18+ only. Minors DNI. Clover Down. she/her. Writing fanfics on ao3 and sharing some own work free here. I also publish my own romance novellas. Recovering wallflower. Aspiring space pirate. I love prompts so feel free to ask!
Adult stuff. Between the angst, violence, and steam, just always assume what I’m writing is adult stuff. Feel free to check the tags, even on the novellas!
My fics over on AO3. Mostly Redacted ASMR, 19 Days, and Old Guard, along with some older Covenant and Nightwing fics.
My novellas on amazon and smashwords, equally romantic and prone to hurt/comfort. I’ve got some contemporary and some sci-fi because I can’t resist a little ride or die in space.
Goodreads.
The audioscripts: Slasher 101, Car Crash Meet Cute, First Tattoo, Stardust and Cosmic
House of Teeth Series - Modern Fantasy Romances
Ruby and the Wolf. Ruby/Liang - short story. published
The Adventures of Stardust and Cosmic - Script Finale <3
Okay, so this is the finale of the audio script for The Adventures of Stardust and Cosmic. If and when the audio comes out, I'll repost it with a link.
Obviously, choosing to read this is a spoiler if you want to be surprised by the audio.
I also wrote out the whole thing in novel form with extra scenes and more of what's going on behind the audio. The story takes place in the my scifi universe (Defying Gravity) where I've got some other books. To The Edge will be published in the series as soon as I can get it edited, formatted, and out. Fingers crossed, sooner rather than later now that it's on the top of my stack of projects. <3 <3
Thank you so much to everyone that commented on and took an interest in this story! It has been so encouraging and uplifting during a rough period. I truly appreciate you taking that time to say something. It was so much fun to write this story and the Jouska audios for it are incredible.
The previous part of the script - on tumblr.
The full audio series recorded by Jouska over on Youtube.
<3
The Adventures of Stardust & Cosmic FINALE
By Dominimoonbeam
[drawn-out opening]
[ship sounds]
[door opening and closing, footfalls]
[whisper, worried] Stardust?
[again] Stardust?
Can you hear me? Come on… wake up. Please.
[sigh of relief] There you are.
[worried] Can you move? Fuck… Okay, hang on… I’m just going to roll you onto your back. You’re going to be okay.
[rummaging in his pack] I brought a med kit in case… Well… Here, the adrenaline. Okay, this is going to suck.
[air compressing sound of the injection]
Woah! Okay, okay, you’re okay. Just breathe. I’ve got you.
Take a minute.
Is anything broken?
Stop trying to get up and let me check!
No, he’s gone. They took a jet to check out the asteroid. Did you know this is my first time on a yacht? It actually wasn’t that hard to sneak onto this thing. I was expecting a lot more crew.
So, that’s where the treasure is? The asteroid?
[huffs a laugh] How would I know?
[hesitating] No. I…I came to get you.
[agitated] Why do you look surprised? I told you I wasn’t going to leave you.
[rustling gear] Hold still. Nothing major looks broken but I’ll patch these cuts while the stimulants and painkillers kick in.
I had to leave the ship on the other side of a moon, so they wouldn’t notice it. [smiling] These cocky shits really made tailing them easy. It’s almost like they think all this chrome and firepower is going to be off-putting enough to stop someone from messing with them…
[laughs in a whisper] Yeah. They clearly do not know what they’re up against. You have no self-preservation instincts and I love a challenge. They never stood a chance.
Really, it’s impressive they’re not being surrounded by scavengers and pirates yet. I’m not sure they’ll make it back to the prime in this even if we don’t blow it up.
There. At least that’s stopped bleeding. Do you think you can walk?
Okay. Good.
And your hands? Can you hold a gun?
[smiling] Good.
Since you’re alive…I’ve got a plan.
I’ve got a few actually. They’re all incredibly reckless, so I know you’ll love them.
If you want, we can grab one of those shiny jets in the bay and make a run for it. Maybe even blow up this yacht on the way out. Of course, we might not get far if your cousin decides he wants to make sure no one knows what he’s got his hands on. And even if we get away, you might be screwed without whatever protection you had because of this loot…
Exactly! We need the treasure. So, I was thinking we take it while it’s still loaded on the jet when they get back.
You know that thing you love to do where you sneak into my ship controls?
No. It’s not our ship. It’s my ship.
Don’t get us off topic, Stardust.
Okay, so if I can get you to an access panel on this yacht could you–
A control hub?
Okay. They should have at least a few of those outside the deck on a ship this size. I bet we could find one if we go back to the bay.
I figure, if we can get control of the ship, we wait until that cousin of yours gets back and then we lock out the deck crew and start shutting doors. Block the crew on the rest of the yacht from getting to the bay–stop your cousin from escaping–and have a classic shootout to get that jet and escape.
[smiling] I knew you’d choose that one.
No, not because it’s stupid, because it’s what I’d pick too.
Here.
[rustling, getting them up]
Can you stand on your own?
[laughs] Okay, I mean, you’re still looking rough but not as bad as when I first picked you up…
Of course, I brought your guns. [buckle sounds, rustling] No, just take a minute and hold still. I’ll get you set up. All you need to worry about is staying on your feet and shooting anyone who tries to kill us.
You know, you might finally get to be in a real firefight.
[laughs] No, that wasn’t.
That was just mercenaries getting the drop on us. It was over in seconds.
It’s not that it has to last a specific length of time. It’s just… [groans] You’ll know it when it happens, okay? The mercenary thing was a tiff.
It doesn’t matter. It’s still just a tiff.
A firefight is different.
Just—ugh—trust me.
[clipping gear in place]
You sure you can walk? Do you want another adrenaline shot?
Nah, it won’t kill you. I mean… I don’t think it will…
[a little bashful] Oh. Um. Here. You forgot your jacket.
Yeah, well, today it’s your jacket. If we’re still alive tomorrow, I’ll take it back.
[clothing movement and zipper] We’re almost done. It’s just you, me, and that jet. We grab it and we run. That’s the whole plan.
[whisper laugh] Yeah, and you kill your cousin if you get the shot.
Oh no. No, no, no. If a Solinoh kills a Solinoh, it’s a family problem. It’s a scratch. But if I do it? [still laughing, shaking his head] No fucking way. You take that shot if you can, but I’m going for the treasure.
[smiling] Okay. Take my hand. Let’s get out of here.
[sneaking. door sounds]
[whisper] So, how many cousins of yours do we have to deal with?
Only the one’s not so bad…
[eye roll] Of course. I knew you primers had bodyguards…
This way. The bay was through here.
[door whoosh]
Come on. [hurrying to duck down] Shhh. [boots marching closer and then away, maybe muffled voices if you’re feeling fancy]
[whispering] Okay, over there. We can hide behind that crate and you can try that control panel.
[moving to a new position]
[smiling] How should I know when they’ll be back? I guess it depends on how much loot there is.
[Stardust popping the panel off and trying to hack the yacht]
Hm?
[a little worried] It’s been four days, Stardust. You—I guess you didn’t have any way of knowing.
Do you remember much of it? What… Do you want to talk about it?
[sighs] Okay. That’s okay. If you change your mind–
[huffs a smile] Yeah, I remember the pirates. I know you’re tough, Stardust. You don’t have to convince me.
[serious and shocked] No, I never considered cutting my losses. I told you I’d come for you.
[scoffs] You might not have, but I would have thought less of me.
Don’t thank me. We aren’t out of this yet. In fact, even when we are, maybe just don’t thank me at all this time. [dark laugh] This isn't much of a rescue… instead of patching you up, getting you some food, and letting you rest, I’m making you hack a ship so that we can steal a jet that may or may not be full of treasure.
[whisper laugh] Just let me call it treasure for today, okay? I let you wear the jacket—you let me call the treasure treasure.
[agreed, waiting]
You’ve got it?
Damn. That was fast.
I guess we just wait then, and hope no one realizes we’re here until they get back.
[humming ship sounds, maybe someone walking by again]
[whispers] So, this cousin of yours…
Yeah, Genesis. What a fucking name…
[trying not to laugh] How can that be a family name? In fact, how is Stardust a family name?
[amused and doubtful] Yeah, yeah. Okay. What should I be expecting?
Like, you’re a good shot. Is that a family trait or—
Damn. Okay. So, don’t give him the chance?
[background sounds of the ship as they wait, maybe fading as Stardust starts to nod off]
Hm? If you were dead… Oh. I was going to blow up the yacht and watch your cousin try to get back to the edge in a jet full of loot. I was thinking I’d give him a couple cycles to feel like he was going to make it…and then I’d cripple his engines before broadcasting his location to every pirate and skin trader in the area.
It wouldn’t matter.
I only have to worry about the wrath of the Solinohs if we’re making it out of this. So, if you were dead… Well, then I can go ahead and piss off Galileo herself and it wouldn’t matter.
But, since you’re still kicking… we’ll go with the other plan.
[tries not to laugh] Go ahead and fall asleep, Stardust. I’ve got another adrenaline shot in my pocket. I’ll get you on your feet as soon as they show up.
[voice fading] Yes, you are.
Why are you arguing this? Just go to sleep. I’ve got you.
[the ship humming background for a while]
[voice coming back in] Hey. Time to wake up.
[jet landing nearby]
There it is.
[nervous smile] Last chance to get that extra shot, Stardust…
Here’s hoping the treasure is on it… and that your cousin doesn’t kill us.
Yeah. Throw the switch. [smiling] Lock the bridge out of the controls and then lock down the ship.
[doors coming down]
That’s him?
Great.
[guns humming] Let’s go get our shit, Stardust.
[gunfire]
[voices shouting]
[shouting to Genesis] You heard them, primer, we just want the ship! You can walk!
[quieter to Stardust] I hope you’re lying… there’s no way he’s walking away.
[laughs] The mouth on your family…
[gunshots]
[alarms on the ship]
[shouts to Genesis] I know who you are, asshole! But please, keep repeating your name.
[laughing, gunfire, talking to Genesis] Yeah. We could have run, but where’s the fun in that? [serious, angry] You don’t get to steal from them. No one gets to steal from them and walk away.
They’re my partner and I’ll shoot you before I let you take them again!
[action sounds! running, ducking, gunfire]
[huffing, voice lighter when he talks to Stardust] Does it count as a crime against the family if I only accidentally kill him?
[laughs] Damn.
Get down!
We’re pinned. Take out that shooter!
[grinning] Yes, this is a proper firefight, Stardust.
Okay. We’re close. Move, I’ll cover you and then you get down and cover me.
Yeah. Yeah. Go!
[gunfire]
[running]
[laughs] Okay. Great. We just need to get to that door and… Where did Genesis go—
[gunshot]
STARDUST!
[scrambling, gunshots, kicking at the ground to pull them into cover against the jet]
Can you stand on your own? That’s okay. I’ve got you.
Shit, that’s a lot of blood. Okay. We’re so close. We just…
[gun click/whir close]
[breathing hard, caught] Yeah… yeah, it looks like you’ve got us.
[to Stardust] Don’t. He’s right behind you.
[shouts] I’m tossing my guns, I’m tossing them! [throwing out his guns] Calm down, okay?
[softer when he talks to Stardust] It was a good run.
No, I don’t regret it.
I do regret having to do this though…
[pained grunt, rustle, flicking out sunglasses and putting them on. I do not know how that’s supposed to be a soundeffect and I am sorry I did this to you again]
Do you know how hard it was to even find a pair of sunglasses let alone these hideous reflective ones?
[Stardust kisses Cosmic]
[sighs, soft] You better not be kissing me goodbye.
[smiling] Luck? Really? Just unload that damn clip and lets see if you actually hit any—
[Stardust shoots, body falls]
[quiet stretches, Cosmic drawing deep breaths and surveying the scene] Huh.
You’re never going to stop gloating about this one, are you?
Do you want to kick his body out into space before we go? [laughs] Okay. Come on.
[walking]
No, we’re not counting each kill as a rescue. It’s one rescue and really, we’re tied for this one.
I came to get you! Just because you pulled the backwards shot— No. You know what, no point for you. This is all mine. I broke you out. I wore the dumb sunglasses. This was my rescue.
[boarding the jet]
[voice fading in and out a little] I’m not being petty. You’re being petty.
Are you… Stardust are you going to faint?
[door closing]
You know I can see the hole in your side, right? You’re bleeding all over our jacket.
Here, sit tight.
[laughs] You do not get to drive. You’re about to pass out.
Yes, you are.
Yes—don’t fucking start that again.
[rustling around] Here’s a med kit. Oh, look at this fancy stuff. A skin patch? Gross… Okay, slap this over that wound and try not to die while I get us away from this mess.
[starting the jet and getting out of there] Hm?
[serious] Oh. I did say that, yeah… But maybe we don’t need to split the treasure and go our own ways yet… I mean, you are in bad shape. I can’t just drop you off someplace with a hole in your side.
Stardust?
[smiling] Buckle up before you fall out of the seat.
[laughs] Yes you are! Just buckle up!
[voice growing distant as Stardust begins to lose consciousness] You are the most stubborn… [sighs] Fine. Faint and hit your head, but if you forget everything, I’m never going to tell you about that stupid sunglasses move.
can we just take a second to consider that David and Porter might work?
Obviously it would be a mess and there would be so much drama and so many "are they broken up now?" moments but there are some key ways they'd...fit...i'm gonna write this
I was going down my drafts looking for something else and saw this. I wrote this months ago and then stopped and saved it as a draft because I went and tried to write the pairing instead of talking about it. <3 <3
I haven't logged in here for a WHILE so I'm curious about what you mean by editing.
(Also do you plan on finishing To The Edge or the voice script?)
hey anon!
thank you for asking about the story!
to the edge is written out as a novella and I'm editing it to publish it in my sci fi series. the voice script is finished and sent over to Jouska. i think it getting voices is just an issue of inspiration and time on his side. i was waiting to post the final script because i usually posted them after the audios came out but it's been a while so maybe i'll just post it. <3
tags for this chapter: drugged drink, morning after, idiots with feelings, flirting
porter/morgan
Practice Makes Perfect - 19
Morgan woke up with a start, confused and with a splitting headache. “Oh shit…” he rolled and fell out of bed.
Someone was there, scooping him up and putting him back on the mattress. “Hang on,” the voice said, smooth and familiar. “You’re okay.”
Morgan held his head, like he could press the pain out of his skull. The other guy’s hand pressed over his. “Here. Drink this,” he said, a cold bottle was passed into his other hand and he took it. He drank it, not even realizing how thirsty he was until he had swallowed half of it down. “You’re okay,” the voice said again.
He knew that voice. “Porter?”
“Yeah. Good morning, sweetheart.”
Morgan winced, leaning forward to sit on his own, feet on the floor. He had no pants on. “I’m sorry… Where am I?”
Porter crouched in front of him, holding the half-empty water bottle that Morgan did not remember handing back. “You’re in my room.”
Morgan felt his stomach twist and for a second he thought he might barf. He didn’t remember anything. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I got this drunk… I… I don’t remember…” Fuck, this was bad. This was really bad. He didn’t remember how he’d gotten to this room, or how he’d ended up in Porter’s bed. He didn’t remember how they’d…
He got up, stumbling sideways but grabbing the wall, trying to propel himself toward the door. He needed to get out of there. Maybe it would come back to him? He needed to get a look at himself. “I’m sorry, I gotta go… I need to… I’m–”
“Morgan,” Porter snapped, behind him now, arm coming around him when he almost fell again. He was solid, holding him up. “You’re okay,” he said again. “But you’re also not wearing pants, and clearly distressed, so you’re not walking out of this room yet.”
Morgan cringed. He couldn’t remember what they’d done. That was so fucked up. He couldn’t tell Porter that. He nodded, clawing at his head again. “Yeah, sorry.”
Porter sighed deeply. “Stop apologizing.”
Morgan bit his lip to keep from doing it again, nodding. He was right. This was okay. He was okay. At least it was Porter. He liked Porter…he just would have liked to remember it too. And fuck, this was going to make everything so much more complicated. “Yeah. Yeah, pants.” He turned, looking around the room. He didn’t even recognize the place. Panic rose in his chest and tears pricked his eyes. Fuck! No. No crying!
Porter caught his chin, pulling his face toward his. His eyes went wide. “Why are you crying?” His panic was another punch to Morgan’s gut.
“I’m not. My head… Do you have any painkillers?”
“No.” Porter frowned. “We’ll go down and get you some food and I’ll find some–”
“No, I should go.” He needed to get home. He found his jeans slung over the arm of a chair. “Um… Thanks for… I’m sorry I was probably…” Probably what? A mess? What had he been like? What had they done? “I’ll see you around, okay?” He pulled his pants up and spotted his shoes near the door.
Porter caught his arm. “Do you… Morgan, do you think I fucked you?”
Morgan winced. He couldn’t lie to him, so he took a breath and just looked back at him. “I’m so sorry. I don’t remember. I… I hope I wasn’t…” Wasn’t what? Bad at it? Embarrassingly into it? Fuck.
Porter looked pissed.
That was fair.
Morgan touched his arms, trying to steady himself and trying to somehow bridge the damage he was doing. “I’m so sorry. I–”
“You don’t even remember but you’re apologizing to me? We didn’t have sex. I… I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t do that to anyone.”
Morgan blinked. “What?”
“Do you remember anything about last night?”
Morgan tried but came up blank, the emptiness of it hitting the pit of his stomach and making his eyes sting again.
Porter cupped his face, seeming to calm in the face of his panic. “You didn’t sleep with anyone. Nothing happened. I brought you here and you slept it off. I took off your shoes and you eventually kicked off your pants. I slept on the floor.”
Morgan blinked. “Really?”
Porter frowned. “Yes.”
Morgan exhaled hard, the relief washing over him. “Fuck. Okay. Okay.” He clawed his hair back from his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually get drunk like that–”
“You didn’t.” Porter let go of him. “Blake spiked my drink but you…” His jaw ticked, his gaze snapping away. “You drank it.”
Morgan sat down on the edge of the bed, absorbing that. “Oh.”
“I didn’t know at first and then when I found out, you weren’t easy to find…”
Morgan winced. It sounded like there was more. “What did I do?” He didn’t remember anything
“You were in Vega’s room. He was making out with you.”
Morgan was glad he’d sat down. “That psycho?” Fuck.
Porter crouched in front of him to get in his line of sight again. “I’m sorry. Nothing else happened.”
Morgan flushed, feeling hollow and uneasy, like he’d already been sick. It was a lot to take in, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
He looked around at the room, just trying to ground himself in the reality of where he was and that he was, in fact, okay.
There was a blanket on the floor where Porter must have spent the night. “You really spent the whole night in here?”
“Yes. I didn’t leave you alone. There was no one else in here,” he said, obviously thinking Morgan was still trying to confirm that nothing else had happened.
“What about the party?”
“What?”
Morgan looked at him and then huffed out a hollow laugh. “You spent the whole night babysitting me?”
-
Porter’s shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t thought he could be more angry or scared than he had been last night when he couldn’t find Morgan and then when he finally found him in Vega’s room. And then Morgan had woken up and wouldn’t meet his gaze. He’d been about to stagger out of his room in a haze, half-dressed and teary-eyed.
His stomach had dropped so low he thought he’d be sick when he realized Morgan actually thought they’d slept together–thought they’d fucked and then was apologizing for not remembering it.
It meant more than he was ready to process that Morgan just trusted him when he told him what had really happened. There was no reason Porter deserved that trust. They barely knew each other and he hadn’t exactly been making a good impression. But Morgan believed him.
He looked fragile and hungover, and yet he was worried Porter had missed out on the party? “Who the fuck cares about the party?” Porter snapped and then sighed, instantly worrying he’d been too harsh, but Morgan smiled.
He still looked tired, shadows under his eyes and that glassy quality still making them shine like he had just cried. “You? You basically threw it.”
“Yeah, did a great job at that,” he muttered.
Morgan frowned. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”
Porter scoffed. “You took my drink.”
“Yeah. I did.” Morgan nodded. “But it’s not my fault either.”
Porter stiffened, his gaze on him again. “I didn’t say that. It’s not–”
“I know. But you can’t blame yourself if you’re not going to blame me.”
Porter narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure that makes sense…”
“Trust me. I’m smarter than you.” Morgan smiled.
All of the air left his lungs, forcing him to smile back.
Morgan’s stomach grumbled and his shoulders hunched as if leaning into it. He pouted. “Fuck… Do you have something to eat? I feel like shit.”
Porter nodded. “Let’s go downstairs. I locked up the real food so the idiots at the party wouldn’t clean us out.”
“Am I getting your morning after treatment?” Morgan asked, a smirk back. He really had the potential to be a brat…
Porter caught his arm at the door to stop him, hesitating for a second. The other guy blinked at him, not even pulling away from his grip. The trust was really making his skin warm, sending a strange tingle down his spine. He turned Morgan slowly, to face him. “If you want the morning after treatment,” he said, reaching down slowly to button Morgan’s open jeans. The other man’s breath caught when he realized, but he didn’t stop him. He dragged the zipper up and then flicked his gaze back up to Morgan’s. His pupils were blown and his cheeks flushed. “You’re going to have to come back when your drink wasn’t spiked.”
Morgan stared back at him. They were standing so close. Porter expected him to exhale a laugh to break the tension, or say something clever and sharp and push past him to the door. Instead, the psych major gave the smallest nod, eyes moving from Porter’s to his mouth and then back up. “But you’re still going to find me breakfast today, right? Or do I have to–”
Porter groaned loudly to keep him from finishing that sentence. As much as he’d love to hear Morgan say something, anything, dirty, he did not want it in that context.
Morgan laughed like he’d known.
Porter opened the door and led him out into the hall. It was quiet, a few sleepy voices throughout the big house even though it was almost nine. When they walked by Vega’s busted door, not quite closing in the frame, Porter caught Morgan’s arm to gently move him to his other side–away from the door and the deep shadows inside. He wasn’t sure what the fallout with Vega would be, but he’d deal with it. He just knew he didn’t want Morgan anywhere near the other man.
Chimneys are not shaped the way you think they are. Santa is not real magic. It didn't even work out for that wolf in the 3 little pigs. Movies have lied to you. Don't do it. It's a bad way to go.
<3 saying i missed writing these characters would be an understatement. oh my god, why are they so passionate about EVERYTHING and why is it like breathing to play with them? <3 <3
The guy pointed a gun at Xi’s head, the barrel between his eyes, and Xi stared back.
His lip throbbed, bleeding down his chin, and his ribs ached from the other guy’s boot.
“Call him. Beg him to save you,” the stranger said.
Xi bared teeth, hoping they were bloody. It would look scarier if his teeth were painted red. “You call him. Beg him to spare you.”
He grinned when the guy took the gun away from his head. He’d known he wasn’t going to pull the trigger… And then he hit him across the face with the metal instead, throwing him to the floor.
Xi tried to get up, tried to crawl, but another guy was on him too fast, working his boot in his side again and throwing him across sleek hardwood. He saw the blood and his first dazed thought was that they were making a mess of Tian’s apartment. He rolled onto his stomach and tried to get up again, just enough to crawl, if he could get to the couch… A hand fisted in his hair, arching his neck back and lifting him off the floor.
-One Month Earlier-
Zhengxi woke up slowly, wrung out and achy but somehow feeling so good. And then he felt a body against his back, skin to skin, and an arm curled around him. He was being spooned. His eyes opened. Who the fuck would—
He recognized the room, expensive but minimal, and then he remembered the night before. It had been the best sex of his life and it had been with his best-friend. Oh fuck.
Had he really just ruined the best relationship he’d ever had? He Tian was his friend. Yes, they’d messed around a handful of times over the years, but they hadn’t been friends-with-benefits. They’d been friends, always and before anything else. Now? Now this man was spooning him in his luxury apartment. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.
The arm around him squeezed and then loosened a little. “You’re thinking so loudly…” He Tian complained, voice a grumble against the back of his hair.
Xi felt the weight of this moment. Whatever he said next would define a part of them forever. He could destroy everything if he said the wrong thing. And everything that pushed to the tip of his tongue felt like the wrong thing. “You don’t own me,” was the first blade pushing against the back of his teeth. “You brought me here to entertain your window friends, you don’t need to pretend when they’re not looking,” felt jagged when he swallowed it back. Was he resentful now? He had wanted this. He had loved it. And now? Now he wanted to blow up the moment and run from the fallout.
What the fuck was wrong with him?
He always did this.
He didn’t just push people away, Xi burned bridges and made the people who got too close hate him for it. He had managed not to do it with He Tian. They’d been friends for nearly a decade.
Zhengxi got out of bed, looking for his clothes.
“Xi?” He Tian’s voice was low, an edge of worry now.
His clothes were folded on the dresser where he’d left them before showering last night—before walking out to the living room turned stage.
The times they’d hooked up before had always been good, verging on great, but never like that. Never the sort of sex that was going to cast a shadow of disappointment over all future partners. It made him want to stay. It made him want to jump on He Tian for round two right here and now.
But Xi wasn’t the sort to be spooned and he definitely wasn’t going to be locked in another relationship with some rich, possessive asshole—
“Xi,” He Tian snapped his name this time.
He looked up, breaking out of his own spiraling thoughts and realized that those thoughts weren’t fair. He Tian wasn’t his ex. He Tian had never done anything out of line. He wasn’t trying to control him. He wasn’t even trying to date him. They’d just hooked up again. It was nothing.
Why did that hurt, though?
He scrubbed a hand over his face. He had his underwear and pants on, even if they weren’t zipped up yet. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I just didn’t mean to sleep over.”
He Tian was off the bed and closing the distance, looking him over like he could read him.
It made his heart pound—the idea of being able to be read and, worse, of wanting this man to be able to read him. He wanted that distance closed. He wanted to touch him.
Like he could hear that want, He Tian reached out for him.
Xi took a step back and hated himself the second he did.
He Tian’s dark eyes flared the slightest bit, his hand stopping in the air between them before falling to his side. “You’ve slept over before. It’s never been a problem…”
“I know.”
He Tian nodded slowly, not backing up but not trying to grab him either. “Xi… What the fuck is happening right now?” he asked it like it was any other question—like he had all the time in the world for an answer.
Xi felt like there was a door inside of him that was bolted shut, like a part of him was beating against the other side, trying to explain, but nothing could make it out. He’d said nothing so as not to ruin this, not to hurt He Tian, but the silence had done it anyway.
He closed his eyes, trying to find the words and hating every second that got away from him.
“Do you regret last night?” He Tian asked, his voice so solid and easy–like no answer was the wrong answer.
Zhengxi shook his head, opening his eyes to look at his friend again. “No.” He’d never lied to him before. He wouldn’t start now.
He Tian’s shoulders eased a little, like he’d been worried but he believed him. “Okay. But this…” He looked back at the bed, a smirk tugging one side of his mouth. “This was too much?”
Xi shot him a glare but he felt something inside of him relax a fraction, grabbing at this sense of normalcy. “Yeah.”
He Tian smiled outright. “So…”
“Shut up.”
“You can suck and fuck in front of a couple of strangers…”
“He Tian…”
“But waking up snuggling had you running for the door?” He Tian laughed, the sound of it so warm that it finally washed away the last of that fight or flight instinct pushing through Xi’s veins. “And I thought I was messed up…”
“Fuck you.”
“Any time.” He Tian took that last step into his space. He deftly buttoned Xi’s pants and then dragged the zipper up. His dark gaze flicked up from the fly to Zhengxi’s eyes. “If it’s too much, or too fast, we’ll stop. If you like this but you want to talk about it, we can…”
“Talk about what?” he asked, skin warmer with He Tian this close.
The other man smiled, like that question was an answer. “You want to stick around, hang out in front of my window, and keep fucking?”
“I don’t live here.”
“But you’re always welcome.”
Xi looked around the room and at the window. Why was it so hard to accept something he wanted? Because it could go to shit? Because just because he liked it now, didn’t mean he’d like it later. What if it changed? What if He Tian changed?
“Tell me what the problem is,” he said. “Tell me what’s happening in there,” he poked Xi’s temple.
Xi curled his lip in a mock snarl but finally nodded. They were friends. He’d try. “I can’t…” No, that wasn’t the right way to start. “I liked it. I liked it a lot. And I like…” He looked at He Tian and then away. “This. I just can’t do another serious relationship.”
He Tian was quiet for a beat. Would he be upset? What would that look like now? They’d argued before but it felt like they’d crossed a line in their friendship last night. Would arguing be different now? Would it taste like knuckles?
“Okay.”
Xi looked up at him, surprised.
He Tian opened the dresser beside Xi and pulled out a pair of underwear. “What does ‘serious’ mean for you?”
“What?” Xi watched him pull on the black boxer briefs and then a pair of his pants.
“What do you not want from this? What are your lines?” He clawed the hair out of his face and headed toward the door. “Come on, I’ll make coffee.”
Xi followed, more than a little surprised how easy He Tian was making this conversation–not that he should have been. He Tian negotiated lives with murderers, why couldn’t he handle this? He paused in the living room, eyes trailing over the spot where they’d fucked last night and then drifting out the window, to the other apartment. The morning light in between and the shadows on the other side made it harder to see than it had been the night before. The blond was asleep on the couch, sprawled out with his leg up over the back and his head almost off the cushion. He was one move away from falling off.
It was hard to look away–to not wonder about him. Something in his chest pulled–wanting.
Xi groaned and rubbed a hand over his face again, pushing past the window to follow He Tian into the kitchen. What did he want? What did he not want? “If we keep doing this… we’re still friends.”
He Tian was at his espresso machine but he paused to look at him. “We’re always friends.”
“I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do. You don’t own me. I leave when I want to leave.”
He Tian went still again. Xi’s heart slammed his ribs but he gave nothing away in his face. He was giving enough away with his words. He Tian moved very slowly, palms to the marble counter between them, pressing subtly. He nodded. “There’s no other way I’d want it.”
As soon as he said it, Xi knew he’d needed to hear it. He exhaled and broke eye contact first. He knew his friend was clever. “Don’t ask about it,” he added, pulling out one of the barstools to wait for his coffee.
He Tian didn’t move for another second, that sharp smile of his pulling at one side of his mouth before he nodded and pushed off the counter. He made their coffees and didn’t ask.
Xi knew their friendship was a strange one, even before adding this window fetish…
He knew what He Tian did–about the family he belonged to. But he also knew sometimes the people that looked good on paper were the monsters…so why couldn’t the reverse be true? It had been true with He Tian. He was a fucking monster on paper, but Xi had never had a better friend.
He swiveled around in his seat to look at the living room, and that window. “So…who are they?”
He Tian huffed. “No idea.”
Xi looked over his shoulder at his friend, eyebrow raised skeptically. “You didn’t have anyone look into them?”
He Tian shook his head. “Don’t even know his name, and the blond is new.”
“How long are you planning to do this?”
“Do what?”
Xi rolled a hand at the living room.
He Tian smiled. “As long as it lasts, I guess.” He put his mug on the counter and slid it to him. “Have any ideas?”
“Plenty,” he admitted.
And that was how it started for Xi, that was how he ended up in a stranger four-way relationship with two men he didn’t know just out of reach.
Soon he was spending more time at He Tian’s place than his own. He was leaving clothes and bringing groceries. He went days without even dropping by his own place and had more or less made the guest room his own space.
He had his own key from a year or two back but this was the first time he’d really used it like his own. Sometimes he came in and He Tian wasn’t even home.
Sometimes they didn’t even do anything sexual with the others, they just existed alongside each other–watching each other.
Last week, Xi had had the idea to throw a party.
He Tain had been understandably surprised. Xi never threw parties. He didn’t even really like attending them. But he’d gotten this idea… he wanted to tempt them into coming over. He got the idea when the blond on the other side had teased him, edging and edging and then winked and just sat down and refused to finish–refused to continue.
So He Tian threw a party, lights and music pulsing out of the apartment.
Xi caught both of the other guys watching from their apartment, but it was the blond that leaned against the glass, catching his gaze as if to ask what he was up to. Xi had shrugged, and mimicked offering him a drink.
He wanted him to come over. He wanted him to walk through that door.
The blond smiled but didn’t move.
Xi shrugged, downed the drink and then went back to the party–like he wasn’t always in front of the window–like he wasn’t always feeling that blond watching him. He’d even let a guy flirt with him that he wouldn’t have usually. Let him get a little handsy. When he looked over at the other apartment the redhead and blond were talking, maybe even arguing. The redhead laughed and shook his head and the blond looked pissed but went back to the window. He glared daggers at the guy with Xi, like he could will him off of him.
He Tian walked over and scared the stranger away, leaning into Xi’s side to speak softly against his ear. “Are you looking to get laid or just to piss him off?”
“Who?”
He Tian laughed. “I’ve never seen this side of you, Xi…”
Zhengxi scoffed. “You’ve seen every side of me.”
Later that night, when the party was over, He Tian fucked him up against that window to their mirror partners on the other side and Xi held that blond’s gaze the whole time, wondering what he’d feel like, imagining him too.
“I think I’m going insane,” Xi admitted the next morning.
He Tian was getting dressed but stopped to look at him, eyebrow raised.
“I think I’m going to go over there…”
He looked honestly surprised. “Really?”
Xi bared teeth and flopped back onto the bed. “No.” He hated losing. He’d started a weird game and he wanted to win. He wanted to make the blond cross the line and come over.
He Tian laughed. “We can start blue balling them until they give up.”
Xi exhaled hard through his teeth at the idea. It had occurred to him, of course, but it would be a cold war if they started…
-
Jian Yi was never going to move out of Mo’s apartment. Never. This was the greatest relationship of his life. It was also the weirdest one, and that was saying something.
He was obsessed.
He knew damn well what the blond over there was trying to do, too. He also knew he’d sort of started it. He wanted to close the distance and he’d thought he could nudge the other do to it. He’d been fucking wrong.
He’d almost snapped when they’d had the party. Mo had refused to let him go over there, even when some random guy was crowding their blond. He’d been about ready to throw a chair at the window.
His hair was still wet from the shower when he walked out to the living room and sat on the couch. Mo was already at work. He watched the dark haired guy get ready to leave and waved when he looked his way. That guy had a killer smile. It was sharp, like he probably smiled when he was being mean just as often as when he was being nice.
He and Mo had played at guessing who they thought these guys were–at names that might fit them and jobs they might have. Jian Yi had counted the floors and guessed the apartment number but Mo wasn’t budging on the “no going over there” rule. He didn’t want to ruin it. Jian Yi understood that. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about that risk.
The sandy blond walked into the living room over there. He didn’t look at the window right away. He rubbed the back of his neck, crossing Jian Yi’s view on his way to the kitchen.
In that window, he could see the whole living room, the front door on the far side of it, and the entrance of the hallway he assumed led to the bedrooms off to the right.
At this point, he thought he knew that apartment just as well as Mo’s. It was bigger, more expensive, with furniture that looked like it had come right out of a catalogue.
Jian Yi had been in plenty of places like that but this was the first time he wanted to be. He craved more of them. He wanted to watch the blond make his breakfast, not just eat it. He wanted to know what it was. He wanted to touch him–to run his fingers up the back of his neck and see if he shivered.
Mo could continue like this forever, but Jian Yi couldn’t. The only thing that had kept him from going over there this last month was his redhead. Mo wouldn’t say why he was so firm about that no-contact rule, but Jian Yi knew what it was. He was afraid it would ruin things. He wouldn’t believe that the hot-as-hell dark haired guy in that other building would still be into him if he actually met him. It was absurd. It was wrong. But it was hard to convince Mo that he was desirable as more than sexy window dressing.
The blond on the other side walked into the living room, breakfast bowl in hand, and sat in a chair across from him. He smiled. It was small and a little daring. Jian Yi needed to know his name. He needed to hear his voice. He needed to know him in a way he’d never needed to know anyone in his life.
“I think I’m in love,” Jian Yi said to a man who couldn’t hear him.
The blond raised an eyebrow.
Jian Yi smiled.
And then the front door on that far wall burst open. Jian Yi couldn’t hear it but it must have been loud because his blond was out of his chair, dropping his bowl and turning toward the three men walking into the apartment.
Jian Yi had never seen them before. He didn’t realize he’d stood up too but he had. His heart beat in his throat. Everything about this was wrong.
His blond held out his hands as if to calm them, mouth moving fast.
They had guns, two of them rushing down the hall toward the bedroom while the third stayed, talking to Xi. Arguing? And then the big guy hit his blond, throwing him into a wall.
Jian Yi bolted. His heart pounded with new panic the second his eyes weren’t on the scene anymore but he couldn’t stand there and watch. He couldn’t helplessly pound fists to the glass. He was out the front door and down the hall. Fuck the elevator. He was down the stairs.
Seconds ticked in his head.
How much damage could be done in a second? How much could he lose?
He wasn’t sure he’d ever run so hard in his life.
Daylight felt blinding when he left the lobby and darted across the street, cars squealing to a stop and honking. He went into the adjacent building. Someone tried to stop him, tried to yell at him, but he hopped a desk and didn’t bother with the elevators here either.
Had he counted the floors right?
Would he even be able to find the apartment?
Jian Yi came out on the floor and didn’t stop running. He went straight for that open doorway just as a large figure was pushing it shut, voices and shouts inside muffling. It almost latched–almost–and then Jian Yi was shouldering his way through it and into the very surprised man on the other side.
He threw an elbow into his face, feeling as well as hearing bone crunch.
And then he was there, in that apartment, on the other side of the glass he’d been watching for a month.
It was nothing like he’d expected.
There were strangers on the set, a side table and lamp were overturned, and blood smeared across the floor. For a split second, he took it all in, and met the eyes of his blond. His bloody mouth twitched with a smirk and Jian Yi knew what he was thinking…he’d won. Jian Yi smiled back, winked, and then climbed over the couch and launched himself at one of the two men towering over his blond on their stage.
working on a second part to View To Kill for 19 days. <3 <3
sooooooo adult. soooo horny. don't read it unless you read those tags.
polyfic. he tian/mo guanshan/ jian yi/ zhan zhengxi
sneaky peek at the next part in progress: violence, danger, emotions the morning after, reference to a bad relationship
The guy pointed a gun at Xi’s head, the barrel between his eyes, and Xi stared back.
His lip throbbed, bleeding down his chin, and his ribs ached from the other guy’s boot.
“Call him. Beg him to save you,” the stranger said.
Xi bared teeth, hoping they were bloody. It would look scarier if his teeth were painted red. “You call him. Beg him to spare you.”
He grinned when the guy took the gun away from his head. He’d known he wasn’t going to pull the trigger… And then he hit him across the face with the metal instead, throwing him to the floor.
Xi tried to get up, tried to crawl, but another guy was on him too fast, working his boot in his side again and throwing him across sleek hardwood. He saw the blood and his first dazed thought was that they were making a mess of Tian’s apartment. He rolled onto his stomach and tried to get up again, just enough to crawl, if he could get to the couch… A hand fisted in his hair, arching his neck back and lifting him off the floor.
-Two Weeks Earlier-
Zhengxi woke up slowly, wrung out and achy but somehow feeling so good. And then he felt a body against his back, skin to skin, and an arm curled around him. He was being spooned. His eyes opened. Who the fuck would—
He recognized the room, expensive but minimal, and then he remembered the night before. It had been the best sex of his life and it had been with his best-friend. Oh fuck.
Had he really just ruined the best relationship he’d ever had? He Tian was his friend. Yes, they’d messed around a handful of times over the years, but they hadn’t been friends-with-benefits. They’d been friends, always and before anything else. Now? Now this man was spooning him in his luxury apartment. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.
The arm around him squeezed and then loosened a little. “You’re thinking so loudly…” He Tian complained, voice a grumble against the back of his hair.
Xi felt the weight of this moment. Whatever he said next would define a part of them forever. He could destroy everything if he said the wrong thing. And everything that pushed to the tip of his tongue felt like the wrong thing. “You don’t own me,” was the first blade pushing against the back of his teeth. “You brought me here to entertain your window friends, you don’t need to pretend when they’re not looking,” felt jagged when he swallowed it back. Was he resentful now? He had wanted this. He had loved it. And now? Now he wanted to blow up the moment and run from the fallout.
What the fuck was wrong with him?
He always did this.
He didn’t just push people away, Xi burned bridges and made the people who got too close hate him for it. He had managed not to do it with He Tian. They’d been friends for nearly a decade.
Zhengxi got out of bed, looking for his clothes.
“Xi?” He Tian’s voice was low, an edge of worry now.
His clothes were folded on the dresser where he’d left them before showering last night—before walking out to the living room turned stage.
The times they’d hooked up before had always been good, verging on great, but never like that. Never the sort of sex that was going to cast a shadow of disappointment over all future partners. It made him want to stay. It made him want to jump on He Tian for round two right here and now.
But Xi wasn’t the sort to be spooned and he definitely wasn’t going to be locked in another relationship with some rich, possessive asshole—
“Xi,” He Tian snapped his name this time.
He looked up, breaking out of his own spiraling thoughts and realized that those thoughts weren’t fair. He Tian wasn’t his ex. He Tian had never done anything out of line. He wasn’t trying to control him. He wasn’t even trying to date him. They’d just hooked up again. It was nothing.
Why did that hurt, though?
He scrubbed a hand over his face. He had his underwear and pants on, even if they weren’t zipped up yet. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I just didn’t mean to sleep over.”
He Tian was off the bed and closing the distance, looking him over like he could read him.
It made his heart pound—the idea of being able to be read and, worse, of wanting this man to be able to read him. He wanted that distance closed. He wanted to touch him.
Like he could hear that want, He Tian reached out for him.
Xi took a step back and hated himself the second he did.
He Tian’s dark eyes flared the slightest bit, his hand stopping in the air between them before falling to his side. “You’ve slept over before. It’s never been a problem…”
“I know.”
He Tian nodded slowly, not backing up but not trying to grab him either. “Xi… What the fuck is happening right now?” he asked it like it was any other question—like he had all the time in the world for an answer.
Normalize leaving unhinged comments on ao3 fics you like. I'm tired of being the only one brave enough to write "I am chewing on this fic" in the comment section. Be weird. Authors will love you for it
I was working on a fic and then distracted myself poking around ao3 only to rediscover stats. And I just realized I'm only about 20k away from a million words of fanfiction... <3
Gavin had never worked this hard to edge in his life.
What had started in the hallway finally made it to the bedroom, where he had Huxley bent over the bed. He made the most amazing sounds, pleading for more even when Gavin was already fucking him into the mattress. His arms curled over his head, body arching, driving his ass back into those thrusts.
Huxley had come in the hallway but the way he was squirming…the way his sounds were building again…
Gavin slid one hand up his back, feeling all those tight muscles. He caught one of Huxley’s hands, lacing their fingers at the back of his neck.
His other hand slid around Huxley’s hip, to palm his cock, never missing the rhythm his own hips were rocking. Huxley spasmed, sounds hitching when Gavin stroked him.
They finished together and Gavin came so hard his knees buckled. “Fuck…” he grouned out, whole body shaking.
Huxley huffed a laugh, catching his own breath. “Yeah…”
“That was wild,” Gavin reeled. “You weren’t what I expected at all.” He got up, laughing a little at the twitch in his own legs. He walked into the adjoining bathroom to toss the condom and grab a washcloth.
“Yeah?” Huxley asked from the bedroom. “What do you mean?”
Gavin turned on the sink and wet the cloth. He shook his head to himself. It was impossible to explain but then he tried anyway. “I didn’t think you’d make the first move, or be so… good at it? And forward! I guess I didn’t think you’d had much experience…” he trailed, realizing it wasn’t coming out the way he wanted it to.
“Oh. Like… You were hoping for the first timer experience?”
Gavin froze. It was in his tone. Uncertainty? He squeezed out the washcloth and went back into the bedroom. Huxley was still lying across the foot of the bed, the sex haze gone and the hint of worry creasing his brow. He smiled, like he could hide it. “If I’d known–”
“No,” Gavin said quickly, shaking his head. “Fuck. No. I wasn’t hoping for anything.” He came back to him, joining him on the bed and straddling his thighs. Huxley looked hopeful, but like he was still trying to sidestep the doubt. “Sunflower, it was amazing. You are amazing. It’s just… I got the impression you weren’t much into casual sex when we first met. So, I wasn’t expecting the best fuck of my life, you know?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fair,” the big guy said, huffing a laugh. “This for me?” he asked, smiling at the washcloth.
Gavin nodded, a little worried that that smile wasn’t reaching his eyes. “I mean, I could be convinced to share,” he said, already touching the wet fabric to Huxley’s neck and dragging it down his chest.
Huxley touched the back of Gavin’s hand, groaning when Gav dipped lower, cleaning him up. “Fuck… Don’t start that again, dude…”
He bit his lip, a little surprised just how tempted he was even after being so thoroughly spent. He suddenly wanted to see if he could go again–if he could ring another orgasm out of his jock.
His phone chimed a few times, probably still in the pocket of his pants in the hallway.
They blinked at each other.
It chimed again.
“I forgot to silence it,” Gavin admitted.
Huxley laughed and took the cloth from him. “Better check it. Could be important?”
Gavin snorted but rolled off the bed. “It’s probably just party pictures.” He padded naked into the hall and grabbed his phone, tapping it to life on his way back. Asher sent him another picture of waffles and what looked like a pillow fort. “Looks like they really are doing breakfast upstairs.”
“Yeah?” Huxley was off the bed and pulling on a pair of sweatpants. Somehow they were more lewd than just staying naked… the way they clung to his hips and outlined a dick he’d had in his mouth just a little while ago…
Gavin blinked, realizing Huxley had caught him staring and was smiling. His phone chimed again. “Asher wants to know if you’re hungry.” Honestly, Gavin couldn’t tell if Asher meant it as an innuendo or not at all. Sometimes he wasn’t sure if Asher had ever fucked before…
Huxley smiled, pulling on a t-shirt. “I could eat. You wanna go over?”
Gavin nodded, finding his underwear. “Can I borrow one of your shirts?”
The big guy looked surprised but beamed a little. “Yeah? You’ll be swimming in it.”
Gavin held out a hand, waiting for one. “It’ll be cozier than mine.” And hot since they just fucked.
They threw on clothes and Gavin texted Asher to tell David to make more waffles. They were on their way over.
-
Huxley was grateful for the guys inviting them over to hang out. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle the part where Gavin would bolt after they cleaned up. Would it be awkward? He couldn’t really imagine Gav awkward. He was amazing. This had been amazing.
Casual.
“I got the impression you weren’t much into casual sex when we first met. So, I wasn’t expecting the best fuck of my life, you know?”
His heart squeezed. It wasn’t fair to Gav that’s he’d expected anything else. They were friends and Gavin was clear about being into casual sex with friends and strangers. Huxley liked being his friend. Maybe he’d just liked it too much.
Hello!! I'm really enjoying Bite To Bruise, have read the first 6 chapters thus far. I'm sorry if you've answered this question previously, and if so please feel free to direct me there, but: I'm also a writer who wants to publish own work one day (still in the drafting trenches right now, alas) and I was wondering why you've decided to go for self pub instead of traditional?
Hi! There are positive/negatives to both options.
A lot of my earlier romance novels were shorter than standard and not what publishers open to non-agented authors were after. I sort of accepted early on that I'm writing what I want to read and not necessarily what the market is after. I really just want to write what I want to write and put it out there.
I think traditional is good for the editing and formatting you'll get through it, but without an agent to get into larger publishing houses, the ability to get your book seen by readers is still largely on you.
I also live in a country where ISBNs are free, so that worked in my favor.
If you go the traditional route, there's a lot of great info on it and what to look out for. Some contracts are really predatory. Basically every contract should have a specific number of years before rights revert back to you.
Oh! and you generally don't get to choose your own cover when you publish traditional. They often have someone in house they have doing the covers for them or a specific style they use. That could be a positive or a negative depending on your feelings about it. <3
I hope this was somehow helpful!! Tradition is not a bad way to go if you find a publisher that fits you and your style, it's just not always easy to find. <3 <3
Thank you for asking and I hope you enjoy the book!!
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, turning his head just a little.
There.
Her heart beat against his senses, fluttering in his chest alongside his own heart. She was holding her breath. Hoping he hadn’t noticed her?
Ever opened his eyes, the shadowy silhouette of her in the far corner of his vision, almost behind him and almost to the cabin. She had made it far without him sensing her. That should have been more disturbing than exhilarating.
And then, like a spooked deer, she ran, and it took everything he had not to turn and chase her—not to at least get a look at her.
Her heart pounded in his skull and her fear thinned the air.
It was her fear above all else that kept Ever planted where he was, back to the house while the porch creaked. The door pulled open and then slammed shut.
She was afraid of being seen and he didn’t have the heart to look.
A latch flicked into place. Had his father installed that when they built the house? Maybe… Likely. She was all alone in the woods. The least they could do was give her some flimsy lock.
Ever turned when she was securely inside and let his gaze fall on the front of her cabin. “I don’t suppose you know something about that shadow that came out of the woods?” he called conversationally, surprising even himself. He hadn’t tried to talk to her in over sixteen years—not since before the blood fever that almost killed Sunny.
The house didn’t answer, but he knew she was listening.
He picked up another piece of wood and settled it on the stump. “It’s interesting how they never seem to come around your meadow…” he continued.
He lifted the axe and brought it down with a satisfying crack.
He tossed the smaller piece to the side, into the growing pile, and took another swing at the larger piece. She might not talk to him, but he could keep talking to her.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, turning his head just a little.
There.
Her heart beat against his senses, fluttering in his chest alongside his own heart. She was holding her breath. Hoping he hadn’t noticed her?
Ever opened his eyes, the shadowy silhouette of her in the far corner of his vision, almost behind him and almost to the cabin. She had made it far without him sensing her. That should have been more disturbing than exhilarating.
And then, like a spooked deer, she ran, and it took everything he had not to turn and chase her—not to at least get a look at her.
Her heart pounded in his skull and her fear thinned the air.
It was her fear above all else that kept Ever planted where he was, back to the house while the porch creaked. The door pulled open and then slammed shut.
She was afraid of being seen and he didn’t have the heart to look.
A latch flicked into place. Had his father installed that when they built the house? Maybe… Likely. She was all alone in the woods. The least they could do was give her some flimsy lock.
Ever turned when she was securely inside and let his gaze fall on the front of her cabin. “I don’t suppose you know something about that shadow that came out of the woods?” he called conversationally, surprising even himself. He hadn’t tried to talk to her in over sixteen years—not since before the blood fever that almost killed Sunny.
The house didn’t answer, but he knew she was listening.
He picked up another piece of wood and settled it on the stump. “It’s interesting how they never seem to come around your meadow…” he continued.
He lifted the axe and brought it down with a satisfying crack.
He tossed the smaller piece to the side, into the growing pile, and took another swing at the larger piece. She might not talk to him, but he could keep talking to her.
