CHAPTER 8 A CLAIM FREELY GIVEN #2
Jace moved to grab supplies from his pack—oil he'd brought for exactly this purpose. He warmed it between his hands, then moved to kneel between Eli's legs.
"Spread for me," Jace said.
Eli did, feeling exposed and vulnerable in a way he'd never experienced. His cock was still hard, jutting up against his stomach, and he could feel Jace's eyes on him—not judging, just appreciating.
"You're gorgeous like this," Jace murmured. "Open for me. Trusting me."
He pressed one slick finger against Eli's entrance, circling gently. Eli tensed initially, his body resisting the intrusion.
"Relax," Jace said, his free hand stroking Eli's thigh. "I've got you. Just breathe."
Eli forced himself to relax, to breathe through the unfamiliar sensation. Jace worked slowly, carefully, until one finger slipped inside.
The feeling was strange—not painful, but intense. Foreign.
"How does this feel?" Jace asked, holding still.
"Different," Eli admitted. "Good different. New."
Jace began to move, working that single finger in and out, letting Eli adjust. After a few minutes, he added a second finger, stretching carefully.
Eli's breath hitched. The stretch burned slightly, but underneath it was something else—a building pressure that felt almost like pleasure.
"More," Eli said. "I can take more."
Jace added a third finger, moving slowly and deliberately. He crooked his fingers, searching, and then—
"Fuck!" Eli's hips jerked off the furs, pleasure spiking through him so intensely he saw stars.
Jace grinned. "Found it."
He worked that spot relentlessly, his fingers moving in and out, hitting that place inside Eli that made him shake and gasp and forget how to form words.
"I'm ready," Eli finally managed. "Jace, I'm ready. I need—"
"I know what you need," Jace said.
Jace withdrew his fingers and slicked himself with more oil, his cock hard and ready. He positioned himself between Eli's legs, the head of his cock pressing against Eli's entrance.
"Look at me," Jace said.
Eli met his eyes—golden and warm and full of love.
"I love you," Jace said. "And I'm going to make you feel so good."
He pushed in slowly, carefully, watching Eli's face for any sign of discomfort. The stretch was intense—more than fingers, fuller, deeper. Eli's hands gripped the furs beneath him, his breath coming in short gasps.
"Breathe," Jace reminded him, holding still once he was fully seated. "Just breathe through it."
Eli did, forcing his body to relax around the intrusion. And slowly, the burn faded, replaced by a feeling of fullness that was almost overwhelming.
"Move," Eli said. "Please, Jace, move."
Jace began to thrust—slow, shallow movements at first, letting Eli adjust. But as Eli's body opened up, as the pleasure built, Jace's movements became deeper, more confident.
"God, you feel incredible," Jace breathed, his hands gripping Eli's hips. "So tight. So perfect."
Eli couldn't form words. All he could do was feel—the slide of Jace inside him, the pressure building with every thrust, the way Jace's cock hit that spot inside him that made his entire body light up with pleasure.
"Touch yourself," Jace said, the words scraping out of him with arousal. "I want to watch you."
Eli wrapped his hand around his own cock, stroking in time with Jace's thrusts. The dual sensation—Jace inside him, his own hand on his cock—was almost too much.
"I'm close," Eli gasped. "Jace, I'm so close—"
"Come for me," Jace said, his thrusts becoming harder, faster. "Let me feel you."
Eli came with a shout, his body clenching around Jace, his release spilling over his hand and stomach. The sensation of Eli's orgasm triggered Jace's—he thrust deep one final time, groaning as he came, filling Eli.
For one suspended breath, they stayed locked together, both trembling, both overwhelmed by what had just happened.
Then Jace carefully withdrew and collapsed beside Eli, both of them breathing hard.
"That was..." Eli started, unable to find words.
"Yeah," Jace agreed, a smile in his voice. "It really was."
They lay there for a few minutes, catching their breath. Then Jace shifted, propping himself up on one elbow to look at Eli.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
Eli considered. His body felt used in the best way—sore but satisfied, marked but not claimed. "I feel... good. Really good." He met Jace's eyes. "I feel like I just learned something important about myself."
"What's that?"
"That surrendering doesn't make me weak," Eli said. "That letting you in—literally and figuratively—doesn't diminish me. It completes me."
Jace's expression softened. He leaned down to kiss Eli—slow and deep and full of emotion.
When they broke apart, Eli said, "But I want to be inside you too. I want to feel what that's like when it's not about force. When it's about trust."
Jace's eyes darkened with renewed arousal. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Eli confirmed.
They switched positions—Jace on his back this time, Eli kneeling between his legs. But before Eli could take control, Jace caught his hand.
"Same rules," Jace said. "You ask. You communicate. You make sure I'm okay."
"I will," Eli promised.
He prepared Jace carefully, using the same oil, working him open with patient fingers. Jace was more relaxed than Eli had been, his body opening easily, but Eli still took his time, making sure Jace was ready.
When he finally pushed inside, the feeling was different than it had been at the waterfall or in the stream. This wasn't frantic or desperate. This was deliberate. Intentional.
"How does this feel?" Eli asked, holding still once he was fully seated.
"Perfect," Jace breathed. "You feel perfect."
Eli began to move, but he let Jace set the pace—watching his face, responding to his body's cues. When Jace's hips rose to meet his thrusts, Eli moved faster. When Jace's breath hitched, Eli adjusted his angle.
This was what trust looked like—not one person taking, but both people giving and receiving in equal measure.
"I love this," Eli said, unsteady with emotion. "Being with you like this."
"Me too," Jace gasped, his hands gripping Eli's shoulders. "God, Eli."
They moved in tandem, finding a rhythm that worked for both of them. Eli reached between them to stroke Jace's cock, wanting to bring him pleasure, wanting to make this good for him.
"Close," Jace warned. "I'm close—"
"Come with me," Eli said. "Let's come together."
They did—both reaching climax at almost the same moment, their bodies locked together, their combined scent filling the cave. Eli came deep inside Jace, marking him from the inside out, while Jace's release spilled between them.
When it was over, Eli carefully withdrew and collapsed beside Jace, pulling him close. They were both slicked with sweat and come, both exhausted and exhilarated.
Jace traced patterns on Eli's chest while they caught their breath, his fingers following the lines of old scars.
"That was different," he said after a while.
"Yeah," Eli agreed. "It was."
Jace propped himself up to look at Eli. "I want this. I want to do this again and again. I want to learn you like this, and let you learn me."
Eli pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "We're going to face a lot of shit when this comes out. Your mother. My old pack. Territory disputes. Everything is about to get complicated."
"I know," Jace said. "But I also know that I love you. I know that this bond is real. And I know that whatever comes, I want to face it with you."
Eli's throat tightened with emotion. "Are we bonded now? Actually bonded?"
Jace considered. "I think we were bonded at the waterfall when we said we loved each other.
But this..." he gestured around at their entwined bodies, at the cave that smelled like both of them now.
"This is us saying it with our whole bodies.
This is us committing to treating each other as an equal, as someone worthy of respect and care. "
"Then I'm all in," Eli said. "Completely in. Whatever it takes."
Jace smiled and settled against Eli's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "We should probably clean up."
"Probably," Eli agreed, but neither of them moved.
They lay there in the firelight, curled close, no longer hiding, no longer uncertain. They were bonded now in every way that mattered—not through claiming or ownership, but through choice. Through communication. Through love.
Tomorrow, when the consequences came, they'd face them together.
But tonight, they had this—the warmth of the fire, the comfort of the furs, and each other.
For tonight, it was enough.
It felt dangerously close to everything.