“That monster from the upper level is dead, right? It isn’t going to come down here after us?” My stomach churns just a bit at the pool of blood on the floor and the way it streaks down the kelpie’s face. How it bashed its own head in and got up as though the injury was nothing more than a scratch is beyond me. This pce is nothing like back home. Typically, when something dies, it stays dead.

  Roharu rolls one of his shoulders and gres at the kelpie before smoothing his features over. “It did not get up immediately like this beast did, so I suspect it is dead.” He tilts his head to the left. “Though we also cut it up and the cat... Katsuro and Chloe should be almost done with cooking it.” Roharu looks at the kelpie again and smirks. “Perhaps that is where we went wrong here. We should have cut out its innards and strung it up by its hooves.”

  Is he trying to get rid of my kelpie still? “No. Kelpie is here to stay for now.” I tap a finger to my lips. “Though maybe it should have a name? Something cute?” The kelpie in question trots over to the water and ducks its head in, washing the blood off its face. My brows furrow together. Why does it sound like the kelpie is talking to me? “Or something strong?” I add.

  “It is a beast that drags its victims under the depths and drowns them while feasting on their bones and you wish to give it a cute name?”

  “Is that a no to ‘Apollo’?”

  Roharu drags a hand down his face. “Vixen, please tell me you are not going to befriend every beast we come across.”

  “Course not,” I scoff, looping my arms through his. “Not every monster wants to be my friend, after all. But Apollo does.” I smile brightly and flutter my eyeshes just to mess with him. “Besides, you saw what he can do. He had you frozen after all, so he could have easily killed us both if he chose to.”

  “Your confidence in my abilities is heartwarming, truly.”

  Uh oh. Did I hurt his feelings? “Roharu—”

  “Let us continue with our exploration. The kelpie can be of some use. It can throw itself at these so-called traps you are so determined to uncover.” He keeps a steady pace, probably for my benefit, while Apollo trots next to us with his head held high. The bridle glows briefly, but it doesn’t hurt. It gives off some warmth, like a warm cup of hot chocote on a winter day. “Your kelpie will have to return to the water when it is time to rest. I am not keen on having it at the campsite while we are vulnerable.”

  “I’m sure Apollo needs rest too,” I chime. “Are you always this skeptical?” Apollo snorts next to us as he trots further ahead, stopping every so often to duck his head into a room. “And are we leaving the fish behind? Apollo worked hard to bring us those gifts.”

  “How do you know it is a male?” Roharu sidesteps my other question.

  “... Because he told me so?”

  Roharu stops and narrows his purple eyes at me. His eyes are such a beautiful shade of purple. “What do you mean, it told you so? The beast has no form of communication. Unless you speak in clicks.”

  How do I say this without sounding like a lunatic? If I come out and say that I can hear Apollo in my mind, then Roharu will either think I’m utterly insane or he’ll be convinced that Apollo is controlling my mind. But it doesn’t feel that way. No, that feeling of being detached from my body isn’t present now. It’s not like when we fought that creepy eye monster.

  “Megan,” Roharu says. “An answer before I cut the beast into cuts to eat ter.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  He raises a brow and holds up a hand, flexing his cws. Okay. He would. I unwrap my arms from him and toss my hands up, spping my legs. “I can hear him. You know, like telepathy or something. And it is not mind control,” I add on the st part because Roharu’s lip curls back and I can see a hint of his fangs.

  He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I have not known a moment’s peace since you came into my life.”

  “Because I make your life that much more vibrant.” I snap my fingers at him, trying to dislodge the pain settling in my heart. Who am I kidding? The moment we get out of here and make our way to the city, Roharu is going to dump me faster than a rock. He’s probably eager to find his mate. Whoever she is, I hate her.

  No, I don’t hate her. I’m jealous and I wish I had someone that belonged only to me.

  “That is one way of putting it,” he mutters. His ears twitch. “Can you hear the whirling?”

  “... No? But I’ll take your word for it.” I bite my lip and wipe my sweaty hands on my pants. “Is it a bad whirling or...is it a trap?” Apollo stomps his hooves and makes a left, going down the hall. We follow him, though Roharu is more tense than I am. His eyes are ft and his hand hovers over his dagger. Apollo comes to a stop in front of a room where the whirling noise is the loudest. He steps to the side as Roharu brushes past. “What is it?”

  “Some kind of mechanic,” Roharu says. “Cogs.”

  I walk into the room and frown. “Like a trap?”

  “Do not sound so excited at the prospect of a trap, Vixen.” He scratches the back of his head and then points to the door. “I suspect it will not open until we solve this.”

  “We should wait for Katsuro and Chloe, then. In case it leads to the next floor or out of here.” I cross my arms and look around the room. The cogs are huge and come in a variety of blues, reds, and yellows. On the floor are four buttons, but they give no indication if they are color-based or symbol-based. Nothing. I gnce around the room, trying to see if there are any clues, but the walls are bare. “You sure this will open that door? There are no clues in this room. It’s just these cogs, that door, and these buttons on the ground.”

  Apollo grunts in agreement.

  “You think the clues are elsewhere?”

  “Are you talking to me or the beast?”

  “Both?”

  Roharu scratches his head again and huffs. “We should return. It is growing te.”

  “There is no sunlight in here. How do you know it’s getting te?”

  “Because your eyes are drooping, and you keep swaying to the right. You are tired.” He strides over to me and picks me up. My body is hot. “You can figure out the trap’s mechanics after you rest.” He bends his head and nuzzles his nose in my hair. “I miss you.”

  “It’s only been a day?” And what a long day it has been. It feels like it’s been weeks. My stomach clenches and I hope he can’t smell the effect his words have on me. I should think of something else. Not how his hands felt on my body or the way he used his shadows to bring me pleasure. Nope, I’m not thinking about that at all.

  “Vixen, I can smell how much you want me,” he breathes. His hands tighten around me.

  “Here?” My eyes dart to his lips when he pulls back. “Maybe not in the room with the trap, but here?”

  Roharu hums and turns his head towards Apollo. “Return. We will fetch you in the morning.” Apollo clucks his tongue and turns away. His tail flicks up, almost as if he is giving Roharu the finger. Roharu rolls his eyes. “Your pet is far too clingy.”

  “Are you jealous?” I ask, half expecting him to ignore me and half expecting him to make fun of me for such a silly assumption. Why would he be jealous?

  “Yes.”

  I knew it. He thinks I’m insane for even... did he say yes?

  He sniffs the air. “I do not scent any beasts save for your kelpie. We should be fine so long as we stay clear of the water lest there be others that reside in the depths.”

  “Wait, you’re serious? Here?” My voice rises a tad. “What if Chloe and Katsuro come out to look for us?”

  “I’d pluck his eyes out and feed them to your pet if the cat dares to y eyes on you.” Roharu turns and strolls into a smaller room. It’s cramped and a little bigger than a walk-in pantry. “He would not dare. The cat has a working nose and ears.”

  “That does not make me feel better.”

  He fshes me a fang-filled smirk. “Would me on my knees, make it better for you?” He eases me out of his arms and presses me against the wall. I swallow and try to keep my face bnk, but the darkening of his eyes and the soft brush of his tail on my legs have me weak in the knees. How the hell does he do that? Turn my mind into mush with a flick of his wrist? Roharu tilts my chin up with his thumb and forefinger. His lips brush against mine in a soft, chaste kiss before he devours me whole.

  I moan, throwing my arms around his neck and threading my fingers through his hair. His body is harder than the stone behind me. I swear the god of this world must have carved Roharu out of marble. His hand slides down the length of my body and grabbing a hold of my leg. He squeezes my thigh and lifts it. Every swipe of his tongue loosens a screw. He drives me crazy.

  Should have never given in to him. Now I don’t want to let him go. My heart pangs while my clit throbs. At least I have this much. I have him for this moment.

  “Roharu, please,” I beg, angling my hips and grinding against him. He groans and drops his head, nipping at my shoulder. His fangs should scare me. They’re sharp enough to draw more than blood, but the nips send an electric current through my body, and I feel like I’m floating.

  “I hate these pants,” he says, lowering my leg so he can undo the button. “The next vilge we come across; I will get you appropriate clothing.”

  I roll my eyes while I shimmy out of my pants. “You are always hating on my pants. They have done nothing to you.” Roharu hums as he drops to his knees and pces my leg over his shoulder. My breath hitches as my fingers slide over the stone behind me. There is nothing for me to hold on to.

  “They keep me from what is mine,” he growls. His mouth is hot, and his tongue is so long it is sinful. I bite my lip, trying to keep my cries to a minimum, but he nips my inner thigh, and the cries spill forth. “Do not keep your moans from me, either.” His eyes hold mine while he eats me out.

  Easy for him to say. Roharu doesn’t have a shy bone in his body. Me? I’m slightly mortified that Katsuro might be able to hear what we’re doing from this far away. But this darker part in me is thrilled that even with danger lurking around the corners, Roharu can’t help himself but to get lost in me. I reach for him, running my fingertips over the softness of his ears. His eyes flutter shut as his body trembles.

  Oh. His ears are sensitive. “Come here. I want to feel you.” Roharu’s eyes open as he pulls away. His tongue darts out of his mouth and swipes at his chin. My heart hammers. I didn’t realize his tongue was that long. He eyes the wall behind me and maneuvers me, so I’m in his arms with his back against the wall.

  “Do not want you to get hurt,” is all he says, before reaching between us and then smming me down on his cock. His other one brushes against me. I wish I could feel both of them inside of me, but I get why he is reluctant to do so. Getting pregnant would complicate things massively. When I find a way back home to my world, that’s the st thing I want to expin to a bunch of nurses. Roharu nips my lip and I yelp. “Stay with me,” he growls, moving my body up and down on his cock.

  I pce my hands on his shoulders and lean forward. He slows his movements and then hisses as I trail my tongue along the ridge of his ear. Roharu’s grip on me tightens as he pistons his hips. My eyes roll back. His movements are powerful and the only thing I can do is hold on to him. I come with his name on my lips. He pulls out with a groan as he lets me down slowly. His cocks are still hard. I sink to my knees and grab both of them with my hands.

  “Vixen,” he groans. “You do not have to.”

  I gre at him. “I want to.” That shuts him up, or maybe it’s my lips wrapped around his top cock. His eyes fsh red. I stroke his other cock, alternating between his cock and balls. One day, I’ll take my time finding every spot that gets his heart racing. I press my tongue ft against the underside of his cock and take as much of him as I can. His hips twitch.

  “Megan, I am going to...” His breath hitches. I suck him harder, sighing as he comes in my mouth and on my hand. “Sorry, we can... vixen,” he groans.

  I meet his eyes as I lick the come off my fingers. “Now we can retire for the night.”

  AutumnBanks

  Thanks for reading!