Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Julien’s lips quirked. “Well, you’re good at it. Must be the many years of practice.”
“We haven’t truly fucked,” he said softly.
“I consider all forms of sex fucking, but is that something you’d want to do with me?”
Just the thought of them taking it to that level ramped up his desire again. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” he finally said after several moments of silence.
He expected Julien to ask why but he stayed quiet, just staring at Emory, one finger still making lazy swirls in his belly hair.
“What’s it like living for hundreds of years? The mothman who works for me is over two hundred, and he told me that preternaturals live long lives. You said five hundred years earlier. Until you and Xavier, he was the only person who knew what I see.”
“Yes, I’ve been alive over five hundred years, and I’ve seen a lot of changes in those years. I was born in what was once the Kingdom of England. I’ve fought in wars, and I’ve moved all over, discovering different countries and ways of life. But I’m happy settled here, now. I have two close friends who also work at Protective Solutions, and they’re my family.” He paused. “What about you? Any friends or family other than the parents you told me about?”
Julien shook his head. “No, it was just me and the chaotic parents.”
Emory couldn’t help but frown. “Growing up with all that must have been hell for someone like you.”
“They honestly drove me crazy, so I’m glad they prefer to travel and not live close now. As it is, when they do visit, something bad inevitably happens.” He frowned and looked away from Emory. “They once left me for three days. Just forgot me.”
Emory’s gut tightened. “What do you mean forgot you?”
“We’d stopped at a Love’s station. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, the RV was gone. When they eventually remembered they had a son and returned, they just laughed it off.”
“How old were you?”
“Eight. It’s a wonder I managed to hide from the station employees as long as I did. I hid in the bathroom at night.” His voice lowered. “I was so scared, sure they were never coming back. I never felt safe with them again after that, so it wasn’t just their flightiness that messed me up. And it’s why I’ve worked so hard to reach this point of security. I will never go hungry or feel that sense of homelessness again.”
Emory pictured Julien as a boy, terrified and alone in a fucking gas station for days, and a burning fury filled him.
Julien slid his hand up higher under Emory’s T-shirt. “I can feel you tensing up. That happened a long time ago.”
“You were just a small child. I’m surprised you have anything to do with your parents now.”
“They are still my family and like I told you, they come bearing gifts and apologies. They have cleaned themselves up now, though they will always be chaotic. So I’m glad the visits are short.” He stroked his fingers over Emory’s chest. “What they did may have left some deep-rooted issues, but it did make me the success I am today.”
It had also made someone afraid to live any sort of life outside of work. Emory’s heart ached for him.
“I can’t stop touching you,” Julien murmured as he slid his hand back down to Emory’s belly. “You have wonderful skin.” He let out a low chuckle. “I’ve been really curious about how your wings feel. I wanted to touch them when you backed me into the wall with them out when the penumbra was here. They look so soft.”
Emory sat up, partly to dislodge Julien’s wandering hand and also to pull off his shirt and release his wings.
Julien gasped as they slowly emerged from his body. “Does that hurt?”
“No, but they do grow uncomfortable when not free for long periods of time. I much prefer them out. I don’t fuck with them out, though.” What he didn’t say is that he hadn’t since they were clipped. That he’d never allowed himself to be fully him when with someone else.
Julien sat up and slowly reached out to stroke his hand down one wing. “I knew they would be soft. Can you fly?”
Emory shook his head. “I could in the past, but something happened. I can go high into the air and hover, but long distances aren’t possible anymore.”
Julien’s frown came fast. “Something happened…like an accident?”
“No, this was no accident.” He wasn’t sure what made him decide to share such a private story. Maybe it was the intimacy of them on the floor in the middle of the night. “Remember when I said there are some angels who are speciesists? I had a human mother, and that made me impure in their eyes. There was one group that hated me more than the rest and, well, it didn’t help that I slept with one of their partners. I didn’t know he was in a relationship, but to be honest I hadn’t cared because it was just a one-time thing. But it gave one angel the excuse he wanted. He and a bunch of other angels held me down and clipped my wings.”