8. Chapter Eight
CHAPTER EIGHT
CAIUS
“ H ave you got everything else you need?” Aggonid’s attention lingers on Emeric, still buried beneath the silk covers, his breathing deep, steady, as though on the last vestiges of being awake.
We’re still in Romarie, making use of one of the rooms while an army of Bedlam’s guards patrol the halls. I have a grudging respect for the High Queen and King of the Fae now.
Apparently, this is the room Morte and Aggie stayed in when they were here, though they’ve redecorated. Probably because they tore the room apart, stripping it of all the sanguimetal.
Em nods, dragging me back from my thoughts as a sleepy smile blooms across his face as he nestles back into his little cocoon of blankets.
He’s so cute like this. Dark curls fall across his forehead, and I’m half-tempted to brush them aside. Without Morte here, we’re all a little touch-starved. I don’t, but instead, I press a kiss to his forehead, my dark blue hair slipping free from where it’s pinned behind my ear. His eyes flutter open at my touch, iced blue pools gazing up at me with such warmth.
“Shh,” I whisper .
“Did you just kiss me?” he murmurs, voice rough with sleep.
“You can sleep now.”
He hums, eyes already drifting closed again. “Wake me if … if there’s news.”
We aren’t expecting any tonight, but first thing tomorrow we’re regrouping. We’ve already scoured through every inch of this place, leaving no stone unturned, no nook or cranny unsearched for something—anything—that will give us a clue as to where they went.
I rise to my feet, stripping off my clothes and letting them drop to the floor.
Beyond the arched doorway, weak ripples disturb the surface of the bathwater. Wilder, submerged up to his shoulders, moves as though rest eludes him entirely. The pool-sized tub glows faintly, its heat visible in the soft steam curling upward, but his magic—muted and slow—seems reluctant to stir in his grief.
We’re all feeling this.
Aggonid’s hand brushes against mine as he rises, grounding me, though the heat of his presence sends a charge racing down my spine. “What about you?” he asks, his tone lower now, meant for me alone. “What do you need?”
"Everything but sleep." I card a hand through the silk of my hair. Glancing toward the bedpost, my claws find a rough patch on its edge. Dragging them along the grain, I force the agony in my chest to stay contained. “She’s alive,” I mutter. The words aren’t the relief they should be. "But not safe. Not yet."
Aggonid steps closer. “We’ll change that,” he murmurs, confidence etched into every syllable. “She’s coming home.”
The promise carries weight, one I don’t know how to share in my utter despair. My hand curls tighter around the bedpost, but his other hand catches me. He doesn’t pull me to him, not yet. Instead, his fingers trail along my wrist and my runes dance in his wake, a steadying touch I need more than air.
The silence between us is thick, but not empty. I let my hold slip from the post and turn fully to face him. There’s a measure of heat in his eyes, and his fingers brush higher up my arm, stopping just below my shoulder. He leans in, his grip firming, and I allow it. I step into the space he creates, drawn in by a connection deeper than words.
“I’m not letting you unravel,” Aggonid says softly, his tone threaded with authority, with something heavier I can’t place yet. His thumb grazes my jaw, pulling me closer until the tension shifts into something far more dangerous.
I tilt my head, meeting his intensity as his hand slides to the nape of my neck. “Prove it.”
Aggie’s lips curve into a smile that is equal parts challenge and invitation. His fingers tighten on my neck, sending a thrill down my spine as he draws me flush against him. His other hand finds the small of my back, pressing me even closer until there's no space left between us.
My tail wraps around him, the tip grazing the sensitive skin behind his ear. Aggie's breath catches, his eyes darkening with a hunger that matches my own. His hand slides from my nape into my hair, gripping the strands and tilting my head back. I let out a grunt when his shadows curl around my pierced cock.
His shadows tighten, sending jolts of pleasure through my body. I arch into him, a low moan escaping my lips. Aggie's grip in my hair pulls harder, exposing my throat. His mouth descends, teeth grazing the sensitive skin.
"I'll prove it as many times as it takes,” he growls against my neck, breath hot on my skin. His shadows pulse around my length in tandem with his words, each throb dragging me higher.
“Too many clothes,” I groan, my head arching back, and he releases his hold of me just long enough to shrug out of his shirt and toss it aside.
My fingers disappear into his pants, gripping his ass and grinding him against me before I slide them down his thighs, easing them off him.
Aggie kicks his pants away, his red, heated gaze never leaving mine. His hands return to my body, sliding possessively over my bare skin. I shiver at his touch, electricity dancing along my nerves.
We both need this, if only to soothe the ache in our bond .
He grips my hips, pulling me hard against him as his mouth claims mine. Our tongues battle for dominance, the kiss turning rough and demanding as he stalks forward until the backs of my knees hit the bed.
Aggie pushes me down onto the mattress, his body following mine, pressing me into the silk sheets. His weight settles over me, delicious and heavy, pinning me in place. I wrap my legs around his waist, using the leverage to grind up against him. Our cocks slide against each other, hard and throbbing with need, both slick with pre-come. He groans into my mouth, his hips thrusting to meet mine. His fingers dig into my hips as he rocks against me, the friction maddening.
I break the kiss, gasping for air, my head falling back against the sheets. Aggie's lips trail down my jaw, his teeth nipping at the sensitive skin. His mouth travels lower, tongue flicking over my nipple before sucking it between his teeth. I cry out, my back arching as pleasure shoots through me. Shadows dance across my skin, caressing and teasing as they wrap around my wrists, pinning my arms above my head, leaving me helpless and at his mercy.
A large part of me is thrilled we’re doing this with Em in the bed. It’s just one more step towards bringing him into the fold, and it might also satisfy the voyeur in me.
“Aggie, please,” I beg, my entire body trembling with need. I’m so hard it hurts, aching for his touch.
He lifts his head, eyes dark with lust as they meet mine. "Please what, love?" His voice is a sinful purr that makes me shudder.
"I need you. Inside me. Now," I pant, straining against the shadows' hold.
A wicked grin curves his lips. "As you wish."
He brings his fingers to my mouth, curling inside, and I suck them greedily, coating them with my saliva. When he pulls them free, a string of spit connects us for a moment before breaking.
Aggie's hand slides between our bodies, fingers circling my entrance before pressing inside. I gasp as he breaches me, back arching off the bed. He works me open with skilled fingers, stretching and preparing me for what’s to come. I writhe beneath him, moaning wantonly as he adds a second finger, then a third, thrusting deep and curling against that sweet spot inside me until I’m a desperate mess beneath him. I rock my hips, trying to take his fingers deeper, craving more.
“Aggie,” I groan, my voice broken and needy. “I’m ready, please …”
He withdraws his fingers, and I whine at the loss, feeling empty and aching. But then he’s positioning himself at my entrance, the blunt head of his cock pressing against me. He dribbles spit between us, his shadows spreading it around his length. With a slow, steady thrust, he pushes inside, inch by delicious inch, until he’s buried to the hilt. We both groan at the intensity, our bodies joined as one as I fist the sheets.
“Fuck, I needed this.” He tilts his head to the ceiling, eyes shuttered.
My tail glides around his ass, caressing his puckered hole. His eyes fly open, heated orbs of red landing on me, but he doesn’t protest the intrusion as I press inside.
“You’re so tight,” he groans, his voice strained with pleasure as he begins to move, hips rocking in a steady rhythm. Each thrust sends sparks racing through my veins, stoking the fire burning within me, within our bond.
My tail continues its sinful exploration, circling and teasing his sensitive entrance, dipping inside a moment before pulling back out.
Aggie's thrusts falter for a moment and he lets out a guttural moan as his head falls forward. "Fuck, love, what you do to me ..."
Emboldened, I allow the tip of my tail to breach him fully, pushing past that tight ring of muscle. Aggie's back arches as he cries out, his cock twitching deep inside me. I match the thrusts of my tail to his increasingly erratic pace, the dual stimulation driving him wild.
His fist grips my cock, thumb rubbing along my piercings as he strokes me in time with his hips snapping against mine.
My body trembles as the pleasure builds, coiling tighter and tighter within me. Aggie's eyes blaze with lust and adoration as he stares down at me, his thrusts growing more forceful, more desperate. The filthy sounds of skin slapping against skin fill the room, mingling with our moans and gasps.
"That's it, love," Aggie growls, his voice rough with strain. "Take my cock. Let me feel that sweet ass clenching around me."
I keen at his words, my passage fluttering and squeezing him like a vice. My tail works in and out of him, stroking deep, hitting that special spot that I know makes him see stars. Aggie throws his head back with a shout, his hand flying over my cock as his hips piston frantically.
"Gonna come," he grits out between clenched teeth. “Come with me, paint my chest.”
His words are my undoing. With a wordless cry, I let go, my release spurting hot and thick over his fist as my inner walls clamp down on him. Aggie follows me over the edge a heartbeat later, his cock pulsing deep inside me as he fills me with his seed.
We collapse together in a tangle of sweat-slicked limbs, bodies heaving as we struggle to catch our breath. Aggie's softening length slips from my body, and I whimper at the loss, feeling empty and bereft. But then he gathers me close, strong arms banding around me as he nuzzles into my neck.
"I love you," he murmurs, pressing a tender kiss to my racing pulse. "So much."
I nuzzle into his embrace, basking in the afterglow. “I love you, too.” My whisper dances across his sweat damp skin. “I hate that she’s gone, but I’m glad I’m not alone.”
Aggie glances up as he settles on my other side, his movements freezing mid-breath.
Curiosity stirs, and I let my head loll to the side, following the line of his stare.
My eyes meet Emeric’s. His pale, iced irises latch onto us, shining like fractured glaciers catching fire. The heat in his stare burns despite its wintry hue, his intensity stripping the air from the room. There’s no shame in his expression, no hesitation—just raw intrigue, bold and consuming, as though daring either of us to look away first.
Aggie’s grip tightens against my side, the soft tremor in his hold betraying his control, but his eyes—those vivid, red orbs—stay fixed on Emeric. They burn with a fire that matches the implicit exchange passing between them: acknowledgment, curiosity, a reticent test neither is willing to lose.
Em doesn’t blink, his focus daring. For a moment, it feels like the rest of the realm stills, leaving only the charged thread connecting the three of us.
Aggonid shifts slightly, the tension in his body sharpening. “Emeric,” he murmurs, the name carrying weight beyond the obvious. His rasp pulls me back into focus, and I grin.
Em smirks, his tongue brushing over his teeth before his lips curve further. It’s not a challenge—it’s a promise.