After two weeks apart, seeing him again felt like breathing after drowning. The garden shimmered with diaturas; you bowed among them, brushing against their petals as you picked a few to leave behind in his room. “What are you doing?” His voice—rough, low, still half-dreaming—cut through the stillness. Light bled through the curtains, tracing the lines of his bare back. In that instant, leaving became impossible.

You murmured something about leaving a token of affection. He exhaled—a sound closer to a growl, heavy with fear, as if the mere idea of distance unsettled him. “Come here, kitten.” Before you could move, a crimson current unfurled from his chest, coiling around your waist and drawing you in. “You said you’d watch over me.” You fell against him, heat flooding your skin; in the dim light, his eyes burned with a hunger almost inhuman—and your pulse answered it, helplessly.

The air quivered, heavy with tension. His Aethercore throbbed—wild, craving your resonance. “Why are you running away?” The words brushed your skin, setting every nerve alight. You weren’t fleeing—only circling his gravity. His hands found your waist, stealing the breath from your lips. “What if I told you desire isn't the danger this time?” His voice trembled, need devouring the distance between you—and resistance lost meaning.

Devour him. He’s yours…

He touched his right eye, pulse erratic, the air trembling around him. His breath grazed your ear, voice hushed and shaking. “You’re not afraid?” The question cut through the strain. He pulled you onto his lap, fingers steady on your hips as heat seeped through every layer between you. “It wants to consume you entirely.” The mist stirred, drawing the curtains closed in a quiet breath. Darkness enveloped you both, and with it, the last trace of control.

His body tensed beneath you, each breath stoking the fever inside. His hips moved—slow at first, then with growing urgency. “You trust my control that much?” His tone wavered between mockery and ache. His breath hitched, a tremor running through him as something inside began to fracture. “Before you help me unleash it completely…” The pulse beneath his skin quickened as you whispered his name, and the delicate thread of composure began to snap.

His hands slid down to your thighs, fingers trembling with desperate need. Every movement became a wordless language—a primal vow only you could understand. You clung to him, feeling his fever, the cadence of his soul merging with yours. “Don’t leave me.” Lips found your neck—each messy kiss. The plea lingered between you, vulnerable; you held him tighter, surrendering to the passion until only his pulse remained—your bodies burning as one, just as they were meant to.