17. EPILOGUE
Warmth surrounded his cock pulling a moan from his still sleep infused mind. Smiling, he threaded his hands through his mate’s hair, holding on but not directing in any way despite the clawing need to thrust deep into Channing’s tight throat.
For the past three months, his mate found creative ways to wake Baz up each morning. In the beginning, Baz had felt Channing’s need to apologize, which, as great as his efforts felt physically, pissed him off. He wanted his mate to want him, not feel the need to make up for something that was in the past.
But slowly, after time, he’d begun to feel a difference in each touch. It went from an almost rabid desperation to prove Channing did desire Baz, to actually…well, desiring him. No. That wasn’t quite right. Yeah, at first, it was as if Channing needed to make up for everything that had happened, but Baz needed to know his mate actually wanted him.
But now…? Now they couldn’t stop touching, kissing, and holding each other. It was like a drug they couldn’t get enough of, not out of guilt, but because they were in love.
“Yours,” Baz murmured before following it with, “Mine.”
There had been a lot of talking, as well as apologizing, from both, to get to this point, but it was all worth every damn moment of it. “Love,” he moaned as he thrust up into that wet heat.
The threat of the humans hadn’t changed, but Channing seemed more accepting of the fact that there was no such thing as being completely safe. Or it could have been that he relished each human hunter they’d brought back to Salvation that he could torment until information of who they’d worked with or for had flowed from their lips.
Who would have imagined his sweet, soft-spoken mate was so vicious? But it had worked better than anyone could have ever imagined. Name after name had been forced from the humans’ lips, giving them a fighting chance to find who was ultimately responsible for hunting them.
They still had a ways to go as they were only just starting to make their way up the ladder to the top guy. Still, it was far better than where they’d been before.
The sting of teeth scraping across his slit brought Baz sharply back to the here and now. Channing looked up his body with a raised eyebrow. “If you’re bored, I’m clearly doing something wrong.”
Baz quickly shook his head. “No. Never. Please,” he moaned as he lifted his hips to try and push his dick back into the hot recesses of Channing’s mouth. “I need you.”
That earned him a grin just before a tongue darted out to soothe the slight sting his mate’s teeth had caused. “I need you too, my love.”
He groaned at hearing those words. Nothing was as intoxicating as Channing calling him, ‘my love.’ He would never tire of hearing just how much his mate loved him.
“Love you,” Baz cried out as his cock was once more deep inside Channing’s mouth. Fuck but his mate was really good at that.
He nearly cried when Channing pulled off him once more, but ended up tearing up when he said, “I love you too, my mate,” before taking Baz to the back of his throat and swallowed.
His orgasm hit him so forcefully, he screamed Channing’s name as his upper body partially lifted off the bed to curl toward his mate. White dots appeared in his vision, blocking out everything else for several long minutes as he struggled to remain conscious.
He held up a finger when he was finally able to and managed to croak out, “Give me another minute and I’ll take care of you.”
His mate, who had been resting his forehead against Baz’s leg pressed his smiling lips to his thigh. “No need, my love. I came when you did.”
Oh fuck. Talk about hot.
Reaching down, Baz lifted his limp mate up to him. Sealing their mouths together in a searing kiss, he held the one man who meant everything to him. They hadn’t had an easy mating in the beginning, but in the end, fate had been right in pairing them. Channing was everything Baz needed in a partner.
“You’re my world, you know,” he murmured when Channing rested his head on Baz’s chest. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Brown eyes stared at him when Channing tilted his head, so their gazes met. “I feel the same about you. Good thing too, since you managed to knock me up.”
Baz froze. Then he blinked. Then blinked again. Love shone from his mate’s gorgeous eyes as he patiently waited for Baz to find his voice. It was a full two more minutes before that happened. “Pregnant?” he asked hoarsely as his throat filled with too many emotions to make it work right.
Then he was grinning. “Pregnant? Really?”
Channing nodded as joy shined from every cell in his body. “I was afraid to hope it was true, but the test I just took was positive.”
Baz growled possessively before pulling Channing the few inches needed to kiss him with all the emotion Baz was feeling in that moment. A baby. Talk about being the happiest man alive.
“Should we tell Saleh right away that she’s going to have a brother or sister?” Baz started to pull out from under his mate at the thought of being able to share this with their daughter.
Before he’d managed to do more than slide over a few inches on the mattress, Channing pinned him down. “That will need to wait, my love. I have other plans for you,” he said suggestively.
Baz pulled his brows together questioningly. “It’s not as if she won’t be up in a few minutes. I mean, if we should wait to tell her, I can do that, but we both know she’s going to come barreling through that door any minute.”
Lush lips curved upward into a wickedly sensual smile. “Did I forget to mention when the test came back positive, I called Braydon and asked if he’d take Saleh for a few hours? They just left.”
Flipping them over so he was hovering over that lithe body, Baz growled again. “Have I told you how much I love you recently?”
He leaned down to kiss his mate. Just before their lips touched, Channing said, “Not enough, but this time, I’d rather you show me.”
He was certain his smile was so damn big it covered his whole face as he said, “That would be my pleasure.”