Over the years, Stephan had surmised that whatever had happened to him, it had been awful. Talking about it, he was sure, would be painful.
Stephan certainly had no wish to vocalize what had happened to his parents, or himself. It became too real when you spoke it—it hurt too much. He had never told anyone—never voiced what happened, not even with Liam.
Hah…just letting his godfather read him—watching the man break into sobs as he saw how his dear friends died—had been soul
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crushing. Of course, that had been right after it happened. The years that had passed made it easier. Stephan hadn’t had any problems showing Jayden when they first met.
Still, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to say it out loud. Honestly, Stephan wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Jayden had to tell him. It would just be more proof of how cruel the world was.
But if Jayden wanted him to know, if he was strong enough to tell him, Stephan would listen. Though their current location wasn’t really the best for such a sensitive conversation.
“Here?” Stephan asked hesitantly.
“Home.”
Stephan licked his lips. “Home.”
* * * *
A little while later
Stephan sat stiffly on the edge of his bed, while Jayden shifted nervously on his feet.
“Can I hold you?”
Biting down on his bottom lip, he nodded.
Jayden got on the bed, sat up against the headboard, and opened his arms. Shifting, Stephan crawled up and settled onto his lap, his head resting against the man’s chest.
“So…” Stephan murmured uncomfortably.
“So, this is more awkward than I thought it would be.” Jayden laughed. “Okay, well, here I go. I believe I was born somewhere in the Sadrin district. I’m not sure which territory, let alone whether it was a town or city. The only reason I even know the district is that I vaguely remember hearing bi-yearly announcements about Councilman Kaiden Voltair visiting the area. Anyway, as I’m sure you guessed, my parents were horrible. They cared so little for me that no one even knew I existed. Beatings were a daily occurrence.
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But then at the age of five, instead of as a punching bag, they saw me as a way to enrich themselves. Oh, by the way, my family wasn’t poor, just greedy. They had money. Not like you do, of course, but enough to live comfortably. But it wasn’t enough for them, so they did everything they could to gain more—murder, extortion…hah, prostituting their own son.”
Stephan couldn’t hold back his outraged gasp. Angry tears formed in his eyes.
Jayden kissed the top of his head and continued. “That went on for about a year, but it became too risky. There was a major crackdown going on at the time, and raids by the Zaytari. I found out later that the king had passed a decree that declared an automatic death sentence for traffickers and the selling of immortals and humans alike. That extended to forced prostitution, though my age alone would have meant their deaths. My parents had to get rid of me, so they sold me.
At the age of six, I was given to a man named Roden Gray, a pedophile and apparently a big name in the child sex trade. I remained under the bastard’s control for four years, and then I killed him. He was my first kill. I should have done it sooner. But I was afraid of what I could do, of all I could hear. Surrounded by these horrible people, their thoughts were always so vile. Day and night for years their dark thoughts filled me, batting at my mind until something inside me snapped. I embraced it, the power inside me, and then I wasn’t afraid anymore. I killed Roden and took my freedom back.
After that, I wandered, killing more along the way and perfecting my skills. I did that for five years. And I had planned to continue on that way, but then I met you, and…well, you know the rest.”
Biting his lip, Stephan held back a sob. The way Jayden talked about it—as if it didn’t matter. As if what happened to him didn’t matter. As if they all had seen no wrong in what they’d done to him, making him think he didn’t matter—was heartbreaking.
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Stephan’s body heated. His fury ignited inside him, and the intense hate that seeped free left him breathless. Burrowing into the man’s chest, Stephan tried to calm down.
The pain Jayden must have experienced—how alone he must have felt. How had he survived it? How hadn’t he given up?
The power inside him pushed against his restraints. Emanating out, it spread through the air as it fed on his emotions.
It was too much. Why had no one saved him? He’d only been a child! Jayden should have never been forced to kill for his freedom.
There should have been someplace he could have gone, someplace safe from the monsters—safe from his parents.
Stephan clawed into Jayden’s shirt at the thought of the man’s parents. They needed to pay—to suffer for what they did. But they were dead, weren’t they? They needed to be dead. They had to be dead. Stephan couldn’t fathom the possibility that they were still alive, running free.
“Don’t cry, I’m fine. A bit broken, but otherwise fine,” Jayden soothed.
“It’s not right!” Stephan bellowed.
Jayden pulled away, looked down, and cupped his face. Stephan shuttered his eyes, and Jade laid a soft kiss on each lid. No doubt, they now mirrored the man’s own.
“It’s not, but the past can’t be changed. It’s over. Don’t mourn for me, sweetheart. Don’t bleed for me. Don’t rage for me. Don’t hate for me. I don’t need that from you. I don’t want it. Instead, stay with me.
Give me what I don’t have inside me. Give me the love everyone else denied me. Let me love you, as I have never loved anyone else before.”
Bottom lip trembling, Stephan turned his head and kissed one of Jayden’s palms. “I do love you.”
Jayden smiled, and his black eyes briefly flickered with emotion.
For just a moment they had shown something more than the normal empty void. They had held a softness Stephan had never seen there before.
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Chapter Eighteen
Smiling down at the man he loved, Jayden pulled him into a kiss.
Stephan came willingly to him, wrapping his slim arms around Jayden’s neck—the slightly parted lips that pressed to his had him delving inside. Body heating, he quickly hardened as the man’s moans of need vibrated against his mouth.
After running his hands down the small expanse of Stephan’s back, Jayden slid them over the curves of the man’s ass. Cupping the rounded cheeks, he tugged him forward. Stephan whimpered and writhed, rubbing his hard cock against Jayden’s abs. He groaned as the little man’s bottom brushed and pressed down on his confined prick with each shift of his body.
Breaking away from the sweetness on his taste buds, Jayden took in the beauty of the man in his lap. Lips swollen and glistening, eyes hazy with lust, Stephan’s breath was coming out in soft puffs.
Jayden placed a kiss on one of Stephan’s flushed cheeks and buried his face into his neck. Nuzzling, he nibbled and sucked lightly on his ear. The man let out a gasp and shuddered, the pointed tip twitching.
“You’re so beautiful,” Jayden whispered against his ear.
“I am?” Stephan asked breathlessly.
“Mmm, beautiful, but you’re wearing too many clothes.”
When the little man began to wiggle, he let go, allowing him to scoot off his lap. Jayden found his gaze following Stephan’s every movement, his eyes feasting on the smooth skin revealed as Stephan pulled his shirt up and over his head. The rise and fall of Stephan’s chest was mesmerizing—pink nipples peaked, just begging to be
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sucked, and skin that Jayden wouldn’t mind spending hours exploring with his tongue.
As the man began to unbutton his pants with trembling hands, Jayden slid his own hands up, gripped, and pulled, hel
ping slide the tight denim off his legs.
Jayden reached out and feathered the tips of his fingers over the string at Stephan’s hip. Wiggling at his light touch, Stephan smiled shyly at him.
“Damn, these have to be my favorite so far,” Jayden rumbled.
Black, the sides of Stephan’s panties were just strings that ran along the bend of his thighs—pretty much baring his pelvis to Jayden’s eyes. The small scrap of cloth that covered the man’s cock was completely see-through.
Jayden hooked his finger in the fabric, and with a quick tug he placed it under the man’s sack. He smiled at Stephan’s gasp of surprise but pulled him up onto his lap before he had a chance to cover himself. As he captured Stephan’s lips once more, Jayden was almost positive he was going to get a crick in his neck. However, any pain would be worth the pleasure of Stephan’s kiss.
Jayden slipped his hand between them and wrapped it around the man’s dripping prick. Lazily, he ran his hand up and down the pulsing shaft.
Whimpering, Stephan began to thrust up into his hand. But the man soon broke away and gasped, “I want more…”
“What do you want, sweetheart? Tell me,” Jayden purred.
Stephan swallowed nervously. “I want to touch you…see you.”
“Are you sure?”
When his little man nodded, he created a bit of room between them. After unzipping his fly, Jayden released his cock from the tight confines of his jeans. Stephan scrunched his brow up and just stared at him. At the intent look on his man’s face, Jayden began to feel a bit uneasy. He was almost positive he was starting to blush.
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* * * *
Heart beating as fast as a hummingbird’s, he stared. Oh. My. God.
Jayden was huge. He had to be at least eight inches. Was that normal?
Well, Jayden was a large man, but surely that wasn’t normal. Or was it?
Maybe Stephan was just small. It’s not like he was an expert on dick size. Gaze bouncing between the two, he realized that the man wasn’t that much thicker. Okay, maybe he was.
Stephan lips pursed—but still, how the hell was that supposed to fit inside him? His hole quivered at the thought.
Maybe he should top…nope, he couldn’t picture it. For some reason, Stephan found the idea more terrifying than Jayden entering him. And what was up with that? It didn’t even make sense.
Considering what had happened to him, he should want to be on top, not bottom.
Ugh! What was wrong with him?
Jayden shifted and let out a grunt. “Uh…sweetheart?”
Looking up, Stephan became aware of the fact that he’d just been silently staring at the man’s dick. Dear God, Stephan was acting as if he’d never seen one before. He had one. It wasn’t a big deal. Well—
he peered back down—it was pretty big.
Saying nothing, hesitantly, Stephan wrapped his hand around Jayden’s prick—his hand was too small to encircle it completely.
Jayden’s cock was so hot, almost burning in his hand and pulsing as much as his own was.
Stephan’s touch drew a low growl from Jayden. The deep noise sent a shiver of arousal through him.
As his lust surged, Stephan licked his lips. He wanted more.
Stephan wanted to hear every single sound Jayden made when pleasured. Gripping the hard shaft, with his other hand he rubbed the mushroom head with his thumb. As Stephan gently dipped his nail into the slit, the man hissed. Jayden’s cock twitched and a spurt of
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pre-cum dripped out, coating his fingers. After wrapping his coated hand around the man’s shaft, as well, Stephan began to pump.
When Jayden pushed his hands away, he protested. But any complaints he had disappeared when Jade pulled him back onto his lap and pressed their pricks together.
Stephan gasped. “Oh, that feels…ah!”
Jayden let out a purely masculine chuckle.
The minute the man’s dripping cock was flushed against his, a shock had run through him. The heat was scorching, and their pricks began to throb in sync, heartbeats matching.
Beads of pre-cum formed at the tip of Stephan’s cock. They dribbled down and mixed with Jayden’s. When Jayden didn’t move, he found himself shifting his hips to grind up against the hard length—oh, that felt even better.
Slick with their arousal, there was little resistance as Stephan rubbed their shafts together. Growling, Jayden gripped his ass, and he began to roughly thrust up into Stephan.
“Oh, Jade!” he cried out at the added pressure. Panting, Stephan clutched him and buried his face into the man’s chest.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Take your pleasure.”
Sweat slid down Stephan’s back as his hips pumped faster—the heat between them was almost suffocating. His breathing was ragged, and Stephan felt as if his heart were going to beat out of his chest.
Jayden’s heartbeat, he could hear it, as well. It was as frantic as his.
The man’s groans of pleasure vibrated through him, drawing out his own. Each moan was more breathless than the last, and Stephan found himself letting out whimpering pleas.
As his arousal swelled, large tremors ran through him. But the longer they ground against each other, the more frustrated Stephan became. He whined as his release continued to elude him. It wasn’t enough. He needed something more to push him over the edge.
“Jade, I need—I need!”
“I got you, sweetie,” Jayden rasped.
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The man’s hips continued to move, his thrusts never stopping, but Jayden snaked one of his hands between them and ran it over their pricks. He dizzily realized that the man was coating his fingers in their pre-cum.
But even dazed, Stephan couldn’t stop his body freezing as that slick hand returned to his ass and slid between his cheeks, brushing at his entrance. Stephan trembled, his bud pulsing as one of Jayden’s fingers gently pressed against it.
Under the gentle prodding and the continued slide of Jayden’s cock, his wariness quickly faded away. Moaning, Stephan surrendered to his burning arousal, barely flinching when the tip of the man’s finger pushed past his clenching muscle. That fingertip slid in and out of him as Stephan’s hips moved once more.
But when the digit slid farther inside, a twinge of pain and discomfort dragged him out of his abandonment. His past tried to creep forward from the depths of his mind.
He gripped Jayden’s shoulders tightly, his nails biting into flesh.
“Jade,” Stephan called out in distress.
Jayden shuddered. His chest heaved but his movements ceased.
“Do you want me to stop?” The man gasped hoarsely.
Jayden’s offer meant the world to him. And the fear that flared inside him almost forced a yes past his lips. But the rest of Stephan wanted to let the passion inside him free. He didn’t want him to stop.
Stephan wanted to experience what he had the other day. Most of all, he wanted them to experience it together. “Don’t stop.”
Stephan’s words were all the man needed. Jayden wrapped his free hand around both of their cocks and, pressing them together once more, the man began to jerk them both off. The finger inside him moved again, thrusting fully in and out. Stephan moaned loudly as an unfamiliar need coiled inside him.
“Jade!” He yelped when the man bumped against something deep inside him, sending sparks of pleasure throughout his body.
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“Found it.” Jayden growled in triumph as he unrelentingly rubbed the spot.
Writhing on Jayden’s lap, Stephan whimpered and begged for more as the man touched him so intimately. The constant pressure against the bundle of nerves inside him had tears forming in his eyes.
As Jayden pushed another finger past his barrier, Stephan rode them, driving down—wanting to feel them deeper.
“That’s it, Stephan
, that’s it,” Jayden hissed, his voice strained.
His sack pulled close to his body, something inside him stretching tight. And then whatever was being pulled snapped, and his release tore through him. Arching, Stephan cried out, his cum splashing between them.
Moments later, Jayden roared and his seed mixed with Stephan’s.
Panting, Stephan slumped against Jayden’s heaving chest. His hole twitched and he felt unusually empty when Jayden’s fingers slid free.
As they held each other, Jayden began to lazily run his fingers through Stephan’s hair. Stephan had never felt so relaxed. And as he listened to the beat of his lover’s heart, sleep pulled him under.
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Chapter Nineteen
Two months later
Stephan huffed as he gave the couch one last shove. “There, all done.” He wiped the sweat from his brow.
In the Second Realm, furniture was magically enhanced to make it stand up a bit better against an immortal’s strength. Something entirely understandable, but why did they have to make everything so fucking heavy?
Of course, Stephan seemed to be the only one having an issue.
Liam and Jayden hadn’t seemed to struggle at all.
“Having problems, sweetie?” Jayden chuckled as he sat down on one of Stephan’s fluffy pink chairs.
“Shut up!” Stephan stuck his bottom lip out and pouted. He stomped over to his bed, plopped down on the edge, crossed his arms, and glared at nothing in particular.
Well…it wasn’t just his bed now. It was their bed. When they’d started the move, they’d decided to share a room. After a few renovations, their bedroom was a mixture of blacks and pinks.
Not enough pink if you asked him, but Jayden refused to sleep in a completely pink room. The frustrating man also refused to sleep surrounded by stuffed animals. The rule now was that Stephan was allowed to sleep with one. One! How could Jayden think he could possibly choose one out of the hundreds he had?
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