Chapter 14 #2
Draco’s eyes dropped to my exposed legs, then quickly back up to my face. But not quickly enough. In the dim light, I saw his pupils dilate, the purple glow intensifying slightly around his irises. Through our bond, I felt a flash of heat that he couldn’t quite suppress.
“I should go,” he said, his voice rougher than before. He started to rise from the chair.
“No,” I said, surprising myself as much as him. “Stay.”
He hesitated, half-standing. “Jupiter...”
“Come here,” I said, moving over in the bed and pulling back the covers beside me. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”
The war of emotions on his face would have been comical under different circumstances. Desire, uncertainty, concern, all battling for dominance. I could feel his struggle, wanting to respect boundaries but desperately wanting to cross them too.
“Are you sure?” he asked, still not moving.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure.” I patted the space beside me. “Just come lie down. Please, you’re making me nervous.”
I glanced over to the corner of the room where Noodle was fast asleep in his open carrying case, having been pouting there when I wouldn’t give him an extra mouse for dinner.
Draco approached slowly, as if giving me time to change my mind. When he reached the edge of the bed, he paused again, looking down at me with those glowing eyes. “The others will feel this.”
“Let them,” I whispered, not entirely sure why I was being so bold. Maybe it was the lingering fear from the nightmare, or maybe it was the way he’d been looking at me all week.
He slid under the covers beside me, careful to maintain a few inches of space between us. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, and smell the faint scent of his skin. He smelled like clean soap and a hint of mint.
For a moment, we just lay there, the tension between us thick enough to cut. Then I rolled to face him. “Thank you for coming to check on me.”
“I couldn’t stay away,” he admitted with a long sigh. “Seems to be becoming a pattern.”
I moved closer, drawn to his warmth. “The nightmares are always about the Abyss ever since we went down there. About burning from the inside out, but I’m always alone down there.”
His hand moved hesitantly to my face, pushing a strand of hair back. “You’re safe now.”
“Am I?” I asked somewhat shakily.
His fingertips lingered on my cheek. “With us? Yes. Always.”
Something came over me as I looked into his slightly purple eyes.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his.
He froze for a heartbeat, then responded with hunger.
His hand slid into my hair, pulling me closer as his mouth claimed mine.
The kiss was nothing like I’d imagined our first kiss would be—not that I’d been imagining it. Much.
I pressed myself against him, savoring the feel of his bare skin, hot against mine. His hand moved from my hair down my back, fingertips tracing the edge of my top before slipping underneath to touch the bare skin of my lower back.
“Holy shit,” he breathed against my lips. “We should slow down.”
“Why?” I challenged, sliding my leg between his. Through the thin fabric of his sweatpants, I could feel how hard he was already. “Do you want me?”
His eyes flared brighter purple, magic responding to desire. “More than you know. But the bond—”
“Screw the bond,” I said, pressing my hips against his. “This isn’t about the bond. This is about you and me.”
Something snapped in his control. With a low growl, he rolled me onto my back, his body covering mine as his mouth crashed down on mine again. He was heavier than I thought, and so large that he dwarfed me.
His hands were everywhere, sliding up my sides, pushing my top higher until he could cup my breast. I arched into his touch, gasping as his thumb brushed across my nipple.
“Take it off,” I demanded, tugging at the hem of my top.
He helped me pull it over my head, then stared down at me, eyes glowing brighter as they took in my naked torso.
“You’re fucking incredible,” he murmured, bending to press his lips to the curve of my breast.
I tangled my fingers in his white hair, holding him against me as his mouth moved lower. Every touch of his lips sent sparks across my skin, magic mingling with pleasure until I could barely tell them apart.
My hands explored the planes of his chest, tracing the muscles that shifted under my fingertips. When I reached the waistband of his sweatpants, I hesitated only for a second before slipping my hand inside.
He groaned against my neck as I wrapped my fingers around him, his hips jerking involuntarily. “I’ve imagined how that would feel for fucking weeks.”
I smiled, a surge of power rushing through me. “Then maybe you should do something about it.”
He hooked his fingers in the waistband of my underwear and pulled them down my legs. His sweatpants followed, kicked to the floor beside the bed. Then he was hovering over me again, completely naked and utterly magnificent.
“Are you sure?” he asked again, his eyes searching mine.
In answer, I pulled him down to me, wrapping my legs around his hips. “Draco, if you don’t fuck me I might scream.”
When he finally pushed into me, I moaned, my eyes rolling back in my head. His cock was thick and hot, pulsing with restrained pleasure thrumming through him. Our magics flared simultaneously, silver and purple light entwining around us as our bodies joined.
His hands gripped my hips, guiding me into a rhythm that had me gasping his name. My nails scored down his back, leaving marks I knew would be there tomorrow. My hips rolled to meet his, making him groan and shudder above me.
Draco knew how to fuck. He knew how and when to move faster and slower, until I was whining and shaking underneath him. Our skin was slick with sweat, and everywhere he touched me felt like it was on fire.
The bond between us widened, deepened, as our pleasure built. I could feel everything—his desire, his need, the way his control was slipping with each thrust.
His pace quickened, our hips slapping audibly through the room. Neither of us bothered hiding our moans. We fucked fast, hard and messily until we were both shaking and coming at the same time. He spilled into me with a moan in the crook of my neck, his fingers sinking into my hair.
As the aftershocks rolled through me, he didn’t stop, but slowed down, still moving with leisurely strokes.
His lips captured mine again, slowly and softly as he ran a thumb over my cheek, holding my face to his.
Eventually he rolled off of me, both of us breathing hard and fast. I stared up at my ceiling, my legs still trembling.
I took only ten seconds to become aware of three other distinct presences in the back of my head.
“They felt everything, didn’t they?” I asked, not quite able to summon embarrassment yet.
Draco rolled to his side and brushed his lips against my forehead. “Yeah. The bond is still forming. It’s hard to block things this intense.”
I should have been mortified. Instead, I found myself laughing softly. “Well, that’s one way to break the ice.”
He propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at me with a mixture of amusement and concern. “You’re not upset?”
I considered this, tracing lazy patterns on his chest. “No. This was going to happen eventually, wasn’t it? With one of you, or all of you. That’s how axis bonds work.”
His expression grew serious. “Is that what this was? Just the bond?”
I caught his face between my hands, making him look at me. “No. This was me wanting you, Draco. Just you. Tonight.”
The relief in his eyes was staggering. He leaned down to kiss me softly. “Good. Because I’ve wanted you since the second I saw you. And I do mean the very first second.”
I smiled against his lips. “Careful, you’ll inflate my ego.”
He pulled me closer, arranging us so that my head rested on his chest, his arms secure around me. As I drifted toward sleep, I gripped Draco’s arm tighter. “Stay,” I murmured, already half-asleep.
“As long as you want me,” he promised, his lips brushing my hair.
For the first time in weeks, I slept without nightmares.