The Dark Beast's Love

He didn't touch me for a week.

Despite ending the conversation on what I thought were good terms, the energy between us shifted and he grew distant. At first, I cherished the distance, because it meant that he was the one not holding his end of the bargain, not me. But it wasn't just the demanding touches that went missing, it was every type of understatement that we'd managed to build up this past month. He avoided talking to me at first as well, but that only lasted a few days before it developed into only strictly casual talks. Still, it wasn't enough, I hadn't realised how much I missed having a presence around me until he wasn't there anymore and despite everything, I found myself missing him. But every time I tried to start a conversation, he gave me the shortest responses possible and then he turned away, and every time I reached out to touch him, international or unintentional, he flinched away as if my skin had burned him.

If this was some kind of revenge for the first weeks I avoided him, I was already sick of it. But I knew that this wasn't it, and every time he looked at me, he confirmed it as well. He always looked so fucking hurt, and I couldn't understand why. I knew that I had said hurtful things when we argued but that was supposed to be behind us and we were supposed to be picking apples and harvesting tomatoes in the spring sun like every other pretend love couple. Instead, where I was, you found Riven on the complete opposite side, distance as far as possible. And if the lack of human interaction wasn't enough, the joint meals had become a real nightmare. With the strained tension between us, every bite was like a loaded weapon. We said next to nothing, and while I picked around with my fork, Riven heaved the food into his mouth and made sure to get out of there as soon as possible. And I would lie if I said that it didn't hurt sometimes to watch him rush away from me.

I gave him a week. A week to sort out his thoughts. A week to have his space. A week to do whatever he needed to do. But it had been a week by now and he still hadn't given me any sign that we were on our way back to normal. If anything, my impatience made it seem like he was drifting away even further.

I got tired of waiting in the end, and made up my mind to take care of matters myself, and if it led to another conflict, then so be it. I made the decision to strike moments after he'd left the dining table that afternoon, the timing was spontaneously chosen, but it was a practical choice, because any other time would have meant that I'd have to disturb him in the middle of a task.

I found him by the forest, right at the edge where he always chopped wood for the cottage (of course he had to be by the lumber station, where else can he have easy access to an axe). He was still setting everything up when I approached, moving one pile of cut wood pieces to one side to give room for the new batch he was about to chop. He froze in his step when he heard me, which ruled out any attempt of catching him off guard, but my steps did not falter. "Why are you avoiding me?" I put my hands on my hips as I studied him.

"What are you talking about?" I didn't need a werewolf's hearing how strained his tone was. "I had dinner with you just some moments ago."

I rolled my eyes.

"Spare me the act," I scoffed. "You've been distant, and I want to know why."

"Perhaps just a bad day," Riven shrugged as if it was nothing, as if my frustration was nothing.

"Week," I corrected. "It has been a week."

"You've... You've counted?"

"Of course, that's what you paid attention to," I threw my hand into the air. "Yes, I counted. Do you see anyone else around here I can complain to about my lack of fitting clothes?"

The corner of Riven's mouth twitched and I took it as the greatest victory.

"Fine," He sighed. "I'll stop ignoring you."

"That's great," I said but then paused. "But I still need to know what I did to bother you so that I can make up for it, or at least let me know if this has anything with me to do."

Riven put down the log in his hands and leaned towards the closest tree, his mind clearly considering something. Whatever it was, I hoped that the next words that came out of his mouth would be some kind of truth, or at least a half- explanation.

"I can't figure out how to act around you," He finally admitted and his eyes kept me pierced on the spot.

Why did I suddenly feel self-conscious when it was he who had a confession?

"What?" I forced out and raised my brow for the illusion of being unbothered, but something told me that he saw right through it.

"I can't figure out how to act around you," Riven said again and shrugged this time as if it was a casual thing one talked about with anyone.

"Why?..." I tilted my head with the hopes that the sentence would make sense. "Why can't you just be yourself?"

He chuckled lightly before responding.

"Because I'm not sure how I would act either." This only made me more confused but I allowed him to continue. "On one side, I want to take over every part of you, as we said. But on the other, I want to shower you with gifts and kindness like a real gentleman would have done, to make the courtship seem a little more real."

My heart skipped a beat at the word courtship.

"Why can't you do both?" I croaked out, hating how intrigued I was by both options of him.

"Because you would get confused," Riven said as if it was obvious. "You're confused about my situation already, I'm not sure if adding mixed signals would help your situation."

"Oh..." I said slowly as I thought about what he said. He had been given mixed signals since the arrangement, and it had confused me at first. But anything was better than the silent treatment.

"I don't mind," I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. "You can be demanding in bed and a sweetheart at dinner if that makes you feel more like yourself."

"It's not that simple," Riven pointed out and I rolled my eyes.

"Then don't make it any harder," I shrugged, longing back to our normal days. "Do as you want, I have a safeword after all."

The reminder of our safety system made Riven snap his mouth shut, and I could see the gears turn in his head.

"Let me stop your spiral of thoughts and make it easy for you," I said to interrupt his thinking. "What do you want to do now?"

When he didn't respond at first, I feared that I had been too pushy, but when his eyes then started scanning my body something told me that I had given him exactly what he needed.

"I want," He said slowly and I could already sense on the tone which instinct he acted upon this time. "I want to do what I promised you last time."

I felt how the skin on my arms turned into goosebumps as he somehow inched closer without even moving from the tree, or perhaps it was I who had taken a step.

"And what was your promise again?" I couldn't help but smile when I saw how surprised Riven was at my response.

We were almost pressed against each other now, his back against the tree and my body against him with only the tiniest of distance that kept us separated. His breath was hot against my skin, and his eyes kept flickering between my eyes and my lips. The worst thing was that despite being on the edge of a forest that should have dominated all of our smelling senses, I could still distinguish the scent of him underneath it all, and it made me slightly insane.

"I promised to use my mouth," He rasped in the distance between us and my smile grew wider.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

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He closed the gap between us as soon as the words were out.

His hands roamed my body so instinctively that I wondered if he was making up for lost time, but in the end, one always ended up in my hair and the other one around my waist pulling me closer and closer. While his hands were distracted with my body, my tongue roamed the inside of his mouth and I swallowed every gasp he gave me. We were like that for a while until I pulled away as far as his tight grip allowed me just to look at him, at his wide dark pupils and the flush on his cheeks.

"Are we doing it here?" He asked between gasps and I marvelled over the fact that a boy that could do almost anything with his impressive strength, was so easily breathless by a little arousal.

"Well, not many that can walk onto us here can they?" I snickered and he threw his head back in the most beautiful laughter.

We both easily manoeuvred our positions until my back was against my soft grass and his body was over me like a warming blanket. On the ground, he kissed me again and slowly moved down to my jaw and collarbone where most of his bruises had already disappeared. But it was clear that Riven wasn't going to allow the place to stay clear. He got so low as to the edge of my clothes again, but instead of stopping like last time, he looked back up at me.

"What do you think about losing the clothing you've complained so much about?" Riven asked teaseingly as he tugged at the bottom of my shirt.

I shouldn't have enjoyed the thought as much as I was. A more appropriate reaction to the suggestion would have been a little self-consciousness about my own body but Riven was already eyeing me so hungrily that I wasn't sure if I would have been able to deny his request even if I wanted to. However, I wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Really?" I laughed as his face returned to my level. "You couldn't have done it while we did this inside but now when we're on the grass you feel like it's appropriate?"

My teasing tone only seemed to amuse him further.

"Well," He said slowly and mischievously. "Not many that can walk onto us here can they?"

The clothes were quickly ripped off after that, leaving me completely naked and him shirtless but the shape of his hard dick was visible under his dark pants.

He wasted no time worshipping my body, whether it was by kissing every reachable inch of it or caressing it with his hand or mouthing how beautiful I was against my skin and at every touch and every praise, I gasped and arched my back to press further into his roaming hand and soft lips. By the time his lips were on my nipple while the other was played with by his finger, I was moaning and squirming under his touch, only more encouraged by how aroused he seemed to be every time I realised an involuntary whimper. And when he finally moved his mouth and tongue to my cunt, I knew that it wouldn't take much for him to take me apart this time.

I cried out when his tongue pressed into my body and moved my hips for more until he had to hold me down in order to keep me still. He licked and sucked and put his mouth to good use as he had promised, and I wondered if this was the way I was going to die, naked with soft grass under my back while on the urge of begging to him to never stop (we haven't gotten there, yet).

I tugged violently in Riven's hair when I came, and he didn't even give it a second thought before he licked that clean as well.