Fearful Symmetry by Francis Gideon

Author:Francis Gideon [Gideon, Francis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63476-635-7
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-10-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“WAKE UP.”

Otto stood over Dryden in the bed. His shadow blocked all the light from the room—his human shadow—to the point where Dryden worried he had slept through the day and it was now another night. When Dryden didn’t move fast enough, Otto grabbed his shoulder and jerked him upright. His strength was still surprising, even though Dryden had felt those strong arms lift him up before. He recalled their first night together, still feeling Otto’s body over him like a bruise, and he tried to swallow down the bile that rose.

“I’m up. I’m up.” Dryden shook Otto’s hands off of him. Standing now, Dryden gazed up through furrowed eyebrows and his messy hair. Otto’s smile was petulant. He ran his hand gently through Dryden’s tangled curls, before he lingered over Dryden’s chin. Dryden moved with Otto’s embrace, allowing Otto to guide him because he thought he didn’t have another choice.

“Long night?” Otto asked.

“Yes.”

“Thinking and reading all the books so you can be prepared?”

Dryden tried not to react when he thought of Emmons. “Sort of.”

Otto tilted his head, examining Dryden with eyes like a magnifying glass in the sun. Dryden remained hunched in front of the small fireplace in the bedroom, Otto only a few inches from him. Dryden was still naked from his sleep. As much as he wanted to cover himself, he knew he couldn’t in this moment. And again, what’s the worst that can happen? Otto had already seen him like this. Surely he wouldn’t care? But when Otto moved swiftly to place a fierce kiss to Dryden’s mouth, Dryden could only gasp. He took Otto’s tongue into his mouth with a gnash of teeth and a taste of blood. Otto pulled away before Dryden could respond.

“Ahh,” Otto hissed as he sniffed the air. He clapped another hand on Dryden’s back. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I smelled animal on you.”

Dryden paused. “Animal?”

“Yeah. Dirty vermin from the forest.”

“I… I made a fire last night.”

Otto nodded. He ran this thumbnail through his teeth to pick out leftover food. “Yes, that must be what I smell. Now come on, get dressed and into the kitchen, and I’ll give you the last riddle.”

Dryden waited where he stood until Otto left the room. As he pulled on his pants, he could still smell the smoke of the fire from the night before in the fabric. Maybe—he thought long and hard—Emmons’s smell is there too. He had never been so grateful that he had not kissed him the night before. Surely, Otto would have tasted him on his lips. And surely, that had been the only reason to show whatever small bit of affection. Control. Order. Otto only embraced him and demanded attention because he wished to use Dryden, not because he could love him. Dryden needed to remember this fact most of all.

“Come now,” Otto called from the kitchen. “Your tea is almost cold.”

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