Chapter 8
eight
MAVERICK
Keeping his arms around me, Cade rolls us to our sides and adjusts us so we’re comfortable. His semi-hard cock is still inside me, but I don’t want him to pull out just yet. I’m still in shock that I took all of him.
He’s longer and thicker than Walt, but I had no problem with Cade burying himself to the hilt and fucking me hard. Maybe Walt wasn’t patient enough? Or maybe I wasn’t relaxed enough? Whatever the reason, I’m not going to complain.
Cade brushes my hair from my forehead and smiles when he meets my eyes. Through the faint sliver of moonlight, his eyes take on a haunting quality, almost too bright to be real.
“Are you human?” I blurt out.
He looks thoughtful, his hand mindlessly scratching my scalp.
I close my eyes and soak up the feeling.
Walt never wanted to cuddle when we finished having sex.
He would begrudgingly do it because I asked, but he was stiff and barely touched me.
After less than a minute, I’d put him out of his misery and turn over.
God, how did I stay with that man for so long? Love really makes people do crazy shit.
“I am, and I’m not,” Cade says, bringing me back to our conversation. “I have certain magic, you could say, but I can’t cast spells like Blossom.”
“So she’s, like, a legit witch? Not Wiccan?”
“What’s…whik-ken?” he asks, a cute scrunch in his eyebrows.
“Well, it’s a religion, they’re mostly nature-focused, and worship goddesses. Most people think they’re all witches.”
He shakes his head. “No, she’s a real witch. Her family are also witches. Genetic, see?”
I nod, not really understanding, but wanting to. If we’re going to be together, I want to know everything there is to know about him and his life.
What a turn of events. Coming on my recliner, finding a naked man in my living room, slapping him for kissing me, watching him turn back into my fucking recliner, then letting him take me to bed? Didn’t think that would be how my day ended.
“I’m sorry for slapping you,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
He smiles, his eyes bright. “No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have kissed you without permission. You did what any sane person would do.”
I lean forward and kiss him, loving how his lips feel against mine. So perfect.
“Anyway,” he says, resuming the conversation, “I’m still human in the general sense, but I can turn into an inanimate object. Just a recliner though. That’s how I was born. Both my parents were living room furniture. Plus, it’s my comfort form.”
“To be a recliner?” I’m sure my face is a picture of surprise.
He chuckles and leans forward to kiss me softly.
“Yes, to be a recliner. I can’t explain it.
You know how you like to relax after a long day?
” I nod. “That’s how I relax sometimes. Recliners don’t have responsibilities other than providing comfort.
I love shifting. My mind is clear and I’m just there to be used. ”
“So you liked when I sat on you?”
He purrs low in his throat, rolling his hips into me. I gasp as he hardens and his cockhead brushes against my prostate. “So much. It made me happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
I whimper as he pushes into me a few more times. “Yes, more.”
I’ve never been able to come so many times in one night, but something about Cade has me right on the edge of orgasm, ready to blow my load at a simple touch.
He takes my lips, kissing me thoroughly as he fucks into me hard and fast.
I hold on, taking the pleasure he’s giving me. My cock rubs against his abs, the friction feeling better than I can put into words.
Cade grips my chin as he breaks the kiss, forcing me to meet his gaze.
I mewl as I watch his pupils dilate further, the black eating up all the blue.
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, and I find it so fucking hot that I throw my head back and explode between us.
Just as much cum spurts as when I came just a little while ago.
I swear my balls must be empty by now with how much and how hard I’m coming.
A deep growl vibrates up Cade’s chest, and he bites me on the neck. After a brief slice of pain, pleasure like nothing I’ve ever felt consumes me. I feel it from the top of my head down to my toes.
Then Cade comes, cursing against my throat as he shudders against me.
We lie there, breathing heavily and trembling with aftershocks.
I gulp and say, “Maybe we should get cleaned up now and talk. If you stay inside me…we’ll probably go at it again.”
“Good idea,” he mutters, then pulls out of me. A flood of his cum leaks from my hole and I gasp. How the fuck did all that stay in there?
He helps me off the bed and scoops me into his arms, walking me to the bathroom. I could get used to this.
Cade is so big and strong, the type of man I’d always ogle, but never thought I’d have a chance with. So pretty. So perfect.
When we get into the bathroom, he sets me onto my feet, and I get the shower going. We climb inside and I hand Cade a washcloth so he can clean himself up. Most of his front is coated with my spend, practically dripping from him.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter, putting my face in my hands. “I came soooooo much.”
He removes my hands and grins at me. “It’s my magic. It will be like that every time we fuck.”
“I’m going to have a heart attack.”
The rumble of his laughter flows through me, making me feel light and buoyant. “You won’t. I promise.”
I grunt and help him wash up. He returns the favor, cleaning all his seed from my hole, before we rinse off and climb out.
While I’m drying off, I eye him. He’s so much taller and wider than me. I’m not sure I have anything that will fit him.
“Um…my basketball shorts will be booty shorts on you.”
He looks at me with a question in his eyes. “What are booty shorts?”
“Short shorts,” I say, using my hand to show where they’ll land on him. “Might show some of your ass if you bend over.”
“Oh,” he says and grins. “I’m from the seventies. A lot of our clothing was tight and revealing.”
I imagine what Cade must have looked like in clothes from his youth and use my towel to cover my hardening cock. I can’t keep popping wood every few minutes. I need blood to circulate throughout the rest of my body, mostly to my brain.
I turn away from him so I can finish drying off, then motion for him to follow me. “They should fit your waist. We can talk once we’re dressed.”
We put on clothes and go to the living room, sitting on the couch facing each other.
“So…fated mates?” I say, breaking the silence.
“Yep,” he says, the ever-present smile on his face. “Shifters have mates that are specifically made for them. Sometimes we find them early, sometimes we find them later in life, but in our lifetime, we do find them and we’re together forever.”
“You said I could send you away if I wasn’t interested.” Cade gulps but dips his chin. “Wouldn’t that, like, hurt?”
“Initially, yes, but the pain fades with time and distance.”
Sending him away is the last thing I want to do.
We just met, but I feel like my heart rearranged in my chest to make room for him.
It’s sudden and probably reckless as fuck and makes no fucking sense, but I’ve been careful all my life.
Doing the things I was supposed to do and acted the way I thought I should.
But being with Cade? The few hours we just shared? That’s out of the norm for me. I want to see where that goes. Not just the sex but talking to him and being with him.
“So you’ve been trapped as a recliner for what? Fifty years?” I ask, not able to wrap my head around it. “What did you possibly do to earn that?”
Cade tucks his chin to his chest, his eyes swimming with regret. Whatever it was must have been really bad.
“Something cruel and I refused to apologize,” he says slowly.
“My friends and I were pretty reckless, doing shit that we shouldn't have just for a laugh. They convinced me to play a trick on Blossom, not believing that she would retaliate. I separated a fated couple, a pair of owls that had been together for decades. They were Blossom’s. She’d had them for years, after she’d found them both injured one night. ”
“What did you do?”
“Sent an owl on a parcel delivery mission that pulled him away from his mate. It wasn’t a real delivery and being away from his mate hurt them both. She almost died when he didn’t return after a month.”
My eyebrows scrunch. “Why is that so bad? I mean, that’s fucked up, but fifty years as a recliner?”
He nods, his throat bobbing as he swallows.
“She wanted me to think about my actions and why a fated mate is so important. The owl was gone for so long that his mate got heart sick. Had that owl not turned back when he couldn’t find the address I’d given him, he would have lost his lifelong partner.
“I crossed Blossom by fucking with her animals and when she found out it was me, she cursed me.”
Fuck, that’s heavy. I’m sure he didn’t mean it, but I think I’d want to do the same if I were in Blossom’s shoes.
Animals aren’t just pets, they’re family.
I can only imagine how she felt watching her owl waste away while waiting for her mate to return.
Day after day of witnessing her sweet pet’s pain, only for the person who was behind it refusing to apologize?
Okay, yeah, he earned that punishment.
Sighing, I cross my arms over my chest. “You know you owe Blossom an apology, right? Her and her owls, if they’re still alive.”
“They’re protected by a witch,” he says. “I’m sure they’re living a life of luxury. They’re her family.”
A thought occurs to me and I gasp. “Oh god, what about your family? Did she tell them you were a recliner prisoner?”
“No family,” he says solemnly. “My parents had passed years before and I was an only child. That’s why I fell in with the crowd I did.
They were up to no good, but they accepted me without question.
Or at least I thought they did. When it was all said and done, they placed all the blame on me so Blossom wouldn’t curse them as well. ”
I reach forward and take his hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve to go down alone, but also…peer pressure?"
He barks a laugh. “Yeah, I know better now. But then, I just wanted to be accepted.”
I understand that more than I’d like to say.
Before I met Sawyer when we were sophomores in high school, I just wanted to fit in.
I hung out with people that thought teasing me was okay and tried to get me to do things I wasn’t comfortable with, like smoking cigarettes, cheating on tests, and skipping class.
It’s not a crime to want people in your corner. But what he did wasn’t okay. He’ll have to tell Blossom that he understands he fucked up and hope she forgives him.
Though, fifty years is a long time to hold a grudge.
“Before we go visit Blossom,” he says, “can you show me the world as it is now? I only got a few glimpses of people and things when Blossom had her garage sales. I want to immerse myself in this new world now that I’m free.”
“Of course. We can get coffee and walk around downtown if you want. We can take it slow, since I’m sure everything will be a shock for you.”
He hums and leans his head back, looking up at the ceiling. I’m not sure what he’s thinking about, but it might be what he did and how he ended up trapped, letting the world pass him by.
I slide over to him and climb onto his lap.
Cade accepts my weight easily, wrapping his warm arms around me.
I place a hand on his face and give him a soft kiss.
“You’re not alone anymore, Cade. Since I’m your fated mate”—such a weird concept— “I’ll be your family now.
And I promise, you won’t get into any more trouble. ”
He beams at me, tightening his hold on me. “Oh yeah? You’re going to keep me in line?”
I nod slowly. “Yep. So you won’t leave me.”