Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
"While we wait..." Caelen rose from his throne, drawing Daniel up with him. "Let me show you around."
"But shouldn't we?—"
"The guards will search. We can do nothing but wait." Caelen's hand settled on the small of Daniel's back. "Let me share my home with you."
Daniel's protest died as Caelen guided him through an archway and out of the throne room. The corridor beyond sparkled with tiny lights that danced through the air like fireflies, only these glowed different colors—deep purple, midnight blue, silver-white.
"Are these spirit lights?" Daniel reached for one, but it darted away.
"Nothing so nefarious. They're fae bugs. Harmless as long as you don't decide to follow them down dark alleyways."
"What if I did?"
"Don't."
"Okay. They are pretty, though."
"That they are."
After a short walk, they emerged into an open courtyard where flowers bloomed as if it wasn't fall. As they passed, the petals trembled and released notes like wind chimes in a breeze.
The singing garden.
"This is insane." Daniel touched a silver-petaled bloom, and it sang a pure, sweet note. "I've seen drawings of this place, but drawings don't come with sound."
"This was my father's favorite place in the palace when he was still alive."
Daniel let his gaze sweep over the flowers. "I can see why." His fingers traced along a delicate vine crawling up one of the columns. "Somehow I always pictured this place darker, even with the singing flowers and all."
"We do call it the Shadow Court now." Caelen's face took on a faraway look. "But Elucia was a beautiful country when I was a child." His hand covered Daniel's where it rested on the vine. "Magic runs deep here. Not just shadow magic, but the old powers. The ones that made these gardens sing."
He turned Daniel to face him, green eyes bright with conviction. "I want to restore it to its proper glory." His lips brushed Daniel's neck, sending shivers down his spine. "And I would like nothing more than to have you by my side as I do this."
Daniel's breath caught. Was Caelen suggesting that they stay here permanently?
That Daniel make Veridia his home?
The thought should have terrified him. As amazing as this place was, how could he just leave his whole world behind?
But with Caelen's arms around him, his head spinning from his mate's proximity, he knew with absolute certainty that his home was wherever Caelen was.
Wasn't that what he'd fought so hard for? For them to be able to be together?
That was what he wanted. Everything else was secondary.
"Your majesty." A young fae lady coming out of the garden bowed low. "We are all so pleased to have you back home." Her gaze flicked to Daniel. "Lord Daniel." She bowed again.
Caelen dismissed her with a smile, and then he led Daniel back into the building. "Word is spreading fast. Good."
"I don't know if I like to be addressed as a lord."
"Get used to it. Thaelis and her and everyone else here… They're all our subjects."
"Our subjects." Daniel's brain refused to process those words. He worked at a book store. He wasn't any sort of royalty, and while he'd called himself a queen once or twice, he'd never fancied himself a king. "That's... I don't even know what to do with that."
"Don't worry about it too much. I know how to make you comfortable. Come." Caelen went up a set of stairs and Daniel followed him past a number of guards to the end of a hallway, where Caelen pushed open a set of ornate double doors.
Daniel's mouth fell open at the sight of the bedroom beyond. Deep purple silk draped the walls, and silver-veined marble covered the floors. A massive bed dominated the space, its black sheets looking incredibly inviting.
Caelen's arms slid around Daniel's waist. "You only have to be a lord to other people… outside these doors." His lips brushed Daniel's ear. "In here, you can still just be my pet."
Daniel shuddered.
Damn.
Trust Caelen to get him from zero to horny in three milliseconds.
But his brother was still out there somewhere. And Knox, and Adrian, and everyone else. His hands caught Caelen's wrists. "We need to focus. Jamie's out there. The others..."
"The guards are searching." Caelen's mouth traced down his neck. "There's nothing more we can do right now."
"But—"
"Let me distract you." Caelen pulled him closer. "Just for a little while."
Daniel's resolve crumbled. Out there, he'd watched Caelen command a kingdom. Seen him take charge with effortless authority. And now that same power focused entirely on him.
How was he supposed to resist that?
"This isn't fair." Daniel's head fell back against Caelen's shoulder. "You can't just... be all kingly and gorgeous and expect me to function."
Caelen laughed. "Kingly and gorgeous?"
"Yes. Those are good words."
"All right." Caelen's teeth grazed his ear. "I don't expect you to function. I expect you to let go and trust me to take care of everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything." Caelen's hand slid up to cup Daniel's throat. "Your brother. Your friends. This kingdom. You." His grip tightened just enough to make Daniel gasp. "Especially you."
"Caelen..." Daniel tried to turn in his arms, but Caelen held him still.
"Stay where you are, pet." His other hand gripped Daniel's hip. "Let me show you exactly how well I can take care of you."
Daniel's skin burned where Caelen touched him. The strength in those hands, the absolute control in that voice—this was the Shadow King he'd read about, dreamed about… and fallen head over heels in love with.
He closed his eyes, surrendering to sensation.
Caelen's hand moved from his hip and found its way under his shirt, tracing up his chest. Fingers teased at his sensitive nipples until they peaked into firm points. Daniel moaned softly, pressing back against him, feeling Caelen's arousal against the curve of his ass.
Fuck.
Caelen's teeth nipped at the skin below his earlobe. "Tell me what you want me to do to you."
Daniel swallowed hard. "Don't you know?"
"Paint me a picture." Caelen pinched his nipple, making Daniel suck in a harsh breath. "I want you to imagine it. Tell me what I should be doing." His tongue flicked out, licking along the shell of Daniel's ear. "And then, if you're very lucky, I might do it."
Heat raced through Daniel's veins, pooling between his legs. He shifted slightly, seeking friction as Caelen's other hand stroked up his inner thigh. "Fuck."
Caelen made a disapproving sound. "Not specific enough." His fingertips brushed across Daniel's straining fly, teasing lightly. "Try again, pet."
"I..." Daniel licked his lips. Caelen wanted to hear this? Fine. Daniel had never been shy with his words. "I want you to take me to bed and strip me naked." A shudder passed through him as the fingers stroking his leg moved higher. "Want you to tie my hands above my head and tease me until I beg to have your cock in my mouth. I wanna taste it, feel it stretch my throat. Then I want you inside my ass, taking me so hard I forget my name."
A groan rumbled from deep within Caelen, vibrating against Daniel's back. "Good pet," he purred, rewarding the dirty talk with the press of two fingers against Daniel's trapped dick. "Keep going."
Daniel rocked forward. "I want... oh fuck..." His mind scrambled to form sentences as Caelen rubbed him through his jeans. "Need you to fill me up and claim me and..." He sucked in air. "I wanna feel you come inside me and then..." Fuck, this next part was harder to say.
"Yes...?" Another stroke of Caelen's hand.
God help him.
"I want you to plug me after you're done," he finally managed. "Like you did in our dream. Only this time, it won't be a dream. I'll get to keep your cum inside of me."
Caelen's breath hitched audibly. "You liked that, hm?"
"So much. It felt..." He trailed off, remembering how he'd felt in that dream. Like he belonged entirely to Caelen. Safe and secure. Owned.
Cherished.
He swallowed hard. "I want that in reality."
Caelen's grip on Daniel's throat tightened, tilting his head back. His other hand moved from Daniel's crotch to slide beneath his pants, finding bare skin. "Then that's what you'll get." His lips ghosted across Daniel's cheekbone. "Anything else?"
I... um..." Daniel blinked, trying to think straight while long fingers wrapped around his throbbing dick. "I... just want to be your pet."
Caelen chuckled against his ear, an affectionate sound. "That goes without saying. You're mine, pet. Now and always. In every realm."
Daniel shivered. Yes. That was exactly right.
Caelen withdrew his hands and stepped around to stand before Daniel. He reached down, cupping the front of Daniel's pants, giving him a squeeze before undoing them and shoving them to the floor.
"On the bed." He nudged Daniel toward the large four-poster bed. "Hands above your head."
Heart pounding, Daniel complied, lying on the soft black sheets with his hands stretched over his head, palms up. He watched as Caelen went over to his dresser and rummaged around in the drawers there, returning a few moments later with several lengths of silken cord, which he used to bind each wrist to a bedpost.
"How's that feel?" Caelen asked, tugging lightly on the bonds.
"It's good." The knots were solid without being too tight. They wouldn't give when he tugged against their hold.
"Good." He bent down, claiming Daniel's mouth with his own, tongue slipping easily past Daniel's eager lips. Daniel kissed back with abandon, arching his back to try to press their bodies together despite his tied position, but Caelen broke away after a short moment.
His eyes roved down the length of Daniel's body, lingering for a moment on his cock before sliding back up. His expression was unreadable—or maybe Daniel just couldn't focus well enough to decipher it.
Caelen stood, removing his clothes. "You are so beautiful like this," he said as he climbed onto the bed, straddling Daniel's hips. "All spread out for me. All mine."
Daniel squirmed. "Yes," he breathed. "Yours. All yours."
Caelen leaned down and kissed him. "Not quite yet. You still have the ability to form words." One hand slid between them, fingers wrapping around Daniel's shaft, making him moan. "We'll have to fix that."
"Please," Daniel gasped, rocking up as Caelen began to stroke him.
"No." Caelen's grip tightened, stopping Daniel's movements. "None of that. Try to be still. You take what I give you, nothing more. Nothing less."
Daniel forced himself to go limp, biting his lip. Caelen rewarded him with a quick kiss.
"Good pet." His hand returned to its task, stroking slowly up and down Daniel's length while his free hand caressed Daniel's chest, teasing at his nipples. Daniel whimpered, wanting so badly to rock into the sensation. It took all his willpower not to move.
Caelen bent low, his mouth capturing one of those sensitive nubs in a wet heat, sucking gently before biting down just hard enough to make Daniel gasp. His thumb swirled over the tip of Daniel's cock, smearing fluid around the head, making his hips jerk despite his efforts.
"Shh," Caelen admonished. "Behave yourself." A flick of his tongue against Daniel's nipple. "Unless you want me to stop."
"No!" Daniel groaned. "I'll be good."
Caelen chuckled and kissed a line across his chest and up his throat, ending by pressing their lips together again. Daniel opened willingly, moaning as Caelen's tongue claimed his mouth. The hand between his thighs continued its steady pace, stroking up and down his shaft with agonizing slowness, never enough friction for real pleasure but more than enough to drive him insane.
When Caelen released Daniel's mouth from his kisses, Daniel could do little but pant. Caelen smiled down at him, a predatory look that made desire coil in Daniel's belly. He loved it so much when Caelen looked at him like that. Like Daniel could take anything Caelen could dish out. And he'd fucking love every second.
Caelen tightened his grip around Daniel's cock, pumping him faster, until Daniel was panting with suppressed need. He bit his lip, struggling to stay still. To not chase more contact or thrust into those strong hands. Caelen rewarded him with a kiss to his forehead.
"Such a good pet, aren't you?" Caelen murmured against his skin, and the praise made Daniel's insides turn to goo. "I think you earned a reward. Would you like to suck my cock before I fuck you?"
Daniel moaned. Yes. That was exactly what he wanted. To feel Caelen's thick length stretching his mouth. He opened eagerly when Caelen moved up his body and pressed his cock to Daniel's lips. Daniel licked across the swollen head before opening wide. Caelen groaned softly as he fed Daniel his cock inch by inch.
The weight of it on Daniel's tongue felt perfect. He swallowed, taking Caelen deeper, relaxing his jaw and throat muscles to accommodate his mate. When Caelen's pubic hair brushed his nose and the head of Caelen's dick bumped the back of his throat, Caelen pulled out and began to thrust, shallow at first, then deeper until he hit the back of Daniel's throat.
He fucked Daniel's mouth in long, slow strokes, one hand resting on the bed for balance as he moved, his other hand tangling in Daniel's hair. Daniel struggled to remain motionless, to not gag around Caelen's thick cock as it filled his throat. He closed his eyes and let himself be the thing Caelen used to chase his pleasure. Let that be all the purpose his existence needed at this moment.
His mind had never been so calm. So clear of any thoughts beyond pleasing the man above him.
By the time Caelen withdrew from his mouth, Daniel could hardly speak. He lay there panting, watching Caelen climb between his legs, pushing his knees apart and lifting him up by the hips.
Daniel shuddered in anticipation as Caelen leaned over him, reaching for something on the bedside table that Daniel couldn't see properly. He heard the pop of a bottle opening, then a cold wetness against his entrance. His cock twitched as Caelen rubbed the lube-covered fingers of one hand around his hole while the other hand stroked him lazily, reigniting the heat between his legs that had faded into the background while he was occupied only with Caelen's cock in his mouth.
Caelen pushed two fingers into his ass, scissoring them, stretching Daniel open. The burn made him hiss, but Caelen soothed him with more gentle touches to his achingly hard cock. "So beautiful like this," Caelen murmured, working another finger past the ring of muscle, twisting his fingers inside of Daniel until they found what they sought.
Daniel's back arched involuntarily as stars flashed before him, the sudden spike of pleasure almost too much for him to handle. His toes curled and his cock jumped, leaking onto his stomach. Caelen's grip tightened around his shaft in response, squeezing firmly at the base.
Then Caelen moved to untie Daniel's wrists and gathered him in his arms. A kiss was pressed to his lips, and though Daniel was confused, he responded instinctively, clinging tightly to his mate. He wanted Caelen to take him now. Needed to feel him inside, filling him up until Daniel could barely remember anything but Caelen's name.
"Please..." He panted against his mate's shoulder. "Please... want..." The ache inside of him had grown too intense, too demanding. He needed Caelen now.
"I know." Caelen turned him on his stomach. "I want to bury myself so deep inside of you." He pulled Daniel up until he was kneeling, chest pressed to the mattress, ass in the air. Then Caelen guided his cock to Daniel's entrance and began to push inside.
Daniel groaned. Fuck, yes. This.
Caelen bottomed out slowly, his hands gripping Daniel's shoulders as he sheathed himself fully. His balls rested heavily against the swell of Daniel's ass, and Daniel clenched down around the thick length filling him up.
For a moment, they stayed still. Caelen leaned forward, covering Daniel's body with his own, pressing kisses along his spine as he waited for him to adjust.
"All mine, aren't you?"
Daniel nodded, unable to form words.
After another minute or so, Caelen began to move, sliding out until only the head remained inside and then pushing back in slowly.
Daniel whimpered and pushed back against Caelen's next thrust, wanting him deeper. Caelen obliged, picking up speed, his grip on Daniel's hips tightening as he drove into Daniel with increasing force. Daniel's cock bounced between his legs with each movement, precome leaking from the tip, dripping down his thigh and onto the sheets. But that wasn't what he focused on. All his attention was on Caelen, on the arousal that seared through their bond, letting him know exactly how much Caelen enjoyed his ass. Caelen's need felt as immediate as his own, and Daniel let it overtake him, let it be his own.
"Fuck..." He clawed at the sheets, desperate now for Caelen's release, to feel him spill inside him. "Please... please..."
"You want my cum?" Caelen's voice sounded raw. "Want me to fill you up?"
"Yes," Daniel gasped as Caelen slammed into him. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Caelen reached around them, gripping Daniel's cock like a vice. A ring of ice closed around the base and Daniel gasped at the sudden cold and the restriction, but he didn't protest. His cock, his release didn't matter.
"Take your pleasure in mine," Caelen growled, but Daniel already understood. He knew how Caelen felt. Knew what he needed from Daniel.
He squeezed his inner muscles, feeling Caelen shudder above him with the sensation and god that felt good. He felt good around Caelen. The sensation translated through their connection, took over Daniel's mind. He moaned, rocking back onto Caelen. He needed him to come so badly.
"Just like that, pet." Caelen's hips snapped forward again and again. "Focus only on me. I want you to know… exactly… how good you make me feel."
The sentiment scrambled Daniel's brain, and then the room blurred around them, everything falling away as Caelen finally came inside of Daniel with a roar that echoed through their bond, making Daniel gasp at the sheer intensity of it, the way the sensation reverberated through his own body. Caelen's seed filled him, and the world seemed to stop turning for several seconds. Nothing mattered but this perfect moment of belonging. Of completion.
Daniel was vaguely aware that his cock still strained against the magical binding Caelen had placed around him. But he didn't care. He felt utterly spent, exhausted, satisfied to the bone, despite having not found his own climax.
He still basked in the glow of how intense he'd made Caelen's, and now there was only one more thing he wanted. "The plug," he said. "You promised."
Caelen kissed his shoulder blade before pulling out of him. "I did." He moved behind him, and a few seconds later Daniel felt something smooth press at him. The toy was smaller than Caelen's cock, so he relaxed easily as it was eased inside. The cold metal settled inside of him, sealing Caelen's cum within.
Daniel sighed. Perfect. Utterly fucking perfect.
Even more so when Caelen's arms wrapped around him, keeping him from floating away on his high. Lips pressed to Daniel's ear. "You want me to release the magic?"
Daniel didn't have to think about it for long. The magical ice wasn't uncomfortably cold, and he didn't want to change anything about his current situation. "No," he decided, turning his head to meet Caelen's gaze. "Leave it."
"As you wish." Caelen pulled him down onto the mattress beside him and Daniel curled up against him, resting his head on Caelen's chest and closing his eyes.
"I'm so glad this isn't a dream I have to wake up from."
Caelen held him close. "I know. I never thought I'd be so lucky. That I'd get to keep you."
"You'll always have me. No matter what else changes. It's like you said." Daniel looked up at Caelen. "I'm yours in every realm. Whether we stay here or go back home to my world, you're not getting rid of me."
Caelen studied him. "Is that a promise?"
"Damn right it is." Daniel kissed him, slow and deep. "You're stuck with me forever."
"Forever is a long time."
Daniel grinned at his mate. "Good. After all the shit we've been through, I deserve to have a long time with you."
"You deserve everything." Caelen brushed a hand down Daniel's cheek. "And I'll make sure you get it. Your brother, your friends, your happy ending. Everything." He looked at Daniel with such conviction that Daniel could not do anything but believe him.
He snuggled closer, sighing happily as his mate's arms tightened around him, knowing that finally, finally , he'd made a good choice in love.