Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
DAX
The logistics of where to bring Mateo to claim him turned out to be more complicated than Dax first assumed.
He’d intended to follow Mateo’s suggestion to bring him back to his apartment since his tub was bigger.
But something about that felt… wrong. It’d be cramped, probably make a huge mess with the mating magic, and something in Dax’s instincts demanded he return to the coral realm.
The only problem was, that required travel time and now that he knew Mateo was on board and wanted to be claimed, he wasn’t sure he could wait that long.
He tugged at his hair, scrolling through his phone to find a better option.
He wasn’t going to do it in the company pool.
There was absolutely no privacy there, and if anyone saw Mateo in the throes of passion, Dax would definitely be arrested for assault.
Quite possibly murder. He didn’t trust his instincts right now.
“Dax? What’s wrong?” Mateo asked, leaning against his side in a show of support. Goddess, he needed that right now.
“I don’t know where to go,” he admitted with a grimace. “My place will be too cramped, but it’ll take too long for us to travel all the way to the coral realm–”
“Gods, what would you do without me?” Miles’s familiar voice drawled. Dax’s head whipped up to find his friend standing a few feet away, tossing a teleportation spell into the air and catching it with a wicked grin on his face. Dax’s shoulders slumped with relief.
“Really?”
“Somehow, I figured you’d need it. But it’s your turn to owe me. Deal?”
“Deal,” Dax agreed without an ounce of hesitation. Mateo looked between them with a confused frown, but Dax couldn’t take the time to explain it. He was practically vibrating to get moving, and now he had a way home without the travel time.
“Hang on to your mates, people,” Miles said with a cheeky grin as he put his hand on Dax’s shoulder.
“Realm hopping is no joke.” He murmured something against the little crystal that held the spell, then gave Dax a significant look.
“See where you’re going in your mind. Make sure you’re clear about it. ”
Nodding sharply, Dax wrapped both arms and tentacles around Mateo, closing his eyes and imagining his favorite cove when he was a kid.
It was a private cove that belonged to his family, with a little beach and water deep enough for a bonding spell without being too deep that Mateo’s amulet would be at risk of failing.
He imagined every detail as clearly as he could, from the overhanging rocks to the small trickling waterfall that made the crystal clear water ripple.
He heard a snap, felt the pull of the teleportation magic, and hugged Mateo to him tighter, his stomach lurching from the force of hopping realms.
When teleporting within realms, it wasn’t usually so intense.
Realm hopping required a lot of magic and was the reason portal stations existed since portals were a lot easier on the body.
The three of them landed on the sand with a thud, Dax cushioning Mateo’s fall with his tentacles while Miles landed on top of him with a grunt.
He didn’t complain, knowing the kind of magic his friend had just expended to get them there, and waited until Miles summoned the energy to push off of them and drop backward onto the sand to sit up.
Dax looked around, relieved that he’d been clear enough in his projection to bring them right where they needed to go. The instincts that he’d been shoving down for weeks now surged forward, demanding he and Mateo get into the water, but he wouldn’t do that until he was sure Miles was okay first.
Miles waved a hand lazily in the air. “Go. I’m good. I texted your brother before teleporting here. He’ll be here in a minute to help me. I’ll see you later.”
Well, that was a relief. And since Miles had dropped them near the overhang of rocks, as long as he and Mateo were on the other side of the waterfall, they’d have plenty of privacy until his brother came to help. All Miles needed was an energy potion and a nap, and he’d be good.
Helping Mateo to his feet, he led him away, smiling at the concerned expression on his mate’s face when he looked back at Miles a few times. “Are you sure he’ll be okay?”
“Positive,” Dax promised. “He may be tiny, but he’s a badass. Teleporting three people just takes a lot of energy. My brother will have a potion for him, and he’ll probably go nap on a beach somewhere for a while and be better in an hour or two.”
Relief made Mateo nod, which warmed Dax’s heart. His mate and his best friend being close wasn’t a requirement, but it would make him unbelievably happy. Miles had been his friend for a long time. He wanted Mateo to like him.
Blinking a few times, Mateo finally looked around, admitting, “I’ve never been to another realm before.”
Something about that made Dax insanely happy. It felt important that Mateo’s first experience in another realm was his home. He tugged his mate’s hands, urging him around a tree. “Clothes off. Everything but the amulet. Then I’ll show you my happy place.”
They were quick to get into the water, hidden from sight around the rocky outcropping, and Dax pulled Mateo under without hesitation, moving away from the surface and toward where Dax truly felt like he was home.
Except the feeling had changed a little.
He still felt connected to the water, but home wasn’t in the cove anymore or in the ocean of his home realm.
It was in the man holding his hands, following Dax deeper into the water without a single ounce of fear or worry.
He trusted Dax and that meant more to him than anything.
He felt a tug on his family bond, letting him know his brother had arrived and was taking care of things on the surface. He let himself relax and gave his full attention to his mate, smiling as Mateo looked around in awe.
The water of the cove was so clear, it was a little misleading when looking at it from the surface.
It didn’t look nearly as deep as it really was.
It gave them plenty of space to move around, and when they reached deep enough in the water that Dax’s instincts were satisfied they had privacy, he pulled Mateo into his arms, grinning at the way his mate couldn’t stop smiling.
“This is gorgeous,” Mateo breathed, legs tangling with two of Dax’s tentacles. He needed at least a few out since he didn’t want them to get too deep where Mateo’s amulet wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t resist touching his mate and wrapped another around his waist to keep him close.
“You’re gorgeous,” Dax countered, earning a sweet smile in response.
Sliding his arms around Dax’s neck, Mateo kissed him softly.
The insistent thrumming of his instincts that had been battering him since he realized Mateo was his mate settled a little, letting him focus on the moment, and he wrapped his arms around Mateo’s lithe frame, licking his way into Mateo’s mouth and groaning at how perfect it was to be touching him like this under the water.
His mating tentacle slid out of its pouch, sliding between them to wrap around Mateo’s cock.
He shuddered in pleasure from the sensation, the reaction mirrored in Mateo as he thrust his hips for more friction.
Hands wandered and touched, and he lost himself a little in the moment, just being wrapped around his mate, knowing he accepted their bond and feeling utterly content in the world.
Eventually, though, his instincts started getting more insistent. It wasn’t enough to just have Mateo in the water with him. He wanted to tie them together like proper mates. And to do that, they needed to be a hell of a lot closer than they were now.
Without anything to gain purchase against, Dax ended up wrapping more tentacles around his mate, urging his legs around his waist while his mating tentacle moved further between his legs and slid along his crease.
He was grateful for the amulet because Mateo was panting and squirming in his arms, and thanks to that magic, they didn’t have to take frequent breaks for his mate to catch his breath.
Mateo’s squirming movements managed to shift his body lower, his cock slipping underneath Dax’s tentacles and rubbing against the opening of his pouch. His eyes flew open in surprise.
“Fuck!”
Dax jolted hard, tentacles tightening, and a groan ripped from deep in his chest as Mateo’s erection pushed a little inside. He felt his eyes go blind, his entire focus on where Mateo was slowly sliding deeper, and the pleasure that sang through his body like he could feel it everywhere.
“M-Mateo…”
MATEO
He’d thought he’d known how this would go when they started.
Based on what they’d done before, Mateo had thought Dax would take him with his mating tentacle and whatever the claiming magic was would happen while they were in the throes.
He did not expect to be inside Dax, and from the way Dax was reacting to it, neither did his mate.
Tentatively, he drew his hips back and thrust into the warm, slick pouch that Dax’s mating tentacle lived in. His cock slid along the base of it, his eyes nearly crossing at the pure pleasure he felt with Dax’s body wrapped around his.
His reaction was nothing like Dax’s, who cried out in shocked pleasure, his tentacles tightening to jerk Mateo closer, somehow moving him deeper inside that pouch.
Something in the way he was reacting made Mateo think he’d never experienced this before, and a possessive part of Mateo was glad about that.
He thrust a little harder, watching with hungry eyes as Dax’s body contorted in ecstasy.
“Ahhh! Mateo!” Dax shouted, seemingly lost to the pleasure. So lost, he didn’t even seem to notice the way the water seemed to be swirling around them, almost like an underwater tornado.
Mateo’s attention was diverted, a little concerned about whether they’d stumbled into an area they shouldn’t have or caught the attention of something dangerous that would suck them deeper until his amulet wouldn’t work anymore.
“Dax… What– Ungh, fuck!”
He couldn’t finish the question before Dax’s mating tentacle was pushing inside his ass without the normal slow and steady care Dax normally gave him. He was relentless, frantic even, and the dual sensation seemed to make Mateo’s mate lose his ever loving mind.
“Ungh, ungh, Mateo!”
Mateo couldn’t say he was much better. He stopped thinking about the swirling water, too distracted by the way Dax pushed deeper, vibrating his rim with his suckers while forcing Mateo’s cock into his pouch again.
“Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuuuuck!”
He hadn’t thought it could get any better, but some kind of tingling, almost like when standing on a leg that had fallen asleep, swept up his body in weird patterns that made Mateo twitch and writhe.
His movements seemed to set Dax off, and the pouch, which he hadn’t thought would change at all, tightened around his cock until he was locked in place, the thrust of Dax’s mating tentacle causing him to grind into the slick pouch and make them both wail in pleasure.
When his release hit him, it was so intense, he felt like every nerve ending in his body lit up with pleasure.
His whole body went taut and it almost felt like he couldn’t breathe.
He drew in a deep breath, feeling water fill his lungs, and for a split second, panic threatened to overtake him, but then his climax hit him like a tidal wave, slamming into him so hard it felt like he’d left his own body for a second.
“M-Mateo!”
He heard Dax’s shout, felt his mating tentacle flood him, and shivered as a small aftershock hit him and made his body clench.
His cock slipped free of Dax’s pouch as his mating tentacle retreated and they clung to each other, gasping.
He floated there for a long moment, eventually relaxing his legs from their tight grip around Dax’s waist, basking in the pleasure that still sang along his nerves until his feet touched the sand beneath them and Dax’s hold on him went almost painfully tight.
Dax jerked back away from him, eyes wide with horror as he looked down at the amulet that was flashing against Mateo’s chest.
Then, like a candle being blown out, it flickered and went dark.