The Beast In My Palms Chapter 1

The last time I went to Wesley’s place to beg for us to get back together, he set his snake on me, trying to drive me away.

My nose stung with the prickle of tears, and I was just turning to leave when sudden streaks of glowing text flickered across my vision—a cascade of floating comments hovering in mid-air.

[Don’t be scared, Parker! That snake is Wesley’s spiritual manifestation! His heat cycle hit, and he broke up with you only because he was terrified he’d hurt you.]

[He’s too afraid to show his face, but he couldn’t resist sending his little white snake out for some cuddles…]

[Hehe, Parker, pinch the tip of the tail! Forget getting back together—Wesley would hand you his damn soul!]

I froze, bewildered.

Without thinking, my fingers tightened around the tail of the snowy little reptile coiled around my arm.

A split second later, from deep inside the closed bedroom, came a man’s stifled, agonizing groan.

At the exact same time, the tail in my grasp gave a violent, shuddering twitch.

I stood petrified on the hardwood floor.

[Holy shit, he actually squeezed it! God, the shared sensory link is insane right now… Wesley’s whole nervous system is wired directly into that little creature!]

[Just behind that door, Wesley’s knees must have given out completely. Parker went way too hard on the first squeeze, lmao.]

[I can’t breathe. Wesley tried to white-knuckle through his heat all on his own before coming back to beg for Parker, and he almost met his maker right here.]

[Keep squeezing, Parker! Who told him to break up with you in the first place? Punish him! That dense idiot doesn’t even realize his spirit form produces a soothing lubricant—the process doesn't hurt at all, in fact it feels…]

[Is this a punishment? This is basically a divine reward for Wesley!]

[Pure-hearted Wesley! His mom was so terrified he’d lose control that she drilled it into his head since childhood that the heat cycle is terrifying and can only be relieved through specific legal bonding rites. Wesley took that to heart. But his heat cycle just had to trigger right now…]

Watching the frantic wall of text scroll across the air, I bit my lower lip.

Instinctively, I gave the tail another deliberate squeeze.

The sound of something heavy crashing to the floor echoed from inside the room.

Around my forearm, the snow-white little snake coiled tighter, trembling, and pressed its cool snout against the crook of my neck in an urgent, needy rub.

The bedroom door was violently yanked open.

Wesley stood braced against the doorframe, veins bulging along his forearms. Those dark eyes of his—usually so cool, composed, and unreadable—were now drowned in an intoxicating haze of raw, unvarnished desire.

"Put… my snake down," Wesley ground out through clenched teeth, his voice thicker and rougher than I had ever heard it. "Parker. Weren’t you terrified of snakes?"

His chest rose and fell sharply. "Did breaking up with me magically cure your phobia?"

I didn't let go.

Now that I knew this little creature was his spiritual form, the bizarre nature of the situation faded into a strange, blossoming affection. The longer I looked at it, the more endearing it seemed.

"Wesley, I don’t want to break up."

Right under his dark, burning stare, I leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to the head of the white snake resting against my wrist.

The snake responded with a sudden, excited nuzzle against my cheek. Its cool scales gradually warmed beneath my skin.

I gathered every ounce of courage I had. "I’m not afraid of your snake. Can we please get back together?"

Wesley’s Adam's apple bobbed heavily.

He jerked his gaze aside, his jaw ticking, and forced out two gravelly words: "We can’t."