Page 62 of A Moth to the Flame (Utopia #1)

Chapter

Forty-Two

DUKE

I never thought peace and quiet would feel so unnerving. After everything we’ve been through in the past month, the silence surrounding the McCoy homestead should be a welcome relief.

It’s not.

It’s too quiet.

Only Cornelius greets us when we walk through the front door. His human-like eyes flick between me and Cordie. “You’re righted.”

She breaks free from my arm around her waist to crouch and extend her hand toward the cat. So much for his worry that she hates him. “How can you tell?”

“You’re both walking as if you’re bumbling toddlers.” He rubs his head against her hand and purrs when she scratches behind his ear.

“You try switching back and forth between different bodies and see how easy it is,” I grumble before stumbling to the couch. I fall onto it in a heap of screaming muscles, then rest my head against the back. “I feel like shit.”

“You look it as well,” Cornelius says.

Fucking pussy. I’d flip him off if I had the energy .

“You are likely suffering the same sort of burnout that Cordelia has already experienced,” Wallace says as he strides deeper into the room. “The focused power you displayed tonight was commendable, especially for a young, untested male such as yourself.”

“Thanks,” I mumble.

So tempted to close my eyes for a minute.

I snap them back open. Nope. Can’t do that. Too easy to pass out. I don’t want to wind up trapped inside my own head the way Cordie was.

On second thought…

If I end up in a coma, are you going to fuck me back to life the way I did for you? Or are you going to leave me stuck in mind prison so I can’t shift again?

The smirk that appears on her berry lips makes exactly one part of me perk up. If we can still talk to each other like this, then I should be able to wake you up the way you did for me.

“What were those things tonight?” she asks Wallace. “The wolves that chased us?”

They weren’t natural, that’s for damn sure. Their eyes glowed, like mine do in my other form. I swallow. I know what it’s like being inside that monster now. It’s a hell of a lot worse than seeing it. A hell of a lot harder to operate, too.

“They are known by many names—malcadh, cú sìth, hellhounds, werewolves. The term depends upon the region and the era.”

“What we saw tonight doesn’t match up with what I know of werewolves,” Cordie says.

Wallace smiles, but even he looks tired at this point.

“Humans have endeavored for millennia to explain that which they do not fully understand. From ancient mythology that rationalized natural phenomena to Middle Ages folklore that described magical creatures. Rather than deepening their knowledge, most of the stories were passed on as cautionary tales. Ways to warn other humans how to either avoid or survive contact with beings that they were virtually powerless against.”

“You say that in the past tense, like humans aren’t as powerless as they used to be,” Cordie murmurs .

Smart witch. She doesn’t miss a thing. I’m glad she’s thinking enough for the both of us, because I am seriously close to giving up the fight to stay awake.

“They are not.” Wallace says with a lift of his eyebrows. “Their weapons are extraordinarily destructive. Do you honestly think the entire fae race would stand a chance against a nuclear assault?”

We’re definitely not invincible. I wouldn’t be feeling like death warmed over if that was true.

Wallace shakes his head, sighs, then sits in the armchair. “What you know of werewolves isn’t entirely accurate, just as what you know of vampires isn’t.”

“Because vampires are just what a certain area of Europe called the beings that are really fae,” Cordie guesses.

“That’s right.” Wallace crosses one knee over the other and folds his hands over the armrests like he’s getting comfortable to finally give us a full story time.

Too bad I’m not gonna make it.

Take notes for me, babe. Can’t keep my eyes open anymore.

Take a nap. I’ll wake you up when you’re ready.

Mmm. I can’t wait.

Pretty sure I pass out with a smile on my face.

Cordie?

A small soft hand lands on my chest. I’m here.

I feel like I got run over by a Mack truck.

Multiple times. Feeling is all I have to go on.

I feel like I’m in my body. My human one, not my monster one.

There’s something soft beneath me, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the couch.

I’m on my back with my arms at my sides. Cordie’s lying down next to me.

Where are we?

In Granny’s room , she answers. My twin bed is too small for both of us.

How did we get in here?

Wallace carried you in. I walked .

No matter how hard I try to open my eyes, I can’t. I can’t wriggle my fingers, my toes, or even open my mouth.

I get why you were so panicked when this happened to you. This might actually be scarier than turning into a monster. I’m awake, but my body won’t do what I want it to.

I know , she soothes. At least you have the benefit of knowing that I can get you out of it.

Can you? I try to swallow, but nothing happens. We still don’t know what changed when we switched back into our bodies.

Try not to panic. We already know plenty. We can still mind talk. You can still shift. You even shifted back on your own, so that’s an improvement. You still have the lightning power.

Yeah, yeah. And I’m still hard all the time. I can feel that, too. Take off my pants and ride me already. I’d really love to be able to move again, and I’m entirely sure that opening my eyes to the sight of you bouncing on my cock has the power to turn this nightmare into a good memory.

Her body shakes with laughter beside me as the sound fills the air.

You have a beautiful laugh, Cordie.

You don’t have to romance me. I’m going to ride your pony either way.

I almost tell her that I want to romance her, but I keep that to myself at the last second. She’s been through so much her whole life, let alone this past month. She’s not ready for more than sex. I need to remember that.

Besides, I don’t actually know how to romance a woman. Never tried before. And she’s not just any woman. She’s my mate and a witch. How does a half-fae hillbilly even romance a witch?

She unbuttons and unzips my jeans then struggles a bit to tug them down enough to free my aching cock.

She told me not to panic, but I’m panicking. I can’t see what she’s doing. I can only guess from sensations.

The second I feel silky soft heat against the head of my cock, I calm down a little. When she glides my dick through her folds, getting me nice and slick with her wetness, I calm a little more.

God, you feel good , I moan. But only in my mind.

If my eyes could move, they’d be rolling into the back of my head with every inch that she sinks down onto me. Fuck. Her pussy is tight and hot and wet and perfect.

This is so much slower than in the creek. I don’t know if it’s because I can’t move or see, but I feel everything. Everything I missed when we went at each other hot and heavy the last time.

She takes me to the hilt, then grinds against me and moans out loud.

That’s it, baby. Find your rhythm on me.

She pants as she sets a fast tempo, sliding up and down, up and down, up and down.

She pulls up so far that only my head stays inside her, and I feel like I’m losing my mind. She slams back down, and if I wasn’t already in darkness, I would’ve blacked out from how fucking good that feels.

I don’t know how I haven’t come yet. Her juices drip down my cock. My balls are drawn up tight and heavy. I’m waiting on her, though. I’m not going over until she does.

She takes me deep again, then sets her hands on my chest and rocks more slowly, swiveling her hips in a rolling motion instead of the punishing pace she went at for what feels like hours.

You like it slow, Gingersnap?

She laughs a little. The sensation of her walls fluttering around my cock is my new favorite thing in the world.

Do you? she asks. She sounds breathless in my mind and my ears.

I love anything you want to give me , I tell her honestly.

You sure about that? She falls forward onto my chest, her hot, sweaty skin sealing against mine.

I want so badly to wrap my arms around her, but the best I can manage is a slight twitch in my pinky finger. Awesome. Once we both come, then I’ll be free to come again. And again and again.

We’ve been going at this for hours, Duke. She presses her cheek against my chest. I’m sorry. It was selfish of me to keep trying this way. I just figured I’m already bleeding, and I can’t possibly be that bad at sex, and ? —

WHAT?

That panic sets back in again.

You need blood. You need to feed. That’s why it’s not working .

This isn’t funny, Cordelia. Stop messing with me. I didn’t leave you trapped in my body.

I’m not messing with you! Wallace and I talked a bit after you passed out. I got him to admit that was the power exchange he thought we’d give in to when he shipped us off to his pocket realm.

That’s what he meant by telling me to trust my instincts? How the fuck would I have ever guessed that I needed to feed on blood?

Even after Neveah slit Cordie’s wrist, Cordie didn’t drink me dry while she was in my body. She somehow closed the wound and stopped the bleeding.

I just figured that since I started my period the last time this worked, then it would again. I was obviously wrong. You’re probably more drained after shifting a few times. You need to actually drink. Let me go find a knife in the kitchen, and I’ll be right back.

Absolutely the fuck not. So help me, if you so much as prick your finger, when I get out of this coma, I will tie you up and ? —

And what? There’s a smile in her voice. Put me in our pocket realm? I can realm walk, too, Duke. You can’t lock me up anywhere.

Shit. She’s right. She peels her sweaty chest away from mine.

Cordie. Wait. Listen to me.

I know you’re freaking out, but it’s not that bad. My blood tastes like wild blackberries, remember? This is just part of your fae nature. I can handle giving what you need, so let me.