PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

664 Chapter 664 A Peaceful Heart.

The concern in the room was almost palpable, no matter how luxurious and comfortable the residence was, Claire, Sasha, and Cecilia were concerned about Revna’s sudden disappearance. They thought nothing of it at first, since Revna liked to disappear frequently, but she tended to come back soon, and it had been almost an hour since she left.

As the girls prepared to go out to find Revna, a couple of footsteps came from the hallway leading to the room. The first thing the girls saw was Revna walk in with a slightly intriguing smile. Yet, they didn’t wonder why because Desmond walked in right behind her without causing any suspense.

There was a momentary silence in the room, then gasps followed by chaos ensued as the girls tried to get to Desmond as fast as they could. Desmond didn’t know if there was some kind of agreement, but the girls took the initiative to approach him to give Claire space first.

Desmond didn’t overthink it; his attention now was on those beautiful emerald green eyes that seemed to mesmerize him. He had missed her, of course, of that there was no doubt, but only now did Desmond realize the degree to which he had. It was like having someone rip a piece out of your heart, leaving you with a lingering feeling of deep emptiness, and you didn’t realize it until someone pointed it out; then, all that emptiness hit you in one fell swoop.

Luckily, Desmond could fill that void as soon as he felt it. Holding Claire in his arms, Desmond felt the entire world was more colorful, warmer, and more pleasant. Even before the hug finished forming, both of them had already searched for the other party’s lips, melting into a passionate kiss that made Sasha and Cecilia blush.

There was love and longing in the air, but Desmond didn’t linger on his kiss with Claire even though he wanted to. The reason was simple, his family wasn’t just the two of them. Claire knew this too, so she stepped back considerately and gave Sasha space to come closer.

Sasha was much more subtle than Claire but not necessarily less loving. Instead of going for the lips, Sasha went for a full-fit hug and just enjoyed the scent and warmth of her lover. Desmond was similar; he lost himself in the sweet raspberry scent of Sasha’s hair.

Once she had enough, Sasha released her arms, took a half step back, and kissed Desmond lightly on the lips, not being brave or cheeky enough to go for a passionate kiss like Claire’s.

From there, it would have been Revna’s turn next, but she shook her head. “Sorry, but I already had my moment.”

.....

With that, it was Cecilia’s turn. Seeing the doubt and shyness on Cecilia’s face, Desmond intervened. “It is not necessary to.”

Desmond didn’t quite finish what he was saying when Cecilia closed the distance and stood on her toes giving him a tender kiss on the cheek. Dying with embarrassment and totally blushing, Cecilia backed away quickly, but not before leaving Desmond a few words. “I missed you too.”

Taking into account the relationship that currently exists between the two and Cecilia’s way of being, that little kiss was already a massive step in the right direction, and Desmond certainly wasn’t going to complain. However, what really made Desmond happy was seeing that Cecilia was gradually coming out of that place of pain she had plunged into after Nana’s death.

After their loving reunion, it wasn’t long before the girls and Desmond shared a spot in the living room to chat about everything that had happened to them since they last saw each other. The girls were eager to tell Desmond everything they had done in the last few weeks, but it looked like it would have to wait.

Just a few minutes into their meeting, with Claire and Sasha hugging Desmond from both sides, at the same time Cecilia and Revna got involved in the conversation, Desmond simply fell asleep. Completely exhausted to a level never experienced before, as soon as Desmond felt safe and relaxed, his body and mind gave way.

It was strange to see Desmond fall asleep like that, Claire, Sasha, and Cecilia were a bit surprised, but Revna quickly intervened, explaining what little Desmond had said to her. The girls’ hearts clenched when they heard Desmond discuss his exhaustion with Revna only to fall asleep upon seeing them.

It also didn’t take a genius to figure out that Desmond had probably been on edge for a long time, and that he’d been pushing himself to stay composed until now. There was undoubtedly an element of pride, but it was easy to tell that Desmond wanted to see them back.

What ensued was a rather interesting conversation about getting Desmond into a room and who would sleep with him. Yet, seeing that there was no way that discussion would end anytime soon, Revna took the initiative to come up with a solution that left everyone blushing and with their mouths open. “Guys, I didn’t think this was the time to have this kind of discussion; why don’t we all sleep with him tonight?”

It was obvious that Claire was probably the only one inclined to accept this proposal. Still, before Sasha and Cecilia declined, Revna added. “It’s not like we’re going to do anything intimate or inappropriate either, I don’t think Desmond will be waking up anytime soon. Not to mention, I doubt he’s in the mood for such things. Besides, he misses us so much; why can’t we show him that we miss him altogether?”

“I never thought Revna would be the voice of reason among all of you.” Appearing from inside Desmond’s cloth flushed from the heat, Kyuru intervened, alerting everyone to his presence. After greeting all the girls with a smile and explaining her presence, Kyuru added. “I agree with Revna; Desmond thought so much of all of you. I thought you should spend as much time as you can with him... all of you.”

The fairy’s words, as always, sounded sensible, but, as usual, there was a hint of teasing in her voice that, accompanied by her playful smile, made it hard not to notice that she was really enjoying seeing the romantic world of Desmond burning while he was asleep.

Luckily for Desmond, who was still asleep, there was no way the girls would actually fight over something like that. Eventually, when they got over the embarrassment, the girls dragged Desmond to a room with a big enough bed and laid Desmond down on it.

Being the least shy of the group, Claire did not hesitate to climb on the bed and take her rightful place on Desmond’s right side, embracing her beloved’s body from one side. Although embarrassed to do this in front of the rest, Sasha went and secured Desmond’s left side.

To Cecilia’s surprise, who hadn’t really planned on securing any too-intimate positions, Revna dragged her away and with a push dropped her onto Desmond’s chest. Immediately it was as if Cecilia had a short circuit. It could have been the manly scent, the temperature, and the mere notion of this kind of contact; it was hard to tell, but Cecilia seemed to be at the limit of her ability to resist the embarrassment.

Ignoring the sheepish yet angry look Cecilia was sending her, Revna climbed on the bed and lay down on the other side of Claire. Despite not being physically in contact with Desmond, Revna already seemed immensely satisfied just sharing a bed, not to mention that she really enjoyed seeing everyone else like this.

Whatever the case, after a few more quiet discussions, the girls decided that they would sleep like this despite how embarrassing it was. Cecilia was the one who protested the most. Nonetheless, she ended up giving in when Kyuru, the adorable fairy, made a comment to which she didn’t know how to respond. “If you really hate being this close to him, you might as well leave.”

What else could Cecilia say? As much as she would have a hard time admitting her growing feelings for Desmond, she would never go to the extent of saying that she hated him just to cover her shyness. Thus, under the significant gazes of the other girls, Cecilia stayed in her place, with her face resting on Desmond’s chest, despite the fact that she wanted to die of shame for it.

Little by little, as the minutes passed, the girls’ initial embarrassment faded away. Both Claire, Sasha, Revna, and Cecilia were just so happy to be with the person they loved, to see that she was safe and back. While it was true that there was still a lot to talk about their time apart and what the rest of their stay in this world held in store for them, neither of the girls wanted to think about it now.

Less than half an hour later, even the extremely shy and blushing Cecilia fell asleep. Seeing that they were all asleep, Kyuru gave Desmond a mischievous look and spoke. “It’s a bit cheap to pretend to be asleep, don’t you think?”

Desmond opened his eyes and looked helplessly at the faerie. Surprisingly, Kyuru didn’t continue picking on Desmond and instead added. “I guess I understand you were too embarrassed to admit that you passed out from exhaustion. Then, it got awkward when the girls started fighting over who would sleep with you.”

Desmond didn’t say anything; there was no need. Kyuru had hit the nail on the head. Satisfied that she had lightly teased Desmond, Kyuru said one last thing before leaning back into an empty space on Desmond’s chest right next to Cecilia’s face. “Forget it; I think you deserve to enjoy this moment.”

Not two seconds later, Kyuru had also fallen asleep and only Desmond remained awake in the room but not for long. Desmond took a minute to look at the women he shared a bed with, finding much-needed peace in seeing their sleeping faces until he follow them into the realm of dreams.