Chapter 21
twenty-one
KAT
It wasn't the quick kiss he gave me before he spent the rest of my past heats worshipping my body with his hands and mouth.
It wasn't the performative kiss he'd given me in front of a crowd a handful of times.
It wasn't the gentle kiss he'd pressed to my shoulder on a few occasions, either.
It was a deep, slow kiss, that had no desire to be anything else at all.
Just.
A.
Kiss.
My hands slipped into Callum's hair as he tipped my head back further so he could kiss me deeper. Our tongues tangled, the taste of his pine on my mouth and in my lungs while water fell over us, chilling as his magic cooled it down.
I reached out to shut it off, and his hand guided mine to the lever. The water shut off.
He stepped toward me once, and again, taking me with him until my ass met the tile and my shoulders followed.
The kiss stayed slow as one of his hands gripped my hip, and the other remained on my face.
Any thoughts I might've had were gone. The feel of his mouth on mine, his hands on me, was all that existed.
"I want to touch you," he said into my mind. "Taste you. Make you feel good."
"You already are." Our mouths continued to move, our bare bodies growing closer.
"It's not enough."
"You know what I want for that, Callum."
He paused a beat, his cock throbbing against my lower belly, then resumed kissing me.
I thought he was turning me down again, but he pulled one of my hands out of his hair and dragged it down to his erection, wrapping my hand around it.
"If you feel any pain at all—"
"I won't."
"If you do, you stop and tell me." He pulled away long enough to meet my gaze, the warning in his eyes making it clear that if I didn't comply, it would be a damn long time before this happened again.
If it ever did.
When I dragged my hand slowly down the length of him, he placed his palm against the wall of the shower, his gaze lowering to my hand on his cock.
His eyes burned. The cold of his magic flooded the air, but felt good against my skin.
I stroked him again, and his jaw clenched, those gorgeous eyes closing for a moment. The hand he had on my face lifted to my hair, tangling in the wet curls. His grip was strong, but not painful.
"I'm not going to last, Kitten." His voice strained in my mind, making the moment feel even more intimate.
"We have immortality together. If you get off too quickly a couple of times, it's not the end of the world."
I dragged my hand down the length of Callum's erection again, swirling it around the head of his cock. He cursed violently as he came hard, all over my lower belly. His release was hot against my skin, especially with the deliciously-cold bite of his magic in the room.
He couldn't seem to control the cold or ice the way he could restrain the torturous side of his magic.
The euphoria of his climax roared through the thin wall of the bond that separated our minds, making my hips arch and my lower belly ache with need.
His chest heaved as he caught his breath, and for the first time, the eyes he had on me were warm and wide and maybe even a little dazed.
"It was better, right?" I asked him, my voice playful.
"So fucking much. Is that what sex feels like when you're not in pain?"
"No, that's what a hand job feels like when you're not in pain."
"Is sex even better?"
"Most people tend to think so, but there's only one way to really find out." I dragged my hand down his length again, and his cock jerked for me again. "Fae men still need a break between rounds of sex, right?"
"We do. Not long, though." He used his grip on my hair to tilt my head back, and lowered his lips to mine, kissing me slowly while speaking through the bond. "You know I'm going to take my time with you."
"Past experience has taught me that much, yeah."
"I'm not doing it in this shower."
"You're not—" I cut myself off with a laugh as he scooped me up off my feet, stopping under the falling water long enough to rinse his release off my skin, before leaving the shower. He didn't even grab a towel on his way out of the bathroom.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, he set me down on the bed, dripping wet.
This one was so much better than the first.
My legs hung off the edge of the mattress, my mate kneeling in front of me as he took my ass in his hands and dragged my core to his mouth.
The moan that escaped me as his tongue traced my clit was so fucking desperate.
My fingers tangled in his hair again, my body turning to clay in the man's perfect hands.
Callum knew exactly what I liked, exactly what made me come—and he did it all.
I rocked against his mouth.
Came against his mouth.
Once.
Again.
He filled me with his fingers, and I came harder, the sounds that escaped me all but feral.
And while he ate me out, while he devoured me, he said the filthiest things into my mind.
I was so well-pleasured that I felt like jelly when I pulled his hair until he got the message.
He abandoned my clit after sucking and nipping his way down my inner thigh, then pulled me further up the bed with him.
His eyes were already hazy with the lust and pleasure that he must've felt through our bond, leaking from me.
I slid back down the mattress far enough to take his cock in my hand and lower my mouth to it, meeting those hazy eyes and waiting for him to turn me down.
We held each other's gazes for a long moment, but he finally dipped his head.
I wrapped my lips around his length, and his hands were in my hair in a heartbeat as he snarled a curse, the salty taste of his pleasure already on my tongue. He hadn't come, but he was already close.
A little pleasure after a lifetime of pain would do that to you, I guess.
"You are fucking unreal," he gritted out, his hands tangled in my hair almost to the point of a pain. I loved it, though, so he wouldn't be finding out.
"You taste good," I murmured into his mind.
"You'll be choking on my cum if you talk like that, Kitten," he growled back.
"I was planning on it. Don't freeze my curls."
"I would never."
I bobbed over his cock slowly, taking him deeper into my mouth once, then again. His hips jerked and his body rocked as he fought the release, but he came hard and fast. I swallowed his pleasure, dragging my tongue over his slit when his climax ended as I met his eyes again.
They were dark.
Piercing.
His chest still heaved, his hand still tangled in my hair and gripping tightly. "Did I hurt you?"
"Of course not. I think your magic likes me too much to hurt me."
"Kitten..."
"I would tell you if it did. I'm fine. Better than fine, considering how many orgasms you gave me."
"Thank fuck." The words came out on a breath, into my mind, and I wasn't sure he'd meant to project them to me at all.
I was glad things had gone how he wanted them to, because I didn't want to know how far he would push me away if the day ever came that his magic actually caused me pain.
Neither of us had slept much during the night, so we napped in bed for a while before someone's incessant pounding on the bedroom door dragged us back to the land of the living.
"Hey!" Liv yelled through the wood. "Stop screwing and come to the club with me! I invited Jonah, and I need you to help me figure out how to ask him if he wants to hook up! I need to get over Niall already!"
"I take back what I said about you picking a good best friend," I mumbled against Callum's chest.
"Agreed."
"I heard that!" Liv shouted. "I will break down this door!"
"Can she actually break it down?" I asked.
"She can indeed."
"I'm more powerful than he is!" she yelled, to answer my question. "My magic is just less murderous!"
I rolled out of bed, calling out, "I'm getting dressed, give me a second!"
Callum watched from the mattress, his eyes hooded and his gaze following me across the room.
"Stop looking at me like you want to eat me," I teased.
"Kitten, all I want to do is eat you."
I stepped into the bathroom long enough to grab the button-up shirt Callum had left on the floor, and pulled it over my head as I walked back to the bedroom door. When I gestured for Callum to put the blanket over himself, he arranged it so there wasn't nearly as much of him visible.
After he was done, I opened the door and leaned in the doorway.
Despite his blanket cover, I didn't want her in our space.
It was a wolf thing. Even if we hadn't been together, I wouldn't have wanted her inside.
Jonah had never been in any of my bedrooms for the same reason, and we rarely went into each other's homes at all.
"Jonah is a simple guy. Just tell him exactly what you want, and don't lead him on.
Something like I want to fuck you to get over my ex would suffice.
No subtext. No slyness. After the deed is done, if you want to do it again, just tell him you want to be friends with benefits, and ask if he's game," I said.
Liv nodded.
I started to close the door, but she pushed it open and tried to step inside.
I blocked her with my body.
"Werewolves are territorial about their space," Callum called behind me. "You know that."
"I was just going to help you pick an outfit. I never get to do that shit with Merrily, and you're coming whether you like it or not.
I glanced at Callum.
He lifted an eyebrow, as if telling me it was my call.
"I don't have anything to wear. My one outfit that works is still dirty," I said, looking back at Liv.
"I'm sure Callum bought you more by now."
"The bags are by the front door," he confirmed.
Liv grabbed my elbow and dragged me out there.
"Maybe this is a bad idea. What if I get attached?" she asked. "I don't want to move on too effectively."
"Do you usually get attached to people you sleep with?"
She made a face. "Maybe. Niall and I started as a hookup."
"How did you meet?"
"At an art gallery event for the Cabinet."
I lifted my eyebrows.