Taming the Serpent

Chapter 23

For perhaps the first time in his life, or at least the first time he could remember without the aid of alcohol, Ominis didn't bolt awake, snapping into alertness as surely as if he'd been awake for hours. He floated gradually back to consciousness, his senses rousing themselves one by one. The first feeling he had was one of unbelievable comfort, of warmth, of security, his skin pressed against another body. He smiled. Silver. His hearing came next, listening to the soft rush of her breath, the solid tump-tump of her heartbeat, loud in his ear. Taste soon followed, the lingering flavour of sweet, summer strawberries, followed swiftly by scent, his mind full of pine forests and fresh, autumnal citrus. He allowed himself to lie still, savouring the moment, vaguely wondering why he felt so blissfully content.

Then his memory caught up with him. Their passionate kisses, his primal desperation for her, the way he'd given in and allowed her to-

Ominis bolted upright with a soft gasp, and Silver stirred.

"Shh," she said, raising a hand to his shoulder. "It's still early. Is everything okay?"

Ominis twisted to face her, his lips parted, quite unable to form a coherent sentence as searing guilt and shame welled up inside him.

"I..." he hesitated, and tilted his head, hearing Sebastian snoring heartily on the other side of the dorm, his mind scattering. Sweet Merlin, what had he done? "If... if it's early, it might be best if... if you go back to your dorm. I don't... I don't want Sebastian... I don't want anyone to know you were here."

He winced. Merlin, what kind of a fool was he? Rejecting her so soon after they woke? No, he wasn't rejecting her, he was being sensible, but sweet heaven, what had he been thinking? What was he thinking? How could he have... shit, she would definitely see it as a rejection. He fumbled to correct himself, but she was already rising.

"You're right," she murmured. "I'm happy to keep this between us, sweet thing. I won't say a word."

"Silver, that's not-"

She silenced him with a gentle kiss.

"So long as you're alright," she whispered, and slipped out from under the covers, the curtains around his bed swishing softly, his bed giving the lightest creak as her weight left it. Her footsteps were as light as a feather landing on snow, and he barely heard the door as she crept outside.

Without her beside him, Ominis felt his shame full force. How he could have behaved like that, like a pathetic, love-starved harlot of all things! He'd vowed it would never happen again, he couldn't let it happen again, not after-

He hissed under his breath as the memories rose, taunting him gleefully, jabbing at him with clawed fingers and remembered, hissed threats.

He clutched his head, trying to control his breathing.

It wasn't like before, he tried to tell himself. You had a choice. You could have said no. She'd have stopped if you said no. It wasn't like before. You were in control.

But he hadn't been. He'd been almost frenzied with need for her, and the shame of his decorum burned hotter as he groaned softly, curling up on his side. How he could even think of standing before her again when he had behaved so poorly? Shoving her under his damn covers, forcing her to rest her head on his fucking cock! Even Hobhouse wouldn't behave like that!

Ominis grimaced. He probably would, actually. That made it worse.

He hissed, swearing in a fluent stream in Parseltongue. He'd not even asked her if she was alright! He'd just sent her away, giving her some bull about not wanting anyone to know!