Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
L iam stared after Kade, wondering what he’d walk into when he got to their room. But it didn’t matter; whatever Kade set up would be perfect.
Kade was a jittery ball of anticipation in his head, his excitement zinging in Liam’s blood, and it just made the ten minutes crawl by even slower.
He stood and closed the chest, placing it off to the side, then cleaned up the circle. That only killed a few minutes. He spent the rest rearranging things on the workbench, telling himself he was tidying up, though the space was already as neat as could be.
After the time had passed, he left the workroom and climbed the stairs. A hint of nerves mixed with the stirring of arousal, making his heart beat a little faster with each step he took until he was standing outside the bedroom. He inhaled, attempting to steady himself, then put his hand on the doorknob and cracked the door open, revealing the room. Moonlight spilled in from the windows, the only light inside.
Kade spun around from where he’d been lining up candles on his dresser. He winced. “I’m not quite ready yet.”
Liam eyed him. “Should I wait another ten minutes?”
“No, I just… I couldn’t find a lighter.”
Kade appeared flustered, and Liam had to chuckle as he stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him. He snapped his fingers, and a dozen candles kindled to life.
“I think you found one.” He grinned at Kade.
Candlelight played over Kade’s features as he closed the distance between them, a hand coming up to cradle Liam’s jaw. “I think I did.”
He brought their lips together, but there was nothing light or gentle about this kiss. It was deep and slow, Kade’s mouth claiming Liam’s, his passion and longing poured into it, leaving Liam dazed by its intensity.
“Can I undress you?” Kade asked, pulling back slightly.
“Yes.” Liam’s entire body buzzed with desire.
Kade stripped Liam’s sweatshirt off and ran his hands over Liam’s chest, the motion causing his tattoos to light up. He traced the curling lines across Liam’s pecs. An orange glow danced under his touch, and he used the swirls as a map to learn Liam’s body, following one over the curve of his shoulder and down his arm.
Every caress made Liam’s breath hitch and sent a pleasant warmth licking over his skin. His tattoos had never responded to anyone else touching him, not how they did with Kade. It was almost like they were an erogenous zone that only reacted to him, to his energy.
Kade dragged a kiss along a whirl, his tongue darting out to follow the twisting pattern, and Liam shivered. He tugged at Kade’s shirt until Kade shrugged it off.
Liam placed a hand over Kade’s heart, watching the tattoos he’d left there flicker as Kade’s strong heartbeat drummed a rhythm under his fingertips.
“If we do this tonight,” he said, his voice hushed, “can I reset the tether between us?”
“You can fix it? Elijah mentioned it might be messed up because of how it was created.”
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to work. I don’t have full access to your energy the way I would if it was a proper tether. Everything I’ve read stressed that tethers must be consensual or they have consequences. I’m not experiencing any of the problems that would have come up if I had forced it on you, but it’s not connecting us completely.”
If they had a true bond, that had to be the reason the tether wasn’t acting how it should.
“Then you should reset it. I want to have that connection with you. Even if I can’t reset the bond, this, at least, can be right.”
“I’ll have control over your energy if I do.”
“I trust you. You can take whatever you want. You’d never use it unless you needed to. So it’s yours, if you’ll have it. Everything I have is yours.”
Liam would take the best care of that gift.
Kade leaned in again, inhaling deeply. “I want to taste you. Last time, I couldn’t.”
“Yes.” Liam had barely gotten the word out before Kade was sinking to his knees, gazing up at Liam as he eased his sweatpants down, exposing his half-hard cock.
“God, you’re beautiful,” Kade said, taking Liam in hand and rolling his foreskin back to lap at his tip. The possessive rumble that ran through him had Liam threading his fingers into Kade’s hair, tangling in the long strands.
Anticipation stole Liam’s breath as Kade’s lips wrapped around him, as he let out a low, pleased growl that vibrated through Liam’s dick and made him gasp.
Kade worked him over like he’d never tasted anything better. In Liam’s mind, Kade was alight with the need to please, to make this good for Liam.
If Kade kept this up, Liam wasn’t certain how much longer he’d be able to stay standing. The heat of his mouth, the suction, those rumbles… Liam’s legs turned to jelly as Kade swallowed him to the root, his lips gliding over sensitive skin, only breaking away to pepper kisses down to Liam’s balls and take them into his mouth, one at a time. He laved and sucked on them until Liam was cursing under his breath, then teased his way up Liam’s shaft with his tongue, savoring every inch before taking him in again.
Everything else faded away under the swirling onslaught of pleasure. Liam’s climax built, coiling tight. He tugged on Kade’s hair.
“If you keep that up…” Liam warned, and Kade pulled off, looking smugly satisfied.
“I said I want to taste you.”
“You don’t want to—” Liam began, but Kade’s grin grew wider and sharper, taking on an untamed, rapacious edge.
“Oh no, I want to, and we will. But I can wait until you’re ready for round two.”
A shiver raced down Liam’s spine. “Okay.” The word came out winded, but he didn’t care how he sounded when Kade’s eyes were locked with his, heady promises smoldering in their depths.
Liam’s world narrowed to Kade’s lips parting, his mouth taking him back in, his cheeks hollowing as he drew him deeper. He groaned at Kade’s redoubled efforts, arching into the pace he set. Waves of hazy bliss threatened to sweep him away. His hands, tangled in those silky strands of hair, served as his only anchor.
Muscles taut, breathing ragged, Liam rode every sensation Kade wrung out of him. His eyelids fluttered shut. A torrent of need pooled in his gut. He gripped Kade’s hair so firmly that it had to be painful, but it only seemed to spur Kade on—each tug of Liam’s fists, each thrust of his hips made Kade hum and moan around him.
The world spun. Heat scorched through him, consuming him whole. And when his climax hit, it reverberated between them—through him, through Kade, and back—better than anything he’d experienced before.
His knees buckled, and he sank to the ground, mind a blur, body trembling, hands still in Kade’s hair. He used them to reel Kade in for a kiss, tasting himself on Kade’s tongue.
Liam laughed breathlessly. “With orgasms like that, I might have actually begged for your knot after one dinner. What’s round two?”
“I want to make love to you.”
No one had ever said that to Liam. There was something so cheesy about it, so stupidly romantic, but for Kade, it worked.
“Okay. Let’s do that. Make love to me.”
Kade hauled him to his unsteady feet. “Shower first? You seem like a shower-first kind of guy.”
Liam nodded, and Kade wrapped him in his arms, kissing him as he walked them into the bathroom where they stripped off their remaining clothes. Kade’s dick was hard and leaking, and Liam swallowed, so tempted, but Kade shook his head like he knew what Liam was thinking.
“Not now. But definitely some other time. Hopefully many other times.”
Liam could guarantee that would be the case.
He basked in the aftermath of his orgasm as Kade’s soapy hands roamed over his body, then gently turned him around to brace against the shower wall.
“Do you usually top or bottom?” His fingers stroked over Liam’s hole as his other hand came up to toy with his nipples.
Liam gave a languid shrug. “Neither. I’ve done both and found them pleasurable, but, well, I’ve never had a real relationship.” He glanced over his shoulder at Kade. “It seemed too intimate to do with someone I had no feelings for, so experimenting aside, I haven’t done it often. But with you, I want to. I want that closeness.”
“Either way?” Kade looked thrilled at the possibilities that presented.
“Either way. If you want that.”
“Absolutely. But tonight, I need to be in you.”
Liam’s stomach clenched at those words, at the pure desire that shimmered through their bond. He needed that too. “Yes.”
Kade pressed closer, kissing along Liam’s neck and shoulder, then slipped out of the shower to grab lube from a cabinet. When he returned, he slicked his fingers and skated them down Liam’s crack to his hole, circling it before pressing one in. Liam relaxed into it.
He let Kade stretch him open under the hot water, his body loose from his orgasm. Kade took his time, in no rush, even though Liam sensed the fiery pulse of arousal that burned inside him. But Liam also understood his intentions. He wanted to fuck Liam senseless, but he also needed this to be different, for them to do it right. For neither of them to have doubts. To explore each other’s bodies, to savor the moment. For it to be good, not just because the spirit was making them crave it, making them think it was good. He wanted Liam so achingly ready for him, so sure about choosing him, choosing their future together.
Liam’s body hummed with satisfaction, with the comfort that blanketed him whenever he was with Kade.
He teased and touched until Liam was hardening again. His hands scrabbled to find purchase on the slick tile, and he squirmed, breathless with the slow build, needing more than Kade’s fingers.
Reaching down, he stroked himself, and Kade shuddered against him, letting out a shaky exhale. “God, that’s good. But if you want me in you anytime soon, I’m going to need you to not do that. It’s too much with everything else.”
Liam gave himself one last stroke, and Kade’s hips flexed, his dick bumping against Liam.
“It’s so strange,” Kade said. “Not exactly like you’re stroking me, but I still get stimulation from it.”
Liam knew what he meant. He wrapped a hand around the base of his cock and squeezed where the demanding throb of Kade’s knot was in his mind. Kade’s hand on his hip gripped tighter as he choked back a moan.
“ Fuck . One of these days, I want you to do that. Tie me up and jerk yourself off, keeping a hand right there until I’m knotting. Until you make me come untouched.”
A vivid image of that flashed behind Liam’s eyes. Kade stretched out on their bed, Liam straddling him, getting himself off as Kade watched, as Kade writhed, coming from Liam’s pleasure alone. He never would have imagined that would appeal to him, but with Kade, god, he wanted it. He wanted so many things he never had with another person.
Kade hadn’t been wrong when he’d wondered if Liam’s brain ever shut off. It rarely did, even when he was with someone like this. But he could get lost in Kade until there was not a thought in his head except how perfectly they fit together. How their connection resonated on a near primal level.
Kade reached over and turned off the water, then toweled him dry. He led him into the bedroom, where the soft flicker of candlelight illuminated the space.
“Where did you get these?” Liam asked, gesturing to the mishmash of candles scattered throughout the room—decorative votive holders, tea lights, pillars, and more.
“I… may have run around the house, frantically searching for every candle I could find.”
“No dick-shaped ones?”
“I know it’s not as romantic without them, but I promise, after this, you’ll always have the most realistic dick candles I can buy you. Only the best for you. Dozens of girthy, veiny—”
Liam cut him off with a kiss.
He marveled at this ridiculous, sweet, beautiful man. He had a feeling everybody’s first impression of Kade was incorrect. That all they saw was the carefree fuckboy. But there was so much more to him. He was so much deeper than that.
They settled onto the bed, Liam pulling Kade on top of him, the hard length of him pressing into his hip.
“I’d bet every single book I own that you have lube in your drawer.”
“Would you expect anything else?”
No, Liam would not.
Kade reached across the bed and retrieved another bottle of lube. Liam took it, snapping open the lid, slicking his fingers, and stroking them over Kade’s dick. He rolled his foreskin over the head, teasing the edge with his thumb, then eased it back.
Kade grabbed his wrist and tugged his hand away. “I’m not going to last if you do that.”
“Then we should get to this whole lovemaking thing.”
Kade’s hand glided over Liam’s, stripping off some of the extra lube, then he held it out for Liam to coat his fingers with more.
Liam spread his legs wider, giving Kade all the access he could want, and Kade slipped two fingers inside him, stroking over his prostate and making them both shudder, before he lined himself up.
“You good?” he asked.
“More than good.”
Slowly, he pushed inside, and Liam gasped, partially at Kade’s thick length filling him, but also at the sensations he was getting from Kade, at the hot clench engulfing his cock a fraction of an inch at a time as Kade slid into him, finding a home in him.
The way Kade had described it was right. While it wasn’t quite like being inside someone himself, it wasn’t entirely different either. It was an echo of that—the euphoria of that sweet embrace. It had him moaning and arching from that one thrust alone, until Kade was fully inside him, leaning over and bringing their mouths together in a heated kiss, both of them panting before Kade had truly started to move.
“God, you feel amazing,” Kade whispered against his lips. “I’ve never felt anything half as good as this.”
Pleasure danced through their bond. Liam sensed Kade’s wolf; its raw, wild contentment at finally being inside their mate, finally being where they were supposed to be. Kade’s knot throbbed beneath the surface, and Liam groaned at how much he wanted that, how much he needed that. It had been too long since they’d done this, and they’d never done it properly—with clear minds and the knowledge that they were in control of their own actions and choices, without hesitation or doubt.
Kade withdrew as deliberately as he’d pushed in, carefully, like Liam was the most precious thing in the world and he didn’t want to hurt him. Then he thrust forward again, the slow drag of their bodies maddeningly divine. Neither of them would last; it was too new, too intense, too overwhelming in all the best ways.
Nothing would ever compare to this, to them moving together, entwined.
Kade gradually picked up his pace, setting a rhythm that thrummed with the demands of their bond, with the desire to be connected in every way imaginable.
“Can I knot you?” His voice was rough, and he studied Liam’s face, his eyes yearning and hopeful. But he didn’t just want that. He wanted more. He needed to do this right. His wolf needed it. To bite Liam, to reclaim him. To have that reassurance that Liam was theirs, wanted to be theirs, wanted them in return.
The force of those instincts inundated their bond, leaving Liam trembling.
“ Yes .” That one word was a tender whisper laced with unwavering conviction. He brought his hand up to press against Kade’s chest, anchoring it over his heart, and he tilted his head, offering his neck.
Kade’s mouth found the mark he’d left over a month ago, his teeth sharper than any human’s as he scraped them over it, making Liam buck against him.
The moment Kade bit down, breaking skin, magic streamed out of Liam, through his hand, and into Kade, realigning the tether, opening it up further, as it always should have been. It twisted around the bond, washing away the influence of the spirit, fixing their connection, no longer tainted by the lack of choice. Somehow it unfurled even more. Kade wasn’t a mere presence in his head now, but a part of him, seamlessly a part of him, breathing with him, his heart beating with him, their sensations and emotions flooding through them.
Liam let out a laugh filled with stunned, airy delight at the difference, at how perfect this was, at how everything he’d felt before seemed a pale imitation.
Kade looked at him in wonder. “How did you…?”
Liam shook his head. “Team effort.”
The relief on Kade’s face was blinding. He surged forward, capturing Liam’s lips in another kiss, and Liam clung to him, gathering him as close as possible. So close, Kade could only grind into him—anything more than that was too much distance.
Liam’s breath caught as Kade’s knot expanded inside him, stretching him full, tying them together, pressing against his prostate. The ecstasy was so intense it had him arching up into Kade, his cock trapped between their bodies. It built to the point where Liam couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but cling to Kade.
“You’re everything I’ve ever waited for, everything I’ve ever wanted,” Kade said. “Everything I’ve hoped for, dreamed of, dared to believe in.”
Liam held him tighter. “This wasn’t how I imagined my life going, but I’m glad I ended up here. With you.”
Kade trailed kisses over the bite mark, and Liam moaned. When Kade bit down again, Liam’s orgasm hit. He spilled between them, clenching on Kade’s knot.
His climax dragged Kade along with him, growling against his shoulder as he released inside him, that euphoric crescendo whiting out Liam’s vision.
They stayed like that, panting and shaking, floating in rapture, until Kade had the presence of mind to flip them over, settling Liam on his chest, his knot pulling at Liam’s rim as he did.
Liam relaxed against him.
“You still good?” Kade asked, running a hand down his back.
Liam sighed in contentment, not sure he had words for how good he was.
“I think you should know,” Kade said solemnly, “if you say you’re fine after that, I’ll never recover from the emotional damage.”
Laughter shook through Liam’s body. “I’m so much better than fine. Better than I’ve ever been.”
“Did I manage to shut your brain off?”
“It may never work again.”
“Mission accomplished. But if it ever gets too noisy in there and you need it turned off, you know where to find me.”
Liam would certainly be doing that. He nuzzled Kade’s shoulder, and Kade angled his head to the side. The urge to sink his teeth into Kade swept through Liam, so strong and undeniable that it left him quivering with the instinct to claim. He had no idea how much of that was him and how much was coming from Kade, but it didn’t matter—they both wanted it.
“ Please . God, yes,” Kade said.
Liam kissed along the juncture of his neck, sucking at it for a few seconds, but Kade’s need was too profound, too bright. He couldn’t deny it. He latched on to Kade’s shoulder with his teeth until he broke skin. The iron tang of blood hit his tongue as Kade arched up, crying out, his cock pulsing inside him, releasing another couple of spurts that had Liam’s dick twitching in sympathy.
This . This was perfection. He smiled against Kade’s skin, his mind warm and fuzzy with ecstasy as they lay there, wrapped up in each other, until Kade’s knot deflated enough to slip out of him, his come leaking out of Liam’s ass.
Liam rolled onto his side, his fingers tracing the glittering tattoos that spiraled out from Kade’s heart, glowing in the dim room. His gaze roved down Kade’s body to where his come decorated his abs, then to his spent cock, messy with his release. Kade preened under the attention.
A thought struck Liam.
“Uh.” He couldn’t tear his eyes away. “Can I request something?”
“Anything.”
“Could you maybe…” Liam winced. “Change your MateHub profile picture?”
“Ooh.” Kade grabbed his phone off the bedside table. “Can I use your dick instead?”
“No.” Liam attempted to sound stern, but knew his amusement was bleeding through.
“Both of our dicks together?”
“How would that not be twice as bad?”
Kade pouted at him. “Alright, but I need you to do me a favor. Channel my energy?”
Liam narrowed his eyes, but did as Kade asked. The tattoos on his chest lit up even brighter. Kade sucked in a breath, his body writhing, his toes curling against the mattress, but he steadied himself and ran his fingers through the mess on his stomach. He smeared it over his heart, then snapped a picture.
He angled his phone to show Liam. The tattoos illuminated Kade’s skin, now adorned with streaks of Liam’s come. A possessive heat shot through Liam, and he suddenly understood the growls Kade gave off.
Kade grinned. “I believe that was a yes.”
Liam nodded and swallowed hard, and Kade cleaned his hand before uploading the photo to his MateHub profile, setting it as his user picture—no longer his cock, but instead Liam’s tattoos, Liam’s come, clearly marking him as owned for anyone on the forums to see.
Kade’s phone buzzed a minute later, and he snorted, then showed Liam a message.
MagicalHWood:
Just got a notification that you uploaded a picture. Nice. Tell him well done.
Two seconds after that, Liam’s phone vibrated with a notification from the group chat.
Aran
Is there something you'd like to share with the group, Liam?
Liam’s cheeks burned.
Liam
Why are you even awake?
It's like…
He glanced at the clock.
Liam
6AM.
Okay, that wasn’t particularly early for Aran.
Miles
Why is Aran cackling like a madman? He woke me up.
What's this about Liam having something to tell us?
Liam
Um, about that…
Kade and I had a talk.
Aran
Some talk that must have been.
Liam
It started out as a talk!
Aran
Didn't end that way.
Miles
What's going on?
Liam
So…
The thing is…
Kade and I decided we're staying together.
Elijah
Let me take a moment to say… I TOLD YOU SO.
Also, congrats!
Miles
That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!
Aran
Same, but I'm going to miss Kade's previous user pic.
Miles
What does that have to do with anything?
Aran, stop typing. We're in the same room. Just tell me.
Aran
Kade uploaded a new picture to the MateHub forums, and it left little to the imagination. Never would have believed our dear Li-mom would be involved in that kind of debauchery.
Miles
Oh. I didn't need to know that.
Liam
It's not what he's implying!
Aran
Shall I show the group?
Miles and Elijah replied with quick “No’s,” though Liam’s beat them both.
Kade was reading the messages over his shoulder and chuckled. “I don’t know. It’s pretty hot. How about we make it our holiday card this year?”
Liam groaned. “We are not doing that.”
His phone buzzed again.
Elijah
So I take it I won't be seeing you today?
Kade took the phone from Liam and typed out a message.
Liam
This is Kade. You're not going to be seeing him for multiple days. If anything urgent comes up, we'll be in our room.
Aran
Have fun! I can't wait to see Liam after the stick has been thoroughly removed from his ass. And replaced by something else.
Repeatedly.
Liam snatched the phone back.
Elijah
Not to sound like Aran here, but seriously, enjoy yourselves.
We don't need you over the next couple days.
Miles
Yeah, we've got this covered.
But please don't tell me the details.
Liam didn’t know how to respond, but Kade plucked the phone out of his hand again.
Liam
Thanks, guys. We will.
He hit send, shut off the screen, then set it aside before rolling Liam over.
“So. Any suggestions on where to start ‘having fun?’”
Liam had more than could be considered decent, but then, being bonded to Kade would never go well with being decent, would it?
When hunger compelled them to go downstairs for breakfast—or, honestly, a very late lunch—they found Victor and Elijah sitting in the living room.
Elijah smirked at him, and Victor gave Kade a once-over, his expression flat. “Kade, you’re a terrible second-in-command. When this is over, I’m demoting your ass.”
“Understandable, Alpha,” Kade said, tucking Liam against his side. Their bond sparkled with happiness.
A smile cracked through Victor’s unimpressed glower. “Congrats. I’m glad you guys figured it out.”
When they returned to the room, Liam checked out his tattoos in the bathroom mirror. The amount of skin they covered was closer to Elijah’s. Not quite as much, but not that far off either.
Without touching Kade, he had full access to his energy, and when he grabbed one of Kade’s travel books off the shelf and set a protection spell on it, it was even more exquisite. This stunningly balanced magic rivaled everything that had ever been created, an elegantly entwined beauty that spoke of the elemental nature of their connection.
He didn’t have long to marvel at it though; Kade was already pulling him back to bed, the low rumble of his wolf informing Liam that the hour they’d been downstairs had been too much time apart.
It took them days to untangle themselves, and Liam got enough teasing from his friends to last him a lifetime, both in the group chat and in person when they eventually emerged from Kade’s room.
But as the moon waned and the day they’d planned to meet Pierce neared, their little cocoon of pleasure burst. They couldn’t ignore the outside world anymore.
As much as Liam enjoyed getting lost in Kade, there were things they still had to do. They just had to hope that Pierce showed up, that he wasn’t too affected by the spirit to help them, that they weren’t walking into a trap. And no matter how good it felt to lie in Kade’s arms, it was impossible for Liam not to worry about what was about to happen.