Page 25 of Always Eros

“Sounds like such a Thorn thing to do,” Bowie says.

Thorn chuckles. “I was otherwise occupied that evening.” He winks before continuing. “But we all learned a lesson that day,” Thorn says. “Don’t fuck with voodoo.”

“Glad I could help,” Syn says, then pulls Bowie into his arms and kisses his neck.

“How is our patient?” Raph asks, changing the subject.

“Resting comfortably,” Yves answers. “Viper will do more energy work on him in the morning.”

“Good.”

The group breaks up and I head to my unit, ready to strip out of my clothes and relax. It’s been a weird night, but all that’s on my mind is when I’m gonna visit Justice again. Is tomorrow too soon? Fuck if I know what’s appropriate.

Thinking back to all he told me, I accept that I probably need to use that patience I told him I have, and be prepared to stay in the friendship lane, even though his lips are what poems are written about. Maybe I’ll do that. Put his beauty into words.

After peeling my clothes off, I lie on the bed nude, enjoying the unrestrained freedom. I close my eyes, recalling Justice’s sweet face, pert mouth, searching eyes. He’s been hurt, and this world is not always a safe place. An intense sense of responsibility to take care of him washes over me.

The more I think about his beauty, his innocent trust in me, his bravery, the more my body reacts. My cock swells, its weight growing heavy on my thigh. It’s been so long since I’ve had a reason to pleasure myself, my reaction is almost startling.

Precum pools on my skin, sticky and warm, luring me to touch. I slide my hand down, dragging my fingers over my sensitive skin, then with a deep exhale, I grip the base, squeezing hard as I moan.

Fuck it.

With visions of Justice dancing behind my eyelids, I stroke myself at a frantic pace, arching into my touch and biting my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. I imagine it’s his, as he offers his neck and body to me, and in mere minutes, hot cum shoots out of me, sliding down my hand. I stroke through it until sensitivity takes over. Damn. That was quick.

Either I really needed that, or Justice is affecting me more than I realized. Maybe both. Whatever the reason, I know for certain that I have to see his face again. And tomorrow night, that’s exactly what I intend to do.

Chapter Eight

JUSTICE

Sitting under the tree with my head tilted back, I watch two birds in the branches above me, seemingly having a conversation with their happy chirping. It’s so odd to me to be outside, simply sitting. Not doing any chores or hustling from one compound building to the next. The struggle to always be busy so as not to be accused of laziness was real. The Supreme Being thought laziness was the worst trait a person could have.

But here, they want me to have downtime. They want me to sit with my thoughts and let them bloom without being influenced by what I was taught. They want me to listen to my own inner voice. Do I even know how?

“How did yesterday go for everyone?” Kirk, our counselor, starts the session.

There are five of us newbies here, and the weirdest thing is that even though we escaped the same compound, we’ve never met each other. Two of the people are women, sisters who ran off after turning seventeen, avoiding the fate of becoming a bride. The other two men are under thirty like me, but ran after an experience they have yet to talk about. They are quiet and withdrawn, and I would say traumatized.

No one answers Kirk’s question, which makes everything feel awkward, so I decide to chime in.

“It was strange.” Everyone looks at me. “I was born into Nightsky, so all I’ve ever known is this life. I had no reason to question it until recently.”

“Why did you run?” Kirk asks.

I shrug, trying to put the feelings into words. “It’s hard to describe, but it’s like, I don’t know, like I had blinders on all my life, and then they fell off. Sitting in Devotion, starting to feel uncomfortable. The words weren’t sitting right with me anymore.”

“Me too,” one of the guys says. I think his name is James. “Same thing happened.”

“Let’s talk about that,” Kirk says. “Can you remember the first time, Justice?”

I nod. “It was only a couple of months ago. My age group was having a preparation meeting as part of our Devotion, and…” I pause, shaking my head as memories come back to me. “To me, it felt like our leaders were nervous. Everyone is always so confident, but I sensed something different. It panicked me.”

“What did they say to you?” James asks.

“They told us that entering the Vessel was an honor and that our souls would reach Eternal Bliss. I had heard it before, of course, but this time, Disciple Marcus told us that only the purest and most devoted among us would enter the inner sanctum. We would be tested upon our birthdays to decide our fate.”

James looks at his friend, who nods. James continues speaking. “We snuck into a Devotion meeting with the disciples and the Supreme Being.”

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