Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 156945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
“What do you mean?” Gray asked, even though Shadow could see recognition in the narrowed eyes. Were they playing some kind of game Shadow didn’t know?
“You know,” he said, pushing his hand out into the shade cast by the curtains. He squeezed Gray’s wrist despite all the hairs on his arm rising with itchy goosebumps, as if they anticipated the closeness of the burning light.
“No, I don’t,” Gray said firmly. He shifted, trying to pull away from Shadow’s hold, but the movement put his other hand—the one Shadow offered him last night—into direct sunlight, and the smoldering heat that instantly ate at the flesh all the way to the bone had them both recoiling. “What the fuck?” Gray fell over on top of Shadow and frantically held on to the tar-black arm, all but curling up around it in an attempt to protect the sensitive flesh. The fine hair on his body bristled from the painful sting of the sun needles, but the ache was slowly dispersing.
Shadow hid Gray under the covers at the cost of risking his own safety, but there was no time to think it through. He enfolded the tense body in his arms. Ready to protect his human at all cost, he lay between the torturous light and him. “Now you know how it feels.”
Gray swallowed, curled up in the safe space between Shadow’s chest and the comforter. His hair tickled Shadow’s chin, their feet so close their toes were about to kiss. The lines of light that seeped through the blinds licked Shadow’s back with their razor-sharp tongues but he’d sooner let them turn him to ash than allow them anywhere near Gray’s arm.
Gray looked at the black hand, slowly moving the fingers in front of his face. “It hurts like several wasps stinging all at once. But can it kill us?”
Shadow rubbed his face against Gray’s hair, hiding from the rays by pulling the covers tightly around both of them. “It makes me feel weak, and it’s a distraction because it hurts, but no, it won’t kill you.”
Gray’s nostrils flared, and he slowly met Shadow’s gaze, safely tucked into the soft pillows and protected by Shadow’s form. He smelled like moonlight and leather—an intoxicating scent that Shadow needed more than any other nourishment. “We’ll need new clothes, then. I’m sure we could work something out for you.”
“I won’t need clothes if we stay in bed.”
Gray blinked and cleared his throat, gently pushing at Shadow’s chest. “We’re not staying in bed. Bed’s for sleeping, and I am wide awake.”
Shadow slid his arms around Gray’s slender neck, unable to ignore the fact that his cock, which had softened due to the stinging sun, was once again stiff and ready for Gray to play with.
“Bath tub?”
This time, Gray shoved him away in a much more decisive gesture. “Shadow, no,” he said in a stern voice. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’re still just friends.”
It was as if someone had drained Shadow’s happiness in a single jab. His shoulders slouched, and he pulled back, letting the stripes of light flay him because their burn distracted him from the pain of rejection. “You don’t want to share pleasure again?”
Gray opened and closed his mouth, hands rising as if he wanted to gesture at the ceiling. But then he took a deep breath and let both his arms drop. “Shadow. We shouldn’t have done this last night. I felt grateful to you, and maybe I’ve given you more than I should have. Do you understand?”
Gray couldn’t have hurt Shadow more if he’d sliced his chest open and squeezed the heart in his hand. “No. Why? Did it not feel good to you?”
But he didn’t dare touch Gray when he acted this way. He didn’t want to return to the cell. Still, he couldn’t stand the strips of sun anymore, so he rolled out of bed and hid in the shadow.
“That’s not the point. We can’t just do this whenever we feel like. We’re too different, and you don’t really understand what you’re doing,” Gray said, and carefully got out of the bed.
He proceeded to pull the curtains closed, providing more shade and much needed relief from the anxiety the sun caused when it was so sharp.
When he was done, he glared at the pile of dirty clothes Shadow had worn throughout this past week. His chest expanded and fell rapidly, and the silver hair created a halo around his head, as if last night’s encounter loaded his body with electricity. “I need a shower but I’ll get you something new to wear once I’m done.”
Shadow slid down the wall and sat in the corner. He would wait. Pushing hadn’t proven all that useful in the past. But it stung to be rejected by the one ray of light he could touch.