Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Malik
He was an adorable drama queen, but his hard cock and needy whines said drama wasn’t a bad thing.
But we were going to start with easy questions so I could reward him and get him used to talking. “You said you like to go places. What is your favorite place to visit?”
He’d worded the whole going places thing oddly, but we’d gotten sidetracked by other things before I could question him more.
“Oh.” The way I’d started stroking his chest distracted him slightly but I could feel his body relaxing and see the way part of him was taking interest in getting attention again. “Um, I like anywhere I can see nature while I’m working?”
When I slipped my hand under his pajama shirt, he sighed and his arms moved down to the bed. “I… last week I stayed at an Airbnb in the mountains and that was really nice, but the week before I was on a cruise and I liked that better than I thought.”
Huh?
Okay, I had more questions than I thought I’d get from that one.
However, I had a plan, and I was going to stick with it.
“How often do you like being spanked?” The abrupt switch in topics startled him but so did the pinch to one nipple that had him arching his chest off the bed and moaning. “That seemed like an approval, but let me know if I’m reading that wrong.”
We really should’ve started off going over limits lists before we’d done anything else, but the only opportunity would’ve been at the picnic tables and that seemed wrong.
“You’re…” He took a breath as he relaxed back on the mattress, shivering again as I flicked my nail over it. “You’re reading that right. Um. I… I think on a regular basis is something I’d like. As… as a reward or something to look forward to?”
Glad I’d read that right, I made an approving sound since he still couldn’t see me. “That would be a wonderful way to end the week or start the week.”
His soft smile and happy sound had me leaning over and brushing my lips against his. “My good boy. You’re doing a good job answering my questions.”
That got another pleased expression but I pinched it away when the other nipple seemed like it was lonely. “How often have you been traveling places?”
I was missing something and it was time to fill in more of the gaps.
“I…” It took him a deep breath and several seconds to respond. He was so distracted the truth seemed to slip out easier than he’d planned. “All the time. I was at my apartment last month, though. It’s still there.”
Interesting.
Yes, very interesting.
“Do you take sex toys with you when you go?” The unexpected question had his dick bobbing but his bigger head took longer to process it.
“Yes.” He seemed to instinctively understand he needed to give me more information because it just kept coming as I teased him. “I have a plug and a small dildo that I bring. I don’t… I don’t like using other things by myself.”
That was good to know and gave me more questions to ask as well.
“Where did you travel to that you liked the least? Anywhere you don’t want to go back to?” I wasn’t sure what kind of answer I’d get but it came without him having to think about it.
“New York.” He frowned and even his dick reacted negatively. “Something about it felt off and the people’s auras were all wrong. I don’t want to go back.”
Good because I had no desire to suffer through looking human for that long for that kind of environment.
But we needed a change in questions, so I jumped again. “What’s a BDSM topic or kink that you’ve read about or drew for your work that you want to try in person but haven’t?”
His soft surprised sound had me smiling, but my favorite part was the pleased, excited expression that flashed over his face and the way his dick jerked. “I… Shibari, I think.”
“That would be fun to learn with you.” And if we couldn’t find a teacher connected to the community in some way then we could learn online.
“Really?” His smile brightened but another pinch before moving my hand lower turned it into a moan. “You’re… you’re making me crazy.”
But at least he was giving me information and he’d stopped worrying.
“Why thank you.” He shivered and squeaked as I caressed around his belly button, making me chuckle, but he didn’t get me sidetracked. “Where do you get your ability to read auras from?”
There were probably a half-dozen options but none felt quite right.
“My… my maternal grandparents are mages and there are some rumors that the Scandinavian human relatives on that side might not have been just human, but that’s just family gossip because they were kind of weird.
” He shrugged like that really didn’t concern him but I’d found interesting histories in some groups people thought were simply human.
Alton gave me more wonderful information before I could question him about it.
“I have a paternal grandmother that was part fae. Like, small part fae so not immortal or anything odd. Oh, and my grandfather’s family was Italian and Caladrius.
That gets mixed up a lot because he wasn’t a dove.
Most people don’t know what that is but I can’t shift.
I remember him being hairy but I didn’t get that gene. ”
What?
Blinking, I didn’t realize I’d stopped caressing him until his eyes popped open. “What?”
His question mirroring mine was what had my brain working again. “Sweetie, how much do you know about the Caladrius?”
It wasn’t a new world lineage and I hadn’t realized any had come over from Italy. The Roman empire was the last time they showed up in mythology in any meaningful way and most people would’ve never heard of them.
“Um, that the rumors were one of the old kings had us trapped in his palace in the shape of a bird, but our family history said that it was a ridiculously dramatic threesome with the king and his wife and it was all kinds of crazy.” Alton frowned as he gave me a rambling answer.
“It was one of the reasons I was glad you didn’t want any kind of poly relationship. Those can be messy.”
Messy enough to end up in mythology.
“They don’t absorb sick people’s diseases but full Caladrius can heal the sick in different ways and are empathic.” Alton’s head cocked as lower parts got too distracted to stay hard. “That was probably a bad part about the relationship too now that I think about it.”
There were a few parts to that questionable decision but he didn’t seem to know about them.
“Oh, and little bits can be passed down in the bloodlines without the full magic manifesting. I put my emotions into my art if I’m not careful which is part of the reason why I work on so many different things.
” Alton’s tone and the way he kept offering up random bits of knowledge said he thought he was telling me the whole truth.
“It helps me channel that side of myself. It’s small, though, so it’s not like I can influence your emotions or even heal you.” That was not what I was focused on, but it was good to know he understood that. “If I draw you a picture, you’ll probably feel a bit of what I was feeling when I drew it.”
When he paused, I realized that seemed to be the extent of his knowledge.
That wasn’t good… but I wasn’t going to hide the rest of it from him.
“Sweetie, one of the big pieces of the Caladrius is that if any of it is in the bloodline… even the smallest bit… they travel the world looking for their mate.” Their fated mate.
The ones they sometimes went crazy trying to find if it took too long. Which was part of the reason there were so few of them and so many confused people who didn’t understand why they always felt so restless.
“Oh.” Alton’s brain seemed to be going too fast to track or too slow because he was quiet and just blinked for a while. “That’s probably why I haven’t lived in my apartment for the past couple of years. I was getting tired of living out of my car too but I couldn’t seem to stop.”
Okay, that answered several of my questions.
“You’re going to be able to stop now and you won’t need your apartment any longer.” But did he understand why?
“That’s going to save me a lot of money. I like my job but it doesn’t pay a lot right now.” His answer didn’t give me enough clues. “My abilities make me sought after, though. It might be cheating but the job market is hard, so I’m not going to feel bad. I make my viewers happy.”
I bet he did.
“We’ll be fine with money, but yes, it’s going to make sure you can save up a lot more now. Then we can talk about what kind of traveling you want to do versus what you’ve been pushed to do.” I wasn’t sure if there would be a difference but it seemed like there might be.
“That’s going to be interesting to figure out.” When he paused again, I thought he might be catching up. “This explains why I like being with you so much, doesn’t it, and… and why I keep wanting to help you decorate your house?”
Nodding slowly, I focused on that aspect. “And why you seemed to have picked out your playroom and office space too.”
Because he was settling into his new house with his mate.
Was he there yet?
Frowns.
Blinks.
Long breath.
“Malik?” When I nodded and tried to be patient, he sighed. “It’s not fair to make me think so much first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll work on that.” He was my mate, so we had the rest of our lives for me to figure it out. “Later today you can tell me how you like your morning to start.”
Because his brain didn’t work as fast as mine did when he woke up.
“I think that’s a good plan.” Swallowing, he frowned and cocked his head. “Well, fuck.”
And he was finally awake.
I should’ve timed how long that’d taken.
“At least you know my mom already likes you.” That had to make the whole mates thing easier. “And you like my house. Oh, and you were looking for a more peaceful area and a Daddy who could carry you.”
The peaceful area thing had to have something to do with needing to find his mate. We were both going to have to do more research, though, because we’d come to the end of what I knew about the Caladrius.
“Those are good points.” Inhaling deep, he let it out long and slow while his brain processed what he’d learned. “And it explains a lot.”
It really did.
I was quiet and let it sink in, trying not to push him or poke at him too much. After a few minutes, he blinked and came back to life again. “What do you think about that?”
The question shouldn’t have been unexpected but it was.
“I’ve never been jealous of other peoples or humans.
I’ve never wanted to be anything else, but the one thing that always pulled at me was those of us who are gifted with mates.
” Every group was differently blessed and special, but mates, that was what I’d been jealous about.
“But it turns out I just had to be patient until my mate turned up.”
A smile peeked out and after watching me for a long moment, he finally rolled me over onto my back and stretched out on me. “I’m your mate.”
Since he seemed pleased by that fact, I nodded and tried not to laugh. “You are.”
“And I’m your boy too.” He got just as much excitement out of that which was adorable.
“I’m really glad I wasn’t thinking about moving in with just any random guy I’d gone out on a date with.
You seemed perfect and I kept looking for your red flags but I didn’t find any. So I was starting to worry about that.”
He liked worrying so that wasn’t a surprise.
“But if you’re my mate then I don’t have to worry about flags.” That took a weight off his shoulders judging by the smile on his face. “That means this is where I belong, right?”
“Yes.” Lifting my head up, I kissed his nose. “Your people search for their fated mates until they find them. Some people might need more drama in their relationships than others but that’s not what you need.”
As he shook his head, he settled on me and rested his chin on my chest. “No. I wanted calm and someone to take care of me and a quiet area where the people weren’t pushing at me all the time.”
He was definitely more empathic than he seemed to realize and it made me wonder what else he was ignoring, but we had a lifetime to figure that out too.
“My grandpa died when I was young and I don’t remember him talking about any of this.” Alton seemed slightly frustrated about it, but not too upset. “I wonder if that’s why my dad didn’t stick around after his parents died.”
There was a story there.
“If he and your mom weren’t mates that would change a lot for him.” I wasn’t going to ask too many questions but Alton’s usual chatter meant I didn’t have to.
“I was an oops. They were at a rave and decisions were made. Then there was me.” He shrugged, but I couldn’t decide what he was feeling. “He came back a few times when I was a kid but my mother kind of hated the sight of him, so yeah, that made it awkward… and dangerous.”
Caladrius were the lovers not fighters of the hidden world so it had to be his mother that was the feisty one in the relationship.
“She kind of tried to kill him, so he didn’t come back.” Alton’s sigh made me wince. “I don’t blame him but it explains a lot.”
Before I could decide what to say, he frowned. “For fuck’s sake, she should’ve told me what I was feeling instead of making me feel like a loser who can’t sit still.”
Definitely.
“You’re not a loser.” Kissing him was the best distraction I could think of, especially since he was half naked and wiggling on me, but I kept it light and on the sweeter side.
When I pulled back, he smiled and wiggled higher on me to steal another.
“You’re my mate and you’re going to be nice to him and so will everyone else. ”
“Or my Bigfoot will get ’em.” His slightly bloodthirsty expression made me want to laugh. “I bet you’re scary when you growl and glare.”
What movies had he been watching?
Scary?
Me?
“I will terrify anyone who looks at you funny.” Giving him another kiss, I focused on being serious and stern because I did that better than I did scary. “Because?”
His giggle said he appreciated my effort. “Because you’re my mate.”
“That’s right.” Fate had brought my mate right to my door and I wasn’t ever going to let him go. “I’m your mate.”
That was an amazing sentence that would never get old.