Page 179 of May: Bloom & Bane

“Big Bird is a liar,” I agree.

His grip tightens as he buries his long green fingers in the fabric as he tries to subtly shift his giant thigh to block a sprawling structure in the corner of the room.

“What is that?”

It’s a nest. A literal, beautifully woven, five-foot-wide nest made entirely out of my missing clothes, soft blankets, and stolen pillows.

“Eden,” he stammers. “You… should not be walking up the stairs so quickly. It’s bad for the baby.”

“Do not ’bad for the baby’ me, you giant laundry vampire!” I walk closer to the nest, looking at every single detail. “I knew it! I knew there were no clothes-eating gnomes! Look at this! You’ve been hoarding my wardrobe like a dragon!”

“It is… a highly efficient storage method,” he murmurs. The vines on his chest tightly furl into defensive balls. The tips of his pointed ears turn as pink as they can atop his green skin.

“You are literally juice-boxing my sweaters!” I gesture wildly to the crunchy-looking sweater in his hand. “They look like dried-out husks!”

He glances down at the sweater with those giant, mismatched eyes, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

“My body demands it,” he admits sheepishly. “When I smell the níva on your clothes, my instincts take over before my mind can stop them. I need to consume it, Eden.”

My irritation dissolves when I feel him brace for my disgust.

“Sage.” I step inside the nest and trail my fingers over one of the silken blankets. “You could have just come to me.”

His eyes snap to mine. “What?”

“You didn’t need to steal my clothes. If your body needs it… you can take it from me.”

His pupils swallow the lavender and gold of his irises until there’s nothing left but black. The vines on his chest bloom open in a violent rush of color.

“Eden, you are carrying our vúsha. Your body is already giving her everything. I will not take from you too⁠—”

I take his hand and press it over my heart. “It’s not taking if I’m offering. Nothing of ours goes to waste, remember?”

A growl escapes his throat as he hoists me off the floor, his wings sweeping forward to guide us both down into the massive, laundry-filled nest he’s spent the last week building. He braces over me, lavásia floating through the air, his eyes fixated on the top button of my dress.

“Luváel,” he groans as he drops his head to my chest. “You smell so sweet. Like wild honey. It’s been so hard to keep my hands off of you the last week.”

My body responds to him, a tingling sensation builds in my chest until drops of nectar begin to leak, soaking through my white dress. He seals his mouth over the wet fabric, sucking the golden liquid straight through the cloth. My dress clings to my breast as his tongue presses hard, drawing more nectar out of me. “You feed me with something no other body could ever make.”

His hips grind against me, the hard length of his cock rubbing back and forth over my thigh. He’s so heavy, and all I can think about is how I want the weight of him to crush me.

“More,” he growls. “I need more, Eden.”

He tears my dress open. My buttons scatter across the nest as he dips his head, taking my bare nipple into his mouth. A guttural sound fills the bedroom, and his wings snap open behind him.

“Vresh, Eden,” he gasps against my skin.

My fingers wrap around the edge of his wings as they arch over us. “I want you,” I moan. “I need you.”

Another shudder rips through him. He switches to my other breast, his tongue swirling hungrily over the leaking nectar before his lips seal over my nipple. Every greedy pull sends a tremor through his muscles. His cock throbs against me, leaking steadily as he grinds harder. A whimper vibrates against my breast as he drinks deeper, his hips bucking in short, frantic bursts. The vines around his torso twist, sliding down to coil around my waist, pinning me beneath him while others stroke restlessly over my hips.

“Eden.” His hands hook under my thighs, hoisting me up until I’m aligned perfectly with him. The broad head of his cock catches on my clit with every roll of his hips. “You taste so good. You’re driving me insane.”

My fingers claw helplessly at his shoulders as he teases my nipple with his teeth.

“Please—inside, Sage,” I moan. “Now.”

The heat inside his wings is suffocating, a thick haze of gold surrounding us. My mind feels like it’s starting to melt. His wings lower, and I catch a single curl of black smoke bleeding from his back in the mirror across the bedroom. The shadow writhes, pressing flat against his spine, quivering with a starving hunger.