Berries and Greed

But Greid needed time to process. And he was high. Maybe once we were really comfortable with each other and I knew his reactions well in a sexual situation, I’d be comfortable doing stuff with him after he’d smoked a little. It wasn’t like shade was mind-altering, it just made him loose and relaxed. And hungry. But then again, Greid was always hungry.

Tomorrow, I decided. Maybe once we’d discussed the rest, he’d be comfortable enough for me to play with his dick. Make him come.

Well, I thought slyly, watching as he tapped on his phone. Make him come eventually.

I was definitely going to be bringing up edging tomorrow.

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Chapter Thirty

Beryl

Greid ended up working until gone 10 p.m., and when he finally emerged from his workshop and shuffled into the living room, he looked so tired that I knew we wouldn’t be having any more intense discussions today.

I heated up the dinner I’d ordered for him—I’d actually gotten a bit worried when he didn’t even emerge for food at any point—and curled up beside him as he started wolfing down the enormous portion of lasagne.

“Did you manage to get it finished?” I asked him, firing up Gloom Falls on the TV.

“All the metalwork, yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “My vision’s gone blurry from those fucking goggles.”

I squeezed his thigh in sympathy, then sat back to let him eat in peace. When he finished, he reached for his smoking tin and started rolling a joint, then froze.

“Oh, wait.” His tired eyes darted to me. “Did you, um, want to talk about—”

“Not tonight.” I grabbed another blanket and tucked it over his lap. “You’re tired. There’s no rush.”

“Yeah, I… guess not,” he said in a hoarse voice, which made my mouth twitch as I glanced at him.

But a minute later, he was relaxing back into the couch as he took deep drags of his joint, exhaling each one with a sated sigh. He slumped down further, and further, until his head tipped onto my shoulder.

My chest squeezed tight. Pressing a kiss to his hair, I squeezed my arm behind him so I could play with the long strands. After finishing his joint, he snuggled into me deeper, and eventually ended up with his head in my lap and his long limbs curled up under the blankets.

I sensed it the moment he fell asleep, his head becoming a little heavier as he stopped watching the TV, his body going completely loose. I continued playing with his hair as I grabbed the remote and put on an episode of Our Neighbours the Humans that we’d already watched, because I didn’t want to keep watching Gloom Falls without him.

I wasn’t at all tired yet, seeing as I’d spent the day lazing around doing nothing. My legs were starting to ache, but I didn’t want to move, especially when Greid shifted in his sleep, a long arm curling around my leg as if he wanted to hug it to him.

Fierce, possessive longing rose inside me. He was so sweet. Kind and affectionate and generous. I genuinely could not understand how Agma hadn’t been able to appreciate him—all of him. But at the same time, I knew that people were wired differently. What worked for one didn’t work for another.

I thought Greid and I would work well. So well.

We were already so close, despite the relatively short time we’d known each other. But living together didn’t leave much room for mystery, and besides, I liked that he knew me better than anyone bar my aunt. It was still a novelty for me to be able to just be myself, to not always have to watch my words or make sure I was acting a certain way around others. Greid just accepted me and didn’t expect anything more. I’d never had that before.

Something about his submissive nature called to me, made me want to give him anything he wanted, fulfil all his desires. But not just in a sexual way. I wanted to look after him in all the ways I could. I wanted to make him happy.

I was already starting to feel the urge to go out and explore the city more, maybe go to a bar, not the one I worked at, for some drinks, or out to dinner. But I would never force Greid to go with me. I could make other friends for that. And I didn’t want to do it often, I just wanted to experience it all. But I knew that this—staying in with him, just being together in the quiet, lounging around in our comfortable PJs—would be what I craved most nights. It already was.

Greid’s leg kicked out from under the blanket, his socked foot twitching rapidly. I suppressed a chuckle and went still when he started squirming, but he just shifted around onto his other side and settled again with a long exhale, burying his face in my belly.

I kept my fingers in his hair, lazily sifting through the strands, and I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I felt him stir. My eyes were drooping, legs stiff from staying in the same position for so long. But I smiled down at him when he snorted and blearily lifted his head, blinking the sleep from his eyes.