He was confused for a moment, but then he realized what she was so scared of, and turned to face her, still naked, but at least mostly hidden by the seat between them. “It’s alright. You managed to be out in it for a while this morning while you were getting undressed to shift. And I’ll be right next to you the whole time. Or almost the whole time, anyway. It’ll be fine.”
Candra whimpered and had an internal war about shifting for a moment but eventually she went through with it. Instead of grabbing for her clothes, though, she grabbed for him instantly since she was so terrified of getting out of control and he was the only one who could handle the energy that was bound to overwhelm her.
He held onto her tightly as she latched onto him, though he gave the back seat a rather surprised look at the sudden lack of modesty. He didn’t mind, though, and it felt amazing to have her there so close to him. He actually growled once, so low she could feel it all the way through her body, and the hunger of his nature pulled as much of her power from her as she had to give. So much that he actually felt her starting, very slightly, to get weaker, for the first time in the brief time he’d known her.
She relaxed a little at the feeling of weakness, since she almost never felt anything but the exhausting enormity of her own power. Her eyes were still screwed shut, but she continued to hold tightly to him as his body kept drinking it in. The growl was a sensation she’d never experienced, but she certainly couldn’t complain. It felt wonderful. Holding hands and holding on to each other was incredible from the very beginning, but what she couldn’t believe was that with more exposed skin touching, it felt even better. The give and take was even more powerful, and it made her more relaxed with every passing moment. “This feels wonderful.” Candra replied with another sigh of pleasurable relief.
Orlando felt as though he could power Europe for a year. “You’re…not kidding.”
Candra ran her fingers over his side and his chest tentatively. Was it okay? Was it wrong? “I’ve never been this close to anyone before.”
He ran his hands up and down her spine lightly, electricity jumping between his fingertips and her skin the entire way. The sensation made every nerve fire at once as it passed over her, but it caused her muscles to relax the moment after.
She moaned loudly at that, unable to control the sound from escaping from her lips. The forced muscle relaxation was intoxicating. Her fingers dug into his skin a little as she clutched to him. “That’s…incredible…”
He knew he should feel guilty for making her feel that way, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. They barely knew each other, but they understood each other better than anyone else ever could. Or would. “That’s kind of what I do. Part of it, anyway.”
Candra couldn’t even convince herself to move, even though she didn’t have any clothes on. In fact, she wanted to get closer to him. “Don’t let go.” She pressed her lips to his bare shoulder. “I can’t stand the sunlight without you.” It wasn’t even sexual, it was just a need. A need for his help, a need for his nature to help hers.
“I’m right here. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
She slowly put her clothes on, somehow never fully letting go of him, but eventually she was fully dressed and clutching to his hand. Candra walked out of the van with him when he was dressed as well, but then she blushed as she looked away, since she almost preferred to look at him without his clothes on. But she knew she wasn’t supposed to.
He was thinking much the same about her as they walked, but he tried to cover it up by not looking at her any more than he had to. It was the kind of gas station that had its bathrooms along the outside of the building, and so he walked with her to hers and opened the door for her. It was dark inside, which he knew she wouldn’t mind, but he was glad to see that it was more or less clean. “I’ll be here when you get out.”
Candra held onto his hand tighter for a moment and then she turned back toward him and kissed his cheek. She rushed inside quickly, but the darkness felt good enough to linger when she was washing her hands. When she had to go back out, she hurried back toward him and then grabbed for his hand. Only when they were touching again did she look the slightest bit relieved.
“You alright?” He pulled her into a hug without any apparent reason, feeling like the world was the place it should be again when she returned.
“I am now.” Candra said as she sighed against his neck in the hug. “Though being naked with you made it a lot easier to be in the sun.”
The two Guardsmen that they were traveling with were getting gas and grabbing snacks from the shop, so Orlando just stood there along the wall of the gas station with her, looking up at the sky. He could feel the rush of power running through her, but he was taking all of it as she took it in, so for the moment, at least, she was balanced between the unrelenting sunlight overhead and the unquenchable emptiness within him. “How does it feel?”
Candra buried her face into the side of his neck and held even tighter to him. She didn’t dare stare directly into it, she was too wary of being out in the light. It was strange to be in the sunlight. Most of her life had been in darkness. “It feels okay as long as you are here. It feels
