I Need an Adult

When I finally awoke, I found myself horizontal and…surprisingly comfortable. Whatever I lay on was soft and plush, and the blanket pulled up to my chin was warm and, dare I say it, cozy. Even my head rested on a fluffy pillow. I shifted over onto my side, waiting for my eyes to adjust as I spread my hands beneath the sheets, marveling at the fact that such a technologically lacking place contained such a wonderfully welcoming bed.

Off at the other end of the room, I spied a window, as well as a slim crescent moon…which explained why my eyes were failing to adjust. It was nighttime. Evidently, several hours had passed with me unconscious. My head still hurt considerably from where he struck me, but this bed was slowly making me forgive him.

As I reached toward what I assumed was the edge of the bed, my fingers brushed against skin and I jerked my hands back out of instinct. Squinting, there was a large form occupying the other side of the bed, though I couldn't tell who it was until he rolled over.

Sharp yellow eyes burned at me, long locks of soft hair catching the slight glow from the moonlight and setting alight with white fire.

It was the jerk. AND he was awake.

Fuck.

I glared, knowing full-well that he could see me as I slunk back and pulled my arms about myself, only for my hands to discover a startling lack of clothing.

"So the dainty princess finally awakens…," he growled, sneering and disdainful as ever. Though…he sounded a little different…maybe because he was attempting to be quieter.

"You're a dirtbag, you know that?" I huffed, feeling my face catch fire as he sat up. Every sinewy roll of muscle caught the light and glittered. It was soft and subtle, but his skin just seemed to amplify what little moonlight there was to be had. He really was damn gorgeous. Too bad he was an asshole.

He chuckled in response as he glanced back at me.

"I did nothing untoward. If that's what you're worried about. All I did was check for mating marks. It's not my fault your clothing was too complicated to redress you in." He shrugged briefly before glancing away. I could tell he was wearing something by the way his tail shifted on the bed, wagging slightly as he spoke.

"Undressing me against my will was untoward. Leaving me nude and knocked out was untoward. Being a general asshole is-" He spun around, slamming his hand down on the bed with enough force to startle me into silence.

"I undressed you in order to protect my people. I guarded you against possible assaults this entire time. As for my personality, you can take it or leave it. We haven't survived this long because I was soft or weak." The way he spoke sent chills up and down my spine…as well as to other places. He did not yell or growl, but stated his thoughts absolutely clearly in the most subtly confident voice I'd ever heard, as though he were stating some long-established scientific fact he'd known since grade school or something. The idea that he stayed up so long protecting me was…even better.

"So…so why…," I began, suddenly incredibly nervous in his presence.

"Why what?" He stared, his glowing yellow eyes curious as his ears pricked forward. Why was I so damn nervous?!

Oh. Right. Naked.

I cleared my throat again.

"Why did you protect me?"

The corner of his mouth twitched, as though he wanted to smile but had forgotten how. He sighed and his voice grew softer and more…gentle?

"My findings concluded that you were not lying…and that you bear not a single mating mark, either…" He seemed to relax as he leaned further into that hand, elbow bending beneath it as he settled on his side beside me, almost a little too close for comfort. He leaned his head on his now free hand and with the other, captured a lock of my long, wavy hair, which he brought to his lips with a coy smile. "I also discovered…exactly…how beautiful you are…" His voice had dropped low as he growled huskily at me, and suddenly the sheets and bedding that covered me didn't feel nearly thick enough as his eyes wandered down my hidden form. I felt my face heat up exponentially.

"Buh…Pervert," I grumbled back, turning my head to avoid his lusty gaze.

"I've never encountered a more perfect female…even the mermaids don't compare to your radiance…" He dropped my hair gently before I felt him shift and once I turned my face toward him again, found his mere inches from mine. His hand had disappeared beneath the sheets as he licked the corner of his mouth. His eyes seemed to glow just a little brighter.

I couldn't breathe. Even up close, he was perfect.

"You can't imagine how difficult it was to restrain myself…and maintain your purity…It wouldn't be right, after all, to tarnish such a prize…" I tried sucking in a breath, but found it stuck in my throat as my face metaphorically caught fire. In the long pause between us, he seemed to deflate as he glanced away from me. "But you must find me repulsive…don't you?"

Once more, I found myself struck dumb and it took me a moment and a brief cough before my brain started working again.

"What makes you…say that?" I asked as neutrally as possible. He could be fishing for compliments, for all I knew. He glanced at me briefly, then frowned.

"No female of your caliber could want a male so badly damaged."

…Wait…

…Was he talking about the scars…?

With how serious he was, it clearly affected him. And since he was unmated – er…unmarried – with evidently high expectations for his spouse, he likely pushed many away. Damaged inside and out. That's why God gave us two types of alcohol, right?

I wanted to touch him…to reassure him…to maybe convince him that his fears were unfounded…but I was also naked and giving him blue balls, apparently. Still…I followed my gut instinct and reached my hand out, sliding it over his cheek. The touch startled him at first and my heart ached. He looked just like an abused dog on one of those ASPCA commercials.

"A few scars don't make you ugly…Sure, you can be a real bastard, but you put your peoples' needs ahead of your own, and that makes you a great leader, as much as I hate to admit it." I should have ended it there, of course, but…I have a big mouth and there is no leashing this particular personality flaw. "If I'm being totally honest…you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Hope flared in his face before he leaned forward those few more inches and firmly captured my mouth with his lips.

Damn it all…they were softer than a bunny's belly…