Page 28 of Beastkin

I gripped myself harder, my thick fingers working up and down my shaft as images of Phoenix flooded my mind. God, he’d felt so perfect in my arms last night. So warm and real and alive. The way he’d pressed his face into my chest, breathing me in like he needed my scent to survive.

My thumb swept over the head of my cock, collecting the pre-cum that had already begun to leak. I was bigger than most guys,thick enough that my own large hand could barely wrap around the girth, heavy balls hanging low between my thighs. In beast form, everything was amplified… my size, my strength, and myneed.

I thought about Phoenix’s hands, smaller and more delicate than mine but no less strong. What would they feel like wrapped around me? Would he be able to take all of me in those elegant fingers? The thought made me groan, my pace increasing as I worked myself harder.

“Phoenix,” I breathed into the morning air, his name falling from my lips like a dark secret.

I imagined him here with me, kneeling on the soft forest floor, those orange eyes looking up at me with hunger instead of just friendship. His dark hair would be mussed from sleep, his shirt and pants on the forest floor, leaving him exposed and desperate. I knew he’d look beautiful that way, more than I could imagine.

My free hand moved to cup my balls, rolling them gently as I continued stroking. The dual sensation sent sparks of pleasure up my spine, and I had to bite back another groan. If anyone heard me out here, jerking off to thoughts of my best friend, I’d never live it down.

But fuck, I couldn’t stop. The memory of his scent filled my nostrils, something clean and warm with an underlying hint of smoke that spoke to his fire magic. I wanted to bury my face in his neck and breathe him in until I was drunk on it.

I thought about what it would be like to kiss him. Would his lips be soft? Would he taste like the mint tea he’d always loved as a kid? Would he kiss me back with the same desperate need I was feeling now? Would he take my cock between his beautiful lips and suck me into oblivion?

My strokes became more urgent, my breathing ragged. The head of my cock was dark and swollen, pre-cum making obscene wet sounds as I worked myself closer to the edge. My balls drew up tight, and I knew I was close.

“Fuck, Phoenix,” I gasped, my voice echoing off the trees. “Need you so fucking bad.”

I imagined him whispering my name the way he had when his memories came flooding back, but this time it would be breathless with pleasure instead of pain. This time he’d be arching beneath me, begging for more, those clever fingers digging into my fur as I made him mine.

The fantasy pushed me over the edge. My orgasm hit like lightning, pleasure crackling through every nerve ending as I came hard across the forest floor. Rope after rope of cum painted the fallen leaves at my feet, my whole body shuddering as I rode out the most intense orgasm I’d had in months. Maybe ever.

As the waves of pleasure subsided, reality came crashing back. I was standing in the middle of the woods, panting and spent, with my softening cock in my hand and Phoenix’s name still echoing in the trees.

“Holy shit,” I whispered, staring down at the mess I’d made. The evidence of my desire was splattered across the forest floor, and the sight of it brought a rush of shame that almost drowned out the lingering pleasure.

What the hell was I doing? Jerking off in the woods to fantasies of my childhood best friend? A guy I’d only just reconnected with after years apart?

I tucked myself back into my shorts, my hands trembling slightly. The sky had lightened considerably while I’d been lost in my fantasy, pink and gold streaking through the trees. I needed to get back to campus before anyone noticed I was gone.

But as I turned to head back, a new fear gripped me. How was I supposed to face Phoenix in class today? Would he somehow know what I’d been thinking? What I’d been doing? My cheeks burned at the thought.

Chapter 12

Phoenix

I’d been up nearly all night, too excited to sleep and far too distracted. Yesterday I didn’t have anything to think about before bed other than the monotony the next day would bring. But now I had years worth of childhood memories to sort through. And all the feelings that came with them.

I rolled over in my narrow bed, staring at the ceiling as fragments of recovered memories played like a movie reel behind my eyes. Karrick carrying me on his massive back through sun-dappled forests. The two of us building elaborate fairy houses out of twigs and moss. His patient voice teaching me the names of different birds while I helped him practice speaking in his shifted form.

But it wasn’t just the innocent childhood memories keeping me awake. It was the way he’d looked at me when I’d thrown my arms around him after the ritual. The way his breath had caught when I’d buried my face in his fur. The careful tenderness in his clawed hands as he’d held me while I sobbed.

I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to sort through the tangle of emotions in my chest. Relief at finally remembering who I truly was. Rage at my parents for stealing those memories from me.And underneath it all, something else. Something that made my skin feel too tight and my pulse race whenever I thought about the warmth of Karrick’s arms around me.

Thomas stirred in his bed across the room, mumbling something in his sleep about potion ingredients. I envied him his peaceful slumber. My mind was too chaotic for rest, spinning between past and present, childhood innocence and adult complications.

Because that’s what this was becoming, wasn’t it? Complicated. The boy I’d loved so fiercely as a child had grown into a man who made my breath catch just by looking at me. His amber eyes held depths I wanted to explore, secrets I wanted to uncover. When he’d cupped my face in his massive palm last night, I’d felt something shift inside me, something that had nothing to do with recovered memories and everything to do with the heat building low in my belly. The fire that made my magic stir in ways I never thought possible.

I’d never felt this way about anyone before. My parents had kept me so isolated, so controlled, that I’d barely had the chance to explore attraction or desire. There had been a few girls at the private academies they’d enrolled me in, pretty witches with perfect smiles who’d shown interest. But I’d always felt detached, going through the motions because it was expected.

This was different. This burned.

I thought about the way Karrick’s muscles had rippled beneath his fur when he’d caught me as I collapsed. The careful strength in his arms, powerful enough to crush me but gentle as silk. The rumble of his voice against my ear when he’d whispered my name…

My hand drifted down my body almost without conscious thought, fingers trailing over my chest to rest just above the waistband of my sleep pants. I was half-hard already, my body responding to these new feelings. The phantom weight of Karrick’s hands on my skin. The way his tusks had caught the candlelight when he’d smiled at me.

I bit my lip, glancing across the room to make sure Thomas wasstill asleep. His breathing remained deep and even, completely oblivious to my internal turmoil. Carefully,