4. Shane
CHAPTER 4
SHANE
I cleared away the takeout containers while Ellis peered out my back window at Ms. Jackson, who was lying in the hammock again. They’d had a big day today, with their first car ride to Houston. Ellis had had the brilliant idea to have them transform into a large stuffed tiger, which allowed them to sit up and look out the window the entire journey without anyone calling the police. It’d been fun to see little kids waving at them.
When we’d arrived at my house, they’d wasted no time in heading for the back yard. After a cursory inspection of the tiny patio, the dozens of potted plants I’d rescued from the dumpster at work, and the shrubbery lining the privacy fence, they’d made a beeline for the hammock, which was in the shade of my live oak tree.
After a couple of hilarious false starts, Ms. Jackson managed to successfully climb into the hammock and lie down. I was glad I’d bought the stand to go with it, because Ms. Jackson’s weight as a tiger could’ve damaged any trees I might’ve tied it to.
“I guess I’ll have to wait my turn,” Ellis had said, his eyes twinkling at me. I’d forgotten he’d told me how much he loved hammocks.
I’d chuckled. “I’m sorry it didn’t occur to me to buy two.” As if I’d had the budget to do so.
He’d waved this away. “Ms. Jackson will have to get up sometime.”
Then we’d gotten a couple of beers out of my fridge and sat on my patio, enjoying the humid but for once not too hot evening air while watching a tiger swing gently in the breeze. I’d ordered Indian food for dinner, and I’d swear Ms. Jackson had pouted as they’d dragged themself inside to eat. As soon as they’d gulped down their vegetable korma, they’d promptly gone back outside to the hammock.
I dropped the takeout containers in the trash, and Ellis followed me into the kitchen with the plates and cutlery. “I kinda thought Ms. Jackson wanted to spend time with us so they could impart some wisdom about the vampires or something. I didn’t expect them to just sleep.”
I pursed my lips as I glanced out the window. “If I’d spent decades trapped in one room with only piles of dusty books for company, I’d want to spend as much time outside as I could too.”
“Good point. But if they’re still out there this time tomorrow, I might have to flip the hammock over and dump them out so they’ll talk to us."
I eyed him dubiously. “ Hmmm . They look pretty heavy in their tiger form.”
He flexed a bicep. “I’m motivated.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You want another beer?” We’d already had three apiece, but they’d been spread out over a couple of hours, so we’d be fine. We were both staying here tonight anyway.
“Please.” He loaded the dishwasher, and I got two more bottles of Dos Equis out of the fridge. I usually drank whatever was cheapest, but since Ellis was visiting, I’d splurged a little. He was probably used to more expensive craft beers, but he hadn’t complained so far.
I took the beers into the living room and sat on one end of the sofa. Ellis washed his hands, then he came and sat down next to me on the middle cushion. Which was a lot closer than I’d expected him to sit. When we were near enough to each other like this, our magic reached out, humming a little as it intermingled. If DMs could bond with other DMs, I’d say we were resonating.
But I didn’t say anything as I handed him his beer. He thanked me, then took a long sip. His throat was so sexy when he tilted his head back and swallowed. I wanted to lick it. I wanted to see it bulging with the head of my dick.
I looked down at my beer. “Um, it was cool how we were able to connect with Ruben and Karla today. Do you want to connect with some of my Wonders while you’re here?” I could think of a few who regularly traveled to Dallas and would feel safer having a connection to the DM there.
Ellis made a face. “How many Wonders do you have? Because I’ve got almost a hundred, and tracking down even half of them to connect with you will take forever.”
“Crap. Same here.” I picked at the label on my bottle. Ellis’ magic flared a little, and it felt nice brushing against mine. I looked up. Was his face closer than it’d been a moment ago? I shifted in my seat. “Um, what if, like, you and I connected? Wouldn’t we automatically get connected to each other’s Wonders in one go? ”
Ellis stilled. Then he smiled, his cheeks pooching up under the rim of his glasses. “I’d love to be connected to you.”
My face went hot. “Um, same.” I’d guard a connection to Ellis with my life, even after I was bonded to someone else. Some future mate I hadn’t met yet didn’t mean as much to me as Ellis did. But at least when I was eventually bonded, my magic would be stronger. Every so often—not too often of course—I could check my connection with Ellis and see where he was and what emotions he was feeling. I’d just have to be careful not to let my own feelings about how much I missed Ellis bleed through to him.
Or to my mate.
He plucked the beer from my hand and reached around me to set it, along with his own, on the side table next to the sofa. I inhaled as silently as I could, because who knew when I’d get this close to him again? He smelled of some spicy cologne or body wash. I couldn’t identify the scent completely, but it had sandalwood undertones. His hair was soft when it briefly brushed against my jaw.
All too soon he straightened. With a shy smile, he held out his hand, palm up. I smiled back, glad to have an excuse to touch him. I put my hand in his. He was warm, and his hand was firm and sure in mine. Our magic buzzed together, giving the impression it’d been waiting for this all day.
Ellis looked down at our joined hands. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble connecting.”
I chuckled. “Nope.” I closed my eyes and focused on visualizing my magic where it spun in a big sparkling wheel inside me. I was startled to also be able to see Ellis’ wheel, spinning next to mine. All of our connections to our Wonders stretched outward. As I watched, the wheels adjusted their speed to turn in tandem .
I urged my magic to extend a tendril out toward Ellis’, pushing my intent to connect with him along with it. I wanted to be connected to Ellis. Hell, I wanted to be as close to Ellis as I could get.
To my surprise, both of our wheels extended multiple shoots outward, twining around each other and pulling the wheels together into one giant sparkling, spinning mass.
I sucked in a breath and opened my eyes. I was... in Ellis’ lap. Straddling his lap. His dick was thick and hard beneath my ass cheek. Mine was grinding into his belly. Our arms were wrapped around each other, and our faces were mere inches apart.
“Oh,” I breathed. “I, um, is this okay?” I couldn’t stop a tiny thrust. Fuck. My eyes almost rolled back in my head. But what was weird was I could vividly imagine what it had felt like from Ellis’ perspective, how most of his dick was constricted by his shorts but the head had managed to peek out of the leg opening. My jeans-covered ass was giving it the most delicious friction.
Ellis’ eyes blazed, the rich brown brightening to a molten copper. I could smell the many individual scents that made up his body wash or whatever it was. I could also smell his precum, which was soaking into the fabric of my jeans.
He dropped his gaze to my lips, then back to my eyes. Accepting the invitation, I leaned in and touched my mouth to his. Ellis made a strangled sound, and his hands slid down my back to my ass. He opened his mouth, and I welcomed the sensual slide of his tongue on mine. When he pulled me against him, I arched my spine to keep the kiss going while we were plastered together from groin to chest.
Ellis speared his hand down the back of my jeans. I cried out when his fingers found my hole, and I dropped my mouth to the side of his neck. His scent was stronger here, and I mouthed his skin. He licked a stripe across my neck behind my ear. Fuck, why was that so sexy?
“Clothes. Off,” he muttered. “I want you naked.”
“Yes, fuck.” I could’ve come like this, dry humping fully dressed. But Ellis was right. Naked skin would be so much better.
Neither of us made a move to separate. My fingers wouldn’t let go of the fabric of Ellis’ shirt, and his fingers were still massaging my crack.
“On three?” I suggested in between panting breaths.
He nodded, the arm of his glasses scraping through my hair. “On three.”
“One,” I gasped out, unable to stop myself from adding a thrust.
Ellis grunted, then he whispered, “Two.” He caught my lips in his and slowly slid his hands out of my pants. But he kept pushing down on my back so our dicks didn’t lose contact.
“Fuck. Um, three.” I groaned as I pushed away from him, dropping my feet to the floor and standing on wavering legs. I kept one hand on his arm as I moved back, then I caught his fingers in mine. I wasn’t ready to be separated from him.
He stood, adjusting himself and breathing heavily. His eyes were brighter than I’d ever seen them. I wondered if mine were the same. I could see every tiny glistening bead of sweat on Ellis’ skin. Greg had mentioned going into what we called “combat mode”, a state of hyperfocus and enhanced senses usually reserved for fighting, when he’d first been with Cal. Maybe the same thing was happening to us .
A thrill went through me. We’d speculated that going into combat mode when you were aroused happened when you were with your mate. Could Ellis be my mate, even if he was a DM? Was he the one I’d been waiting for?
I smiled. “Come on.” I gave him a quick kiss before leading him by the hand to my bedroom. The bed itself was ancient, but at least it was a king size. My grandfather had been a large man. He’d passed when I was a toddler, and when I hit puberty Granny had switched bedrooms with me, saying I needed the en suite bathroom more than she did.
I urged Ellis to sit down on the edge of the bed. I couldn’t bring myself to let go of him, so I trailed my hand down his belly, skirting his dick, and then down his leg. Crouching down, I leaned my head against his knee and removed his shoes and socks. He shivered when I ran my hands up his lightly furred calves.
Ellis undid the buttons of his shirt, pulling it off and tossing it to the side. I kept my cheek on his leg but looked up at his large, sexy pecs and soft pooch of a stomach. He stroked a hand through my hair and I licked my lips.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” he said, cupping my jaw. “But I’m so glad it’s you. I’ve been wanting you all day.”
I popped back up to my feet, surging to meet him with a kiss. He fell back onto the bed, and I crawled over him, straddling his lap like I’d done on the couch. But this position was much better, giving me more access to his body.
His fingers tugged at my t-shirt, so I released his mouth long enough to pull it over my head. Then I went back to kissing him while I fumbled between us for the buttons to his shorts and my jeans. It didn’t matter which came off first; I’d get to them both eventually .
Ellis, however, was using his hands to drive me crazy. He teased my nipples over and over, until I was trembling, only able to focus on bracing myself above him, giving him the most access to my chest. Getting rid of our pants could wait. They were unbuttoned and unzipped at least, and the heads of both of our cocks poked above the waistbands of our underwear, catching on each other as we ground together.
But ultimately our zippers were hella uncomfortable, so finally I had to lean on one arm long enough to push our pants and underwear down to our thighs.
After that, all I could do was writhe against Ellis, thrusting my cock into his while we devoured each other with our mouths and tongues. I still kept myself propped up to give him access to my chest, but luckily this pressed our cocks together even harder. We were leaking enough precum to create a nice slide, which I also got to experience from Ellis’ perspective. Fuck, this echo thing was amazing.
I loved being able to tell what turned him on, and not just relying on how hard his cock was. No, I was talking about experiencing the actual sensations he was experiencing. Live and in person. Directly from his mind to mine.
Which was fucking hot.
I couldn’t remember being more turned on than I was right then. My balls were ready to explode.
I tore my mouth away from Ellis’. “Gonna come.”
He curled his body up so we were kissing again. Then he twisted my nipples, hard. I jolted at the sensation and moaned as I came. His hot cum mixed with mine, and I felt what he felt as his orgasm pulsed through him. It was so arousing I got an unexpected extra jet myself, and I cried out into his mouth .
I collapsed on top of him, sweaty and panting, but happy. So happy.
I’m happy too.
I froze, staring at Ellis.
His lips, shiny from our kisses, curled up. “What?” His eyes twinkled behind his smudged and off-kilter glasses.
Holy fuck.
Did we bond?
His eyes, back to their normal brown, got serious. “I’m pretty sure.”
Holy fuck.
A bunch of different emotions ran through me. Excitement, nervousness, unworthiness, happiness, among many others. It took me a minute to realize not all of those emotions were mine, but they were so jumbled up I didn’t know how to start separating them out.
I cleared my throat and ran my finger through the sparse hair on his chest. “Um, are you okay with being bonded to me?”
Worry came through loud and clear, so I rushed to assure him, “I’m good with it. I mean, it’s a little fast. I wasn’t expecting.... But I’m glad. Really.” I pecked him on the lips.
Ellis’s face cleared. “Me too. Um, I’m glad too.”
I tucked my face into his neck and hugged him to me. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the scent of him. My mate.
I woke up after what had to have been a couple of hours at least, based on how stiff I was and the crusted cum trapped between our bodies. At least I’d slid off Ellis to the side, so while we were still holding each other, I wasn’t squashing him or cutting off his air .
I knew I needed to get up and get us clean, but first I just wanted to bask in the feeling. We were bonded. Ellis and me. I smiled and focused inward to check out our magic, the one wheel shared between the two of us, big and sparkling.
I could see and feel all of the connections to our Wonders, twice as many as I’d had before, and my sense of my District had expanded, doubling in size. That was all good.
But the wheel.
Something was wrong with the wheel.
Belly clenching, I sat up. My jeans were still caught around my ankles, so I tossed them over the side of the bed before shaking Ellis’ shoulder. “Hey, Ellis, wake up.”
“Huh?” He was still wearing his glasses, which were adorably crooked.
I reached out and straightened them on his face. “Hi. Sorry to wake you.”
His forehead scrunched. “What’s wrong. You feel... worried.” He sat up, then irritably kicked off his shorts, which had been tangled around his knees.
“Um, can you look at our magic? Is it supposed to be... doing that?”
Yes, the wheel was big and sparkling. But it was also lopsided. And it didn’t spin smoothly. It sort of... limped.
Ellis gasped, “Shit, did we screw up our magic with the bond?”
“How? We weren’t even trying to bond. Unless... is there a certain way it has to be done?”
He rubbed his face. “I didn’t think so? I mean Cal and Greg bonded without having sex. And it wouldn’t have taken if we hadn’t both wanted it, right?” His expression was tentative, and I felt his uncertainty through the bond. At least the sharing of emotions was working the way I’d heard it was supposed to.
I nodded, sending him my determination and reassurance. “Right. We both wanted this, and we’re not trying to undo it.” His expression eased, and I leaned over and kissed him. “Um, who knows the most about bonds?”
He shrugged as he stared down at his torso. His concern came through to me loud and clear. “I’m not sure, maybe Cal? He had to research them for the compendium, right?”
I reached for his hand. “Good idea. And it’ll be alright. We’ll figure it out and fix it.” I tried to project all the tenderness and affection I had for him. He smiled, so I must’ve done it correctly.
Ellis took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay.”
Our phones were in the living room, so I slid to my feet. Then I looked down at myself and grimaced. “I’m gonna clean up.” I gestured at the cum. “You wanna come with?”
Smiling, he scooted toward me to the side of the bed. “Yeah. I don’t want to talk to people while I’m still covered in spooge.”
My shower wasn’t huge, but we made it work. There was just enough room for both of us to get some of the water no matter where we stood. I took my time covering Ellis in body wash. I wanted to learn his body, every inch of him. I could’ve spent hours tracing my fingers over his pecs, his back, his thighs.
But he was doing the same to me, and our bodies were reacting. The feedback loop of feeling every sensation from both sides was like pouring an accelerant on our arousal. We were close to coming within minutes. Ellis let his head fall forward onto my shoulder and groaned, “Shane.”
I pressed myself flush with his body and snaked my soapy hand between us. We both gasped when I took our cocks in my grip and slowly twisted. Our breaths were harsh, echoing off the tile.
Ellis was so close, and I was going to be right behind him. Just one more?—
BANG!
BANG!
Ellis and I jumped. I let go of our cocks and turned the water off.
The banging came again, from the front of the house. Fuck, was someone at the door? At this hour?
“Hey!” a male voice shouted. “I need some help out here!”
“Fuck,” I muttered. We grabbed towels and swiped off the worst of the soap and water.
“One of your Wonders?” Ellis asked. He shook his head. “No, I’d be able to feel it too.”
Then the man screamed.