontrolled as I am.
“That I was starving,” I snarl against his lips, kissing him just as hungrily as he kisses me. “I wasstarvingbefore you, Cairo. I just didn’t really know it.”
When he comes, it’s with a soft gasp and a moan I’ve never heard from him before. I push him down again, watching his face as I grind my hips so his cock slides against that spot inside of me. His hand gropes for the apex of my thighs as he spills inside of me, and it only takes a few quick swipes of his thumbbefore I’m coming as well, my thighs tight around his hips and my body clenched tight around him, greedy and demanding for him to stay right here with me.
My arms tremble, and my elbows buckle, though I try not to collapse on top of him. I manage to roll onto the grass beside him as a purr builds in my throat, and I can’t keep my hands off of him. Though I glance down at myself with a small frown at how much of his and Tyler’s blood is now smeared over my skin.
“I’m gross,” I state, twining my fingers with his as I watch the rise and fall of his chest. He doesn’t reply, and my eyes never leave him, just to be sure.
Cairo snorts and opens one eye to look at me, then closes it again. “I won’t stop breathing just because you fucked me so well, Fern,” he promises with a chuckle. “I’m just tired.”
“And almost dying,” I point out, not letting go of his hand. Moro’s paw steps make me look up, and I see her licking at the cooling blood around Tyler’s body.
I really should worry more about her becoming a blood-thirsty cryptid-companion of legend…but not today. That’s tomorrow’s concern.
“How did he do it, anyway?”
“He wasn’t alone.” Cairo sighs, sounding particularly disappointed about it. “I don’t know why I thought he would be. It’s our way; we’re supposed to fight alone when we’re fighting for dominance. When he brought me here, I didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until Teague and Fletcher jumped me. I thought…” Cairo trails off. “I still didn’t want to kill him,” he admits. “And that was wrong of me. Good thing I have my feral little bird to protect me from my own moments of weakness, hmm?” he teases, opening his eyes and gingerly turning onto his side.
“And don’t you forget it. You’re my…” I trail off, thinking. “Okay, well, obviously I need a nickname for you. I’ll have to think about it.” Sitting up, I wince at the growing pain andstiffness from my fight with Tyler, and glare down at all of our ruined clothes. We can’t go back into town like this, since I have no desire to be locked up in the nearest asylum for a perceived mental break.
Cairo sits up as well and gets to his feet before dragging me up. He’s much more comfortable in his nudity than I am, though belatedly I consider he’s probably used to it after being up here for so long. Especially since he can’t feel the cold in an uncomfortable way.
And now, neither can I.Huh…I’m now realizing the air just feels comfortable, like the ground. I run my hands over the already healing wounds on my arms, listening to Cairo lecture Moro about her meal choices, and trying to get her to drop Tyler’s aorta, before looking up at both of them as the breeze brings their scent to my nose.
Never before—in my mother’s house or my own—have I ever felt like this.
Like I’mhome.
Epilogue
The tickingof the clock is oppressive, and I know Cairo will be less than pleased when he finds out I’m here. But I’m sitting in the same chair where I sat for weeks listening to Dr. Radley, looking out the window as the sun crests the edge of the mountain.
I still don’t feel thewrongnessAgatha mentioned that night at Bluebone Ridge, which seems like so long ago and yet was only a week. But then again, Whippoorwill Gap is basically in the mountains, anyway. My nails tap against the arm of the chair, and I tilt my head to listen to the sound of the front door opening and closing, then footsteps on the stairs making their way up to the office.
“I should’ve known you were an alcoholic,” I remark, just as the door closes behind my ex-therapist. I can feel her tense even without looking, and her keys shiver in her hand, making the softest of metallic jingling noises. “But I guess you hide it well.”
