The Night’s Conversation

That evening, the two women found themselves deep in conversation.

“It was so intense!” Lilitha exclaimed. “Is he like that with you?” She seemed to have no understanding of Damon’s nature.

Carmella shook her head in response. “Betas are different, Lilitha. They’re not like us. They can handle a lot more and their relationship with alphas is unique.”

Lilitha looked puzzled.

“Mateus, come join us,” Carmella beckoned.

Mateus glanced up and lumbered over to them, his tail swaying behind him. Lilitha watched as Damon and Lincoln sat together, whispering and laughing. Lincoln’s laughter echoed through the night as Damon leaned in to nuzzle his cheek.

“What’s going on?” Mateus asked, settling down next to them.

“Lilitha’s confused. Can you explain to her how different it is between us and betas?”

“It’s a whole different world,” he said, but didn’t elaborate further.

“I saw Damon and Lincoln,” Lilitha said. “It didn’t look…enjoyable.”

Mateus smirked, glancing over at the two males. “Oh, it’s definitely enjoyable.”

“But it’s so ~intense~. Are you—are ~you~ like that too?”

Mateus furrowed his brows. “Haven’t you seen us?”

Lilitha shook her head. He sat down next to her and took her hand, their fingers intertwining. He squeezed her hand gently, then harder, until she winced.

“Imagine this pressure, but several times worse,” Mateus said. “That’s what Lincoln can endure.”

“But Damon was biting him and clawing at him. It wasn’t all about strength,” Lilitha said quietly.

“Like I said, he can take it,” Carmella said. “Damon won’t do more than what Lincoln can handle—or finds pleasurable.”

Lilitha shook her head in disbelief.

Mateus gently caressed her hand, then enveloped it in his large palm. “We’re very gentle with you, Lilitha, with you and Carmella. We have to be or we could really hurt you.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

“But you’re not always so gentle. You can be rough sometimes.”

Carmella snorted in response.

Mateus gave a soft smile. “Not as much as we could be. Not even close.” He turned her hand over to kiss the heel of her palm. “That’s why we get so…frustrated sometimes. Remember what happened with Damon? When he bit you too hard? Did you want that?”

Lilitha looked down into her lap, her eyes welling up.

“You look upset,” Carmella said.

“I’m not upset. It’s just all these things I’m still yet to learn.” She looked at Mateus almost accusingly. “I thought I knew you.”

“You do know us!” His tail swished. He grabbed her face to kiss her softly on the mouth. He kissed her again and again until she squirmed in his hands and smiled. He nuzzled her cheek. “I love how soft you are. You’re so precious. You have no idea. I wouldn’t hurt you. I wouldn’t hurt any of you. It’s just the way things are.”

Lilitha pressed her forehead against Mateus’s with a sigh. He was still holding her hand. He let go to run his hand down her thigh. Then he wrapped it around her waist and pulled her into his lap. Leaning his cheek against her head, he traced his fingers softly down her spine, making her shiver.

Lilitha snuggled in close, their hearts beating in sync. He kissed her head, her cheek, then turned her face to kiss her on the mouth.

He was certainly gentle, right in front of everyone. She could feel Damon and Lincoln watching and she didn’t care, tucked away in his lap, her chin propped on his shoulder as he slowly rocked into her. Lilitha lightly bit his neck.

When they were done, Mateus curled his large body around hers, holding her tightly. Lilitha pressed her lips against his chest. She breathed in his intoxicating scent with a sigh.

They stayed that way until the sun rose. Then they lay in each other’s embrace as the sun brightened. Lilitha was half-asleep when Damon rolled her into his arms. Mateus didn’t even notice, snoring away.

Damon nuzzled her cheek as Lilitha yawned. Eyes still closed, she smiled as he kissed her on the tip of her nose, then her mouth. He bent back her head as he kissed her on the throat. Then he pulled her against him in such a tight hug that it made her breathless.

Damon relaxed his hold. “Carmella told me what happened. What you saw.”

“Oh.” She snapped open her eyes. “Sorry.”

“Sorry?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I mean.” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“She said you were surprised.”

“It’s only, I’ve never seen you so…intense with someone you supposedly love.”

“That wasn’t intensity, Lila, trust me. After all you’ve seen me capable of…”

“… I know.” She paused. Her cheeks turned hot. “And Lincoln likes it?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

She looked over at him as he lay curled up around Silus and Carmella. She gave an embarrassed shrug. “I don’t know him very well.”

“Yes, he likes it. He actually asked for it. I was careful.”

“It amazes me how you can be so…wild one moment and then so gentle the next. With me. With Silus. You always surprise me.”

“Good. I want to stay surprising.” He grinned at her.

Lilitha smiled back. “It’s not what I’m used to. Men are only one way or the other. My father…my human father…” She fell silent. She looked at him meaningfully. “Human men are not like you.”

“Lila, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Lilitha chuckled, then laughed. She clapped her hand over her mouth as Mateus snorted in his sleep and Silus mewled. Pressing his face into her throat, Damon rolled her onto her back. Sitting up, he straddled her. His eyes were shining. His left horn caught the light and flashed golden.

His eyes turned dark as he smoothed his large hand over her breast. “They’re smaller.”

“Almost dried up,” she said, her voice thick.

Damon gave a tender smile as he leaned over to suck her nipple into his mouth. “Better?”

“Not the same but it’ll have to do.”

He flashed a grin at her, showing off his teeth, and she responded in kind. Then, he was laying himself over her, his hands pinning hers to the ground as he nuzzled her neck. He planted a kiss on her cheek, then the tip of her nose, and finally her lips, his tongue lightly brushing against hers.

Letting go of her hands, he gripped her hips and rolled over, positioning her on top of him.

Lilitha was all smiles as they playfully wrestled. Damon gently batted her hands away as she tried to grab him and land a punch. He allowed her to grasp his horns and pull his head back, revealing his thick neck.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he let out a gasp when Lilitha leaned in to kiss it.

Next, she was exploring his horns with her tongue, sucking on their tips, causing him to shudder and grunt in pleasure. A deep, painful pang hit Lilitha as she thought of her father and the suffering he must have endured. She remembered the way his eyes had locked onto hers in his final moments.

“Lila?”

Lilitha was frozen atop Damon, her hands clenched in the dirt on either side of his head as she lost herself in her memories.

“Sorry.” She quickly averted her gaze.

Damon placed a comforting hand on her backside, sliding it up her back and resting it behind her neck as she hastily wiped away her tears.

“Let yourself grieve, Lila. It’s going to take time.”

Lilitha bit her lip, bracing herself against another wave of tears. “But it always hits me at the worst times, even when I’m happy.”

“That’s usually how it works,” he said, his voice tinged with sadness.

Lilitha turned back to him. Damon’s eyes were downcast. She brushed his long red hair away from his face. He took her hand and kissed it, his lips trailing down her thumb to her wrist.

He sighed as he folded her small hand in his. “I’m sorry. I ruined the moment,” she said.

“Not for long.”

He grinned as he reached for her breasts. Lilitha laughed as he massaged them, pushing her hair back as he teased her nipples.

The others were still asleep as Lilitha reached for his pants and undid them. Damon gripped her hips as she wrapped her hand around him, hot and pulsing. She felt no hesitation as she positioned herself over him.

She let out a sigh as he filled her. “That’s better.”

The sun was shining through the leaves as she moved. Closing her eyes, she stretched out over him, burying her head under his chin as he ran his hand up and down her back.

They moved slowly, so slowly that it made Lilitha’s hips ache. She kissed his shoulder, then nipped at his throat. Lilitha let him push into her, slow and deep. She felt the heat building in his skin, making her own body hot.

He hardened and swelled. She felt his body tense, saw the muscles in his shoulders bulge. He took her face in his hands and kissed her as he thrust a little harder. Once. Twice. Three times.

He climaxed in a hot rush that made her break out in a sweat. She gasped. He moaned. Lilitha moved her hips, using his pulsations to bring herself to her own climax.

Lilitha kissed his sternum. She kissed his throat. Then she kissed his lips. Damon rolled over until they were on their sides.

He touched her cheek, his jade eyes gazing deeply into hers. Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, his large body curving around hers. Closing her eyes, Lilitha pressed her lips to the hollow of his collarbone.

Damon let out a shuddering breath.