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Chapter 75: A Long Torturous Night
"Well, the contortionist is safe but we have another problem,” Nelson said, coming back into his office.
I stopped glaring at Tallis and turned my attention back to Nelson. He stood beside his desk, tapping
his finger on a stack of papers.
"What's wrong?" Tallis demanded gruffly.
"There's been a landslide, not too far from here. Only about a mile away," he said somberly.
“A landslide? Is anyone hurt?” I asked, perking up.
"It happened late at night when no one was around. It does cover the road we were going to take to our
next location, but no one was injured," Nelson assured with a nod.
I sighed and relaxed into the chair. The landslide must have been on my pack territory. They weren't
common, but I remembered one from my childhood that hurt a lot of people.
I was relieved to learn that it hadn't caused a lot of casualties this time.
"The road isn't a well traveled road, but It will be a while before they clear it, so we will be stuck here
until it is cleared," he explained, "Anyway, we aren't planning to leave until the ceremony ends. So
hopefully by then, the roads are cleared."
Tallis nodded in understanding. I couldn't tell whether he was upset about the news or not. For some
reason, I was a bit happy.
"Now, because space is tight, your little friend is going to have to bunk with you, Tallis," Nelson said,
winking at me again and swiftly changing the subject.
"What? No. That is unacceptable," Tallis argued, shaking his head. His brow creased deeply.
"You know how it is. The two of us are the only ones with actual rooms. The rest of the performers
share a tent out on the lawn," Nelson said, arching an eyebrow at Tallis.
He grumbled and shook his head. Clearly he didn't like that idea either.
"If that doesn't appeal to you either, he can always stay with me," Nelson suggested, smirking at his
brother.
Tallis snorted and glared at the floor..
It was a bit odd to have Nelson refer to me as 'he.' I needed to get used to it now that I was in disguise.
Normally, when I was in disguise, I tried to avoid interacting with anyone. It had been to prevent people
from recognizing me, not for me to role play long-term.
"Those are all our options," Nelson shrugged.
"Fine, he will stay with me," he ground out through gritted teeth, his jaw tensing, eyes refusing to meet
mine.
I glanced over at Nelson who smirked again and winked at me. My jaw loosened as I realized he'd
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtplanned that whole setup. He really wanted me to spend the night in a room with Tallis.
Maybe this was going too far. I didn't even want to know what was going through Nelson's mind...
Tallis made it clear he didn't care what anyone else thought of him, but his brother was meddling with
his love life now, and things could get very sticky and complicated. Maybe I was better off staying at the
pack and putting up with Hawke...
"Then it is settled. The two of you will bunk together. I'm going to head off to bed and I'm going to
assume the two of you will do the same," Nelson said. He gave us a casual wave and left.
Sighing, I got to my feet and stretched, my back popping. Tallis was still standing there, looking grumpy.
He might not have been tired, but I was exhausted.
I yawned, heavily hinting that I was ready to go to bed.
"Come on," he said forcefully, motioning for me to follow him with a hand.
We headed across the big event tent to where there was another small room closed off by thick,
velvety curtains. It was a cramped room with just one twin sized bed, which hardly fit in the small space
uncomfortably.
Immediately, I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. I yawned again and rubbed my weary
eyes.
When I looked at Tallis, he was standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets, his head turned
toward the curtain door. Being inside a tent, there weren't any real doors or windows anywhere. It was
a little stuffy.
"If you're really that miserable about having me bunk with you, you had other options," I pointed out.
"You're tired. You should rest," he told me firmly.
I noticed how he didn't really answer my question. He also refused to look at me. I laid down on the bed
and looked up at the tent ceiling, red velvet.
Tallis still hadn't moved and I wondered if I was being too needy or presumptuous, taking his bed. I got
up and sat down on the ground. Tallis still didn't say anything, so I curled up and closed my eyes.
It was probably too much to expect him to be a gentleman and actually offer the bed to me. He didn't
seem like the selfless type. When he didn't say anything at all, it was hard to tell what he was thinking
or what he wanted me to do.
I could have been lying on a bed or razor sharp rocks and it wouldn't have mattered. For the first time
in days, I actually felt as long as he was here, there wasn't anything I needed to worry about, and that I
could finally take a good night of rest.
With that thought, my body relaxed, my eyes dropped instantly and I fell asleep.
*Theo
I kept my eyes averted until Ciana's breathing evened out. Glancing at her, I saw her chest rising and
falling evenly. Her eyelids rippled as underneath, her eyes shifted back and forth. She must have been
dreaming already.
Even with the makeup that made her look like a boy, I could see her real beauty underneath. I wished
she'd wash that crap off. Right now, I was Tallis, I wasn't Theo. I couldn't ask her why she was
disguised as a boy or anything else that would make her think I was curious about her.
In her sleep, Ciana sighed and rolled onto her back stretching her legs out on the ground. She looked
peaceful but I knew she'd have a sore back in the morning from sleeping on the ground.
Wind whipped through the tent and she shuddered. Turning on her side again, Ciana hugged her
knees to her chest and shivered in the cold air.
I chewed the inside of my cheek and glanced around. Could I really just leave her on the ground to
freeze? No, I couldn't.
I sighed, stepped forward, scooped her up and brought her over to that tiny, sorry excuse for a bed I'd
been sleeping on.
Ciana mumbled something in her sleep and curled into me, whispering something about warmth.
A smile tugged at my lips, but I fought it off.
Her delicate fingers tightened around my shirt as I lowered her onto the bed. She nuzzled her nose
against my chest and wouldn't let go.
Carefully, I tried to pull back once I was sure the thin, springy mattress was supporting her. On second
thought, that horrible mattress was probably less comfortable than the ground...
Ciana muttered a protest and her hands pulled on my shirt. I wasn't balanced and I fell on top of her.
Before I could move, she had her arms and legs locked around me like a boa constrictor. Clearly, she'd
been spending too much time with Perceval.
I swallowed my irritated groan, realizing there was no way I could get away from her without waking
her. Seeing as I was supposed to be a stranger, if she woke up and found us like this, she might freak
out and I'd have a lot of explaining to do.
The warmth of her body pressed against me and her fingers clung desperately to my shirt. Despite
myself, the heavy organ between my legs stiffened and pressed against her leg.
Damn it! This was going to be a long, torturous night.
Sighing, I tried to relax. I could feel every inch of her body pressing against me, her arms and legs
clenching around me as she dreamt. My pants tightened and my desire ached for release. It should
have been driving me crazy but I found I was addicted to being close to her, if only to feel something
pleasant.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
It was dangerous... I warned myself, but no matter how I tried, my body wouldn't move an inch away.
Ciana nuzzled her head against my neck. Her nose brushed my skin, her soft breath tickled down my
throat. I swallowed hard, clenching my muscles against the desire to grab her and pull her closer.
Flashes of when we'd been together in the Moonlit Crystal Long Torturs Night
realm surfaced in my mind. I could so clearly remember how warm and wet she'd felt, completely
surrounding me and sucking me deep inside.
I bit my lip to stifle the equally pleased and annoyed groan that rose in my throat.
Fuck, how I wanted her!
I wanted to claim her body in the real world, not just in that vision we'd acted out.
Her warm lips grazed against my neck and she sighed, her head tilting back slightly. I caught a glimpse
of her plump, pink lips, slightly parted in her sleep.
I'd felt her lips before. I knew well how warm and soft they were, and what feelings they elicited within
me.
Again, I swallowed hard. Try as I might, I couldn't pull my eyes from her inviting lips. With her head
tilted back, she was perfectly angled toward me, waiting.
Like a man possessed, I leaned in and pressed mine to hers.
Ciana moaned in her sleep and squirmed against me. Her legs tightened around my hips and she
rolled her body against mine.
Heat flared through me and my throbbing cock was ready to burst at any moment.
I jerked my head away from her, breathing heavily. She still slept on, mumbling something incoherent
as her arms got even tighter around me.
I'd had trouble with self-control lately. My powers had been all over the place, but it wasn't my fatal
powers that I was concerned about right now.
It was the burning desire.
What was I doing?! Kissing a young woman in her sleep?! Theodore Crimson, how despicable you
were!
Reluctantly, I pulled away from Ciana. There was nowhere else I would rather be than locked in her
warm, enticing embrace all night. I was still concerned about how she'd react if she woke up.
The last time we'd been in a situation like that, she'd freaked out. I hadn't realized how big of a deal it
was for her then. I wasn't going to make that same mistake now.
When I stood up, she sighed and reached to the empty space, like she was searching for me to pull me
back. There was a moment where I thought about throwing it all away and just falling into her embrace
again.
But I couldn't.
Sighing, I turned away from her.
It was better to let her rest.
I left the room desperately searching for a cold shower.
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