Chapter 69
If this were a dream, he begged the Goddess to keep him in it for eternity. The cruelty of waking up from this would be too much for his broken heart to bear. He squeezed Caster’s body tighter, vowing to never let go.
The vibration of Caster’s chuckle that settled in his heart had him opening his eyes.
“It’s not a dream, my love. I checked.”
The familiar subtle dominance in the words whispered into his ear brought the hope that perhaps it was real.
Mark gasped. If this hadn’t been a dream, he’d broken the unspoken rule. “I’m sorry?”
Caster lifted his head, the smirk on his lips further confirmation that this wasn’t a dream. “Is that a question?”
Mark shook his head. The words were there, but he was once again having a hard time connecting his thoughts with his vocal cords, with Caster looking at him like that.
Caster waited, the smirk growing into a smile.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just…”
Caster’s lips, the insistent push of his tongue into his mouth, erased his need to be forgiven.
Mark released the fear, the hope, and all grief into the imposing kiss.
The impressive command of Caster’s dominant display erased all resistance.
This is what everything meant to him. He would never want anything else.
Caster’s lips moved to his neck, and he moaned his acceptance, doing his best to give him as much room as he needed.
“Please…” The broken whisper ended in a keening cry when Caster’s hand replaced his lips, wrapping around his neck.
His fingers flexed, but he didn’t squeeze, the challenge in his eyes unyielding. He rolled his hips, and Mark was assailed by the sensation of his cock still buried inside him. His own came to life, the longer Caster held his gaze.
His cock dragged along the walls of his slick hole as Caster drew his hips back, and Mark resisted the urge to close his eyes.
Caster smiled and slammed back in, tearing his breath from his chest. Still, Mark wouldn’t give in to the unbearable need to close his eyes and enjoy the moment. Doing so would be a big mistake.
“Yes, it would be. I want to see you.” He pulled out again, almost all the way, and the resounding smack of him pushing back in with unrestrained force joined Mark’s moan echoing through the room. “Let me show you this isn’t a dream.”
The hand around his neck tightened a fraction, and then it was gone, disappearing between them to snake its way to the point of their connection. Caster lifted his upper body off Mark, maintaining eye contact as he maneuvered his hand past Mark’s aching cock to his stretched hole.
A finger circled the entrance. “Can you take more?”
Mark’s nod was automatic as he did his best to bear down on the finger pushing in.
The pressure stole his breath, but he still held his gaze. The fullness grew into a dull ache, one he welcomed, even craved. His body adjusted in a few seconds, but Caster didn’t move.
“Feel that?” Caster’s voice drew him from the sensations ripping his body apart.
He nodded.
“Does it feel like me?”
His whispered yes was lost in a barrage of moans and pleas that matched the rhythm of Caster’s slow thrusts.
They were subdued, none of the urgency of a few minutes before, but their effect would never be different.
He’d never felt this way, not with anyone else, and he hated that he’d wasted so much time fighting it.
“No more fighting.” Caster’s commentary colored his hard, sharp breaths, the speed and intensity of his thrusts growing. “You are mine. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Caster.” His acceptance was complete, his love and trust total.
The pressure eased, and Caster’s lips, the weight of his body on top of his, returned, the quickening of his thrusts a signal he was done talking.
Mark closed his eyes with the first pass of his tongue, its stroke in perfect rhythm with the thrust of his hips.
He let go of all fear, all thought, and cleared a path for Caster’s dominance like he never had before.
Caster’s groan filled his mouth, traveled to his heart, and exploded in a mess of sensation he couldn’t name, but still, he held on tighter, unwilling to let him go.
I’ll never stop, my love.
The intimacy of the telepathic communication increased the intensity of the battle to hold on. He couldn’t break that rule twice. Caster wouldn’t like that. But he was so close, he feared he wouldn’t hold on for much longer.
Don’t hold back. Come for me. Let me feel you.
His permission felt almost as good as the orgasm he could do nothing to stop. He ripped his mouth away from Caster’s unrelenting kiss and allowed himself to drift into the space that called to him every time they were unrestrained in their pursuit of pleasure.
Caster’s body tightened on top of him, their shared breaths a distant roar as he too, allowed their shared love to draw him to that place only their hearts, their love knew.
Tiny gasps of breath drew him back from the depths of his orgasm to find a sated smile on Caster’s lips. They were still connected, and he found he wanted to stay that way for as long as they could.
A determination, a promise of forever colored Caster’s warm smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Mark pulled him back into his arms, and Caster offered little resistance.
He did his best to snuggle into the warmth of Caster’s protection.
For the first time in a long time, the prospect of sleep didn’t terrify him.
As he closed his eyes, careful to maintain his connection to Caster, he reveled in the rest it would bring, knowing Caster would be here when he woke, would be here for eternity.
§
The sounds of morning reached his wolf first, and the animal howled its response, startling him awake. The urgency of sudden wakefulness dissipated into a contented sigh when Caster smiled at him.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
He couldn’t hold back his smile or the joy that was busy mending a heart he’d been certain was broken forever.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t leave this room any time soon.” Caster waved a hand over the space. “This is your room?”
He nodded, unwilling to look away from his handsome face.
“You brought me here?”
“Dean. He knew I couldn’t bear to be away from you, and he wasn’t about to let me out of his sight.”
Caster’s laugh increased the appeal of his face, the pieces of his heart coming together faster. “And Marcus allowed it? I would have loved to see that argument.”
The bright light of his joy dimmed only for a moment at the memory of that day. He’d almost lost him.
Caster’s hand was on his cheek before he could fall further into the despair the memory conjured. “No. Don’t go back there, hmm?”
He nodded, choosing to push that despair further back. “Marcus is so scary.”
Caster’s smile returned, and with it, his joy. “Yes. You have nothing to fear from him, though.”
“He said that his protection was mandatory.”
Caster laughed again, his joy further reassurance that he was here and this wasn’t a dream. “Yes… that does sound like Marcus.”
“Who is he to you?”
“He’s my father’s right hand. Like Kyle is to me and Julian is to Damien.” His tone signaled admiration, even love. “He was also my trainer. You’ll always be safe with him.”
Mark nodded, shifting closer to him. He trusted Caster, and if he, in turn, trusted Marcus, then he would too.
Caster’s arm went around him, and the simple action almost brought tears to his eyes.
He’d promised himself he wouldn’t fall to pieces, not until they’d dealt with the witch.
Until their plan was complete. But she’d almost destroyed his world, again.
The almost imperceptible tightening of Caster’s arm was the only indication that he’d heard that thought.
They couldn’t continue to dance around the main issue.
If they were to be together, they needed to share everything, which meant he needed to face that night, stop running away from the grief the memory carried.
“Baby, you don’t have to.” Caster’s whisper spoke to that tiny part of him that was strong enough to reinforce his determination.
“I think I need to. Not just for me…” His own voice was so small, he was unsure Caster heard him.
“Look at me!”
The take-charge attitude from that command was just what he needed, but when he obeyed, the look on Caster’s face was not what he expected.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I would never use my dominance to make you do something you don’t want to?” He lowered his gaze, but Caster was not about to let him hide. “What do you mean, you need to?”
He met the compassion, not pity, in Caster’s eyes with renewed courage. “When Riley and I came to get you in that place, there was someone there.”
Caster’s eyes widened a fraction. “Pierce. You saw him?” His entire body hardened. “What did he do to you?”
Mark shook his head. “Nothing.” He smiled through the mess of emotions he tried to contain, trying to ease the tension hardening Caster’s expression. “But I thought I recognized him.”
Caster didn’t relax, but his tight hold eased further, creating a bit of space between them. He said nothing, waiting for Mark to find his voice.
Mark wasn’t sure how the demon fit into all this, but that smile, the thin baring of sharpened teeth, had plagued his dreams since that night.
Caster gasped, and he sighed. “That demon smiled, and it was like the smile I keep seeing in my nightmares. The thing that kills Zeke every time I close my eyes.”
“It was him?”
Mark shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s the point.”
“I’m not sure, I follow.”