HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 135

WARNING: there is a lemon in this chapter. Read at your own risk.

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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Five

The pleasant hiss and splitter splatter of the shower was literally nothing compared to the scalding liquid spraying across my back and seeping through my snarled, tangled, bloodied, dirt-covered, and relatively greasy leg fur. I could only stand there with my head lolled back, mouth open, eyes closed in bliss as it washed over me, soaking me, cleansing me.

"Ohhh, man," I groaned, muscles turning to jelly; I swayed and set a hand on the tile wall, claws clicking as they met resistance. "Fuck... I forgot how awesome showers can be."

"Indeed, you have," Echo dryly noted, stepping into the shower with bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and special soap for my lower torso... well, our lower torsos, collectively, since he hadn't actually changed back to his natural body yet. He uncorked the shampoo and gave me a look, flicking his ears with his face sinking into something mischievous. "Kneel. Now."

I blinked, twitching my ears forward a little uncertainly, swiveling them.

I wasn't sure if he was serious, but when he raised his eyebrow, I swallowed and hesitantly sank down to the shower floor, curling up comfortably on my rear. Water fountained across my scalp and over my ears and hair, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut and hold my breath.

It deafened me, too, which I think is the main reason I jumped when two big hands touched my head and began to lather shampoo into my hair. I relaxed under his ministrations, soothed by the touch and admittedly comforted by it, too. It was different for him to take charge of things for a change... my alpha werewolf instincts didn't like it very much, but the rest of me did.

He dunked my head back under the spray and I pushed my sopping curls back behind my horns, whipping them so hard that they stuck to my nape and shoulders. I rubbed the soap off my face and opened my eyes, leaning back and looking up at Echo. His eyes were glittery and hooded, big hands covered in bubbly foam, and the sight of him hovering over me was intimidating.

And yet... I felt not a trace of fear or intimidation.

"Hey," I said, lifting a hand and holding it out. "Can I ask you something?"

Echo clasped my hand firmly, suds squishing between our palms; he looked me straight in the eyes.

"You may ask me anything at any time," he murmured. "What is it that you wish to ask?"

I turned my thoughts over in my head, then shrugged my doubts off and asked, "how old are you, really?"

His face twitched and his perfect brow furrowed, but after a second he sighed, thin lips twisting in discomfort.

"If I am correct," he grumbled, "I am roughly three hundred and twenty three years old. I am not sure when, exactly, I was born... not the day nor the month, and to be honest, not even the year, specifically. It was either seventeen fifty or seventeen fifty one."

"Wow," I murmured. "Is there a reason you never told the VRC staff about it?"

"You are incorrect," he said with a frown. "I did tell the VRC staff members my general age when I was asked."

"So why doesn't Aerin know?" I prodded.

Echo looked momentarily confused. "He does. He knows I am over three hundred years old, and he has the paperwork with the generalized information about it." He stopped talking for a second and hesitated. "I... I know that I am... old, Horst. Much, much older than you. I am also not half as capable as you are, but--"