by J. E. Cluney
“Right, where you wear those head things,” I nodded.
“Yeah, we just have to make sure all the coding is done correctly in the first place so the switch can be made later on. But we want it to be so not everyone needs to play in VR mode, they can play it like a normal computer game too.”
I just grinned, loving how excitedly he told me about his work. I hadn’t really asked him about it before, and I had a rough idea about it from our bond. But seeing him so enthusiastic, it was a whole new side of him. A passionate, lively side. The one I was beginning to see more and more.
“You’ll get it, I know you will,” I said firmly. I had full belief in him.
“Thanks, my main work is actually the art side and basic coding, Jackson handles the full-on coding, and Brent handles the de-bugging.”
“So you switched painting and sketching for digital art then,” I noted.
“Yeah, but I did miss normal art. I used to sell it, but ever since… well, you know, I couldn’t do it. It was what brought her into my life.” His voice dropped as his face hardened.
“Your artwork is inspiring and beautiful, I’m sure she would’ve targeted you even if it weren’t for your art,” I murmured as I squeezed his hand. His cool skin was warming against my own, soaking up my heat.
“Maybe, but I won’t let her keep me from it. She’s gone, and my family was always supportive of my art. I owe it to them to continue it,” he said softly.
I nodded, and we both looked to the door as Ollie walked in.
“One freddo coming up! I made you a hot milo too,” he smiled gently as he walked over. “Sorry it took a little longer, I just grabbed myself a sandwich too.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two, I told the design crew I’d be online tonight for some scripting stuff,” Marcus said as he leaned forward to plant a kiss on my forehead, causing my cheeks to burn and my chest to flutter.
We still had so much more fun to do eventually. When my mind was in the zone.
‘No rush, we’ll get there,’ he said, and I smiled at his thoughts pushing into my mind. I liked that he wasn’t pushing me. But it only made me want him more.
He strode out of the room as Ollie took his place beside me and handed me the unicorn mug.
“Nice mug,” I grinned. I’d seen it in the cupboard but never used it.
“Thanks, it was a joke for Lucas, since he was so colorful in his teenage years. Shoulda seen him, dying his hair all sorts of colors. His parents hated it, would force him to dye it blond again. It’s back to its natural color now,” he said as he gave me the freddo too.
“Got photos?” I chuckled, picturing Lucas with some crazy hairstyles and colors.
“Yeah, sure do, it’s more obvious he was bi in them. He really went overboard, but I think it was more rebellious, he doesn’t do it much anymore, unless he’s going clubbing or something and really feels like dressing up. He uses magic now to fancy up his hair,” Ollie laughed as he scrolled through his phone while sipping his hot milo.
I opened my freddo and dipped it in the hot drink, loving the melted sweetness.
“Here,” Ollie snorted as he held the phone closer.
I broke into fits of laughter as he scrolled through the photos. Lucas had bright pink hair and sparkly purple eyeshadow in one, then a blue mohawk and gold glitter around his eyes. They looked to be shots taken from a club, but I adored the photos.
“You need to send them to me,” I gasped, nearly dropping my mug from laughing.
We trawled through a few more, bright red hair and red lipstick. One of them he’d even done a full face of makeup, and I could suddenly see where Lucy came from.
“These are awesome,” I grinned as I sipped my milo, my cheeks hurting from smiling and laughing.
“He’s mellowed out a lot, keeps it a bit more under the radar,” Ollie snorted.
“Hey, Lucas said you used to compete on horseback, got any photos of that?” I asked. Most of these photos looked to be in hidden facebook albums, since I’d looked over all their facebook profiles.
“Yeah, I used to compete with Velocity. I got her from the kill pen. I couldn’t believe it, she’d earned her owner thousands in racing, but she’d damaged her leg. They just threw her away after that. It wasn’t like it couldn’t be fixed either, she just needed paddock rest then slow work to get her back into riding fitness,” he growled. “Starstripe Velocity was her name in the races, so I stuck with Velocity. Called her Vel for short. I retrained her myself, and we started competing in pony-club type stuff, then moved onto bigger and better things. She loved doing anything to please her rider, but she still loved to race the most. We did jumping, barrel racing, camp-drafting, you name it. She was down for it all,” Ollie murmured as he found photos and began showing them off.
The mare he rode was gorgeous, a bay as it was called, where she was a lightish brown with a black mane and tail, and black ‘socks’ on her feet. And they were soaring over a decent sized jump. He flicked through the photos with me, jumping, skidding around metal barrels in an arena, flat out racing across open paddocks.
“She died from colic around the time I got my curse,” he sighed. “I sometimes wonder if they’re connected, but the witch who did this says it’s not.”
“I still can’t believe she can’t lift it, that no one can,” I grumbled. Surely it wasn’t that hard? Lucas knew all kinds of magic.
“It’s tangled with my shifter magic, some tried to remove it, but it got painful, and it’s risky. The style of curse is not an easy thing to remove safely, and since it’ll wear off anyway, it’s recommended I just wait it out,” he muttered as he moved to slide into the bed beside me to show me the photos better. I’d finished my freddo, and was nearly done with my milo.
We flicked through so many competitive photos, and the sheer enthusiasm and joy on his face in each one was warming.
I slid down into bed beside him as I set my mug on the bedside table, still looking through the photos with him.
I felt at ease here with him, snuggled into his side, where I was warm and safe.
Eventually he set his phone down to rest his chin on my head instead.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I asked softly. I was tired and worn out, but the idea of being alone was daunting.
“Of course,” he murmured, pulling me closer into his side. He smelled of sweet caramel and horse, not yet having had a shower obviously after today.
I drew in his relaxing scent as I closed my eyes, nestled into him and clutching his shirt.
“Hey Ally?” he murmured.
“Mmm?”
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” he breathed, nuzzling the top of my head.
His hand slid down my side to rest on the bed, but the small movement against my body made tingles course through me.
I sighed, pulling myself up to look at him, his face lit up from the light of the bedside lamp.
“Thank you,” I murmured, giving in to the temptation that I’d been fighting off.
I leaned in, his body tensing as our faces were centimeters apart. Those amber eyes were wide and dilated, searching my face and settling on my lips.
He closed the small gap between us, and it was the sweetest, softest kiss I’d ever experienced, soft sparks of energy coursing through me as a fire ignited inside me.
I wanted to forget everything tonight, all my stresses, all my worries. For just a short while, I wanted to pretend everything was normal, that nothing was wrong.
Ollie’s body moulded against mine perfectly as he rolled onto his side to kiss me, his soft lips so gentle and sweet. His hands dare not stray, instead resting on my side and cupping my face.
Everything about him was careful and soft, and I was the one who had to ask to deepen the kiss by nibbling on his lower lip.
He moaned at this, and I could feel his excitement pushing against his shorts and into my hip.
I hoped to God that Marcus was staying out of my head.
I ran my hand down Ollie’s chest, slipping it up under his shirt and quivering at his warm skin against my fingers. So lean and firm. I traced over his muscles, and urged him to pull off his shirt. He hesitantly did as asked, watching me carefully as I pushed him onto his back.
His breath hitched as I snaked up to lay on top of him, our bodies pressed together like hot heaven, our bodies reacting to one another.
“Ally,” he breathed, and I could see the uncertainty in those needy, amber eyes.
“It’s okay, I want this, don’t you?” I asked quietly as I searched his eyes.
His breaths were coming out in short bursts as he held me against him, his hands unsure.
“Yes,” he finally breathed.
“Then what’s wrong?” I murmured as I traced along the line of his chin. So baby-faced, I’d never seen even the slightest hint of stubble like the other guys on him.
“I don’t want to rush it,” he finally admitted, and I smiled as my heart tugged for him.
“I want our time together to be perfect,” he continued as he ran his fingers down the side of my face, and I shivered in delight at the soft touch. Everything was so delicate with him, featherlight touches, like he thought I was made of glass.
“It will be,” I sighed, resting my cheek against his hand.
“Maybe I should shower first,” he suggested softly, and I giggled.
“Why?” I frowned.
“Um… well… I might smell… after… y’know,” he stammered, his cheeks reddening.
Right, he’d already had some fun tonight.
The image of Skip buried into Lucy made my body ache, and I inadvertently moved my hips against Ollie, causing him to tremble.
“It’ll be fine,” I purred, the heat spreading through me in anticipation. I needed this, I needed his tenderness, his soft touches and the feeling of utter bliss. I needed to stave off everything else that was clawing at the edges of my mind.
Ollie growled softly as he caught my scent, and those amber eyes became almost black as his eyes dilated to the size of an excited cat’s. Hot damn.
I leaned in for a kiss once more, loving the tinge of desire to it this time round. I guided his hands down my sides and under my shirt, and he caught the idea.
His warm fingers danced across my skin, sending hot shivers through me. Nothing like Marcus’s cool touch.
Ollie rolled us over, pausing to wait for my okay before pulling my shirt over my head.
His breath caught as his eyes fell to my naked torso, honing in on my breasts and then shifting to my burn scars.
He frowned and growled as he traced over them, the scar tissue tingling from the touch.
“I’d love to know where he is now,” he hissed.
“Forgotten,” I said, not wanting to think about him right now.
I’d left behind my dark past. I wanted to keep it that way.
Ollie took the hint as he dove down to kiss me, this time ravishing my mouth. Our tongues battled amidst a series of soft moans as our bare chests pressed together, my nipples perking up as they rubbed against him.
“Tell me Ollie, have you thought about doing this with me?” I moaned, gasping as he moved down to litter kisses down my body and fondle my breasts.
“Yes,” he said with no hesitation.
“How did you picture it?” I breathed, arching as his mouth closed around my left nipple to suckle firmly. The soft pulls against it sent a wave of heat through me each time, and I wrapped my legs around him to grind against his hardness.
“A picnic,” he rasped, his hot breath flooding over my chest as he moved to the other nipple.
“You were going to take me on a picnic? How sweet,” I murmured, caught in the hot moment.
“I wanted to spend a day with you, get close to you, study, share stories, then eventually kiss you,” he said breathlessly as he pulled up to stare down into my eyes. His short brown hair hung in his eyes, and the look of lust and adoration evident in those dark pools made my heart skip a beat.
“Guess I sped that up,” I purred, pulling him down into another passionate kiss.
His soft touches were getting more needy, but he was pacing himself.
“I still intend to see it through,” he chuckled once we broke apart, gasping for air.
“How’d I find someone so sweet,” I sighed, trailing my fingers down his sides and making him shiver from the ticklish touch.
He gave me a peck on the lips before moving down once more, exploring my body in a series of kisses and soft licks and nips.
“What’s it like being with a cat shifter?” I asked, curious about those ‘soft and squishy’ barbs as Lucy had put it. Thinking of Lucas as a girl and using his special name was still a little strange, but I’d adjust.
“Not too different, sometimes you can feel the barbs, but they won’t hurt,” he assured me as he kissed above my waistband. I throbbed and ached at this, groaning as my body begged for more.
I wanted him inside me. I hadn’t had the chance to have Marcus in me, and I needed filling, desperately.
A vampiric groan in my mind made me moan, and I instantly felt Marcus’s arousal as well, combined with my own.
Holy hell.
I already knew that he was contemplating barging in here, to take me instead, but he was holding back.
As to why, I couldn’t tell that too well, my mind was too hazy with desire.
His joint arousal was sending me over the edge.
I reached down to curl my fingers in Ollie’s waistband, brushing against his wiry hair down there.
“Take these off,” I purred as he moved up to kiss along my navel.
He did as told and shimmied out of his shorts, and my legs trembled at the sight of his hard-on. And those little barbs were jutting out, looking quite intriguing.
I pulled my pants down, my panties slick with my arousal as I tossed them to the floor in a heap.
Ollie groaned as he caught the full whiff of my arousal, and he pinned me down against the bed, kissing along my collarbone frantically as his length prodded against my inner thigh, twinging in need.
I wrapped my legs around his hips in an attempt to drive him inside, but he moved to the side teasingly as he nibbled on my earlobe.
“I want this to last,” he moaned.
“I want you to fuck me,” I growled, hating the torturous teasing as his dick pressed so damn close to my wet folds.
Ollie trembled at my demand, and he moaned as he rubbed himself against my slick folds.
“You smell like honey,” he breathed against my ear.
“Apparently I taste like it too,” I giggled, but let out a long moan as the tip of his unique penis pushed against my entrance. Those little barbs were squishy.
Ollie bit down on my neck, causing me to gasp and moan as he slid inside me with ease.
My mind jumped to a memory of how cats held down their mate by biting their neck. Was this something to do with that?
Those exotic barbs caressed my walls like a million tiny fingers, stroking me inside as Ollie moved against me.
I slid a hand down to grip his firm arse, loving the solid muscle beneath my fingers, feeling it flex as he ground into me.
“Can you really make it grow?” I breathed, lolling my head back as he released my neck to kiss it gently, as if he’d only just realized what he’d done.
“Probably one of the few shifting things I can still control,” he grunted as he nuzzled into my neck, gasping and moaning as he slowly moved with me.
I wanted him to speed up, to drive into me like there was no tomorrow, to make me feel everything.
I arched and moaned loudly as his shaft expanded, filling me wholly and stretching me.
“Fuck,” I breathed, quivering beneath him as I adjusted to the change.
“Too much?” He froze, not willing to move another inch.
“No,” I moaned, forcing myself up to meet him so that he was balls deep inside.
“So good,” I ga
sped as I pulled his hips down to meet me.
He began thrusting with me, gritting his teeth against my neck as he tried to refrain from letting go.
I rocked against him, our hips grinding together as he buried himself inside me over and over.
“Faster,” I begged, arching and writhing as I felt my climax nearing. Orgasms through penetrative sex were rare for me, but his dick felt so fucking good inside me. So thick and long, those barbs working in his favor.
He drove into me faster, gasping against me as he cursed, and I felt him swell up inside me.
His hands slid down to cup my arse, pulling me hard against him so he could sink right inside me.
I gasped and clawed at the bed sheets, biting my lip and cursing as I threw my head back.
The orgasm hit me like a tidal wave of blinding bliss, and I shook with the climatic jolts coursing through me.
Ollie’s head dipped down beside my ear, and he moaned out my name as he drove himself deep inside my tight, swollen walls.
His hot seed filled me up, and I wrapped myself around him to enjoy his orgasm as he trembled and shook with me.
We lay in a sweaty, panting mess, tangled in one another, joined.
‘So fucking good,’ he moaned.
It took me a few moments to realize he hadn’t said the words aloud.
Oh damn.
‘Even I felt that magic in the house,’ Marcus’s voice slipped into my mind. I could sense his contentment, having finished himself off alone in his room while listening in. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, I guess I’d call it invaded privacy, but instead I found I enjoyed knowing he’d gotten off to me having sex with Ollie.
‘Can you hear me too?’ I asked mentally, directing the thought at Ollie.
He pulled back with a startled look, those amber eyes narrowing to slits before dilating again.
“Well, guess I’m hearing everyone now,” I chuckled, although a pit settled in my stomach.
What did this mean?
Ollie stayed the night with me after cleaning up, and he panicked momentarily about not using a condom. I waved it off, informing him I was on the pill. Something that had become such a normal aspect of my life each morning that I didn’t even think about it.
