Chapter 19
For some inexplicable reason, Ducarius was once again sitting on an old chair in a barely lit library with a sexy man on his lap.
Ducarius licked his way into Drexley’s mouth and could not resist the urge to give a tiny thrust of his hips.
There was no question in Ducarius’s mind about why he was making out with Drexley.
What he couldn’t understand was why they had chosen to spend so many days in a row learning how to expertly entice each other with kisses in such an uncomfortable way.
A bed would be a far better option. It was also a dangerous one, which was why Ducarius had not suggested it.
Drexley moaned and tugged on Ducarius’s hair. Ducarius tightened his grip on the stupidly thick robes the other sentinel wore and yearned for the chance to familiarize himself with the feel of Drexley’s skin. Someday he would learn everything that pleased Drexley, but he had to be patient.
Their relationship remained novel, and he did not want to rush Drexley.
Thankfully, Drexley enjoyed their kisses, so Ducarius eagerly stroked his tongue against the other sentinel’s.
Ducarius was impervious to temperature extremes like the rest of their people, but he swore he was burning from the inside out thanks to the delicious way Drexley fueled his passion.
The indefinable scent that Ducarius had first smelled the day they met had grown into his favorite, and it was deeper and richer the closer Drexley was to him.
Since the other sentinel was pressed tight to his chest and their lips were locked, Drexley’s intoxicating fragrance was overwhelming Ducarius in the best way.
Ducarius dug his fingers into the long muscles of Drexley’s back as he reclined as much as he could in the old chair.
There was a thin cushion between his uniform pants and the wooden seat, but it was barely better than sitting on a rock.
Ducarius barely noticed any longer. His dick was hard, and the rigid metal of his zipper was likely imprinted into the tender skin thanks to the way he and Drexley were squashed together.
Yet Ducarius mentioned none of his complaints to Drexley.
They were scant concerns when compared to his mate’s comfort.
What Ducarius preferred to focus on was the way Drexley’s facial hair gently prickled him as they kissed.
Or Drexley’s little moans. The delicious strokes of his tongue.
Ducarius wondered if he should make a list of everything he enjoyed about being with Drexley.
It would be a long one if he took up the task. The only thing he could think to change about Drexley was the bone-deep stubbornness keeping the two of them and Adney in the crumbling realm. More of the top floor of the castle had crumbled away, but Drexley and Adney were determined to stay.
“What ails you?” Drexley broke their kiss to ask.
“You are growing to know me too well.”
“Sometimes it seems as if I have known you forever. At other moments I wonder if I have learned anything about you. You stiffened. There is something on your mind other than our kisses.”
Ducarius groaned and pressed his lips to Drexley’s forehead. “I fear Bax has been an awful influence on my life. My first thought was to remind you that what was stiffest about me was my dick.”
“Bax?”
“Daemon Lord Baxter Daray. One of the mated pair tasked with protecting Chand. He tells the worst jokes and spends far too much time discussing dicks. His own or anyone else’s.
It is annoying. Yet, I nearly made a comment that could have easily been one of his terrible comments.
Despite my best efforts, he has corrupted me. ”
“You sound most distressed,” Drexley remarked, but he was smiling.
“Do not laugh. You have not heard his commentary yet. If it were not for Chand or Victor, I would have thrown my fork at Bax countless times.”
“Who is Victor?”
Ducarius bussed the corner of Drexley’s mouth.
“He rather recently gained a title and is now known as Cinder Lord-mate Victor Antonov-Daray. At eighteen, he was hired by Bax and Ben to clean our home. This was before I was found in the compound. There was a short period when he was fired, but that is a long story for another day. Victor is a cat shifter and is the unequivocal boss of our home. Recently, he met his mates, and they joined the household. One is Phillip. I mentioned him to you already. He is the lone dragon-shifting sentinel. Their other mate is a fallen knight called Keegan. They are quite happy.”
“I did not realize it was possible to have more than one mate,” Drexley responded.
“It is rare and unfortunately does not always work out. But Victor, Keegan, and Phillip never allowed that to bother them. I am so grateful they are together.”
“How would you feel if we were to have a third mate?”
“Tell me your thoughts on the matter first.”
Drexley frowned but ruffled his fingers gently through Ducarius’s messy hair. “The thought of someone else kissing you bothers me.”
“I understand it is different if Fate intends for you to be with multiple mates, so I doubt either of us has anything to worry about. The thought of anyone discovering how wonderful you taste enrages me.”
“Despite my reluctance to share you, it is lovely to know Fate creates matebonds in many forms.”
“Yes, I love that Victor is happy with his mates. He deserves happiness. It has been a pleasure to add Keegan and Phillip to the household; they are fantastic men.”
“How did Phillip gain the ability to shift into a dragon?”
Ducarius could not resist stealing a kiss from Drexley before answering.
“There is a group called Sorcery D’Vaire.
It consists of nearly fifty people devoted to expanding the limits of magic and spells.
Among their many accomplishments is a new resurrection spell for the undead races that allowed shifters to cross the veil.
Unfortunately, there were aspects they did not understand.
Phillip and another Daray, Venerable Knight Samson Osdraconis-Daray, were resurrected with dragons, and both men struggled to find accord with their beasts.
Chand refuses to have anyone else suffer, so the spell has been permanently shelved. ”
“I am sorry to hear that the spell did not turn out how they expected. Are both men well now?”
“Yes, Sam and Phillip both have strong bonds with their dragons now, but it was not an easy road. I am glad they had the support of our family and their rulers to aid them.”
“There are many books on these shelves of spells that were unsuccessful in some way. Magic can be a precarious thing.”
“Like this fucking realm crumbling into dust,” Ducarius growled.
“Stop troubling yourself. Adney will not leave, and I vowed not to force him.”
“Damn you for being a sentinel who cannot lie.”
“According to you, none of us can.”
“Well, I wish you were different.”
Drexley chuckled. “They carry weapons, wear uniforms like yours, and train often. I could not be more different if I tried.”
“If you cannot fit in, stand out with pride, Drexley.”
“Sound advice. You may think yourself clever for distracting me, but I still want an answer to my question. What were you thinking about as we kissed?”
“Besides your agile tongue and how wonderful it makes me feel?”
“That was not why you tensed.”
Ducarius sighed heavily. “I was thinking about this damn realm. There is almost nothing left of the top floor of this castle. Your bedroom is just below it. What will you do if some giant hunk of rock pins you to your mattress while you sleep?”
“Teleport out from under it and find somewhere else to rest. Perhaps in your bed. It is far closer to the bottom of the castle than my own.”
“So, the lone thing you like about my bedroom is its location.”
“Do not be ridiculous.”
Laughing at the consternation on Drexley’s handsome face, Ducarius could not resist teasing him. “Tell me why you think my bed would be a suitable destination for you when your room crumbles away.”
“That should be obvious. You are in it.”
“Yet I have slept alone since my arrival.”
“You are the one who kisses me senseless then scurries off to bed alone every night.”
“I want neither of us rushed into anything.”
“Your patience may be the most annoying aspect of your personality.”
Ducarius chuckled again. “Do not worry, the longer we are acquainted, the more you may find to dislike.”
“I doubt that,” Drexley insisted and sealed his words with a firm kiss.
“I like most of what I have learned about you since we met. Some of it does not yet feel like reality, but I suppose that is understandable given that you are so far from home and I cannot meet your family or gain any insight into your role as a Skeleton Lord.”
“I want you to sleep well tonight, Drexley, so let’s avoid discussing the future.
It stresses you, and you have far too much to worry about right now.
We will focus on my family, the Council, and everything else that awaits us, but not until we must. For now, I would prefer to hear you complain about how much you yearn to see me naked. ”
“Each night my imagination flourishes with ideas of what awaits me beneath your uniform.”
“Do not allow your expectations to grow too high. I do not want you disappointed when we go to bed together.”
“Ducarius, how long are you going to make me wait?”
Ducarius was reassured that Drexley was as desperate for him as he was for the other sentinel, so there was nothing but Ducarius’s fear of disappointing his mate keeping them apart.
“What if I cannot satisfy you?” Ducarius asked softly.
“What if it is me who fails to please you?”
“It makes me feel better to know you are scared too.”
“I have scant knowledge about what happens between two men. All I have is the urging of my hormones and a desire to experience everything with you.”
Ducarius brushed his thumb across Drexley’s cheek and kissed him gently. “Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, you have an invitation to join me in my bedroom if you want it.”
“I would be delighted to accept your invitation. If you are interested, I am happy to remove my clothes immediately after my arrival.”
“Drexley, my dick is jammed into your hip, and the last thing I want to do is come in my pants, so stop painting me a picture of what awaits me.”
The other sentinel chuckled almost demonically and used his teeth to nibble Ducarius’s jaw. “It is probably not good of me, but I think teasing you may suit me.”
“Then be prepared to hear me outwardly complain while I glow inside at your temerity.”
“Recently I have wished that we had the chance to meet Fate herself. I should like to thank her for bringing you here to me. If I had known I would have a mate, I like to think I’d have imagined him like you.”
“You do not fool me. When I arrived, you were convinced that you had nothing in common with some crude weapon-toting sentinel.”
Drexley laughed. “I probably used those exact words. What a fool I was to assume that just because we are different we could find no accord. There are limits to what you can learn from a book and an ancient necromancer with no mate of his own.”
“Thank Fate you have an open mind and are willing to keep learning no matter the circumstance.”
“May this newfound skill aid me in the days ahead.”
Ducarius pressed kisses to Drexley’s forehead, nose, and finally his swollen mouth. “Stay in the present. You need rest. One without tortured dreams. Conserve your energy. I plan to explore you thoroughly tomorrow night.”
“I cannot decide if I should rush upstairs to stroke my shaft or ignore my hardness and save my seed for tomorrow night when you touch me.”
“Again, you are describing things in too much detail, Drexley. You are not the only one who requires sleep. How can I escape exhaustion if I wake every few hours to jerk off thanks to the erotic dreams you are surely planting in my brain?”
“Perseverance.”
“Hateful man.”
Drexley threw his head back and laughed. It was a beautiful sound, and Ducarius could not resist tugging him close for another deep kiss. If he suffered through the night, then it was a price Ducarius would gladly pay. Luckily, he already had the anticipation of tomorrow night awaiting him.