March from Darkness | ✓ (to be edited)

NINE

     The first noise that came out of my mouth when I woke up was an involuntary scream. It wasn't high-pitched or horrified, but one filled with agony; more a wail than a scream. I was sweating, like I normally was when I had a nightmare, making me thankful I had decided to ask Soria to help me remove the shirt I had had on before, but something in my body felt off, as well. I didn't understand what it was until the sheets and the thin boxers brushed against my overheated skin and I barely managed to bite back a groan of pleasure.

     Shit.

     My body trembled slightly as I tried to remain as still as possible so as to not accidentally make any more unnecessary and overtly embarrassing noises to go along with how uncomfortably hot and aroused my body was. Why the hell was I hard? God, I was a sick fuck; I just had a nightmare, presumably, anyways, about my dead ex, and I was hard as a goddamned rock. Seriously, though, what the hell was this?

     I hadn't felt this sort of interest in almost five years, so why was I like this now? My body felt a need to release, it wanted to get rid of whatever was wrong with it, but my mind kept firm reigns in that particular area. I had thankfully shot up in bed when I had woken up, which meant that my body was finally fully cooperating with me, but I couldn't find it in me to be happy at that particular moment. I closed my eyes and tried to take in a few breaths to calm my body down, only to falter when the smell of eucalyptus and freesia came back to my senses and I softly groaned, barely covered up by the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

     "Are you in pain, little one?" an all-too-familiar voice asked. My eyes shot open and stared, openly mortified, at Phrer, who was staring at me with a concern in his eyes that only made things worse. I quickly slapped the mental barrier down around me as I took him in and discreetly pulled the covers a bit looser around my waist so it wasn't so fucking obvious. It was just my luck that this guy was shirtless, showing off his pale muscular arms and torso. He was wearing thin, loose black harem pants that still managed to show off his muscular legs, even in the darkness of the room. Good lords, why did this guy have to be so physically intriguing? I felt the boxers getting a little tighter and I made the sheets just a little looser again.

     I also quickly realized that the mental barrier wasn't going to be the only thing to give me away as the monitor started to beep a bit faster, even faltering slightly once or twice before I willed myself to calm down. He turned his gaze to the monitor for a moment before walking towards it; it started to beep a little erratically again, causing him to pause midstep and turn to look towards me. I averted my gaze, and I was extremely happy that Phrer wouldn't be able to see me flush when those opalescent orbs landed on me.

     "Are you okay?" he asked, concern colouring his voice. Unable and unwilling to open my mouth for fear of saying something or making some stupid noise, I quickly nodded my head and went to move towards the other side of the bed to get away from him. I didn't get very far before his large hand gently caught my hand and I paused, stiff as a board before he yanked his hand away. "Gods, you're burning up! Are you sure you're okay, Demitri?"

     Why did he have to say my name? This would have been the one time I would be perfectly okay with him just sticking with "little one," at least hearing that roll off his tongue wouldn't have been as hot as hearing mine do the same. I quickly nodded my head again and went to move back again before I suddenly found myself on my back for the second time tonight with an extremely distressed demigod settling above me, his hands on my upper arms to hold me to the bed.

     "Do not lie to me, Demitri. Are you in pain?" he asked, the tone of his voice making me shiver as it rushed over my senses.

     Yes!, I wanted to scream. I'm in pain.