Chapter 102 Episode 102: Moving In

Kael’s POV

I set the plate in front of him and pulled my chair close. Steam rose from the eggs and toast. Akira sat in my shirt with his hair still messy from sleep and sex.

The dark marks on his neck and collarbone stood out against his skin. Pride and deep fondness filled my chest at the sight.

He reached for the fork but I took it from his hand and shook my head.

"I will feed you," I said. "Your legs are still shaking. Let me do this."

A shy look crossed his face. Color rose in his cheeks. The shyness made affection rise warm and thick inside me. I cut a small piece of egg and held it to his mouth.

He opened for me after a short pause. I watched him chew and felt satisfaction settle low in my stomach.

Every bite I gave him carried care. I moved slowly. I waited until he was ready for the next one. Love sat quiet and steady in my chest while I fed him.

Protectiveness sat right beside it. He had taken everything I gave him last night and this morning. Now I needed to give him softness.

Akira’s eyes stayed on mine while he accepted each bite. Emotion moved through them; embarrassment, trust, leftover heat, and a quiet happiness that made my throat feel tight.

I brushed a crumb from the corner of his mouth with my thumb and ate it as I felt possession roll through me at the simple touch.

"Good?" I asked.

"Yes." His voice was still rough from the sounds I had pulled out of him. "You do not have to keep feeding me."

"I want to." The truth came out plain. "Watching you eat what I made after I marked you and filled you makes me feel calm. Let me have this."

He nodded and opened his mouth for the next piece. Fondness spread through my whole body. The kitchen felt warm and closed off from the rest of the world.

No forums. No Death Gods. No watching eyes. Only the two of us and the quiet act of me taking care of him.

I kept feeding him until the plate was empty. Then I handed him the cup of water and watched him drink. A drop escaped the corner of his mouth.

I leaned in and kissed it away. The small contact sent a fresh wave of desire through me, but it stayed soft under the stronger need to care for him.

When he finished I stood and pushed the chair back. Akira looked up at me with a question in his eyes.

I answered by sliding one arm under his knees and the other around his back. I lifted him from the chair in one smooth motion.

Surprise flashed across his face, followed by shy pleasure. His arms wrapped around my neck. The weight of him in my arms felt right. Possession and tenderness mixed until I could not separate them.

"Bathroom," I told him. "You are sore and sticky. I am going to clean you."

He hid his face against my neck. The shy action made affection surge so hard it almost hurt. I carried him down the short hall and into the bathroom.

The tub was large enough for both of us. I had set the water running earlier while I cooked. Steam already filled the space.

I set him on his feet only long enough to pull my shirt off his body. The full map of my marks came into view again. Pride and hunger and deep care all rose at once.

I stripped my own pants off and guided him into the warm water first. Then I stepped in behind him and sat down.

Water closed around us. I pulled him back until his spine rested fully against my chest. His smaller body fit between my legs like he had been made to sit there.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him close. Skin on skin under the warm water sent calm through every tense place left in me.

I reached for his hand and laced our fingers together. His hand was smaller than mine. I held it firmly under the water.

The contact felt simple and necessary. Love moved through me in a slow, heavy wave.

Silence filled the bathroom. It was soft. It did not feel awkward. We simply sat together while the water cooled the leftover heat in our bodies and the steam loosened the last of the night’s tension.

I rested my chin on top of his head and breathed him in. The smell of sex still clung faintly to his skin under the clean water.

Satisfaction and ownership settled deep in my bones. He was here. He was marked. He was letting me hold him without any space between us.

Akira’s thumb moved against mine in a small stroke. The tiny answering touch sent fondness through my chest so strong I had to close my eyes.

I tightened my arms around him and felt him lean back harder into me. Trust. That was the feeling coming from his body. Trust and tired contentment.

We stayed like that for a long time. Water lapped gently against the sides of the tub when either of us shifted.

My cock rested against the small of his back, half-hard from the closeness, but the need stayed quiet. Care was stronger right now.

I lifted our joined hands out of the water and pressed a kiss to the back of his fingers. Then I returned them under the surface and kept holding on.

The silence continued. It wrapped around us like another layer of warmth.

In that quiet the future felt clear. I did not want him walking back to a separate room after this. I did not want mornings where I woke up and had to go find him.

I wanted him here. Every night. Every morning. In my space so I could reach him whenever the residual fear from the past weeks tried to rise again.

I took a slow breath and spoke against his wet hair.

"Move in with me."

Akira’s body went still against my chest. I felt the quick beat of his heart under my forearm. I kept holding his hand and waited.

"I want you here baby," I continued. My voice stayed low and even. "Not just for a night or a weekend. Move in. Bring your things. Share this place with me. When the day ends we leave the rest of the world outside and come home together."

Home. Our home.

Emotion rose hard in my throat. Love. Hope. A sharp protective need to keep him close. The memory of the week he spent unconscious still lived in my body. The Death God contact still sat fresh. I did not want distance between us anymore.

Akira turned his head slightly so his cheek rested against my collarbone. Water shifted around us. I could feel him thinking. Bashfulness and fear and want all moved through the small muscles of his back.

"You are sure?" he asked. His voice was quiet. "The talk will get louder if I live here. People will say even more."

"I already told you I will handle the talk." I squeezed his hand under the water. "All I know is that I want you in my bed every night. I want to wake up and see you before anyone else does. Move in with me so we can leave together at the end of every day and come back to the same place."

The silence returned, softer than before. I waited inside it and kept him pressed against me. My free hand stroked slow circles on his stomach under the water. Care and possession and deep affection moved with every circle.

Finally Akira nodded against my skin. The motion was small but clear.

"Yes," he said. "I will move in."

Relief and fierce happiness flooded me at the same time. I set my mouth against his wet temple and kissed him there while my arms tightened around him. The answer settled the last open worry in my chest.

"Good," I murmured. "We will get your things today or tomorrow. You belong here now. With me."

He let out a long breath and relaxed fully against me. The trust in that action made love rise so strong I had to breathe through it.

I kept our hands joined and our bodies pressed together in the warm water while the quiet settled around us again.

The bath continued in soft silence. No awkwardness. Only the sound of water and the steady feel of his heartbeat under my arm.

I held my man and felt every emotion land clearly. Was it love, care, ownership, calm, and the deep satisfaction of knowing he would not leave this space when the day started?

We stayed in the tub until the water began to cool. I did not rush the moment. There would be time later to dry him, mark him again and plan the move.

Right now the only thing that mattered was the weight of him against my chest and the quiet yes still hanging in the steam.

He was moving in. We would leave together and come home together. The thought filled every part of me with solid, grounded happiness.

I pressed one more kiss to the side of his head and kept holding on.