Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
K ade’s paws devoured the ground as he ran through the trees. It was a joy to be out there again, with his pack, running as they were meant to run. But he failed to shake his debilitating need to return to the pack house, to his room, to Liam. To where he was supposed to be.
Victor hadn’t lasted long. He’d given them permission to be in the forest provided they weren’t alone, but he’d seemed distracted, and soon he was circling back, no doubt heading straight for Elijah. He’d be thoroughly occupied until morning.
Kade wished he could do the same—spend the rest of the night as lost in Liam as Victor would be lost in Elijah—though even if he returned to his room, that wouldn’t happen.
So he stayed out with the pack until that urge was so great there was no denying it. Liam was a restless presence in his mind, one he couldn’t ignore. Some of that was the echo of his own emotions; some of it was entirely Liam. It was difficult to separate what came from whom, and he wasn’t sure it mattered when the end result was both of them agitated and horny. He ached to reaffirm their bond, to give himself up in any way Liam would have him.
As the night wore on, the little self-restraint he had evaporated, and without making a conscious decision, he was prowling toward the pack house. The knowledge that Liam was there consumed his thoughts.
He drew closer, every inch of his body alive with need as the house came into view. He slunk past the bonfire, incapable of dealing with his pack members. They saw him as he shifted and slipped on his clothes, but didn’t comment. He didn’t want to dress, not when his skin felt tight and raw from the excess energy inside him. But he was human enough to realize the worst thing he could do would be to leave his clothes where they lay, stalk through the house naked, and enter his room. To see Liam’s reaction and let him decide what happened next. Neither of them had the self-control to withstand that.
Over the last few days, something had shifted between them. Liam felt more open to him somehow, his emotions clearer through the bond, and Kade had no intention of pushing that further than Liam was comfortable with. Gently nudging, maybe, but he’d waited this long; he could give Liam as much time as necessary.
Or at least, that was what he told himself. It was easier to remember that when the moon wasn’t singing to him, when his wolf wasn’t demanding they prove to Liam how good they’d make this for him. When climbing the stairs didn’t feel like he was closing in on his prey. When he couldn’t smell how turned-on Liam was as he opened the door to find him pacing their room, his eyes wild as he took Kade in.
“How do you deal with this?” The breathiness in his voice was asking Kade for things he wasn’t certain Liam truly wanted.
“It’s usually not this bad.” Kade heard the rumble in his own words, the panting desire to be near Liam. This was so much worse than the last full moon. He could smell their scents mixed now. They’d be so perfect together, if only Liam wanted it.
Kade didn’t dare get closer. He had his limits, and being too close to Liam was far past them. But he couldn’t leave either.
Liam sat on the floor, his back against the bed, and looked at Kade. “Okay, let’s do this again. East or west?”
“East.” Kade leaned against the dresser, but itched to pace.
“Come here. Sit by me.”
Kade followed the request, though his instincts urged him to move, to shift, to run, to pin Liam down and fuck him. Reclaim him. Do it right this time.
But that wasn’t allowed. Not tonight.
“Where first?” Liam asked.
God, he smelled like everything Kade had ever wanted. Kade inhaled, filling his lungs with Liam’s scent, with their scent. How would he smell as they moved together, as sweat slicked their skin, as he clung to Kade, Kade’s knot stretching him open? How would he taste on Kade’s tongue, in Kade’s mouth?
Liam shifted his weight, tilting his head from side to side. “Kade. Can you concentrate? Where first?”
“Boston,” he managed to get out. “You can show me the library.”
He’d never been there, but he knew it was huge. It probably had all kinds of hidden corners they could sneak off to. Liam could clutch the edge of a shelf, biting his lip, trying desperately not to make a sound as Kade thrust into him. Could he knot Liam in the library without someone discovering them? It’d be fun to find out. Or, Liam had an office, right? He could bend Kade over his desk and fuck him. Or Kade could suck him off as he sat in his chair.
“ Kade. ” His name was transformed into a whine by the need burning in Liam.
“Your turn,” Kade said in a low growl. “What do you want?”
Liam shivered but steeled himself. “Newgrange, Ireland. There’s a Neolithic passage tomb, and mages in the nearby town practice astronomical magic.”
Ireland. He could work with that. They’d find some lush green field somewhere, and he’d fuck Liam senseless in it. Yeah, they should do that.
“Next?” Liam prompted, breathless.
“The Sierra Morena in Spain. There are wolf shifter packs there.” Maybe Liam would let Kade hunt him down in one of the pine forests, let him stalk him through the trees until the moment was right to catch him.
They continued through another dozen countries, but Kade couldn’t focus on the conversation, couldn’t focus on anything besides what he might do to Liam in each of those locations.
On this trip, they wouldn’t be seeing the sights. It’d be night after night of the dirtiest fucking he’d ever done in his life. They’d take the occasional break for food, but beyond that, it’d be marathon sex. How many countries could they fuck in on one around-the-world trip? Was there a Guinness World Record for most countries fucked in? They’d aim for that.
Liam groaned, his head falling back to rest against the mattress, his neck exposed, and Kade’s canines ached with the desire to bite, to mark, to reclaim.
“God, you’re insatiable. I think I’ve leaked more precome than I knew I could produce.” Liam clamped his mouth shut, wincing, then said, “Sorry. That was too much information. In my defense, I’ve been around you and Aran a lot recently.”
It wasn’t remotely too much. Kade could smell Liam’s lust, could see the bulge in his sweatpants.
“You should take care of that.”
Liam’s gaze trailed down Kade’s body and landed on the tent in his pants. “I’m trying to be responsible here, Kade, but I have a breaking point, and like I said last time, I’m not a saint.”
“And I said don’t be one.”
“Which side of you is in control?”
Kade looked him dead in the eye. “Human.” By a thread. “If my wolf side had been in control, that suggestion would have been growled in your ear.”
“You’ll regret it in the morning.”
“Let me decide that.”
“Won’t it deepen the bond?” Liam’s resolve was only marginally stronger than Kade’s nonexistent self-control.
Their bond was already deep. It would already hurt to lose, and Kade wanted this. Wanted to do something with Liam, anything with Liam, even if it was just once. The consequences of his actions be damned.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t count if we don’t touch.”
Liam didn’t look or feel like he believed him, but he said, “I’ll take your word for it. I’ll do it if you do it.”
It was impossible for Kade to deny that.
He palmed himself through his jeans, groaning when he gave himself a squeeze. Liam’s eyes stayed fixed on him as he rubbed his palm along his length, his precome darkening a patch of denim.
Kade couldn’t breathe as he unbuttoned his jeans. He saw it when the realization hit Liam, sensed the flash of arousal through their bond.
“You’re wearing those?” Liam asked, wetting his lips, and Kade pushed his jeans lower to expose the crimson silk.
“Yeah. Can’t say I’m a fan of the lacy pairs, but the silk feels amazing.” His regular underwear had been returned the day after they’d disappeared, but Kade mostly wore the ones Liam had bought for him. Prank or not, he liked wearing something Liam had given him.
He pushed the silk aside, the fabric gliding over sensitive skin as he pulled himself out. Liam’s attention didn’t stray from his hand.
“You too.” Kade’s voice jolted Liam out of the stupor he was in. He shoved his sweatpants down and his underwear with them.
Fuck, his dick was gorgeous. When they’d been together in the clearing, Kade hadn’t had the time to properly appreciate the sight. There were so many things Kade longed to do to him. To touch and taste and feel him. To have the weight of that cock in his hand as he moved inside Liam. To have it pressing into him as Liam’s body draped over his.
But he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until Liam was ready.
“Channel my energy,” Kade said, and Liam’s eyes snapped to his. “You like how it makes you feel, don’t you? Use it.”
For a moment, he thought Liam would turn him down, but then Liam was opening to him, to the energy that rushed to fill him. Liam’s eyelids fluttered shut, his dick leaking more precome. The tattoos on Kade’s chest warmed, and he saw a few swirls peeking out from the collar of Liam’s shirt and on his exposed wrists, an orange glow against his brown skin.
“Good.” Kade was intoxicated by the heady scent of him, the beautiful sight of him. “Now stroke yourself.”
Liam didn’t open his eyes, just wrapped his long fingers around his cock, his pleasure flooding Kade as he worked himself over, making Kade’s hand move as well. Ecstasy ricocheted between them. If he couldn’t have Liam’s hand on him, this was the next best thing.
“Show me what you like.” The commanded seemed to remind Liam that he wanted to watch Kade. His gaze swept over Kade’s body, landing on his hand.
He rolled his foreskin back, and Kade copied the motion, only for Liam to pause.
“Do you want my magic?” The question was rough and needy.
“Fuck, yes.” Kade had scarcely gotten the words out before the connection between them equalized, Liam feeding his magic to Kade as he channeled Kade’s energy. Liam’s magic filled him, stretching him full, and Kade groaned. “Keep going.”
Liam didn’t require any more encouragement. Kade matched his movements, the slow drag and pull he was using.
When Liam noticed what he was doing, he slowed further, squeezing the base of his dick. Kade moaned as he did the same to himself, his knot hot and throbbing under his skin, begging to get back into Liam. It had been too long. He should never have to go over a month without touching Liam, without being inside him.
Liam continued to jerk himself off, but more and more, he focused on the lower part of his shaft, feeling the thrill that brought Kade. He sensed how Kade needed to be touched there, needed Liam clenching around him. Liam gripped himself tighter, and Kade did the same, his knot expanding.
Liam’s eyes latched on to the now-visible swell. “You’re knotting? That’s… Is that possible? When you’re not in someone?”
Kade wrapped his fist around his knot, making Liam’s hips stutter forward from the shared sensation.
“It’s rare,” he confessed. “You have to be extremely aroused, but it happens.”
With Liam, it’d be a frequent occurrence. If they ever got to the point where they could tease each other, edge each other for hours until Kade’s knot was so swollen, he’d barely be able to get it in Liam.
He’d always hoped for a mate he was so attracted to, so connected to, that they’d make him start to knot before he was inside them. He’d assumed it would happen whenever he found his mage; he just hadn’t expected it would be like this.
“Can I…” Liam cut himself off and wet his lips again, but Kade knew what he’d been going to ask.
He leaned in and inhaled, his nose buried in Liam’s neck. “ Yes .”
Liam shivered and released his own cock, reaching over hesitantly like he was giving Kade a chance to pull away, to change his mind. There was no way in hell Kade would do that.
He moved his hand up his length as Liam’s tentatively skated over the swell of his knot. His fingers were gentle as they brushed against Kade and encircled him. Kade didn’t bother stifling his moan.
“Tighter,” he said, more a plea than a command.
Liam obliged, and Kade’s knot swelled, throbbing in Liam’s hand as Kade jerked himself off, his fist bumping against Liam’s with every stroke, Liam’s magic tingling against his skin.
Fuck, this was good, with Liam right there, his scent surrounding Kade. Liam’s grip was snug, and he grabbed himself with his left hand, the motion awkward, but he kept rhythm with Kade. His breath hitched, his eyes locked on Kade.
It didn’t take much for them to come. Liam’s hand stayed wrapped around him as they did. Kade’s orgasm hit in pulse after pulse, making a mess of his jeans and their hands. It wasn’t the hot, tight clench Kade wanted, but it was enough. It was still better than every single one of his hookups combined.
They slumped against the bed, half leaning against each other, panting, but Liam didn’t remove his hand, and Kade was infinitely relieved. He couldn’t imagine having a full knot without some kind of pressure on it.
It’d be so easy to lean over, to kiss Liam, but that seemed like asking for something more intimate than Liam’s touch.
Slowly, he deflated, and Liam appeared almost regretful as he removed his hand and released Kade’s energy.
He cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, it’s fine. It was good.” Really good.
Awkwardness fell between them, and they sat in silence until Liam spoke.
“I’m going to shower and rinse some of this out.” He gestured to the spatters of come that now decorated his shirt.
He stood and walked to the bathroom. Kade followed. Liam turned to him in question, and Kade blinked, realizing what he was doing. He couldn’t stand to be separated by even a door. It was pathetic, but he couldn’t deny the instinct.
Liam shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked.”
He pulled off his sweatshirt, and Kade’s breath was stolen by his tattoos. They were glowing softly—shimmering swoops and fiery spirals that graced his skin.
“Your tattoos.” Kade had caught glimpses of them, but he hadn’t seen their full extent, how they’d spread over so much of his chest.
“Actually.” Liam looked sheepish. “Can I see yours?”
Kade snorted. “Didn’t we just do that?”
“You know what I mean.” Liam rolled his eyes.
Kade shucked his shirt and checked himself out in the mirror. The swirling patterns of Liam’s tattoos started at his heart and curled over his chest and left shoulder, an ember orange visible from the strength of the moon.
Liam reached out like he couldn’t stop himself. His fingers traced along the tattoos, making them light up brighter. Warmth ran through the lines. Kade had felt them before. Anytime Liam used his energy, they heated. It didn’t compare to Liam’s fingers tracing them—another thing he might never get more of.
Liam shook himself and pulled away. “Sorry. It’s so weird to see my tattoos on someone else.”
He washed his hands in the sink before rinsing out his shirt, then stepped back so Kade could do the same. He slipped into the shower, leaving the curtain slightly open in a clear invitation for Kade to follow.
There was enough room that they could shower without touching, but Kade wanted nothing more than to pull Liam against him under the warm spray, to soap Liam up and get him clean for the sole purpose of dirtying him again, scenting him all over, marking him until everyone would know who Liam belonged to. Who Kade belonged to.
But he kept his hands to himself as they showered and toweled themselves dry.
They climbed into bed. Kade’s wolf was more settled, happy they’d gotten their mate off, but something was missing. It wasn’t the lack of sex; it was deeper than that.
Unable to suppress the urge, he gathered Liam into his arms. Liam froze for a second, then melted into him as Kade tucked him against his chest.
His wolf rumbled a deep, contented sound, and Kade inhaled Liam’s scent, his nose pressed to the nape of his neck.
This. This was what he needed. Liam boneless against him, smelling of pleasure—a little slice of perfection.
In his mind, Liam felt sleepy and satisfied. He was still unsure about the idea of them together, but he was getting closer. Kade was certain if he gave him time, he’d realize how right they were for each other, how he didn’t want to sever their bond any more than Kade did.