Page 45 of Not Written in the Stars (He’s Out of This World #2)
“No. Regardless of the composition of your DNA, Earth has always been your home, and I would not ask you to leave it.
Especially not when you have had so many emotional upheavals as of late.
And while Darvrok 6 may technically be my home, I am not beholden to it.
My planet is where I have spent nearly all my life in ignorance of my own personal failings.
It was not until Earth—not until you—that I began to know myself as I truly am.
I have experienced more growth in my short time on this planet than I ever did upon my native soil.
“But,” he continued merrily, “all that said, location matters little to me. What is important is where you are. Where our offspring are. If that place is Earth, so be it, but should you later change your mind and decide you wish to explore your Darvrokian heritage via relocation to Darvrok 6, so be that as well. It would not matter to me. We could go as far as leaving our home planets behind us to forge a new path for ourselves elsewhere in the galaxy—you need only tell me which climate you desire, and I will locate a habitable planet for us in the blinking of an… in the blink of an eye.”
Ezra searched his face, and through their touch Titan felt mild apprehension.
“And what about our relationship?” he asked nervously.
“I’ll be honest with you—I’ve never found the idea of ‘soulmates’ particularly interesting.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy for Jude and Al, but personally, I dunno, something about it doesn’t appeal to me.
If your lover is already predestined, then there’s no work required.
And I think what I’ve always needed… what would matter most to me…
” He trailed off, ducking his head, as though embarrassed about what he was trying to say. But Titan understood.
“What matters to you,” he said slowly, using two fingers to gently lift Ezra’s chin so that their eyes met again, “is having a lover who has chosen you. Not because of fates written in the stars, but because they have come to know you as a person and have decided you are worth keeping. You wish to be someone’s choice. ”
It was not a question, but Ezra nodded anyway, lips parted slightly and a glimmer of tears beginning to pool along his lower lash line. Numbly, affirmatively, he repeated, “I want to be someone’s choice.”
Titan smiled. “Ezra Miller—wonderful being of both human and Darvrokian blood—you will always be my choice.”
A surge of emotion spiked through their skin-to-skin connection, similar to panic, but Titan quickly recognized it for what it actually was: excitement. Excitement, a hint of disbelief…
And love.
There was definitely an abundance of love.
Ezra pressed his lips to Titan’s in a bruising kiss, and against them, whispered, “You sure know how to sweet-talk a guy… how do you say your Darvrokian name?”
“?.Λ.yz’Ο.”
“Ehamyzaahoh,” Ezra mumbled nonsensically.
“?.Λ.yz’Ο,” Titan repeated more clearly.
“Euayehzoh. ”
“We will practice your Darvrokian at a later time,” Titan said, suppressing a laugh. To keep his amusement hidden, he kissed Ezra again, this time for longer. The kiss quickly grew heated, and Ezra gripped the front of Titan’s shirt as his tongue licked behind Ezra’s teeth.
“I’m healed,” he informed Titan breathlessly. “My body feels completely back to normal.”
“This is not surprising. Darvrokians heal quite quickly.”
“That’s cool, but I hope you realize that was my not-so-subtle way of letting you know I am like, totally down to fuck right now if you want.”
“Oh,” Titan breathed. “Yes. I am also down for fucking, my sweet Ezra. With you, that is never a question.”
Ezra pulled back and beamed at him, looking so at ease that Titan was struck by what he saw.
Beings often described Ezra as “chill,” but this was not entirely correct.
He was levelheaded and detached out of necessity, the inferiority he carried at all times carefully masked to avoid further emotional pain.
But the Ezra he saw now was not masked.
All his carefully constructed barriers had been dropped now that he had certainty he was worthy enough of being somebody’s first—and only—choice, and he was beautiful for it.
“Will you put the eggs in the bassinet?” he asked Titan as he began working his own shirt off over his head.
Titan stood from the bed and went about the precious task of moving each egg back into their inefficient human nest with the utmost care.
When the eggs were settled, soft blankets wrapped around them to keep them warm, Titan turned back to Ezra and felt his breath hitch in his throat.
Ezra was fully disrobed, cock hard and jutting out between his legs in anticipation.
Titan had seen him nude plenty of times now, but he had not yet tired of seeing Ezra want him unabashedly. It had not been all that long ago when he had been the ambassador’s dirty little secret—a guilty pleasure he indulged in, rather than a lover he admired and wished to share intimacy with.
But, as he observed Ezra in his most fundamental form, it occurred to him that Ezra was not the only one who had shied away from open intimacy.
The thought must have shown on Titan’s face, as Ezra furrowed his brow and asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“Not at all,” Titan quickly reassured him, not wanting him to worry for even a second. “I was just thinking… you say what matters most to you is having a lover who chooses to stay, correct?”
“Of course.”
“Then I wonder if we might… test that assertion.”
The corners of Ezra’s lips tightened. “What do you mean?”
“You have only known me in my human form, and have built your attraction to me off it, not who I truly am. What would you say if I told you that I desire to fuck you… in my true Darvrokian form?”
Ezra’s eyes flashed bright orange.
“I would say,” he told Titan slowly, punctuating each word, “that sounds like a fantastic idea.”