When he was satisfied it was at least somewhat damp from Grigori’s pre-come, he wrapped his fingers around him and jerked him. He didn’t tease, and he was not gentle. His vampire seemed to appreciate it, because he groaned and pushed his hands under Delaney’s head and into his hair.
His thumbs stroked over Delaney’s jaw twice, then he pulled his mouth away and buried his face into his neck. He swore he felt the brush of fangs as Grigori’s come splashed onto his belly. Delaney stroked him through his orgasm and reluctantly let go when it would become more irritation than pleasure. Grigori relaxed against him, and they lay there as their bodies cooled.
“I didn’t even think about the fangs.”
Grigori kissed his throat, then lifted his head so their eyes met. “Tongues are crafty devils that can maneuver around obstacles.”
“Your fangs got longer near the end, didn’t they?”
“Just like a shifter, my instincts want my gift from Fate.”
“Well, not only do you look damn fine naked, you’re very good with that mouth.”
Bending his elbow to balance his head on his hand, Grigori grinned. “It’s nice to finally have some good things to recommend me.”
“Grigori, there’s not much I don’t like about you,” Delaney told him honestly.
“Oh good. I’ve relaxed you with sex. Now give me the ‘bad things’ list.”
Delaney wrapped his arms around Grigori and hugged him tight as he murmured a spell to wash away the evidence of their passion. They might still need a potion or shower to get squeaky clean, but Delaney decided that could wait. “You did miss our first date.”
“I knew I wasn’t going to live that down.”
“I suppose I can forgive you now.”
“I’m willing to move to D’Vaire. Don’t forget that.”
“Don’t worry, I haven’t. It means the world to me,” Delaney said. “I hope when we’re ready for our ceremony, you won’t regret it.”
Grigori kissed him softly, then smiled tenderly. “Oh, Delsaurus…you said ‘when,’ not ‘if.’ ”
“You wore black underwear.”
“Sealed the deal?”
“It’s my favorite color.”
“Believe it or not, I did figure that out.”
“I do have this fantasy of you in red undies, though.”
His mate grinned. “I do believe that can be arranged.”
“Want to stay and sleep here with me tonight?”
“I couldn’t possibly say no,” Grigori replied as they tugged the blankets over themselves. “You’ve kept me up for days, and I know the only way you won’t call me to talk my ear off is if I’m here at your side.”
“You’re the one who calls me.”
“You should work on that. A relationship is fifty-fifty. Now, where’s Greggory?”
Delaney rolled his eyes. “I can’t call you if we’re already on the phone, and you know he’s in his own private area over there.” He pointed in the general direction of the space they’d built for him that he rarely used. Normally he slept right alongside Delaney.
“Greggory, it’s time for bed,” Grigori called out, and the little dragon poked his head out through the velvet curtain, then flew over to the bed. He promptly curled up next to where they were lying. “Perfect. Now get closer to me so I can sleep.”
There were only a couple of inches of air between them, but Delaney did as he was told, and two strong arms snuggled him close. He decided it was just as nice as shooting down Grigori’s throat, though in an entirely different way, which he told him.
“No energy for round two. Now, turn off the lights.”
“You’re closer to the lamp.”
“I wouldn’t have gotten all comfortable if I’d known you weren’t going to be willing to use magic to turn it off.”
“What do I look like? Some sort of clapping device to turn off anything plugged in?”
Grigori grunted as he leaned over to snap off the light, then resumed his former position. “Now that you mention it…”
“I thought you liked the way I looked naked.”
“If I saw you that way when I was fourteen, I would’ve written better poetry.”
“I was ten.”
“Please strike my statement from the official record. I didn’t think that one through.”
Delaney yawned. “Consider it forgotten.”
“Goodnight, Delsaurus.”
“Goodnight.”
Delaney’s familiar made a growly noise. “Sorry. Goodnight, Greggory,” Grigori said softly. It was silent for several minutes; then his voice once again carried through the darkness in a murmur. “Feels like I’m talking to myself when I talk to Greggory. It’s nice but weird that our names are basically the same.”
“Turn off your brain,” Delaney grumbled, already half asleep.
Grigori made a few beeping sounds. “Shutting down for the night.”
In his arms, Delaney smiled into the dark room and was beginning to understand fully the words “other half.” He didn’t know how Fate did it, but he couldn’t have picked anyone who complimented him so well. If a matebond wasn’t so daunting, it would be impossibly beautiful.
Chapter 16
Grigori woke up with a sensation so foreign, he wasn’t even sure it was real. He rolled to his side and opened his eyes to find Greggory trapped under the blankets. After freeing the dragon, he smiled at the dark wizard, who was slowly lifting his lashes.
“Your hair looks awesome.”
Delaney scrubbed one hand through it. “I swear I must sleep on my face. I wake up every morning with it sticking up in a million different directions.”
Despite what had to be epic bad breath he hoped Delaney couldn’t smell, Grigori leaned over and dropped a kiss on his cheek, then propped his head up on his elbow. “I’m afraid we need to have a rather serious discussion.”
“Before coffee and nourishment?”
“This is important, stop trying to grab my dick,” Grigori said as he snaked his fingers around the wrist of the wizard with the traveling hand.
“Are you always like this?”
“What do you mean?” Grigori asked as Delaney gave up trying to fondle him and mirrored his pose.
“Like, do you wake up with your brain fully engaged?”
“It doesn’t disengage, I just power down into sleep mode. Now, we need to discuss cheating.”
That certainly got Delaney’s attention. His stunning eyes narrowed, and his brow creased. “What the fuck do you mean? We’re both magickind. You told me that only vampires who are mated together can have other partners. If you’re going to tell me that was a lie, I’m going to need you to get out of my bed immediately.”
“No, that was positively the truth. I’m incapable of performing with anyone but you. But, what if something happened out of my control?”
“Are we talking in abstracts, or are you referring to an actual event? Did you leave here after I fell asleep? Because it’s only been like eight hours since we were the ones having sex.”
“I don’t know if it was an actual event,” Grigori explained.
“Like it was a dream?”
“If I’m right, then it’s more like a gross little nightmare.”
“Just tell me.”
“I’m pretty sure what woke me up this morning was your familiar’s tongue on my balls.”
Delaney’s eyes widened, and he fell backward on the mattress, laughing. “Stop cheating on me with Greggory,” he managed through his hilarity.
“Oh no, this isn’t another black mark against me. I was sleeping. It’s your filthy little familiar who took advantage of me while I was in my dream state.”
“I usually wear pajamas, he’s not used to seeing nuts. I’m sure he was just curious.”
“I prefer you naked.”
“Same goes,” Delaney replied with a grin. He turned his head toward Greggory, who was perched near the end of the bed. “Hey, Greggory—no licking Grigori while
he’s sleeping.”
The familiar ducked his head and let out a grumbly sound that Grigori supposed was an apology.
Delaney’s gaze met Grigori’s again. “He really did lick your balls,” he said, then lapsed into another fit of laughter.
Yanking the covers back, Grigori climbed out of bed. “If you’d managed to get through this debacle without giggling, I might’ve done the same to yours.”
His words had no effect on the chortling wizard as Grigori strode out of the room into the attached bath to grab a shower. He had the spray adjusted and was working Delaney’s shampoo through his hair when the glass door opened and he stepped in.
“Do you have any plans for the day?” Delaney asked after he started sudsing his own tresses.
“It’s Saturday, but usually I’m in my lab.”
“I forgot to ask, do you work for your brother’s company?”
Grigori dumped a healthy amount of conditioner in his palm, then passed the bottle to his mate. It was the first time he’d ever showered with another person, and he liked the quiet intimacy of sharing it with Delaney. “I work for myself. I sell my formulas to Umpyr, but I prefer to choose my own projects, hours, and all that. I still use the lab my father built for me when I was a kid. I was thinking of asking Aleksander if I could have something similar built here.”
Delaney’s smile was glorious. “Good idea, it’ll be easier to drag you out when necessary that way.”
“Exactly. So were you going to invite me to do something with you today?”
“I actually have a meeting. We have a group of sorcerers who work on projects together. Because it includes Council leaders, they wind up on the weekends. It might be boring, but you’re welcome to join. The other guys with mates bring theirs.”
“I’m rather intrigued by the idea of learning more about your magic,” Grigori replied as he grabbed the soap and spread it liberally over Delaney’s backside.
“You do realize I can do that myself.”
“Shame on you, trying to deprive me of touching these lovely cheeks.”
“It’s just…shit, I’m getting hard,” Delaney said with a little moan. Grigori loved how responsive the wizard was; it amazed him that simply rubbing his ass made his cock stiff. It made Grigori’s dick respond in kind.
He smacked the soap down onto the niche where he found it and used his body to crowd Delaney against the wall. Slapping his hands on the tiles next to his head, he brought their mouths tantalizingly close but not touching. “I guess we’ll have to do something about that,” he murmured. “Go on, grab our dicks in your hand and make us both come.”
Delaney did exactly as he was told, and Grigori sealed their mouths together. Steam filled the room along with their moans. The wizard caught on quickly as he jerked them and to Grigori’s delight, his tongue was sure as they kissed. It took hardly any time at all for them to erupt over Delaney’s fist. Afterward, Grigori managed to get them both clean while his mate slumped against the side of the shower, with a smile on his handsome face.
“Your mother’s worried about blood addiction affecting you, while I’m over here fully convinced I’m already addicted to sex.”
Grigori shut the water off and glared. “I start the day with your familiar licking my balls, and now you want to discuss my mother while we’re naked after having great sex,” he said, then yanked open the glass and stepped out of the shower. “I don’t have to take this kind of abuse.”
His eyes met Delaney’s, and he loved the humor dancing in the dark depths. “I really like you,” the wizard told him, which filled Grigori’s heart to overflowing.
“I’m going home to get dressed.”
Delaney pulled a towel off the rack and wrapped it around his waist. “Red undies.”
Grigori leaned over and kissed him. He didn’t know if Delaney realized he just invited him over for another night, but Grigori wasn’t going to lose the opportunity to spend more time with him. “I won’t forget,” he promised, then teleported to his parents’ condo.
* * *
In a shirt the same crimson as the requested underwear, Grigori sat next to Delaney as a group of men and one woman chatted in a large conference room in the building where the D’Vaires housed their offices. It comprised some of the most powerful sorcerers on the planet, and Grigori felt as if he were being included in some sort of secret club.
“I didn’t know you worked from home,” he said to Delaney.
“Yeah, the Dark Indigo office was Vadimas’s idea.”
“I like that when my lab’s done, we’ll both work from D’Vaire.”
“Aleksander jumped all over that idea.”
“Moving too quick for you?” Grigori asked. He managed to hold back his frown; he would move in right away if Delaney gave him the green light.
“It’ll take time to construct—it just feels too good to be true that you’re willing to be here at D’Vaire with me.”
“I don’t see it as a sacrifice.”
“We’re getting a vampire!” Renny shouted. “I’ve wanted one for years.”
“I swear, you think D’Vaire is some kind of Renny collection,” Dra’Kaedan griped.
“Like you aren’t excited about Grigori,” Renny taunted.
“Of course I am, he has Del smiling all the time,” the Grand Warlock retorted.
“Maybe we should get started on our meeting,” Delaney suggested. He reached under the table and grabbed Grigori’s hand, which delighted him.
“Let’s start with the D’Vaire stones. This idea of Dra’Kaedan or Scheredin infusing the stone with light magic and using Idris as an intermediary to convert it to dark isn’t working,” Dre’Kariston said. Grigori was given a quick rundown of their idea of creating a rock that dark sorcerers could use to heal, and he was glad to have some clue about what they were discussing.
Arch Lich Chander Daray nodded. “I think you have a light caster on one side and a dark on the other. Idris can twist both types into the stone at the same time. Essentially converting it on the fly.”
“Won’t that hurt him as he’s doing it? Even if you used Del as the dark, you’d have a warlock as the light, and combining the different types would be painful,” Mac said.
“I’m sorry, Mac. I don’t see a way around it causing Idris some level of pain,” Vadimas responded. “I’m a light wizard, but we don’t have healing abilities.”
“I don’t mind, it’ll make healing dark sorcerers easier and with a great deal less pain for them,” Idris commented.
“With the mix of dark sorcerers in this room alone, if any of them use the stone, they’ll still have pain associated with it,” Mac argued.
“The stones are only going to be able to be used for less severe wounds or for things like healing their eyes to prevent them from needing glasses because we spend too much time reading. The reality is, there’s no method of healing a dark caster without causing them agony,” Delaney remarked.
“So, what are we deciding here? That the stones are an idea we should scrap?” Dra’Kaedan asked.
“No, I don’t think we should do that at all. Mac’s worried about me, but it’s a minute or two of pain to help dark casters. I don’t mind. This is something useful,” Idris contended. “We need to do this with all three types of dark magic in this room to lessen the pain for each of you should you need to utilize the rocks.”
“What we need is a type of dark healer,” T’Eirick supplied.
“No such thing exists,” Chander said. “We have different disciplines of light who can heal but not anything on the dark side. I can tell you from firsthand experience, it fucking hurts to have the wrong side of magic inside you, even when you know it’s for your own good.”
Dra’Kaedan leaned back in his chair with a grimace. “Well, anyone have a clue how the fuck we’re supposed to create a new kind of dark sorcerer who heals?”
“Ask Fate?” Delaney suggested with a derisive chuckle.
“I don’t know why you’
re all discounting the idea of creating a new race. Chand’s done it before,” Saura said.
“Yeah, but I created a race of warriors, and I had the example of the sentinels to work with. The Order of the Fallen Knights has a lot of ability but no magical source. I don’t know how to do that. I’m not sure I’d know where to start, and I don’t know how the hell the Council would react if I started a new race,” Chander responded.
“What if you had two volunteers to be dark healers? We wouldn’t even have to be a race of more than two if it made the Council uncomfortable,” T’Eirick remarked.
Dra’Kaedan’s eyes widened, and he glanced over at his twin brother who wore the same shocked expression. “Are you saying what I think you are?”
“T’Eirick and I have always felt it was our duty to stay on our side of the veil, but clearly there’s a real need for dark healers. I was once one of light, and it brought me immense joy to be able to help people. If we can craft a spell that would give us the type of power to do that without pain? That would be beneficial not only to the men in this room but to all dark races,” Saura said.
“Gentlemen and lady, it would appear we have our work cut out for us, but I know we’re up to the task,” Dre’Kariston remarked. “Maybe we could transfer power in a spell. You gave Dra’Kaedan and me yours—what if I gave my portion back since it’s dark?”
“Absolutely not, I won’t have anyone sacrificing their power,” T’Eirick responded. “Our goal is to be of some use and not hinder the warlocks in any way. We’re talking about starting a new race, but not at the expense of our old one.”
“Think about it, guys. How did we all get our power?” Delaney asked.
“Fate,” Idris answered.
“So, why not ask Fate to imbue Saura and T’Eirick with the power to painlessly heal any dark magickind?”
“Del, I’m fully on board with that idea. If Fate decides it’s not the right thing to do, then she’ll ignore our request. But if so, T’Eirick and I will still be content knowing a dark healer isn’t something Fate wishes to see,” Saura replied. “I think it’d be nice to include some warrior skills too—I would like to know how to use a dagger or sword.”
Becoming D'Vaire (D'Vaire, Book 11) Page 13
