Chapter Eight
Redford pulled back just enough to look at Damon properly. The thin jeweled chain caught the light, winking with dozens of colors against Damon’s throat. His mate. His gorgeous, ridiculous, patient mate who’d been waiting just as long as Redford had.
“The collar’s only the hellhound half,” Redford said, his voice rough. “To complete the bond, I have to claim you properly.”
Damon’s eyes darkened and seemed to glow. “What does that mean to a gargoyle?”
“It means I have to touch you. Every part of you.” Redford’s gargoyle rumbled with anticipation. “It’s the gargoyle’s way. We know from the first touch when a mate is ours, we cement our claim by touching our mate all over. To claim you, I need to touch you, and learn every inch of you.”
“Oh.” Damon swallowed hard, the chain moving against his throat. “That sounds...”
“It’s meant to be very intense.” Redford cupped his face. “Is that okay?”
The hound’s growl vibrated through Damon’s chest. “It sounds like the best part of claiming to me. If you don’t get me to a bed in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to lose my mind.”
Redford didn’t need to be told twice. He bent and lifted Damon into his arms and carried him down the hall to Damon’s bedroom. The door barely closed behind them before Damon was tugging at Redford’s shirt, yanking it over his head as Redford set his feet on the floor.
“I’ve been wanting you for a week,” Damon muttered against Redford’s mouth. “And you’re still wearing too many clothes.”
“So are you,” Redford shot back, working at Damon’s jeans. “Don’t ever think you were the only one wanting.”
They stripped each other with fumbling hands and breathless laughter, clothing landing wherever it did, because who cared. When they were finally bare, Redford pulled back again, this time to look at his mate properly.
Damon was stunning. All thick muscle and pale skin. His dark hair was mussed, his lips already kiss-swollen, and his eyes, which were tracking Redford’s every breath, seemed to glow.
“Bed,” Redford ordered, his voice coming out more growl than words. “Now.”
Damon climbed onto the mattress, moving with that liquid grace that made Redford’s mouth go dry. When he stretched out on his back, arms loose at his sides, Redford had to take a moment to steady himself.
Mine.
Ours, Damon’s hound whispered through their new bond.
Redford joined him on the bed, settling between Damon’s legs. “I’m going to touch you everywhere,” he warned. “Learn you and map every part of you until I know you better than I know myself.”
“Please.” Damon’s hips shifted restlessly. “Whatever you need to do. Just do it.”
Redford kissed him, pouring everything he felt into it. Then, when they had to stop to breathe, he started working his way down his new mate’s body.
He traced Damon’s jaw with his lips and tongue, learning the shape of it.
As he kissed the hollow of his throat just above the chain, Redford could feel Damon’s pulse racing beneath his skin.
There was so much of the man, and Redford was determined to enjoy every inch, humming quietly as he licked his way across Damon’s collarbones, committing every angle to memory.
“Redford.” Damon’s hands fisted in the sheets. “You’re killing me.”
“Good.” Redford moved lower, kissing across Damon’s chest. “You’ve been driving me insane for days. Turnabout’s fair play.”
He took his time with Damon’s chest, his ribs, the dip of his navel. There were very few blemishes, Damon was like any other shifter in that regard. But the muscles had form and valleys, and there were little spots down the side of Damon’s torso that made him arch his body or swear.
A gargoyle was, by his very nature, thorough, and now the awkwardness and dithering were over, Redford was going to claim his mate right. By the time he reached Damon’s hips, his mate was trembling.
“Every part,” Redford reminded him, kissing the sharp bone of Damon’s hip. “That was the deal.”
“Pretty sure I didn’t agree to torture,” Damon managed, but his voice was ragged and interspersed with heavy breathing.
“No?” Redford moved lower, kissing the inside of Damon’s thigh. “Did you want me to stop?”
“Did you want me to shift and bite you?”
Redford laughed against Damon’s skin. “Maybe another day, my mate.”
He continued his exploration, learning the strength of Damon’s thighs, the sensitivity behind his knees, and finding that ticklish spot in the arches of his feet.
Then kissed and licked his way back up the other leg, taking his time, his nose pressed against Damon’s skin, and his gargoyle humming with satisfaction at every sound Damon made.
When he finally, finally took Damon’s cock in hand, his mate nearly came off the bed.
“Redford…”
“Not yet.” Redford stroked him slowly, learning the feel of Damon’s cock in his hand. “I want to taste you first.”
Redford might have had a spot of devilish glee in making Damon squirm.
His mate was getting louder, as Damon wiggled, moaned, swore, and begged at times.
It wasn’t just Damon, though. The bond between them blazed brighter with every touch, every kiss, feeding back Damon’s pleasure until Redford was ready to come if Damon moved anywhere near his own heavy cock.
“Going to…” Damon’s warning came too late, his release clearly hitting hard. Redford drank down his mate’s release, his fingers soothing trembling thighs until Damon went boneless against the mattress.
“That was...” Damon’s chest heaved. “Why do I get the impression that was just the warm-up?”
“We’re getting there.” Redford kissed his way back up Damon’s body. “Do you have any lube?”
Damon raised his hand and clicked his fingers, and a large tube appeared in his hand.
“That’s so damn handy,” Redford chuckled. “I still need to claim you properly.”
“Pretty sure you just did.”
“Not yet. I told you, I have to touch you everywhere.” Redford settled between Damon’s legs again, slicking his fingers. “Trust me?”
Damon’s eyes softened. “With everything.”
Redford started slowly, watching Damon’s face as he worked him open. His mate was responsive, eager, arching into every touch.
“More,” Damon demanded, hooking a leg over Redford’s hip. “Stop being so careful.”
“I’m not being careful.” Redford added another finger, crooking them just right. “I’m being thorough.”
Damon’s laugh broke into a moan. “I’m sure they’re one and the same thing.”
“Not even close.”
He took his time, working him until his mate was loose, ready, and practically vibrating with need. Only then did Redford slick himself and line up properly.
“Look at me,” Redford said, one hand cupping Damon’s face. “I want to see you when I claim you.”
Damon’s eyes locked with his, dark and wild and full of trust. “I’m yours, and you’re mine.”
“Yes,” Redford agreed, as he slowly pushed his cock into Damon’s body. The last part of the “touch” – the one act that would cement them forevermore in the gargoyle way.
Redford couldn’t go slow, although he really tried. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt his mate. But between Damon’s urging and his gargoyle pushing him, his cock was fully encased in a far shorter time than it should’ve been.
“Are you…” Redford was being bombarded with sensations and not all of them physical.
“Don’t you dare ask me if I’m okay. Fuck me!”
As if Redford could do anything else. Sensations were crashing through him, and he knew Damon would be feeling the same. For the first time since he’d learned what sex was, Redford could feel everything that Damon was feeling – the stretch, the fullness, and the need that just kept growing.
Caught up in the feelings, Redford set a rhythm that had them both gasping.
Every thrust fed back through the bond, amplifying the pleasure until Redford wasn’t sure how either of them could survive it.
He shifted angles, found the spot that made Damon cry out, and aimed for it relentlessly, pushing his mate to the brink.
“There,” Damon managed. “Right there, don’t stop…”
“Never stopping.” Redford braced himself on one forearm, his other hand sliding between them to wrap around Damon again. “Never letting you go.”
He could feel Damon climbing toward the edge and felt his own release building in response. Their hearts beat in sync, their breathing matched, their pleasure tangled together until there was no separation left.
“Redford…”
“I know.” Redford thrust harder, faster, chasing the peak for both of them. “I’ve got you. Let go.”
Damon did, his release hitting like lightning through their bond. The sensation dragged Redford over with him, his own climax slamming through him with devastating force. For a moment, the bond between them burned so bright Redford thought they might actually merge into one being.
Then it settled, like a warm hug, solid and permanent beneath his ribs.
“Oh, my gods.” Redford collapsed onto Damon, breathing hard, trying to remember how his limbs worked. Damon’s arms came around him, holding him close, and through their bond Redford felt his mate’s contentment, his satisfaction, and his joy.
“Five hundred years I’ve waited for this,” Redford managed eventually. “Worth every second.”
Damon’s laugh rumbled through his chest. “Times ten or more for me, but still the same.”
They lay tangled together, neither willing to move. Redford’s gargoyle was finally content, and through the bond, he could feel Damon’s hound equally satisfied, no longer restless, just...happy.
“I can feel you,” Damon murmured, his fingers tracing patterns on Redford’s back. “Your emotions. It’s incredible.”
“Same.” Redford pressed a kiss on his mate’s shoulder. “You’re overwhelmed. Happy. A bit smug.”
“Of course, I’m smug. I got the most incredible mate in existence.”
“I feel the same way.” Redford finally found the energy to shift his weight, rolling to the side but keeping Damon close. “Though I’m not sure how I’m supposed to focus on castle renovations now.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Damon’s hand found Redford’s, their fingers interlacing. “Together.”
The word settled something else in Redford’s chest. No matter what happened going forward, he’d have Damon beside him, in his head, and part of his very soul.
“Although, after that, I could sleep for a week,” Damon admitted, his eyes already drifting closed.
“We should probably eat first.” Redford kissed his forehead. “You never got breakfast.”
“Neither did you.”
“Neither did I,” Redford agreed. “But…”
The sound of vehicles pulling up outside interrupted him. Heavy doors slamming and voices calling out greetings. The contractors had arrived.
Damon groaned. “Tell them we’re dead.”
“Pretty sure that won’t work.”
“Tell them we’re sick, then.”
“I don’t think that will work either.” Redford reluctantly sat up. “Come on. We need to shower and pretend to be responsible adults.”
“I’m a responsible hound. I never said I was a responsible adult.” But Damon was already moving, swinging his legs off the bed. As he stood up, the jeweled chain caught the light, and the way it stood out from Damon’s gleaming skin made Redford’s breath catch.
My mate.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Damon said, but his smile was soft. “We have work to do, Mr. Responsibility.”
“I’m thinking work can wait.”
“Work absolutely cannot wait. Those contractors are expensive.” Damon headed for the bathroom, glancing back over his shoulder. “But you can join me in the shower if you promise to behave.”
Redford followed, already knowing he wouldn’t behave at all. The contractors knew what they needed to do – they could work by themselves for an hour or two.