Sighting that extraordinary length, Lark spits out curses as toxic as his previous relationships and sobered up all at once. He felt like all that obnoxious waste that he drank tonight began to gather inside him to crawl back up to that damn thirsty throat of his to repay their debt. The bile in his stomach turned as he sensed those sulphur-coloured eyes on him, enjoying his distress.
Curse his oh-so innovative pursuit to find a companion in this snowstorm, a replacement to soothe his broken heart at the eve of Christmas. What made him follow a handsome stranger without thinking twice about the consequences? It was all but a great idea, nothing but the devil's work. With the face of an angel, this stranger looked like a promise of the holy land but turned out to be the incarnation of evil, hiding that destructive rod. What magic did he even use to hide that thing? It must have been that damn face that kept one's eyes away from looking down. That facade wasn't just mere decoration - perfect cheekbones, a jaw as prominent as the forbidden mountain range, also that arrogant pair of phoenix eyes - those served as a tactical diversion. The torch Lark had carried over the centuries has been fueled solely by deviants with faces made in heaven. One day it will be the end of him.
Lark considered making a dash for it and unconsciously backed away, only to be caught by his ankle and get dragged back beneath his opponent again.
"Are you trying to run away?" The low, chuckling voice seemed to be excited. The fine hair on Lark's arms raised up as he could feel strands of blond hair brushing over his naked skin. He knew that kind of gaze. It was the gaze of a hunter looking at prey. That guy was ready to devour him.
"I will pay for the room. Let's just call it a day." He didn't have any cash, but nowadays, every place accepts phone payments. Even if there was an extra fee, it was more convenient than carrying cash with you in places like this.
It was too bad the other person pretended not to hear him.
"Don't worry, you are well prepared now and not that inexperienced, right? Aren't you curious how deep you can take it?"
As he spoke, a skilled hand wandered down on Lark and stroked that sticky, slippery place. Those fingers went in smoothly and sent a tingling sensation through his body. "Look how it's devouring my fingers. I think it's begging me for something bigger." The devil grinned. Lark swallowed down the excuses and curses he had in tow. He was rendered utterly speechless by this deviant. Who was devouring who? He could feel the blood rushing to his face and short-circuited his brain. He gave silent consent by biting the bullet and leaning back to relax his muscles.
But soon, a tear rolled down his eyes when that calamity invaded his... his... his very personal space! It was the first drop that left his eyes in over 400 years. He didn't even shed a tear when he had been cheated. And that precious tear... his precious tear was licked and swallowed by a rough tongue, forked at the tip.
"You're.. a lizard...? Ahhh!" The force used to invade him had increased abruptly and robbed him of his last breath. He didn't know a person could be filled this much without collapsing. He almost shed another tear from being proud of himself. His endurance must have been levelling up like crazy...
"How dare you call me a lizard!" The irises of the sulphur eyes turned into slits like those of a reptile. Lark could feel bulging veins protruding beneath his quivering fingertips. The other's muscles that he used to hold onto for his dear life hardened up with every further push that man tormented him with.
He swallowed the cries that got stuck in his burning throat. Blood was surging through their melting bodies like lava. The other had thrown away their treaty and almost drove Lark insane by picking up the pace. Had that man been considerate up until now?
"An... Imugi?" Lark tried hard to form cohesive words.
"Heh, now you're just throwing insults at me!" A depriving growl emerged from the other man's throat, and he couldn't fathom if it was anger or lust. Maybe both. They said curiosity killed the cat. His curiosity always came at his own expense.
Those once supercilious orbs staring down at him burned through the shadows like melted gold, altogether abandoning those artificial colours they had before. They blazed like a fire that threatened to consume him alive... At least that's what his legs, hips, and spine have made him believe. They were crying injustice at being ravaged.
The man leaned down, bit his neck and commanded: "Try again."
Muddled, Lark tried to put the puzzle pieces together, but his head was blank. At some point - the numbness down below had reached his skull - another sensation invaded the back of his brain. Whenever he thought the fire had finally burned his senses to feel, a wave of pleasure slammed in and set the whole place aflame again. With his cracking voice, he didn't know whether he was crying or screaming for mercy anymore.
When he lost the strength to hold onto that person, he was almost pushed down the bed by the force of their bodies colliding. If not for that person grabbing his hips...
"Didn't I tell you not to run away?" A teasing voice scratched at his hammering heart and comforted Lark's shaken soul. While he sounded like a lover, his actions were as dominant as before.
"Slow... slow down!"
He should have listened to his mentor. He should have stayed in the tower, devoting his life to the bland research of magic and protecting the boundaries. He shouldn't have touched the depraved literature the others brought back from their travels. What adventure? What travel? What romance? He should have never yearned to wander the mortal domain in the first place. He wouldn't have given that excuse of a wastrel a chance to cheat him, and he wouldn't have ended up beneath this natural disaster...
Anger welled up inside of Lark. Tired of being toyed with wantonly, he gathered the last ounce of strength and defiance he had left in his weary body and pushed the man away. With his power, he wouldn't have been able to move that steel-like body, but the other wasn't even taking him seriously. That man just rolled over the sheets while dragging him along laughingly, infuriating Lark even more. He felt dumb for even trying. His anger was just a tantrum in the other's eyes, and their tumbling and rolling in the sheets just made him dizzier. Not to talk about the firm grip the other had on him, causing them to melt into each other.
Dazed, Lark found himself lying on top of the other after this ordeal. A pair of naughty eyes were watching him. The man beneath wasn't even out of breath. His hands were also firmly latched onto Lark, not giving up the fake, skin-deep intimacy they had.
Hanging onto the last strands of his reasoning, he managed to push himself up so they could face each other in silence. The longer Lark gazed into those golden eyes, the more helpless he felt. That man seemed to anticipate something. He seemed to wait for his answer.
"Not possible." Lark finally confessed. "Dragons have not been sighted for nearly a millennia."
If he hadn't been adept in magic, he wouldn't have noticed the friction in the air and the abrupt solemn aura pressing on them when he mentioned that word. It was as if the world was holding in its breath at that moment.
The frozen atmosphere melted when the dragon grinned evilly, showing his fangs while raising up effortlessly to whisper into Lark's ear:
"How about becoming the first person to ride a dragon in a millennium then?" Following those ambiguous words, the man teasingly bit his earlobe, fanning the remaining heat in Lark's body once again.
Lark still refused to believe in his final conclusion and doubted: "How could a being like you be.... here?" How could a nobody like him end up with such a great ancestor? The Gods really were trying him.
The mischievous golden eyes turned benign as if sharing a lovely secret:
"In this dumpster, I heard, lives an exquisite bird that sang only at midnight. I came here to catch it."
By the time their bodies separated again, midnight had long gone by.
Lark's drained body sank into the sheets, and as soon as his eyes closed, he fell into a deep slumber, forgetting where he was or whom he was with. He could hear a deep voice speaking to him, but he was too exhausted to make out the meaning behind it.
