Page 13 of The Arrival
Caressing his fingertips along his mate’s jawline, Haruka stares into his eyes, wanting to convey his infinite trust and confidence. Needing Nino to understand.
Nino blinks, his chest slowly rising and falling. “I can’t believe you just said ‘fuck.’”
“It was a strange sensation.”
“It caught me off guard…”
“I won’t do it again.”
Nino huffs in a weak smile, his eyes still glassy with tears. “Do you really want to do this with me—have this kid, I mean? Are you positive?”
“There is no one, nor can there ever be anyone else on this Earth, that I would want to have a child with. You have been a light and refuge in my darkest hours, Nino. You are my angel, and it isimpossiblethat you would be anything other than an incredible father—because you are an incredible creature. There is no other scenario.” Leaning closer, Haruka presses their lips together. When he lifts, his voice is low and steady. “I believe in you. But please tell me what we can do to help you believe in yourself?”
Grinning, Nino slides his hands up Haruka’s back. His aura is fizzing against Haruka’s flesh like the initial sparks of a fire. “The things you say, and with that tone and the look in your eyes… It’s like you know exactly how to soothe my soul.”
“I try.”
“I’ll think about it,” Nino says, sighing once more. “I might need to talk to someone professional to help me sort through this shit.”
“Then we’ll find someone. I love you and I trust you, with every fiber of my being.”
“I know, tesoro. You’ve never called me your angel before… I like it.”
“Do you?” Haruka drags his body upright, simultaneously resting his hand against Nino’s thigh and following the curve between his legs.
“Mm… I do.” Nino smiles and bites his bottom lip as he lifts his knees. Scooting his tailbone down further on the bed, he gaps his thighs wide, like an invitation. Haruka shifts between his knees in a fluid motion. As time progresses, the inherent energy they share choreographs their physical movements—two bodies in perfect harmony, like the gravitational pull of the Earth flowing in rhythm with the churning waves of the ocean.
Nino swallows, the swell of his Adam’s apple bobbing within the lovely stretch of his neck. “You can say it more often, if you want to…”
Playfully, Haruka slips his fingertips underneath Nino’s sleep shirt, feeling his mate’s taut belly tremble as he caresses below his navel. Haruka lifts his chin, his gaze focused. “You are my angel.” When he reaches the waist of his mate’s briefs, he tucks one finger between his skin and the fabric. Lazily, he drags it down and toward Nino’s hip, the way one might slide their finger across a cake covered in frothy, thick icing.
Nino moans in a soft, clipped sound while stretching his neck against the pillow. Slowly, Haruka grips the waist with both hands and shifts the fabric down, just enough to free his mate’s shaft from the restriction. Haruka sighs from the delicious view of his hardness and the steady rise and fall of his beautifully sculpted chest. His lips are parted, his coppery hair mussed, and his golden eyes are hooded with desire, watching in anticipation.
Haruka’s spine is hot, his own energy bubbling and responding to Nino’s vitality and woodsy scent. Something within him, something primal and very old, delights in this: his mate, his one true partner and love, undone and longing for pleasure. For a passionate release and deep fulfillment that only Haruka can give.
Tilting his head, Haruka examines the thick hardness of him, running his fingertips along the tip and feeling the wetness there. Nino’s frame twitches underneath him, a little spasm of movement as he breathes out, watching while Haruka brings his own fingertip to his mouth and sucks.
Nino’s eyes alight in the morning sunshine pouring in through the patio doors. His voice is soft, imploring. “Give me everything… I want you, tesoro. All of you.Please.”
Pulling his finger from his mouth, Haruka grins. “You do not need to beg.”
Nino closes his eyes and lies back against the pillow. “I don’t want you to hold back at all right now. I just want to feel you.”
Exhaling, Haruka unfurls the enclosed weight of his vampiric aura. The nature of it is heavy, intricate and laced with a seductive, voracious magic that even he cannot explain. In the past and before Nino, he rarely ever released his energy this way. To give his true nature what it desires means holding its target captive—spellbound like a predator using something sweet to entice its prey. Rich and decadent honey in a bear trap, or a rare nectar in the center of a spider’s web.
This, combined with his immeasurable love for Nino flowing all throughout his being, makes Haruka cautious. He worries that the biological and emotional core of him might overpower or dominate his mate in a way that he would never intend to, especially given Nino’s traumatic past.
But time and time again—even from the very beginning—Nino has always held strong. Haruka doesn’t understand why, but somehow, his mate is able to withstand the allure of his aura where others have not. It has never rendered him senseless, violent or frenzied. Nino indulges in it, healthily and sincerely. Willingly, but controlled.
It frees Haruka in a way he never thought possible.
“Yes.” Nino gasps, groaning against the bedsheets as Haruka’s aura hovers thick, enveloping them in an enchanting haze. With his eyes glowing bright, Haruka takes hold of his mate’s shaft, intentionally gripping and pulling in his learned way—a knowing manner in which Nino’s body faithfully delights and responds to him.
Nino’s chest heaves, his core writhing and his skin rosy and blush. He is stunning in the throes of ecstasy. A work of art that Haruka wishes to capture and cherish within the walls and folds of his mind. If he were a shameless creature, he’d pay an obscene amount of money to have Nino painted this way—uninhibited and flawless, an erotic portrait of reference for his eyes only.
He pulls, teases and grips with his hands, reveling in the sticky wetness of Nino’s pleasure until he is rewarded with his mate’s release. It spills against his fingers and Nino’s belly, his mate gasping with his eyes clenched shut and his head thrown back.
Taking him in, Haruka considers Nino’s observation from last night and agrees. He absolutely prefers things messy.
