“Come, tovarash, let’s get you out of those rags,” coaxed Astharoche Asran as she helped Father Abel Nightroad over to her bed. His robes were tattered and torn, barely remaining on his battered body, but her clothes were no better despite being made of leather. His silver hair was partially pulled out of the neat tail he normally wore it in, and a gash near his hairline had spilled a trail of blood down the side of his face. His blue eyes were dazed, making her think that he was probably suffering from a concussion from that last blow to the head.

Sitting him down on the edge of her bed, she eased the torn clothes from his body, not wanting to aggravate any injuries that lay hidden beneath the tattered cloth only to blink in surprise at the unblemished skin beneath. But he had been injured. The rags in her hands were tacky with drying blood and the scent of it teased her nose, familiar yet alien. She shook her head, dropping the torn robes to the floor as she tried to dismiss the strange scent from her mind. She was hungry, her own injuries taking a toll on her body. She quickly removed the last of Abel’s clothes before stripping her own off, the rags being dumped in a pile to be taken care of later.

It was a few minutes work to get her tovarash on his feet again and into the bathroom attached to her bedroom, and she leaned him against the wall as she turned on the water to the shower. “I hope you enjoy a hot shower, Father Nightroad.”

She jumped as arms slid around her waist before a face was pressed against her neck. She tried to turn to glare at Abel but the tight grip on her waist kept her in place, surprising her with the strength he possessed. A shiver coursed through her at the feel of his breath on her neck, and she gasped, her eyes widening in surprise, when he licked her skin. It wasn’t until she felt the trickle of blood follow the path he just licked that she realized he was cleaning her blood from her skin, and she moaned at the intimacy of the act.

“Forgive me, but I could not resist tasting you,” he murmured, his breath ghosting past her ear, and she felt her legs tremble as wetness pooled between her thighs. “You are as spicy sweet as I thought.”

“Abel.” Her breath hitched on his name as his scent surrounded her, drugging her senses, and his hands flexed against her waist, his claws scraping her skin. She froze at that thought, her eyes wide. He shouldn’t have claws. He was human and kept his nails neatly trimmed. “Abel?”

He tensed, his arms loosening around her waist, and she could feel him start to withdraw, physically and emotionally. Her hands were around his wrists before she could consciously think about her actions, holding him there, and she looked down to find corpse pale hands tipped with lethal looking black claws that sent a strange shiver down her back.

“I believed you to be human. A Terran,” she clarified with a soft voice, not wanting him to assume she meant a human versus a monster. The steam from the shower filled the air around them, painting the mirror in mist and blurring their reflection. Astha stared at it, wanting to meet Abel’s eyes, but with his head tucked in her neck, she could only make out their outlines. Silver twined around gold.

“My humanity was assumed by everyone save a select few,” he confessed, his voice deeper than she was use to with a slight growl to it. “Does it make a difference to you that your tovarash is not human? That he is something created to be superior to Methuselah?”

She watched as a trickle of blood - her blood - wandered down her arm to curl around his fingers before being absorbed through his skin. She heard his breath hitch as a shudder raced through him, and warmth spread through her belly to know that it was her blood that had caused that reaction. A slow smile spread across her lips, sharp and hungry, as she released his wrists to turn and face him. Burning crimson had replaced familiar blue eyes, and sharp fangs looked perfectly suitable when peeking out of his mouth. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck as she grinned, her own fangs out.

“I find it highly desirable to know that I won’t accidentally break you in the bedroom, tovarash,” she murmured, leaning against him as she nipped at his lips. The surprise in his gaze sent a pang through her heart, but she buried it under lust and trust.

Slowly, she backed into the shower, pulling him with her, and she didn’t stop until her back hit the tile wall and the hot water was pounding over both of them, washing away all evidence of the earlier fight. Abel closed his eyes and purred, a deep rumbling sound, as the water crashed over him, and he leaned forward, placing his hands by her shoulders to stare into her eyes. Hesitantly, he bent down, placing a chaste kiss on her lips as if afraid she might change her mind about him if he expressed the desire she could smell coming from his skin.

Growling, she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and pulled him down to her, her fangs clashing against his as she kissed him, hard. One hand slid down his back, following the lines of his muscles while the other dropped to the hard heat poking her in the stomach. She wrapped her fingers around him, getting a low growl before she was being pressed harder against the wall. One of his hands wrapped around her wrist, pulling her hand out from between them as his other lifted her far enough for her to wrap her legs around his waist or risk falling to the ground.

“Astha, are you sure?” he asked, his eyes searching her face, and Astha growled, fangs flashing as she took the decision from him.

A delighted moan fell from her throat as she was stretched and filled. His own groan of surprise and lust echoed in his chest, and she purred, leaning up to nip at his jaw. “Fuck me, Abel.”

Those three words seemed to release something in him, and he growled, slamming her against the wall hard enough to bruise her back if she had been human as he started pounding into her. She snarled back, clawing and biting his skin, reminding him that she wasn’t some delicate Terran that would break if looked at wrong. She raked her nails down his back, feeling them catch on scars, and he snarled, eyes flashing as the muscles in his back rippled.

Suddenly, black wings burst from his back, expanding to their full length and sending water spraying everywhere, and she managed a gasp before Abel started thrusting harder, determined to fuck her through the wall. She slid her hands down his back, burying her fingers in his wet feathers, stroking the skin and muscles as she felt the wings twitch. The curling of his lip was her only warning before he lunged forward, burying his fangs into her throat, and she shrieked, her voice deafening in the small space of the shower as the pain of the bite sent her over the edge.

He moaned into her throat as his wings flapped a few times before he melted against her, pressing her into the wall as his wings drooped, the soaked feathers dragging them down. She clung to him, unable to find enough control to lower her legs to the floor when she felt him lick her throat, sending shivers through her again.

“Humanity is vastly overrated,” she croaked, reaching up to run her hand through his soaked hair. “After all, a human couldn’t fuck me like that, tovarash.” She brushed his hair back, coaxing him to raise his head, and she smiled at that open and vulnerable gaze. “Now, let’s shower, eat and then see about a repeat performance in my bed, hm?”

That startled a laugh out of Abel, and she grinned, delighted that her tovarash wasn’t as human as he appeared.