Zuriel threw up his barriers, blocking the concubine’s thoughts. His stomach cramped, threatening to expel his dinner, and he had no desire to hear the end of that sentence. If the bitch wanted to play, however, he’d play, and he’d do it better.
Pushing through the group of women, he molded himself to his mate’s chest, lifting his arms to wind them around Spiro’s neck. “I’m happy to serve you anytime, anywhere. Why don’t you come to bed and let me show you?”
Spiro’s mother, Mariska, cleared her throat and brightened her smile a notch. “Of course you should spend time with your mate during this celebration, but surely you understand that you can’t monopolize all of his time. He is king now, and as such, he has certain duties.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of his responsibilities,” Zuriel responded just as sweetly.
“Then it’s settled.” She turned to Spiro with a relieved sigh. “I’ve already made arrangements for your things to be moved to another suite in the north corridor.”
“No,” Spiro answered calmly. “This isn’t going to happen, Mother.”
Patting his mate’s chest, Zuriel turned to face his new mother-in-law and grinned widely, showing off his elongating canines. “As his mate, I will see him, talk to him, look at him, and fuck him whenever I please.” Sliding his hand down Spiro’s chest and over his rippled abs, he ended with his fingers curled around his lover’s flaccid cock. “He is mine, and I will fight for what’s mine.” He leaned closer to the female until their noses were almost touching. “And now it’s settled.”
A part of him felt bad because he’d promised not to do anything else mortifying, but his territorial instincts wouldn’t allow him to sit idly by while someone was trying to take his place. No one was going to remove him from Spiro’s side, no matter who he had to battle for the right to be there.
“I am so proud of you,” Spiro whispered into his mind. “You will always be my first priority.” Then he brushed his knuckles down the side of Zuriel’s neck while claiming his lips right there for everyone to see. “I will never hurt you,” he whispered.
The seriousness with which he spoke impacted Zuriel more than the words themselves. It wasn’t just an empty promise. He could see the conviction in his mate’s eyes. Intentionally, unintentionally, and everywhere in between, he firmly believed the vow.
“This is just a suggestion, so ya know, ignore me if you want, but can we get the hell out of this city of the dead?” Jacobi popped one hip out to the side and flipped his hair over his shoulder as he spoke. The strands were longer today, colored in an electric shade of purple, and he’d donned some sort of matching kimono that stopped at mid-thigh. Where he’d gotten it was anyone’s guess, but he certainly was colorful.
“He’s got a point.” Taking his mate by the hand, he tugged on it gently. “His outfit really does clash with the décor here.”
* * * *
The heat—the fire—the uncontrollable burn was already coursing through his veins, and watching Zuriel put his mother in her place only increased his desire. The little fox still didn’t know the true extent of his worth, but making a stand for what rightfully belonged to him was a step in the right direction.
“You are so extraordinarily beautiful.”
“I think that’s the mating heat talking,” Zuriel teased as they entered their suite. “However, I won’t argue with you.”
Spiro knew the truth, though. It wasn’t the heat. From the moment they’d met, he’d seen the beauty in his mate. With his need growing, he didn’t have enough functioning brain cells to fully articulate that point, but he knew. “Are you hungry?”
“You look like you’re in pain,” Zuriel answered, ignoring his question. “You’re all flush, and you’re sweating. Does it hurt?”
It didn’t hurt in the strict sense that Zuriel meant, but it wasn’t comfortable, either. Still, he wouldn’t treat his mate like a common prostitute. He had more control than that. “I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not.” Pulling his shirt off over his head, he tossed it to the floor and began working open the zipper on his tight jeans. “Let me help you, Spiro. Let me take care of you.”
He appreciated the concern, but the flames scalding his insides were still manageable. “Isn’t that my line?”
His joke fell flat, however, and Zuriel simply frowned at him. “You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
“Zuri, I’m not going to use you like that.”
“You can’t use me if I want it.” The button on his jeans finally popped open, and he slid the zipper down with a quiet rasp before pushing the snug denim down his thighs, exposing his swollen cock. “C’mon, sweetheart, you know you want me.”
He did. He wanted his lover with a desperation that scared him. As his temperature increased and his pulse accelerated, it was growing harder to maintain his self-control. If he slipped, even for just a minute, he didn’t know if he could be gentle with his much smaller mate. Probably, he should have thought this through a little better, but in his defense, he hadn’t realized the heat would be so all consuming.
“I do want you. I always want you. That’s not the point.”
“Well, then you’ve lost me somewhere,” Zuriel argued. “Please explain what the problem is.”
“Not ten minutes ago, I swore to never hurt you. That hasn’t changed, and I won’t risk your safety because I can’t control myself.” It wasn’t Zuriel’s fault, and he felt like a heel for snapping at his mate, but he was already fraying at the edges. One touch was all it would take to break the tenuous leash on his desire.
“Let me get this straight.” The smile on Zuriel’s lips was downright wicked as he slinked across the carpet, creeping closer like a predator stalking his prey. “The problem is that you want me too much?”
“Lirimaer, that’s close enough.” He even held his hands up as though that would stop the determined shifter. “Stop.” Though his head was spinning and his vision was growing blurry, every other sense was heightened.
Zuriel’s unique scent seemed to saturate the entire room, and he could practically taste it on his tongue with each inhalation. Even from a distance, he could hear the steady cadence of his lover’s heartbeat, and the silk robes that adorned his body were suddenly too heavy against his overheated skin. Gods, even the brush of his balls against his thighs was enough to make him moan.
The beast within him roared and gnashed his teeth, throwing himself against his cage in a bid for freedom. His lion recognized Zuriel as their mate, and unlike Spiro, the cat had no qualms about taking what belonged to them.
“You can fight it all you want, but you know I’m right.” Continuing forward, Zuriel didn’t stop until Spiro was pressed up against the door with no room to escape.
If he wasn’t going out of his mind with need, he would have found the situation hysterical. Between the two of them, he was definitely the bigger and stronger. Yet, there he was, cowering against the gleaming wood of the door and clutching at the door handle because he was afraid of what he might do if he let go.
“Spiro, I can see that you’re hurting,” Zuriel continued. “It’s not going to get better or just magically go away. Let me help you.”
Before he could make a move to combat him, Zuriel reached out, parted the fabric of his robes, and curled his long fingers around Spiro’s aching cock. Two quick strokes was all it took to send him to his knees, groaning loudly as ropes of semen jetted from the head of his cock.
“That’s better,” Zuriel whispered as he crouched down in front of him.
It wasn’t better, though. It hadn’t taken the edge off at all, but only made his lust surge higher. “Zuri, go.” The words were barely intelligible through his gritted teeth. “I want you to leave right now. Please.”
“No. I can help. I’m the only one who can help.” Very slowly, he pushed to his feet and began striding backward. “Come and get me.”
When he fisted his own engorged erection and began stroking in seductive,
languid motions, Spiro’s control finally snapped. With a primal growl, he sprang up from the floor and lunged for his mate. “I can’t stop it,” he warned. Or maybe it was an apology. Nothing made sense anymore.
Zuriel wrapped both arms and legs around him, kissing and licking at his neck while Spiro carried them to the bedroom. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
Chapter Eight
The hours passed—nights turning to days, days into nights—and the wildfire that raged within his mate didn’t wane but grew into a firestorm of raw, animalistic need. By the rise of the sun on the third morning, Zuriel had been taken in numerous positions in a variety of ways, and he awoke with a silly, well-fucked smile on his lips.
It hadn’t been all fun, though. The night of the full moon had been awful. Without the Inhibitors, they’d both been forced to shift, postponing any relief for Spiro until morning. He’d spent the entire night running in an effort to lessen the driving lust, and Zuriel had been left to roam the unfamiliar forests with his friends.
“Good morning, lirimaer.” Spiro purred against the shell of his ear while his hands roamed Zuriel’s naked torso. “Did you sleep well?” One hand caressed his hip, dipping lower to fondle his morning erection. “Mmm, is this for me?”
“Again?” It was really a rhetorical question, because he knew the mating heat wouldn’t cease until the moon rose that night, but he enjoyed teasing his lover.
“Are you too sore?”
That was Spiro—ever worrying about him. There was no need for his concern, however. Thanks to a few tiny drops of his mate’s blood, he was feeling right as rain without even a hint of soreness.
There was no biting involved, though, and Spiro refused to claim him during the heat. Since Zuriel didn’t think he was completely ready for that important step in their relationship, he accepted it as the gift it was and didn’t argue.
“No, not too sore.” Rolling to face his lover, he pressed closer, rubbing his swollen cock against the man’s nude hip. “Come here, you.” Twirling his fingers in Spiro’s hair, he pulled him down until their lips met. “I do love taking care of you.”
Their tongues twisted together, and their lips nipped and nibbled while they rolled across the mattress in a tangle of limbs. Zuriel’s heart raced, beating a quick staccato against his ribs when he found himself atop his lover, straddling Spiro’s narrow hips. Just the brush of the elf’s cock against his crease caused his ass to clench greedily and then loosen in anticipation.
A click of a bottle cap registered somewhere to his left, and Zuriel moaned as two lubed fingers pushed into his hungry hole. It took very little to prepare him after days of marathon sex, and within seconds, Spiro had added a third finger to his snug channel.
Moaning into his lover’s mouth, he rocked his hips, rubbing his hard cock against Spiro’s abs and fucking himself on the man’s fingers. It didn’t matter how many times they’d danced this same dance. He couldn’t get enough of Spiro. His taste, his touch, the sound of his voice—it was like a habit he didn’t want to break, an addiction he didn’t want to cure.
“So eager,” Spiro murmured. “So responsive.”
His digits eased from Zuriel’s hole, but he quickly replaced them with the tip of his cock. His back bowed, arching his hips up from the mattress, and Zuriel’s eyes rolled back in his head when the flared crown popped through his fluttering entrance.
The steel-hard length stretched him open, penetrating his depths until Spiro was seated to the base, his thighs pressing firmly against Zuriel’s backside as he grinded against him. “Ride me, lirimaer. Show me what you can do.”
Their first time together and every time after, he’d always strived to be an active participant. However, he’d never taken the lead role. Oh, he knew what to do, exactly which buttons to push to send his lover flying, but he respected the dynamics of their relationship. Plus, he just felt protected with Spiro surrounding him, felt safe with his mate in control.
If this was what Spiro needed from him, though, he was more than happy to give it. Sitting up straighter, he braced his hands on his lover’s chiseled chest, kneading the muscles with his fingertips as he began a slow grind, a gentle sway of his pelvis.
“Like that,” Spiro encouraged, “just like that.”
He was only getting started, though. Contracting his abs, he clenched his inner walls so that they hugged his mate’s thick cock like a glove as he rolled his hips, rising and falling in waves. There were a thousand and one tricks hidden up his proverbial sleeve, but he felt wrong—dirty—for even thinking of using them.
“Don’t overthink it.” Long fingers caressed the side of his face, and Spiro gave him a penetrating stare. “Forget the past, because it doesn’t matter.”
Zuriel wanted to believe it, but he knew it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. The past did matter, and for as long as he lived he’d never forget it because he refused to be that person anymore. Never again would he let someone use him the way the Trainers had in The Hive.
“No,” Spiro chastised, grabbing Zuriel’s hips and jerking him down as he thrust up into him. “Don’t go back there, baby. Stay with me, right here with me.”
When he didn’t respond right away, Spiro growled and flipped them off the bed, rolling Zuriel beneath him once they were on the floor. “Look at me,” he commanded, gripping a handful of Zuriel’s hair and pulling his head back on his shoulders, giving him no choice but to obey. “I will never hurt you. Now come back to me, Zuri.”
Something snapped inside him, wiping away his unpleasant thoughts, and Zuriel echoed his lover’s growl, lunging up to wrap himself around his mate. “Right here,” he agreed. Looping one leg around Spiro’s knee, he jerked hard, using all of his strength to flip the man beneath him once more. “Hold on tight, handsome.” Without dislodging his partner, he spun around in Spiro’s lap, bent backward, and curled his arms around his mate’s neck, jerking him into a sitting position. “On your knees.”
Sticking to Spiro like a magnet, he managed to contort his body, holding his mate’s cock trapped within his channel until they were both kneeling beside the bed. Spiro wasted no time setting a hard and demanding pace, just like Zuriel liked.
The harder his hips snapped, the deeper he drove into Zuriel’s channel, but it still wasn’t enough. Straightening one leg, he stretched it back between Spiro’s legs and practically bent himself like a pretzel. The new position changed the angle, and every feral plunge tapped against his prostate.
It also provided him with easy access to his mate’s tight sac. Holding himself steady with one hand, he reached the other beneath him, stretching himself even farther thanks to his enhanced engineering as a Desirable. He fondled Spiro’s balls, rolling the heavy orbs between his fingers and praying that he could stave off his orgasm for just a little longer.
Spiro’s throbbing cock filled him so completely, leaving no inch of his channel untouched. His own dick bounced between his thighs, pulsing and aching until he feared it would snap off at the base. His ass clenched, his stomach cramped, and his quiet moans grew to loud cries of ecstasy.
His partner’s fingers dug into the flesh around his waist while the other hand held his shoulder in a bruising grip, pulling him down on Spiro’s cock with every bone-jarring thrust. “Please! Fuck, I’m not going to last.”
Beads of sweat rolled down his spine, and his head began to spin as he shook and moaned, trying desperately to hold back his climax. Proving he was ever the gentleman, however, Spiro sat back on his heels, yanked Zuriel into his lap, and gripped his hard cock. “You first, lirimaer.”
One hard thrust and the scrape of teeth down the side of his neck was all it took to send him spinning out of control. Bucking against Spiro’s chest, Zuriel writhed in his lap, moaning, whimpering, and barely holding back his screams as he painted his thighs with cum.
“Much better,” Spiro whispered, tightening his arms around Zuriel’s chest and shuddering through his own release, filling hi
s channel with heated semen. “Perfect.”
Zuriel hadn’t even caught his breath when a loud, pounding knock sounded at the door. “Spiro!”
“Go away,” Spiro called back, but he still eased Zuriel from his lap and patted his hip to get him to stand.
“Spiro, you have to come now.”
“Rissian, for fuck’s sake, go away. I’ll deal with you later.”
The front door of the suite banged open, and Rissian marched straight through the living room and into their bedroom. “Clean your dick off and get dressed.” He looked paler than usual, and he seemed more afraid than angry.
As a shifter, Zuriel had little in the way of modesty, but it didn’t feel right to be prancing around naked in front of his mate’s brother. So, he casually removed the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around his waist before settling down on the edge of the mattress to watch the two brothers argue.
Something was definitely wrong, and while his curiosity was burning, he didn’t think it was wise to ask questions just then. However, judging from the look on Rissian’s face, his fun and games with Spiro had just come to a screeching halt.
Spiro rose from the floor and faced his brother, seemingly unconcerned with his nudity. “I swear to the gods,” he began, only to be cut off by Rissian’s snarl.
“Get dressed.”
“What the hell has gotten into you?” Spiro demanded. “What happened?”
It wasn’t polite. Zuriel told himself he shouldn’t do it, but he couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. Dropping his shields, he took a little peek into Rissian’s mind and gasped at what he found there.
Before he could open his mouth and say something stupid, though, Rissian spoke. “Thalian is dead.”
* * * *
“No one saw anything?”
Rissian shook his head quickly as they hurried through the corridors to Thalian’s room. “We’ve questioned everyone, but no one knows what happened.”
Jaded [The Moonlight Breed 9] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 7
