Chapter Four #2
That was what scared Nymon. Kael would support him, even if he decided to leave, but he might also tell someone something about it, and Nymon couldn’t afford for that to happen. He needed everyone in town to continue to ignore the fact that Tex was there.
It wasn’t like it would be for long, anyway.
Tex had said that he was here to find information, and he had.
He didn’t know how useful that information would be, but the longer he stayed, the riskier it got for him.
Where did that leave them? Nymon didn’t know, which was why Tex needed to come back so they could talk. Tex couldn’t do that until Kael left.
“I promise I’ll be fine,” Nymon told Kael. “I’ll just go to bed as soon as you leave, maybe take a painkiller, and I’ll be right as rain tomorrow.”
“You’re sure?”
“You can drag me to the healer tomorrow morning if I’m not better, all right?”
Kael seemed satisfied with that. “I’ll hold you to that. If you’re not feeling better tomorrow, you’re seeing a healer.”
Nymon wasn’t offended by Kael’s mothering.
They were both the closest thing they had to a family.
In fact, Nymon was pretty sure that he cared more about Kael than Kael’s family ever had.
It was one of the reasons he felt so guilty about not talking to him.
He would eventually. He just needed to talk to Tex first. He needed to know more before he could tell Kael what was going on.
Kael kept watching Nymon as he got ready to leave.
It was almost as if he expected Nymon to keel over and have a heart attack or something.
Nymon didn’t blame him. He was happy when Kael finally left, though.
He closed the door behind his best friend and leaned against it, breathing in and out for a few seconds.
He listened to Kael’s footsteps climbing down the porch steps and walking down the road until they vanished.
As soon as he was sure he was alone, Nymon pushed away from the door and rushed toward the back of the house. He opened the back door, but he hesitated before stepping out. Was Tex out there?
Something rustling in the bushes made his heart race. His mouth went dry, and he watched as the bushes jerked back and forth. He only relaxed when a muzzle he was already starting to recognize appeared.
Nymon opened the door wider. “Kael left,” he explained. “We shouldn’t be disturbed for the rest of the night.”
Tex trotted toward Nymon. Nymon couldn’t see that well since it was dark, but it was enough.
It was odd to watch the wolf and know that he could turn into a person, even though Nymon had always known about shifters.
None of them had been in his life, though.
Most days, they’d felt more like something that belonged on TV and in movies, but Tex was right there.
He wasn’t an actor. He was Nymon’s mate.
Nymon closed the door as soon as Tex was inside the house. He didn’t have any doubts or hesitation about having his mate here. He hadn’t had them earlier, either, but he’d wanted Tex to be honest.
He had been. He’d told Nymon why he was here. He’d explained what those demons were doing. He’d even told Nymon that they were mates.
“He won’t come back?” Tex asked once he’d shifted back to his human form, looking unbothered by the fact that he was naked.
Nymon couldn’t spend the time staring at his mate’s body since they needed to talk.
He looked around the room, relieved to have left a sweater on one of the kitchen chairs.
He reached for it and held it out, pleased by the fact that Tex would be covered and that it would be by one of Nymon’s sweaters. “Here.”
“Thank you,” Tex said without arguing. Maybe he understood that this was better. It wasn’t that Nymon was uncomfortable, just distracted.
“Maybe we should go to the living room and sit down.”
“That sounds like you want to talk, and that’s not usually a good thing,” Tex gently teased.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be good or bad. I just know that we need to do it.”
Tex sighed. “You’re right.”
He followed Nymon out of the kitchen and into the living room. The house wasn’t big, so it only took them a few moments. Once they were there, though, Nymon found that he didn’t want to sit down. He had too much energy, and he felt like he might start screaming if he had to sit down.
“I’ve been thinking about our situation,” he said. He’d been thinking about nothing else for the entire evening. Even Kael had noticed that he was distracted, which was probably why he’d been so worried. Hopefully, he’d believed Nymon when he’d said it was a headache.
“You haven’t had a lot of time,” Tex said.
“I don’t think I need a lot of time. There’s only one decision to make, isn’t there? If you and I want to be together, I’m going to have to leave this place.”
Tex grimaced. “Pretty much. I hate to ask that of you, and I understand that we barely know each other. I don’t expect you to agree right away, but it would be good if you could at least think about it.”
Nymon cocked his head. “I did. That’s what I just told you, isn’t it? I’ve been thinking about this, and I know I’ll have to leave. That’s fine with me.”
Tex looked around. “You’d be willing to leave all of this just to be with me?”
“And to see the world. Don’t get me wrong, I love this place, and in a way, it’ll always be home, but I know there’s more out there, and I want to explore that.
I want to see different sunrises and sunsets.
I want to meet people I would never meet if I stayed here for the rest of my life.
I want to taste food I can’t even imagine exists right now.
I want to explore everything life is about instead of hiding away in Starhaven.
” He took a step forward. “I want to do all of that with my mate.”
“It’s a lot to ask from you. You need to be sure because there’s no coming back. I’ll understand if you want to wait. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to be careful and take your time to think. In fact, most people would expect you to do just that.”
Nymon shook his head. “I’ve spent my whole life being careful and doing what’s expected.
Just once, I want to do something reckless.
” And there was no better moment than this.
Nymon was done with being careful. He was Tex’s mate.
They belonged together, and Nymon wasn’t planning on fighting their bond.
“Nymon—”
“Don’t.” He closed the space between them in three steps. “Don’t think. Don’t plan.” They’d have time to do that later. “Just be here with me.”
When Nymon kissed Tex, it felt like coming home. Tex wrapped his arms around Nymon’s waist, pulling him closer, and Nymon let himself be moved. The bond between them sang, making itself known even to Nymon, who shouldn’t be able to feel it.
Nymon was where he belonged.
* * * *
A SOFT LIGHT MADE TEX open his eyes. Vines were creeping from the potted plants on the windowsill, unfurling toward them.
Flowers bloomed quicker than should be possible, petals spreading wide and glowing slightly in the darkened room.
A hanging basket near the door suddenly erupted with white flowers that filled the air with a sweet fragrance Tex had never smelled before.
Nymon broke the kiss, his cheeks flushing. “I’m sorry. I—it hasn’t done that since I was a teenager. I thought I had better control. I should have better control.”
Tex stared at the flowers now covering half the wall and at the way the plants seemed to reach for Nymon the same way they had earlier that day. His mate’s magic was partially controlled by emotion, so in a way, this reaction was telling Tex how he was feeling.
It was the most beautiful thing Tex had ever seen.
“Don’t apologize,” Tex murmured before pulling Nymon back into another kiss.
The demon made a startled sound before melting into it. Tex kept his eyes open, delighted to see more vines sprout and wind up the doorframe. A succulent on a small table suddenly shot up several inches, its leaves unfurling. The air grew thick with the scent of all the different flowers blooming.
When they broke apart again, Nymon was breathing hard. “You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe.” Tex couldn’t stop touching him. He slid his hands up Nymon’s sides, feeling the warmth of him through his shirt. He wanted more. “This magic is incredible. You’re incredible.”
“It’s embarrassing. I’m supposed to control my magic, not”—he gestured at the plants around them—“let it do this.”
“It’s honest.” Tex caught Nymon’s chin, making him look up. “Your magic is showing how you feel. There’s nothing embarrassing about that, especially because I think it’s connected to our bond. You might not be able to feel it the way I do, but it’s there.”
Nymon’s breath hitched. He reached up to press his hands on Tex’s chest, his fingers curling into his shirt. “I can feel it. What are we doing?”
Just a few hours ago, they were barely more than acquaintances.
They were mates, but they didn’t know each other.
That didn’t mean they didn’t both want more than this.
“I don’t know.” Tex pressed their foreheads together, feeling the mate bond thrumming between them so strongly he could barely think. “But I can’t stay away from you.”
“Then don’t.” Nymon’s voice dropped. “Come to bed with me.”
Maybe it was too soon. Maybe they should wait.
Tex didn’t want to.
Nymon’s bedroom was small, with a bed covered in a green quilt that matched Nymon’s hair. More plants lined the windowsill and every other flat surface in the room. Moonlight filtered through the leaves of the ones hanging from a hook in front of the window, casting shadows into the room.
Tex pulled Nymon close again, kissing him more slowly this time. His mate’s hands slid under his shirt, fingers tracing the muscles of his back. When they broke apart to breathe, Tex tugged the shirt over his head, then reached for Nymon’s.