11. Epilogue #2
Adam was also a fan of the intimacy, of knowing that at the end of the day, this bond was between him and Calder and no one else. He knew his friends supported him while his dad probably never would and strangers probably had an opinion, but none of that mattered. This was between him and Calder.
Also—tentacle sex!
Not that the bond had to involve tentacle sex—Calder had been quite clear about that—but as Adam had learned since they’d gotten together, all sex with Calder was amazing, and sex that also involved tentacles was the absolute best. Adam never had to worry that he was going to do something wrong with his hands, and Calder had enough limbs to make sure that the chances of Adam kneeing him in the groin were extremely low—yet one more tentacle could always catch Adam’s offending limb before it did any damage.
Adam hadn’t known he had a thing for tentacles or for being a little restrained during sex until he met Calder—but then, he’d learned so much about himself since he’d met his mate.
Calder always made room for him and accepted him just as he was, which somehow allowed Adam to be a better person, if still a clumsy one.
It was amazing.
And so, the night before their official wedding and bonding ceremony—Simon had found a witch who could do both, of course—Adam and Calder were naked in bed.
Adam was so glad Calder hadn’t let Simon talk them into spending the night apart.
Obviously, they could have done the bonding at a different time, but this was exactly what Adam wanted.
They often started with Calder on top of Adam, his big body supported by all his tentacles that perfectly caged Adam in and made sure he wasn’t too heavy for Adam.
And then he’d flip them, so that Calder was on the bottom and his tentacles could wrap all the way around Adam.
They’d experimented with plenty of other positions, too.
Adam liked all of them, really, because it was him and Calder, but this was one of his favorites.
Before Calder, Adam had liked the idea of riding someone, but the coordination required had always made him antsy—and therefore that much more likely to hit someone where it hurt instead, or step on them while trying to straddle them or somehow elbow them in the face even though his elbow shouldn’t have been anywhere near their head!
But Calder made it easy, his tentacles guiding Adam and always ready to take over if Adam’s thighs decided it was a bit too much of a workout.
(But his sex stamina had gotten way better since he’d gotten intimate with Calder.
Jogging, swimming, and even squats and yoga were worth it for this kind of reward.
Also, Calder and all his tentacles doing yoga was the best and most hilarious thing Adam had ever seen.) Sometimes, Calder’s tentacles did all the work just because Adam liked the sensation of being suspended and moved at Calder’s whim.
Seriously, with so many more limbs than a regular human had, there were so many more options, and it was glorious.
Because Calder was able to multitask better than anyone Adam knew, he kissed Adam while prepping him with a slicked-up tentacle that really had ruined Adam for all other sex.
(Tentacles were really flexible, okay, and they could pinpoint the prostate way better than fingers or a cock.
Also: suckers. Calder knew exactly how to apply just the right amount of pressure with them, and Adam saw actual stars. On the regular.)
So, yes, Adam was already a writhing, panting mess by the time Calder was lining up his cock and Adam was sliding down on it, groaning as it filled him.
Their favorite positions were ones where they faced one another.
Calder’s already dark eyes went even darker when they were making love, like the darkest depths of the ocean, and Adam could get lost in them.
They kissed, and a sneaky tentacle tweaked Adam’s nipple, making him gasp into Calder’s mouth.
Calder was an expert at making Adam come untouched, and he thankfully never seemed to mind when Adam came fast. (Adam would challenge anyone not to do the same under similar stimulation.) Sometimes, though, if he wanted to tease Adam, he’d use one of his tentacles around the base of Adam’s cock to stave off the orgasm.
Today, though, although Adam liked the idea of the two of them being connected forever, the truth was that they both wanted this bond, and they wanted it yesterday.
He was well aware that if given a choice, Calder would probably have bonded the day they’d first seen one another, even taking into account the cake disaster.
Adam hadn’t been as quick on the uptake, but he was ready now, and he didn’t want to delay anymore.
(Also, pleasure was arching up his spine and suffusing his entire body, and he couldn’t imagine putting this off.)
Calder’s expression was somehow both intense and soft as he gazed up at Adam. “Will you be my mate, sweetheart?”
“Yes, please,” Adam gasped out, making Calder rumble a laugh but beam at him with so much affection it made Adam’s breath catch. “Will you be mine?”
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure.”
Intent, that was what Calder had told him.
They needed to want to bond, and the actual words spoken formalized that intent but didn’t actually matter very much.
Adam couldn’t remember ever wanting something so much in his entire life, and in that moment, sweaty and naked and grinding down on Calder’s cock, he’d never felt more accepted and more whole.
Calder wanted him just like this, looked at him like Calder was the lucky one, when it was obviously the other way around.
Adam wanted this man so very much, and he wanted to be with him forever.
He understood, finally, why you’d bond with someone even if you didn’t have forever.
You wanted as much time as you could have, as much connection as you could have, each moment precious.
Even if your lives were cut short—and that could happen to anyone—you made the deliberate choice to be together in every way because denying it was unthinkable, and some time together was better than none.
With Calder, Adam was getting more time than he could entirely conceive of.
Calder’s hips thrust up as Adam drove down, the angle perfect to hit Adam’s prostate yet again, and he cried out as he came, come splattering all over Calder.
Calder stiffened and groaned as he came inside Adam even as one of his tentacles scooped up some of Adam’s come and brought it to his mouth.
At the same time, one of his arms wrapped around Adam’s collarbone and tightened, just a little.
Stars burst across Adam’s vision, an entire spangled universe, even as his cock jerked and somehow managed to paint a few more stripes across Calder’s skin.
It was impossible to describe the sensation.
And then Adam realized it wasn’t all him.
He was wrung out with pleasure and sated and happy… but so was Calder.
He could feel what his mate felt.
“Holy shit,” Adam breathed.
Because that was definitely the first thing he wanted to say to his new mate.
Calder was grinning.
Oh, wow. This was going to be so fun.
So… they might have gotten a lot closer to spending the whole night having hot sex than Adam had intended when he’d promised Simon they wouldn’t. Simon took one look at them the next morning and rolled his eyes, but his grin kept peeking out.
They’d been late, and it hadn’t even been because of the sex (mostly).
Adam hadn’t been able to stop staring at the pattern of sucker marks across his skin from where Calder’s tentacle had squeezed him during the bond.
Most shifters left bite marks, apparently, but this was so much better.
It was low enough that a shirt could cover it, but Adam could also display it if he wanted.
(It looked enough like a tattoo that even normal people could see it without it causing an incident. Probably.)
He kept touching it, and Simon had to keep batting his hands away as Adam and Calder got dressed and ready for the day. Simon was now supervising carefully.
“Boo, at this rate, your wedding boat is going to leave without you!”
Yeah, maybe it was important that someone else was in charge right now.
Calder now had a spell etched into his skin over his heart—an unbreakable charm.
Adam had laughed and cried and agreed that it was both the perfect representation of him and the perfect representation of their bond.
Adam hadn’t even known that it was possible to mark his mate back, since witches could only use magic in deliberate spells, but Calder said it was the Magic (Adam had heard the capital), and Adam knew better than to question that at this point.
Clearly, the Magic had a mind of its own at times.
Adam was so glad that they were both marked in a way that tied them together and represented one another.
It was definitely a perfect start to the day, and Adam didn’t even mind Simon’s scolding or his teasing about how Adam was walking on clouds. That was definitely what it felt like—and he had Calder to catch him before he walked into anything.
It was a little bit bittersweet knowing that his blood family wasn’t going to be there.
His father hadn’t budged on his “Calder or me” stance, and Adam refused to beg.
Adam had texted his mother to let her know about the wedding, and he’d been surprised to get an almost immediate call back.
He’d not been at all prepared for her excitement, and he wasn’t sure now if that was because she hadn’t been excited for other life achievements, or if he hadn’t shared them with her or really given her the opportunity.