Cerebus || Book 2

Chapter 5: Stress

She was completely and utterly confused as to why she was suddenly reacting this way to this man, and why he was saying these things to her.

Offering herself...

Taunting?!

Iris scrambled up to stand on her two feet, a self-conscious arm wrapping around herself to cover her breasts.

He was speaking as if she was throwing herself at him like some whore, but she couldn't even refute that claim because her current state certainly read that way.

"What are you talking about Niklaus?! W-Why is my body doing this? Why do I act like...this when you touch me? Fuck, even when you speak I-I feel like I...l-like..."

Once again, when she found her eyes trained on his, she couldn't find the urge or the want to censor her speech. Something deep inside of her didn't want to lie to the man who stood before her. It wanted her to share every dark and dirty thought and feeling, and it wanted her to do it now.

"It's okay. Tell me how you feel."

Ash coloured strands just barely touched the tips of his lashes as he tilted his head in an attentive way. His eyes held onto her hazel ones that seemed to search endlessly and entrancingly for something that she could not find.

Nothing about it was sinister, there didn't seem to be any ulterior motive; his intentions appeared genuine and pure.

The man was barely saying a word, yet his body was emitting a soothing aura, an inviting one.

And with that, what was left of Iris' composure unravelled.

"I want you...but I don't know why. I don't understand why my body feels like it's on fire when you speak to me o-or why it's electric when you touch me. Even just looking at me..."

The girl licked her lips as if savouring the taste of something sweet.

"How do you do that? I need you to tell me. I need you to tell me because I want you to fuck me, and for the life of me, I don't know why."

Iris had yet to realize that she'd moved closer to him; so close that her bare breasts were pressed up against his chest. The girl waited patiently for a response, and when that didn't come, she attempted to gauge his reaction.

But Niklaus was unreadable.

The girl was starting to dislike that about him.

His stoicism was unnerving, and her fingers twitched, itching to touch him, and when she finally gave into the urge, the alien reacted.

The girl didn't have a name for the sound that rumbled beneath his chest, but she'd like to say that it was some kind of purr.

"You are someone very special to me Iris—my anima. I don't know if your people have an equivalent but, in my culture, an anima is sacred. You were born to be mine as I was to be yours."

He took her hand that was just barely grazing his chest and moved it to his right bicep that held most of his markings. This time, he allowed her touch to linger, and he welcomed the euphoria that stemmed from her nimble fingers.

"When two dasakì believe they are a match, there is a ceremony. In this ceremony, one will touch the other's stigmata, their markings, and that will determine if their match is true."

With her hand still in his, he guided it up to the top of his shoulder, letting her feathery touch trail upwards until it reached the side of his neck.

"You feel this way because when you touched me, you unknowingly triggered the binding. And now, it appears like you're in heat."

Iris stared up at him, her eyes wide and lips parted in shock as she tried her very best to take in what he was saying to her.

But it was quite hard to digest a single word when it all sounded absolutely insane.

"I-I'm sorry, what?! No, this has to be s-some kind of mistake! I'm sorry Niklaus but this isn't making any sense, a-and I should really get back to my people now. Thanks for everything b-but I can't."

The girl stumbled over her words as she immediately tried to pull back from the alien, and she was relieved that he let her. She knew that it wouldn't be difficult for him to hold her against her will if he really wanted to.

In a haste, she wrapped her arms around her body to preserve any modesty she could, but her eyes couldn't help but trail down the alien's torso now that there was finally some proper distance between them.

"Oh my God." Iris couldn't help but mutter.

She had never seen a man that big.

His length wasn't even fully erect and yet she was certain the tip reached the top of her belly button.

And it looked different to any penis she had ever seen; where there was usually smooth skin, it was instead ribbed, and the shape was slightly curved.

She wished that she was put off by his anatomy, disgusted even. But instead, she found herself feeling excited, intrigued, and impossibly more aroused.

"Oh my God" She repeated, but this time in exasperation as she grew frustrated with her body's responsiveness. "This can't be happening."

Niklaus watched on, feeling slightly dejected by her persistent efforts to leave him. But he understood that as a human, she couldn't possibly understand their bond.

He frowned at her stressed state, and his chest tightened as he wanted to comfort her. Although he wasn't sure if she would allow that to happen.

"Iris, you can't leave; just try to calm down. Here, let me help you."

The girl's eyes widened as he moved to close the gap between them, but she didn't even have the opportunity to protest before two of his fingers were gently pressed against the underside of her jaw.

In an instant it felt as if dry ice was being poured into her veins and travelling to all the right places, making her heart rate slow and her mind clear up.

With a gasp she held onto his wrist, not wanting to part from the feeling of serenity albeit false.

"Let me at least take you to my home so I know you're safe. After that, if you still wish to leave...I will have someone escort you back to your people."

Iris could see the pain mar his expression when he said those words, in the way his brows drew together, and his usually bright golden eyes dimmed to almost be grey. But she couldn't bring herself to turn down the offer.

She hardly knew this man!

No matter how wet he made her, she couldn't disregard that.

So, while still clutching onto his hand, she nodded in agreement.

"Okay."