A Crash, A Song, A Wave

Chapter 30

TW in the description
Sorry - Most of this chapter is also vey NSFW (pretty intense even for me) so it'll be Patreon only - there is also art!

Luca POV

Time flew by after their trip to the carnival. Luca felt as though he blinked, and they were on their final honeymoon day. Their lives back at Portorosso waited for them, but Luca... wasn't ready to go back. He wasn't ready to rejoin the flow of everyday life. Not yet.

Something about his new joining with his mate felt... inclomplete. His heart was full and his spirit light as he sat beside his husband on the beach, listening to the waves lap over the black sand.

But his body... itched.

There wasn't a physical location for the itch, and he doubted no matter how much he scratched, he'd be able to relieve himself of the sensation. It was like the little irritation had planted itself in his spinal cord, reminding him of the discomfort every few minutes.

Alberto hadn't held him since that night by the poolside, and Luca noticed with growing frustration how much distance his husband kept when in their true forms. They swam and twirled in the water, but when Luca wanted to pull his mate close, to run his talons along those purple jeweled scales, Alberto pulled away.

Then Luca would feel a cautioning caress along the Bond, reminding him it was too dangerous.

"Alberto doesn't trust me," Luca caught himself thinking about their final evening together.

He peered over his book from the pool chair while Alberto absent-mindedly lay on the pool's edge, his eyes closed, swirling a single transformed talon in the water.

But as Luca watched the steady rise of Alberto's scar-covered chest, he realized he was wrong.

"No... he doesn't trust himself."

Alberto didn't trust the Rusal nature to keep Luca safe. Didn't trust that Luca's Sireno form would be able to match the vicious nature of the Rusal.

But what Alberto didn't realize, was that Luca felt that same instinct.

The same drive.

The same itching, stinging sensation wedged between the vertebrae of his spine.

That desire to feel their true bodies against one another. The Bond mirrored that feeling. And even though Sireno were more docile by nature, it didn't stop Alberto's instincts from bouncing off him through the tether of light.

Luca's eyes locked on his husband's single talon swirling circles in the water.

"I want to be pinned by those claws, cut by those talons... bleed into the water."

Luca blinked, shocked by his train of thought. That was... not like him. But he couldn't deny the pull. The pull that came from the promise of pain.

Unable to focus on his book with his shirtless mate sitting by the pool's edge, Luca walked inside through the sliding glass door. The billowing hangings temporarily blocked his view, and he tripped over something on the floor. He stumbled, knocking whatever it was against the wall with a bang and landing hard on his side.

"You okay?" Alberto called from outside.

"Yeah, just being clumsy." Luca hollered back, gripping his stubbed toe.

Luca felt the Bond twist slightly, Alberto probing closer to him to ensure he was indeed okay. When he confirmed all was well, Luca heard a chuckle from outside.

"How did the ground taste?"

"Shut up," Luca called, rolling over to see what had tripped him.

A dark brown briefcase lay sideways. Eshe's wedding gift. Luca forgot all about it. He reached over, sliding it closer across the wooden floor. It was VERY heavy as his throbbing toe kept reminding him.

He unclicked two latches on either side, and it popped open.

Luca's eyes went wide as he took in the contents. A sharp pulse momentarily glowed through the Bond. He slammed the briefcase shut, trying to rid himself of the onslaught of implied thoughts.

"She knew." Luca thought, "Eshe knew what we might face and...."

His face turned beet red, and he dared open the case again, peeking through the thin opening like something might jump out at him.

PATREON ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT (Sorry guys but the NSFW level here is a LOT even for me - I was definitely experimenting with some things as I wrote this) Yes there is art for this section on Patreon as well.