I kiss him back, pouring all my feelings into it. My apology, my gratitude, my love.
He's gentle, pushing me back down onto the bed with his lips moving over mine. I close my eyes and let him. Let him do what he wants. What I want.
He breaks the kiss and hovers above me. His hair tickles my face and his breath fans over my skin.
"Sarah... open your eyes." He says, his voice barely above a whisper.
I do as he asks. I look at him.
He's looking back at me with an expression of wonder and adoration. His veins glow a soft pink, pulsing slowly.
He smiles and brushes a strand of hair from my face. "You're so beautiful."
I blush and bite my lip. "You're one to talk."
He laughs softly and kisses me again. His lips move from my mouth to my cheek, to my jaw, to my neck. He kisses every inch of skin he can reach, making me sigh and shiver.
His hands slide down to my shirt and he starts unbuttoning it. He opens it slowly, exposing my chest to his gaze. His eyes widen and his breath hitches as he sees my breasts. He stares at them for a moment, as if mesmerized.
I can't help but reach my hands up to shield myself, but he gently takes my wrists and pulls them away. He looks at me with a serious expression.
"No. No." He shakes his head. "Let me look at you. Please."
I swallow and nod. I drop my hands to my sides and let him look his fill.
He does. He looks at me like I'm the most amazing thing he's ever seen. Like I'm a treasure. Like I'm... perfect.
I'm not used to it. I've never felt this way before. I've always been insecure about my body. About my appearance. About everything.
It used to be... a little pudge, looking too plain and boring. And then it wa—is the woman who isn't me looking back in a body I don't remember earning and yet...
He doesn't look at me like he can see any of that.
Those golden eyes flicker across my form. Slim fingers reach down and... for a moment I think he's going to squeeze or—something—but instead, his fingertips touch my breastbone, trailing down the space between my breasts slow and light.
His veins pulse a brighter, near white light and his breath catches. "I can feel you. Under my touch." He whispers, and looks up at me with wonder. "Your heart. Is it... quickening?"
I nod, feeling my cheeks warm. "I—it's—normal, I—"
His expression softens. "I can feel your glow under my hand." He murmurs. "And... it's beautiful."
I stare at him.
Is he... is he talking about...
I swallow. "My... what?"
He looks back at my chest with a faint smile. "Your glow. I've always wanted to... see it. I've never—Akutwas... humans. You have no glow. Others, most who aren't Akutwas don't glow and I can never see... how... you feel. Like I've—been speaking to everyone blind. "
His eyes close and his palm presses to my chest.
"But I can feel you. Do..." His ears flick and he swallows, voice trembling briefly. "You understand me? I—"
I...
I think... that I do. Finally. I don't know why I didn't before, but...
It isn't just that others are loud because they speak when they're supposed to... glow, it's that he can't see it. He can't see anything from others at all. And I...
I lift my hand and press it against his chest, right where his heart is. A very human heart beat is under my palm, and it's... faster than normal. Faster than mine, even.
It's beating exactly in time with the pulses of his light.
That realization sends an electric shock through me.
His eyes—I don't know when they closed—open again and look down at mine. They're softer than I've ever seen. There's a vulnerability, a fear, a desperation that matches the white glow under my fingers.
"Do you... understand?" He whispers again.
I nod, my throat thick with emotion.
I do.
I understand him.
He smiles. And I swear it's a smile that's made of stars and all the oceans in the world. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I have no idea how I'm going to live through this.
"I love you." I whisper back, and lean up to kiss him.
He kisses me back, his hands moving to my shoulders, pushing the shirt further off. His mouth is hot and hungry on mine, and I match his pace. I'm not scared anymore. I'm not insecure. I'm... happy.
Happy to be here with him. Happy to be the woman that he looks at like that.
My hands grip his shirt and I tug at it. He gets the hint and breaks the kiss to pull it off over his head. He tosses it aside and looks at me with an entirely too confident smile.
I'm briefly stunned.
I've seen his veins glow before. I know they're not just in his chest.
I've seen him shirtless before.
I've never seen so many of his veins glowing so intensely before.
"You're... a constellation..." I blurt before I can even think.
His smile flickers into a slightly baffled, slightly embarrassed look. He grabs one of the pillows from the bed and shoves it over my face. "Don't look at me like that!"
I squawk and push the pillow off, "Y—you told me to—!"
His eyes go wide, his ears flick as he freezes, and those many veins glow a beautiful bright. And he swallows. "I... I did. I—I mean I do. But not—you're so—intense..."
"It's because you're beautiful." I reach out and rest a hand on his chest again, letting my fingers trail down those glowing lines. They're hot, pulsing with his heartbeat. "Can I... keep looking?"
He presses his lips together and gives me a single nod, looking as if he's suffering deeply.
I move my hand over his chest, feeling his skin, his muscles, his glow. He's... perfect. He's strong and lean and smooth and... somehow...
Somehow he's showing this to me.
I slide my hand down his side and he shudders. His hand catches my wrist and stops me from going lower. He looks at me with a darkened expression.
"I'm going to get far less nishi'an sweet and gentlemanly in a moment. If you keep teasing me." He warns, his voice husky.
I bite my lip and smile. "Who says I want gentlemanly?" I ask, and tug at his grip.
He growls and pushes me down on the bed, pinning my wrist above my head. He kisses me again, hard and rough. His other hand slides down my body and cups my breast. He squeezes it gently, his thumb circling my nipple. I gasp and arch into his touch.
He breaks the kiss and looks down at me, his eyes blazing. "You have no idea what you're doing to me." He says, his voice low and ragged.
"I have a pretty good idea." I say, and move my hips against his. I can feel his hardness pressing against my thigh, and I know he's as turned on as I am.