Project Alaric: Book One ✔️

Chapter Twelve

Alaric Benson

"So, you two stay with the Devil in case he shows up, and Apollo and I are going to find trouble in the woods. Be safe, babies!"

I rolled my eyes as I sat back in the chair. We were in the Devil's Tramping Ground. The only information we knew was that the Devil frequently shows up here, pacing around the circle while he works through his evil plans or whatever. Nothing grows inside of this circle, and if you place objects around the area, and then sleep–they're gone by the time you wake up.

"Oh, Satan." Emery hummed from beside me. "Come out for a visit."

"But Axton is already in the woods, Little Phantom. Don't worry, Satan will be back soon."

Emery snorted. "He's little Satan. The real Satan needs to come for a visit. Though, I feel like I shouldn't speak that into existence."

Chuckling, I sat forward, staring into the fire Axton, Apollo, and me had gotten ready for the evening. I wasn't sure how long we'd be staying out here, but probably a while. Axton loved to explore–Apollo went with him since Axton liked to find trouble everywhere he went.

Yet, with them gone, everything was eerily silent. Even Emery was quiet. Maybe it was the atmosphere, I wasn't sure. But I couldn't stop my thoughts from drifting to the boy beside me. I didn't understand what that show was that I put on. I felt possessed by someone else entirely. All I knew at that moment was I wanted to feel his warm skin against mine.

And the way he reacted did things to me I thought were long dead. Things I'd never even felt before. All I wanted to do was figure out how to have him make those sounds again. I was the one who drew them out of him. He didn't have to admit he had feelings for me–his reaction to my hold on him told me everything I needed to know, and I had to figure out how to make that happen again.

If I could have figured out my feelings a long time ago, I would have doubled my efforts to get him to talk to me. Our conversations wouldn't consist of boring topics that I came up with offhandedly. They'd have magic behind them. Okay, I was thinking too highly of myself–I was actually very insecure.

What if I screwed this up? The entire point of admitting my feelings was to get to know Emery on a different level other than friends. If we built up a friendship, that was fine–we could move from there, but I wanted to pursue the dating route. It was rare for me to catch interest in anyone. And as I told Emery, I never conformed to a specific sexuality because look at that, I wasn't straight. At all.

Not with the strong urge I had to kiss him. I loved the way he felt in my hands. I devoured the way he fucking whimpered. Those weren't straight thoughts. And it was exactly why I stood by the belief that straight wasn't the fucking default. Realistically, there subconsciously was a reason why I refused to identify as straight.

And Emery is the walking, talking example of that reason.

Emery pulled me from my thoughts when that timid voice reached my ears. "Can you please elaborate on what you meant by pursuing me?" He cleared his throat, but it did nothing to help the volume of his voice. "Can you tell me what's allowed in regards to how this is going to work? I'm very confused. I've never...done this before."

Fucking. Cute. I turned my head to face those vulnerable brown eyes, only to find them already on me. No one could stop the smile I gave him. "I want to get to know you on a higher level than friends." I grabbed the arm of his chair and dragged him closer. He gasped as he looked up into my eyes. "I want to know what you like. What you hate. What you want. And what you desire. I want to know what you want from me. What's expected of me. And I want you to have all of those things from me, too." I brought my hand to his cheek and gently brushed my fingertips along his warm skin. "I want to know what turns you on and what doesn't. I want your arms around me and not only my friends. I want to know you to your very core."