by Jana Downs
“Fine.” A light click let Flavius know that Corbin had hung up on him.
“Is everything all right?” Tobias asked.
Flavius turned and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Yes. Everything is perfect. As soon as you get back to the room, you’ll be able to call him. I’ll go grab you a spare cell phone from the security room.” Corbin had made sure that they were fully stocked on everything after he’d gone through the supply list last month in one of his nightly visits. He may have resented the fact that Flavius had power over him, but he wanted the human to have the best top-notch security money could buy for his protection. He sighed as his thoughts returned to Corbin. He was like a drug that he just couldn’t get enough of.
“Thanks, Flavius,” Tobias said. He seemed to hesitate a moment before he spoke. “You know, it wouldn’t be so bad if you actually acknowledged your mate. I mean, it might actually give you credence with the other shifters and make them more likely to live in harmony if they knew that you had vested interest in their concerns.”
“That didn’t work out so well for you, Tobias,” Flavius reminded.
Tobias shook his head. “There will always be extremists who hate things that are different. But my mating with Cass did result in something good for the species. My kind invited a predator back to our nest, and they agreed to betroth one of their own to a bird of prey from the kitchens. They are trying to accommodate change and are willing to meet us halfway. You could bridge the gap between shifter and human the same way that we crossed the divide between predator and nonpredator. You have the opportunity to do great things.”
“He’s not my mate,” Flavius whispered. He had to believe that. There could be no other possibility. Tobias didn’t say anything, but Flavius felt the weight of his disapproval all the same. He cleared his throat. “I’ll just go get that cell phone now.” He walked over to where the guard had returned and took the bottle of water from him before tossing it to Tobias. “Drink your water while I grab you an icepack for your eye and that phone. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Tobias’s silence followed him out of the room and down the hallway. His words trickled into his consciousness, following him like a ghost. “You have the opportunity to do great things.” He’s not my mate. He’s not.
Chapter Twelve
Cass growled as they fussed over him. Two days with very little sleep, a hole in his chest, and a million IVs in his arm did absolutely nothing to put him in a good mood. Couple that with the fact that he had only been able to talk to his mate an hour at most led to him being in a really foul mood. Apparently running a household took a lot of maneuvering, and while the elders were supporting him, the wolves had given him a little trouble when Tobias had changed the shift schedule to accommodate the now-empty Ludus. Damn wolves were creatures of habit who didn’t like their schedules interrupted for anything.
When he’d arrived half an hour ago, he’d expected to be greeted by his mate. Instead, he’d been cooed over by some very large mice who all but carried him up to the upstairs bedroom in the house where they would be staying until the Ludus’s men and attendants got back from New Orleans. If they showed well enough there and continued on their circuit in Europe, it would be even longer. He still didn’t know where his mate was, and his text messages to Corbin about how his brother was doing had gone unanswered. He hadn’t been able to talk to him yet, though he’d been informed that Faustus had been told of his impending recovery. Still, he was used to watching over his brother and spending a lot of time with him. He needed to know that he was doing all right in Cass’s absence. The whole universe was out to piss him off today.
He looked around the room they’d installed him in. Any other day, he would definitely be impressed with the very Bollywood feel of the space. Rich fabrics in red, gold, and purple gave the space a theatrical flair, and the thick Berber carpet littered with pillows called to mind a sensual harem of some kind. The matching Indian motifs on the walls added to the feel. It wasn’t really Cass’s style, but it was quite beautiful.
A soft knock on the door had him turning his head toward the sound. The heavy oak door swung inward to reveal an exhausted-looking Tobias carrying a tray of something that smelled delicious. The bruises on his neck and the left side of his face made Cassisus’s cat want to take a swipe at someone, but he forced the reaction and his temper down. He didn’t want to make his mate uncomfortable.
“I hear you’ve been giving the people I sent to help you a hard time,” Tobias said as he moved into the room and gently kicked the door shut behind him. “You were early, and I wasn’t ready yet. Seriously, Cass, I know you’re a cat and all, but could you have at least let them do their jobs? I asked them to get you up here, in bed, and fed so I could get my work done.”
“Fuck work. I missed you. Food can wait.” Yes, he admitted to being a little bit of a sullen asshole, but damn it, he’d needed his mate for the past two days, and stupid shifter laws said that he wasn’t allowed there unless he was a patient or an official representative of Flavius. Since Corbin had taken the job already, Cass had been SOL in that department.
Tobias huffed. “You have to eat to take your medicine. Do you want to get an infection that could put you out of the circuit for months? I had the chef make your favorite.”
Cass sniffed, inhaling the scent of food. His stomach immediately growled. Not fair. How was he supposed to resist stuffed Alaskan salmon and rice? “How did you know what my favorite was?”
Tobias rolled his eyes. “How could I not? You let everyone and their mother know exactly what you like and don’t like. I can ask the Ludus servants, ‘How does Cassisus the Vain like his bedsheets folded?’ And they’ll know the answer. You’re a bit high maintenance, Cass.”
The gladiator’s lips twitched. “I missed you, too, Tobias.”
Tobias brought the stray over and put it over Cass’s lap where he was sitting in the middle of the bed with a half a dozen pillows cushioning his back. “I’m glad you’re okay, Cass. I was really worried.” The mouse sounded almost choked when he said it, but when Cass looked up, Tobias had smoothed over his expression to something neutral. His little mate had been traumatized but was being a hard-ass about it. That was okay. He admired his mate’s strength and his ability to compartmentalize things in order to get a job accomplished. There would be time later when they were in bed together and having one of their long chats that they would talk this out.
“Eat,” Tobias commanded, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at Cass expectantly. Cass picked up his fork obediently and forked a piece of fish into his mouth. His cat purred in appreciation, and he couldn’t help but to agree. The stuffed salmon was probably the best thing man or Beast ever invented.
He finished his food quickly, and Tobias nodded in satisfaction as Cass all but licked the plate clean. He moved the tray to a nearby dresser before crawling in beside Cass and laying his head on Cass’s naked shoulder. The first thing that had come off when he’d gotten into the room was the stupid hospital gown. He was buck naked and didn’t give a damn who cared about it.
“I’m all right, Tobias,” Cass said, putting his arm around Tobias’s shoulders. “If you’ll believe it, I have had a few close calls being a gladiator.”
“But that wasn’t a game, Cass,” Tobias murmured, rubbing his face against Cass’s exposed skin. “You could’ve died.” He didn’t know if Tobias realized it or not, but he was marking Cassisus with his scent. It amused the cat to no end.
Cass kissed Tobias’s head. He felt a slight pinch as the motion pulled at the stitches in his chest, but it couldn’t be helped. He needed to reassure his mate. “It’ll be all right, Tobias. I’m home now, and I’m safe. Did Flavius say what he was going to do with those assholes that attacked us?”
Tobias shook his head and looked up to meet Cass’s gaze. “He’d said he’d deal with them and left it at that. I don’t care what the hell happens to them so long as they’re far away from us.” Ca
ss nodded. He could see that. He really didn’t want to deal with them, either. “Flavius wants to restructure the house to accommodate some greater freedoms between the house and Ludus.”
“Corbin mentioned something about it, but we’re supposed to keep it under wraps until they get back from New Orleans,” Cass said.
Tobias smiled. “Naturally, everyone already knows about it. Secrets don’t last long in this house. The elders are pretty enthusiastic about it, though some people are understandably nervous. We’ve never really had the kinds of freedoms that Flavius is talking about.”
“I don’t care about all that. I just want to know that you’re all right, baby. How are you holding up with all this change?” Cass asked.
“I’m excited actually. I think we’re going to make things better with this.” Tobias pressed a kiss to Cass’s lips. His fingers trailed along the edges of the gladiator’s chest wound. “Does it hurt?” he asked, pulling back slightly.
Cass shrugged. “A little. It’s not so bad, though. I should be right as rain by the end of the week.” He searched Tobias’s face for the need that was circulating through his own skin. “I would feel a lot better if I could make love to you.”
Tobias licked his lips, and the instant scent of lust surrounded them. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Cass snorted. “Hush. I need this and so do you. Tell me your animal doesn’t need the affirmation, and I’ll call you a liar.” He smiled and motioned to the dresser. “I’m 90 percent sure one of your mouse friends slipped a tube of slick in there when they dropped me off.”
Tobias burst out laughing. “They would. They’re the Dean brothers. They tend to do all the heavy lifting for the nest.”
“Oh, I’m heavy lifting, hm?” Cass asked, winking at his lover.
Tobias grinned. “The best kind, cat.”
Their lips met in a kiss, and Cass pulled his lover into his lap. The sheet acted as a barrier between them as Cass worked on stripping Tobias down to nothing, but it would be cast aside easily enough. “You’re going to have to do a lot of the work so I don’t bust my stitches, baby. Think you want to go for a ride?”
“Oh, yes,” Tobias said breathlessly.
Cass kissed down the side of Tobias’s neck and chest as the smaller man worked the button of his pants free. “If my stitches are better this weekend, you want to fuck me?” Cass asked, nibbling first one of Tobias’s nipples before turning his attention to the other.
Tobias gasped. “You’d let me?”
“You love me right?”
Tobias nodded, blushing lightly. “I didn’t think you’d heard me.”
“I did. I think that fulfills the ‘in for good’ requirement for popping my cherry, don’t you think?” Cass asked, smiling. He’d given the fact that he’d promised to let Tobias top him ample thought when he’d been in the hospital. It might be kinda fun, a good way to spice up things between us.
Tobias cupped his cheeks and forced his head up before pressing a gentle kiss to Cassisus’s mouth. “Whatever happens between us, I am grateful that fate gave me to you, Cassisus. I don’t need to top you to know we’re equals.”
A grin stretched Cass’s mouth. “Good to know, lover mine. Though it might be fun to switch it up someday.”
“Someday,” Tobias agreed, giving Cassisus another heated kiss. The gladiator pushed him gently backward so they could work off Tobias’s pants and push the sheet off Cassisus’s hips. Cass grabbed Tobias’s forearms to haul the smaller man back up so that he straddled the cat’s waist once again.
He tilted his head toward the dresser. “Grab the lube your friends left and ride me like I’m dying for you to.”
Tobias let out a low moan at Cassisus’s words and reached over to the side table while Cass held his hips in a firm grip. The mouse’s breath was coming out in soft pants as he pulled back with a thick tube of lubrication.
“Slick me up, baby,” Cass rumbled as Tobias unscrewed the cap and put a generous portion in the palm of his hand. He hissed as Tobias’s careful hand wrapped around his hard length and began stroking him in a way destined to drive him insane well before he was ready to fall off the precipice of pleasure.
Tobias surprised him when he didn’t hand over the lubrication but instead put more on his hand before tossing the tube beside them on the bed. He gathered some of the slick up on his spare fingers and reached behind himself. Cassisus’s mouth went dry at seeing his beautiful mate with his face filled with pleasure as he simultaneously jerked Cass off and fingered himself. I am the luckiest man on the planet. My mate is the most beautiful surprise fate could give me.
“Hurry, baby. I need you,” Cass all but growled at him. It had been two long days in the hospital, and he and his cat needed to claim Tobias in the worst way.
“I’m hurrying,” Tobias murmured, his eyes filled with the same hunger Cass felt. Three more pumps of Tobias’s talented fingers on his cock had Cass’s eyes rolling into the back of his head. The sight in combination with the scent of his lover was almost too much. He gripped the smaller man’s hips and squeezed.
“Now, Tobias,” Cass commanded. The mouse whimpered and withdrew his fingers. The gladiator held his dick steady as Tobias slowly lowered his tight body on his rock-hard length. “That’s it, baby, take all of me.”
“You’re deeper like this,” Tobias gasped, his body trembling as he fully seated himself on Cass. Cass’s body throbbed inside the viselike sheath that held him.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm down his rioting pulse. “Up and down, baby. Move where it feels good.” He would never get tired of this, never get tired of showing Tobias all the wicked things in his arsenal. Tobias had a natural sensuality that was more stimulating than any well-trained shifter that Cass had ever had a tangle with. The man erased everyone but himself from Cassisus’s mind.
“Mine,” he growled as Tobias obeyed his directions and started fucking himself on the gladiator’s hard cock. “Like that, baby. Good boy.” Fuck. So good. The deep-rumbled purr started up in his chest as he moved into an increasingly deeper realm of pleasure.
“Don’t hurt your stitches,” Tobias gasped. Leave it up to Tobias to try and boss him while riding him like a dirty pony. Cass swatted his backside in punishment, and Tobias’s eyes shot wide, and his rhythm faltered.
Cass winked. “Like that?”
Slowly Tobias nodded. “Yeah. Stung a little bit.”
Oh God, you are my dream come true. “Then ride me and hush the bossing, and I’ll spank your ass while you do.”
Tobias blushed to the roots of his hair. “Is that all right?”
“Between mates, everything is all right, Tobias,” Cass reassured. Tobias nodded again and got back to work. Cass took one of Tobias’s hips in hand to encourage him into faster rhythm. His balls drew up almost painfully. It wouldn’t be long until he fell headlong into orgasm. It seemed his mate felt the same way because he was plunging down harder on Cass’s body, chasing that same high. Apparently the idea of Tobias getting his ass warmed did good things for his mate. Cass smacked his butt twice in fast succession before switching his grip from Tobias’s hip to his prick as it bobbed between them, weeping for attention. Tobias’s hands went to the tops of his shoulders as he bounced up and down on Cass. Cass continued to spank him and jerk his cock as his mate rode him.
Tobias gasped. “Yes!”
“I love fucking you, Tobias,” Cass rumbled. “Love being with you. God, just love you.” Tobias went rigid and slammed down again before liquid pleasure erupted from the tip of his already-sticky cock. The smell of his spunk mixed with the treatment his cock had just received had Cass pushing Tobias backward and following him down so that he was still inside him and repositioned above him.
“Cass! Your stitches!” Tobias yelped as Cass pounded his ass, seeking his own release.
“Fuck. Stitches. Fix ’em later.” It was the most articulate thing he could manage as he lost himself in his lover�
��s still-clenching body. “Mine!” The low growl was the last thing he said before pleasure burned up his spine and he fell over the precipice.
Tobias screamed as his insides were bathed with Cass’s cum. The shifter jerked and, as had become typical for them, he came again as Cass spent his pleasure.
They lay together in the aftermath, both panting hard. As Cass floated back down to earth, he felt the dull ache in his chest and side where his stitches had pulled. He put a hand to them and checked to see if he’d busted any of them.
“Fuck, yeah. Didn’t even break a stitch,” he said triumphantly.
Tobias sighed, contentment saturating his voice and taking the sting out of his words. “Not for lack of trying.”
“Hmm, would’ve been worth it.” Cass pulled back and carefully repositioned himself on his pillows. It took considerably more effort than he was used to to move this much. By the time he got himself situated, he was panting lightly.
Tobias sat up, concern flickering over his face. “You shouldn’t have overdone it, Cass. Here, I’ll clean up. You just get comfortable.”
Cass nodded, grateful that he had a mate who didn’t judge him for his weakness. His Tobias was good to him. “Say it,” he said as Tobias rolled off the bed and took off toward the adjoining bathroom. “I need you to say it when I’m not dying.”
Tobias turned. “I love you, Cass. Too soon, too much, and too often are adjectives that just don’t apply to our relationship. If I knew you five minutes or five million years, I would love you the same.”
Cass grinned. His mate was really something with words. “Love you, too, Tobias.” His mate’s cute ass disappeared into the bathroom. He listened as Tobias rummaged around in there for a minute or so before returning with a couple washcloths, one wet and one dry, clenched in his fists.
“By the way,” Tobias said as he tossed the wet washcloth to Cass, “we’ve rescheduled the meet and greet with my parents and the elders for Monday.”
