Chương 15: Five letters

The next morning, I vowed to myself I wouldn't repeat the mistake I had made the night before. We both wanted each other, that much was clear. We both wanted to spend the night together, but what Nadia had wanted most of all was for me to ask. And if I was wrong? She could say no. She was a strong woman I respected and admired, and I wouldn't disrespect her by treating her like anything else. Tonight, I told myself. If the opportunity comes again, I will ask her.

I was also glad to see that my fuck-up had done less damage than I feared. Nadia was her usual energetic self, cracking jokes so filthy they felt like they had no right coming from that sweet, innocent-looking face. The warmth between us was also intact. If anything, it had increased. We were inseparable, never wanting to be apart even when doing mundane chores or the repairs the old house demanded from us. We craved each other's touch, warmth, breath, and lips all the time, like teenagers in love. I was in love.

I knew that much. The thought of her lingering at my door returned more than once. Each time, I stopped myself before regret became self-punishment. I had squandered an opportunity, yes, but she was still here, showering me with affection and kisses, accepting the same in return, holding my hand, smiling at me. Her disappointment had come from wanting more, and from me being too dumb to give it to her.

By evening, that desire for more had ignited again on the sofa, with Nero lazily napping at one end and the fire crackling in the hearth. As we made out, Nadia's hands crawled toward my pants, unbuckling my belt and seeking my already diamond-hard cock.

"Wait," I told her, catching her fingers before they could slip inside. She looked at me, half smirk and half pout.

"Why?" she whined.

"I told you I could get addicted to your taste, didn't I? Don't tell me you want to deny me." Then she put on a look of exaggerated outrage.

"Adrian! You dare deny me? Careful, you might learn that I enjoy the chase just as much!" I matched her grin, grabbed the small of her back, and lifted her as I rose to my feet. She yelped, then hung on for dear life, flushing crimson.

"Interesting," I said, kissing her before she could reply. Her warm brown eyes sparkled with lust when I pulled away.

"Then chase me." I put her down, caught her hand, and started toward the stairs. My grip was loose enough that she could let go whenever she wanted. Instead, she threaded her fingers through mine and squeezed. My walk became a quick run up the stairs. She chased after me, giggling as I tugged her along, and we were both laughing by the time we tumbled onto my bed, arms and legs tangled, our clothed bodies pressed together.

"Adrian," she said huskily, passion burning across her cheeks.

"I want you." I let go of her hands, and she immediately worked to make sure no clothes remained on me, almost yanking my pants down my legs with needy haste. While she did, I caught her glancing at the lamp on my nightstand. I had turned it on when we entered. Last night, she had left it off, and I had mostly imagined how good she looked in the darkness. Tonight I wanted to see her. I wanted to admire every expression she made. Her glance lasted only a moment.

Then I caught her face between my hands and kissed her. She moaned as her tongue slipped into my mouth, then trailed kisses down my neck and chest, lower and lower until she found my rock-hard cock and took it into her mouth with a sound somewhere between pleasure and relief. As if she had been afraid last night was only something she had imagined, and now she had proof I was real. She sucked me hard and fast, chasing the taste she craved so much. Pleasure tightened in my stomach and began climbing.

I had wanted to turn the tables on her, but for a few breathless moments I considered letting her get her fix first. Then Nadia looked up at me, her eyes full of desire, and I couldn't wait any longer. I threw her off me and rolled us across the bed until I was on top of her. She landed with a little yip.

"So cute," I told her, and felt her shiver when I bit her neck gently.

"A-Adrian?" she mewled, her eyes dropping toward my cock.

"Eyes up here." I sealed her lips with a kiss. Then, mirroring what she had done to me, I kissed my way down her neck. I tugged at her clothes, and she let me remove them with a furious blush on her face. I kissed her breasts and teased around her nipples until she shivered, moaning and sweating as the air filled with her intoxicating scent. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. I kept moving lower.

Her musk grew stronger as I reached her panties, and it made my head spin. The fabric was wet. Above its edge, I could see the faintest hint of her neatly trimmed hair, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to bury my face there. I kissed her through the fabric. My fingers hooked beneath the waistband, ready to move it aside. Nadia went still.

"Wait." I lifted my head. Her breathing came shallow and quick. The heat in her face had changed into something else, and one of her hands had tightened in the sheets.

"Nadia?" I moved back up the bed, leaving her panties exactly where they were. I kissed her stomach once on the way, softly enough that she could pull away if she wanted.

"I want to pleasure you too," I said.

"But we don't have to do this."

"I know." Her voice cracked.

"That's the problem." I settled beside her instead of over her. When I touched her arm, she leaned into it, so I let my fingertips trail over her skin in light, gentle scratches. I kissed her temple and waited. For a while, she only breathed. Then she pressed her face into my chest.

"You look at me like this is me," she whispered.

"Like this body is beautiful. And I want that. I want to believe you." I stroked her hair.

"But if I let myself love this, it feels like I'm burying what I was." Her fingers curled against me.

"And if I admit I miss what I was, it feels like I'm asking for the fucking curse back." She drew a breath.

"I miss my ear," she said. Proud even now, forcing the words out cleanly.

"The pointed one. I miss it, I think." Tears slipped down her cheeks. I wiped them away with my thumbs, then let her hide against me. She didn't retreat. She trusted me enough to lean into the care, even when every instinct eight years of isolation had carved into her must have told her to close herself off. Hell, they told me to watch what I was doing. And I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong. Not at all. Still, that little lingering fear was there… The glance at the lamp made sense now, I realized.

So did the darkness she had preserved last night, and all those moments in front of the mirror. Nadia took my hand. Slowly, delicately, she guided it to the ordinary curve of her ear and pressed my palm against it with her own.

"Touch me here," she whispered.

"Please." I began exactly where she asked. I traced the rim of her ear with my thumb, carefully feeling its shape. When she relaxed against me, I continued into her hair, then down the side of her neck. She tilted her head to give me room. I kissed her cheek, and she exhaled scalding hot air that tickled my face. I held her tighter when her fingers clutched at my back, then loosened my grip when her breathing caught. I didn't know what she needed. I didn't have to.

She guided me, welcomed me, leaned into me, and I paid attention. Her trembling eased. Her breathing evened out. The sweat on her skin began to cool, so I drew the sheets over us and pulled her close beneath them. We became a warm, cozy tangle together. My hand returned to her ear. I stroked it once more, and when she softened beneath my touch, I bent and kissed the place where the pointed one used to be. She gasped. Then she held me tighter. I loved taking care of her. I loved how much she trusted me.

I wanted her happy and safe. I wanted her to know she was mine, and that being mine meant she would never have to be strong alone. I could fix her power, if she wanted me to. I could give her choices the curse had stolen. But those choices would be hers. Did she want her old body? Did she hate it? Did she… not know? I was here for her, whatever she might tell me.

For now, I held her, stroked her hair, kissed her face and her little nose, and told her how much she meant to me in every way except the three words still caught behind my teeth. Her eyes were full of love when she looked at me. I thought I knew what they meant. Even though a more cautious part of me reminded me that neither of us had ever said it aloud. When she yawned and shifted closer, settling her face against my chest, I knew it was time to make amends for the night before.

"Stay," I said. Five letters. Nadia raised her head just enough to look at me.

"I'll stay," she murmured.

"I'll stay, Adrian." Then she tucked herself back against my chest, draped an arm across me, and closed her eyes. I held her until her breathing turned slow and even. The warmth of her body soaked into mine, and the scent of her hair filled every breath. We didn't have sex, in the end, but this was a night I'd remember forever. Having her asleep against me was the best thing. I loved her. Fuck, I wanted to tell her. Maybe not while she was asleep, or the words would be wasted, maybe. But soon.

In the morning, perhaps, when she opened those warm brown eyes and found me still here. As that thought settled inside me, something else settled with it. The deconstruction of her superpower had ended weeks ago, when the foreign power inside me first exposed all its pieces. Digestion had continued long after understanding. Now, at last, it was finished. I focused on the next part of my own second power's hint. Integrate.

It could untangle the inverted aura, remove the lethal corruption, and mend the damaged off-switch without harming the core. Grow could deepen that affinity, turning blind hunger into controlled giving and taking. The appearance Nadia had lost was separate from both the life power and the corruption. I could return the repaired ability without forcing that appearance onto her, or destroying it, or confusing one choice for the other. And bestow could give it all back to her. What was I going to do, I wondered?

I felt like I knew, without the need to say it. For now, though, Nadia slept on my chest, powerless and trusting. My first impulse had been to wake her. To tell her about the breakthrough, the nanomachines, the second awakening, everything. And yet… she was sent here, wasn't she? She wanted to steal from me. Ugly thoughts. I hated myself for them. She wanted to live, that's why she came. Better. I didn't wake her, but the decision was made. I would take Nadia into Gus's lab.

I would tell her about the nanomachines Gus had built, all six vials I had injected, the second awakening, the consume-engine-nanomachines-whatever, and the danger of anyone learning what lived inside me. I would tell her that her power was ready, that I knew how to repair it, and that nothing would happen to her power or her body without her choice. I was done deciding whether I could trust her. It was time to come clean.