Candy Hearts, Vol. 2

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

TEN

I didn't think I'd ever felt this nervous before.

As I waited for Matthew's reaction to my declaration, I realized his fingers had stopped moving at some point. While I was a little grateful since my dick had been getting ready to make an appearance, I also had to wonder if it meant his reaction wouldn't be favorable after all.

"Mate... Does that mean like a soulmate?"

I nodded, and my hands clenched and unclenched at my sides as I waited for him to say more.

"When did you know? When you saw me at the coffee shop?"

"Yes." While I'd been curious about him, it was only once our eyes met that I realized for sure he was mine.

"But you didn't ask for my number then," he said, eyes narrowing when he came to the realization.

"I didn't want to rush you. Especially since you'd just come out of a relationship."

Matthew paused, then shook his head. "But how could you be sure that we would meet again?"

I hesitated, and he shot me a sharp look. "Did you follow me?"

"Fate would've crossed our paths anyway, but I didn't want to risk it. I couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you again," I admitted honestly, and his dark eyes searched mine, his fingers digging into my skin. I was glad he hadn't pulled away, because it gave me hope that he wouldn't reject me.

"Wait. Did you know who I was when I accidentally texted you?" Matthew asked. Then his eyes widened. "Were you the one who changed all my furniture and put food in my fridge?"

Shit, I'd hoped he'd forgotten about that.

"Yes." I wasn't going to lie, no matter how much the truth reduced my chances of being accepted by him. "I didn't know you were my mate when I did that, though. I got curious about you because of your text, and then I thought I could offer you some assistance because you seemed like a good guy. But it was only after our eyes met at the coffee shop that I knew who you were to me."

Matthew stared at me for so long that I was sure whatever he said next wouldn't be good. Was he struggling to find a way to reject me? Was he worried that I would pursue him even if he did? He knew I could get into his house at any time. Was he afraid of me?

I took a step back, separating his fingers from my chest, and curled my tail around my abdomen protectively. "If you...if you want to leave, if you'd rather not form a bond with me, I won't pursue you. I promise." I might watch over him from a distance to make sure he was okay, and I might follow him to Afterworld when the time came, but I wouldn't force my love on him.

Matthew blinked, a startled look on his face, and then quickly reached forward, pressing his palm flat over my chest. "You're a good man, Ten. A good demon. You've been nothing but kind to me since we met. Is this the most bonkers experience I've ever had?" He gave an incredulous laugh. "Yes. But that doesn't mean I've forgotten everything else. Like how much I enjoyed our dates, how well we get along, and how much I want to kiss you." His voice lowered to a whisper by the end of his declaration, but I still heard every word.

I wanted to wrap my hands around his waist and pull him up into the air so I could kiss him properly, but I didn't want to scare him.

"May I kiss you? I'll shift back," I assured him, and he gazed at me with heated brown eyes before shaking his head, and I lowered mine in acceptance. Just because he didn't want to leave didn't mean he was ready to rush forward either. "Of course. I didn't mean to rush you."

"What? No!" Matthew protested, pressing his other hand to my chest as well as he craned his neck to look at me. The angle was awkward for both of us, but neither cared as we gazed into each other's eyes. "Kiss me, Ten. Just like this."

Oh. He'd meant he didn't want me to shift back.

I'd convinced myself I'd need to compromise with him, that I would have to stay in my human form for most if not all of the time we spent together, that I'd probably never get to experience intimacy with him as my true self because my human mate couldn't possibly find my demon form attractive.

But looking at him now, and seeing the way his dark eyes watched me with heat shining in them, the way he licked his soft pink lips...I realized I'd been wrong. Matthew liked this inhuman form of mine.

Reaching out slowly, I gave him ample opportunity to pull back as I clasped his hips and picked him up. His hands clamped down over mine as his eyes widened, but once we were face-to-face, he quickly slid his arms around my neck.

"Careful," I warned him, afraid the small barbs lining my spine would cut his soft, human skin.

Matthew hummed, then removed one hand from my neck to cup my jaw, his fingers brushing the smaller spikes below my jaw. "They're sharp, but not enough to pierce my skin. They'd leave some wicked marks, though," he murmured, sounding like he'd enjoy being marked by me.

I growled, his words and his skin against mine turning me on. This was going faster than I'd expected, and I was worried that if I started kissing Matthew, I wouldn't be able to hold back.

"At any point, if you want to stop, just say the word."

Matthew nodded at me, then cupped my jaw, leaning forward to press his lips against my mouth. I didn't exactly have lips in this form, but that didn't mean I didn't know how to drive someone wild with a kiss.

Opening my mouth, I slid my tongue out, flicking the twin tips against Matthew's lips. He gasped softly, offering me the perfect opportunity to slide my tongue into his mouth. Wrapping my tongue around his, I gave it a squeeze before sucking up and down the length, giving him a preview of what I'd do when I got my mouth on his cock.

Matthew moaned and mewled as I tasted every inch of his mouth, his arms tight around my neck as he wrapped his legs around my torso, his small body clinging to me as I drove him crazy. He wasn't the only one, though. Having him pressed up against me, the taste of his mouth, the sound of his pleasure...it was all turning me on as well, and I could feel my cock sliding out, already coated in slick and precum, ready to fuck or be fucked.

Matthew

I knew I was rushing things, but I didn't want to stop. Not when it felt good, not when Ten had told me he could be mine forever, and that I could be his. I'd never belonged to someone, never had someone belong to me, and I wanted it so badly.

Sure, we hadn't known each other for very long, and if this was a normal date, a normal relationship, I wouldn't be rushing this way.

But the man I liked was a demon, a big, lizard-like demon that I found absolutely sexy. I didn't know if I found him sexy because I was his mate, or if I was his mate because I found him sexy in this form, and frankly, I didn't care.

After Ara, I'd promised myself I would only be with someone I truly wanted, someone who was kind and looked at me the way Ten did, like he'd do anything to make me happy. I wanted that. I wanted Ten. All of him, in every possible way.

I'd never put much stock in fate or luck, but finding out that an all-powerful Fate did exist, and that they thought we belonged together, helped me ignore the little voice in my head too. The voice that was full of rules society made to keep people in check, to make us second-guess every fucking thing until we didn't know what we wanted.

I knew what I wanted, though. I wanted Ten, and I didn't care if it was too fast, or if he was too inhuman.

Pulling back from the kiss with a gasp, I couldn't help rocking against Ten's torso, my rock-hard cock rubbing against his firm muscles. With his hands clamped around my waist and our faces at the same level, my legs were wrapped a few inches above his waist, and I wanted to pull back so I could look at all of him.

He wasn't wearing any clothes in this form, and his groin had been just smooth gray skin when I'd taken a peek at it before. I didn't know what kind of equipment he was sporting, and I didn't care. All I knew was I wanted more. I wanted all of him.

"Where's your bedroom?" I asked, and Ten's eyes widened, his vertical lids blinking slowly as he gazed at me.

"Ten?" I prompted when he stayed silent, and he jerked, then quickly turned around with me still in his arms.

"This way," he mumbled, then led me through a doorway into a bedroom with a giant bed in the center, the sheets rumpled with a few torn spots. I imagined he slept in his true form, and the barbs on his back had done that to the sheets. At least, I hoped it was that and not that he'd had someone else in this bed with him.

He stopped at the edge of the bed, then slowly placed me on the mattress. When he pulled back, I sucked in a breath as I got my second look at his groin. Where before there had been nothing but smooth gray skin, now a cock had slid out of a split, coated in slick lubrication and leaking precum. It was a little bigger than mine, and much, much thicker, and I imagined how tight it'd feel inside me. The thought made me shudder.

"We don't have to do anything," Ten said in a low voice, misunderstanding my reaction, and I glanced up at him, licking my lips and hoping he could see the desire in my eyes.

"I'd be very disappointed if we didn't do anything," I murmured, then reached out to wrap my hand around his cock.

Ten sucked in a sharp breath, curling his hands into fists at his side.

"Can I suck you off?" I asked, eyeing his cock as I tried to figure out if I could stretch my mouth open wide enough. It would be a challenge, but I wasn't one to back down.

"If you want to."

I grinned, then pulled my hand away only long enough to get rid of my clothes.

"Fuck, Matthew," Ten groaned once I was naked, and his cock jerked in the air as more slick leaked out of the space beneath his cock. Reaching out, I brushed my fingers through the slick, then slid one finger inside, making Ten grunt. I could see his legs trembling, and since I didn't want him to hurt himself, I pulled back and scrambled toward the middle of the bed.

"Come here," I said, patting the mattress in front of me, and he quickly scrambled onto the bed, lying on his back when I directed him to do it.

I got the feeling he was letting me lead because he was worried about pushing me too hard, and I wondered if he'd want to take control once we knew each other better.

Settling between his legs on my stomach, I pushed them further apart, then wrapped my right hand around his cock while sliding the index and middle fingers of my left hand inside him. I groaned at the wet, slick heat of him, and wondered what he would feel like wrapped around my cock. Later. That would be later.

"Fuck!" Ten growled as he pulled his knees to his chest, giving me more room. I pumped my fingers in and out of him, rubbing my own hard cock against the mattress as I pushed him closer to his climax.

Leaning down, I ran my tongue over his entrance, then slid it inside, humming when Ten's hand clasped the back of my head, keeping me in place as he fucked himself with my tongue.

I kept jacking him off with my other hand, and it didn't take long before he gave a shout of my name and his cock spilled on my hand as his hole coated my tongue in his release, the taste sweet and slightly bitter. I wanted more of that taste, and I didn't think I'd ever get enough.

We stayed like that for a few moments as we both caught our breaths, and I was just about to raise myself up on my elbows and move when Ten's hands clamped down on my shoulders, and he moved me around until our positions were reversed.

Before I could react, Ten took me into his mouth, wrapping his wicked tongue around my girth. I hissed softly, reaching down to cup the back of his head as he bobbed over my length, driving me crazy. I remembered his sharp teeth, but I didn't feel the least bit afraid.

He would never hurt me, he'd said, and I believed him.

After making him come, I'd been halfway there myself, and it didn't take Ten long to have me spilling down his throat as the most intense orgasm of my life crashed through me. I clung to him, my legs wrapped around his upper back, heels digging into his thick, leathery skin, and he held me to him, slowly shifting us around until we were on our sides, and then sliding up so we were facing each other as I caught my breath.

"That was..." he murmured, lost for words, and I smiled.

"Intense? Life-changing? Fast?"

"All of those, yeah. I swear this wasn't what I was aiming for when I invited you home. Hoping, yes, but all I wanted to do was tell you the truth because you said that's what you'd want."

I gazed up at this sweet, wonderful demon and wondered how I'd gotten lucky enough to get him. He'd made my life better when he didn't know who I was to him, showing me his kindness was true and not an act put up to impress me. Of course, he could be lying about it, but I didn't think so.

"I know, Ten. I didn't think this would happen either, and while it was intense, and fast, it was also so damned good," I said, shifting closer and throwing my arm over his torso. He wrapped his arm around me in return, pulling me into his chest. "I don't regret doing it, and I want to do it again if you want it too."

Ten gazed at me for a long moment, then huffed. "If I had it my way, we'd never leave this bed."