Kort lifted a large container out of the basket. He opened it and held it out to Mace. “You mean this hash brown casserole?” he asked, a light twinkling in his deep purple eyes.
Humming, Mace reached for the container. “Oh, yes. This stuff is amazing,” he claimed, taking it. “Has he made it for you guys, yet?”
Chuckling softly, Kort grinned widely. “Actually, he got the recipe from me,” he claimed.
“Really?” Mace asked. His eyes narrowed. “No way.”
“He did,” Kort confirmed. “I often work in the kitchens as one of several cooks.” He settled back on his butt, crossing his legs in front of him. “Everyone loves it when I pull a meal shift, because they know I’ll cook it for them.”
Mace didn’t know what to say. He stared at the potato and cheese casserole-type dish for a few seconds, then spotted his dirty fingers where he held the container. Grimacing, he set the container on the blanket and held up his hands.
“You think anyone would mind if I rinsed my hands in the fountain?” he asked, glancing uncertainly between Kort, who was still pulling out containers of food, and the statue of the boy pouring out a bucket of water. “I guess I enjoyed the dirt just a little too much.”
Kort paused in his actions and looked at him.
Mace held up his dirty left hand.
“Wait, I have something for that,” Kort told him. “Sorry, I should have given you this before,” he continued. He reached into the basket, peering around as if looking for something. “Ah, they must have fallen to the bottom while I was walking.”
Kort pulled his hand free of the basket and held it out. In his palm were several small squares.
For just an instant, Mace thought of condoms. His dick twitched and started plumping as his asshole clenched. He blinked, twice, then realized they were single-use wet-wipe packets. Feeling his face heat, he reached out and took them.
“Thanks, um, guess Perseus told you I couldn’t stay out of the dirt,” he mumbled, embarrassed to be so dirty.
He rubbed his left hand, the dirtier of the two, on his jeans. Then, he opened the first packet and, awkwardly tucking the wipe between the fingers of his right hand, started cleaning his left hand. Almost immediately, pain shot up his wrist.
Mace hissed and froze.
“Are you okay?” Kort instantly asked, stopping from setting out the dishes to roll to his knees and knee-walk closer to him. “Can I help?”
Looking up in surprise, Mace realized just how close Kort hovered. The big gargoyle’s face was only a few inches from his own. Unable to resist, he took in the other male’s foreign features, realizing he didn’t find them at all unpleasant. In fact, they were quite handsome... and fascinating.
“O-Okay,” Mace whispered before he could think better of it. “Sure.”
Kort looked beyond pleased, and Mace was so glad he’d agreed. He didn’t understand why, but he sure liked seeing that look on the gargoyle’s face. He looked so damn happy.
Taking Mace’s injured hand and cradling it in one of his own, Kort picked up the dropped wet-wipe. He pressed it to Mace’s fingertips and began to rub. With more gentleness than Mace thought possible, Kort cleaned his fingertips.
When the gargoyle finished with that hand, he didn’t just release it. He first lifted it to his lips and gently kissed the pads of his forefingers. Then, he lowered Mace’s hand to his lap before releasing it.
Kort opened up a second wet-one and took the same care with Mace’s good hand. He even went so far as to open a third wet-one, just to make certain all the dirt was out from under his nails. To do that, he put the thin fabric on the tip of his fore claw and ever-so-carefully probed underneath his nails.
Mace had to bite back a giggle, because he actually found that it tickled. He also found it arousing as hell. He’d never had someone take such gentle care of him. By the time Kort was finished, Mace’s dick had thickened to full mast and pressed insistently at the fly of his jeans.
“Thank you,” Mace whispered hoarsely.
Kort met his gaze and gave him a heated look, but didn’t say anything as he lifted Mace’s hand to his mouth. This time, he pressed his lips to the back of his hand, then nibbled lightly on his fingertips. When Kort actually slipped his lips around the tip of Mace’s index finger and suckled lightly, Mace’s breathing hitched and his cock jerked against his fly.
Swallowing hard, Mace struggled to take a breath. His balls actually tingled from the contact. Between the heat shining from Kort’s deep, dark eyes and the sensual tongue assaulting his finger, Mace felt tingles traveling up his arm. Gasping, Mace tugged lightly on his hand. Truthfully, he wasn’t certain if he wanted to pull his hand away or not, but he feared he’d come in his jeans if he didn’t.
After a few more sucking pulls to his fingertip, Kort released him. “Are you hungry, Mace?” Kort asked, his voice sounding deep and gruff.
“Y-Yeah,” Mace whispered, uncertain which type of hunger Kort referenced. The answer would have been the same either way. “Yes.”
Kort swept his gaze over Mace’s face. After a few seconds, he licked his lips and jerked a nod. “Okay. May I hold you as we eat?” he asked roughly. “I liked holding you this morning.”
Unable to deny Kort’s request, especially after an admission like that, Mace nodded back. He watched as the gargoyle rearranged everything to form a partial ring around the outside of the blanket. Next, he crawled a few feet away and sat, spreading his legs. When Kort beckoned for him, Mace knee-walked toward him. He didn’t fight as the gargoyle gripped his hips and turned him, positioning him the way he wanted.
Mace ended up almost reclining with his lower back pressed against Kort’s inner thigh. The gargoyle wrapped his arm around him, resting it on his back. His thumb moved rhythmically in a way that Mace found he really liked. Twisting just a bit, Mace rested his right shoulder against Kort’s broad chest and settled his cast on the gargoyle’s thick thigh before him.
For a few seconds, Kort hummed in that odd vibrating way that Mace remembered from that morning. It was soothing and nice and he found himself sighing and pressing more heavily against him. In return, the gargoyle nuzzled his neck.
Mace could feel the gargoyle’s massive erection pressing against his hip and side. Still, Kort didn’t seem to be in any hurry to do anything about it. Instead, he straightened, picked up a fork, and dipped it into the hash brown casserole.
For the next little while, Kort fed him, and Mace let him. He thought perhaps he should be offended, but instead he found it... intimate. It helped that Kort interspersed bites with nuzzles to his temple and pecks to the corner of his lips. If Mace hadn’t constantly been chewing the food Kort presented for him, he would have turned his head and captured those softer-than-expected lips fully.
Once his stomach was comfortably full, Mace refused the next bite Kort offered him. “Had enough?” Kort confirmed.
Mace nodded. He swallowed quickly, then murmured, “Thank you.” Glancing around at all the leftover food, he whistled. “Wow. How much did Wren think we were going to eat?”
Kort chuckled softly. “I am a gargoyle,” he reminded him softly. “I eat more than a human.”
“Oh, of course,” Mace mumbled. He should have thought of that. Then, another thought pushed into his mind as he watched Kort pick up another piece of bacon and bite off half of it. “Do you want me to move, so it’s easier for you to finish?”
His arm tightening just a little, Kort shook his head. After he swallowed, he rumbled, “If it’s okay with you, I like you where you are.”
Mace nodded and snuggled in closer to Kort. With a full belly and a warm, hard body to rest against, Mace suddenly felt his sleepless nights catching up with him. A wave of fatigue washed over him.
Still, Mace could feel the hard dick still pressing against his thigh. It sent his thoughts into a wild tailspin that kept circling around one thing. After a few moments of silence, Mace could hold in h
is curiosity no longer.
“Wren said you think I’m your mate,” Mace murmured. “That Fate made me as your other half.” The idea of being the soul mate, someone who could make the big gargoyle feel complete, was a mixture of exciting and intimidating. “You guys actually believe in destined soul mates?”
Designed by Fate no less.
Who believes stuff like that?
“I do,” Kort replied firmly.
Well, that answered that question.
“I don’t just think you are my mate, Mace,” Kort continued. “I know you are. A gargoyle recognizes their mate by their scent.” The hand on Mace’s back started rubbing up and down gently. “Perseus told me that they explained gargoyles and other paranormals to you.” After putting down the fork, he cupped Mace’s jaw and urged him to tilt his head, so their gazes could meet. “Please know you can ask me anything.”
Mace nodded slowly. “I feel really comfortable in your arms, but it freaked me out when I saw Perseus change from human form to gargoyle form,” he admitted. And doesn’t that just blow the mind? “Is that a mate thing?”
“In part,” Kort told him slowly. “I think there are plenty of humans that have a harder time accepting paranormals than others. Psychologically, you seem more open, or at least more accepting,” he offered. “You have had a day to think about it, too.”
Finding himself nodding again, Mace tried to decide what he actually cared about. Wren and the people at the restaurant had been more family to him in the last couple of years than his own. Hell, they’d disowned him.
Wren was mated with Perseus and they were super happy. As a big, bear of a man, he could be damn intimidating when he wanted to, what with his broad shoulders and barrel chest coupled with his thick, bushy beard and tattoo sleeves. Mace had seen how Wren acted when his lover stopped by the diner, though. He turned from bear to teddy in two seconds flat.
Mace had even heard them going at it in Wren’s office when he’d returned early from break because he’d forgotten his wallet. Hearing them had given him a boner. He’d had to hide in the bathroom for the last ten minutes of his break to get his erection to deflate.
“I think my head is spinning with new information right now,” Mace admitted. “I’m just... God, I don’t even know what to ask.” He lifted his left hand and rubbed his forehead.
“You don’t have to ask anything if you don’t want to,” Kort assured. “Maybe I could convince you to just relax here with me. I have a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
Mace felt his brows shoot up. Why hadn’t it occurred to him that Kort would have questions, too? If this mate thing really was what Wren described, it wasn’t just his own life that was in upheaval, right?
“Oh, of course,” Mace replied. He turned his head, trying to stretch his neck, inadvertently pulling out of Kort’s hold. Missing the man’s hand on him, which was odd because he hadn’t ever liked it when Jessup touched his face... and I really need to stop comparing the two. “Can we change positions?” Mace asked.
Kort instantly nodded. “Of course. Whatever you’d like.”
Whatever I’d like, huh?
Mace’s breathing sped up as an idea popped into his head. He wanted to feel the dick that had been pressing along his hip against somewhere else. Did he have the nerve? Would Kort agree?
Seeing Kort’s expectant look, Mace decided to go for broke. He’d never been the aggressor in a relationship, but he couldn’t seem to help himself right then. If he didn’t get some pressure on his dick, he felt as if his balls would burst... and not in a good way.
Rolling sideways, Mace got to his knees facing Kort. He placed his left hand on the gargoyle’s shoulder, appreciating the hard muscle under his palm for an instant. Then, he moved his right knee outside of Kort’s left thigh and rocked his weight onto that one.
Lifting his left leg, Mace moved it to the outside of Kort’s other leg as he ordered, “Legs closer together, please.”
Kort immediately obeyed, a look of surprise on his face.
Once his legs were a comfortable distance apart, Mace settled his butt on Kort’s thighs. He rested his cast on his own thigh, then scooted closer until their groins were flush together. Sighing at the exquisitely wonderful pressure on his dick, Mace rocked against the much larger shaft trapped behind the thin material of his lover’s loincloth.
Peering up into Kort’s shocked eyes, Mace whispered, “That’s so much better.”
Mace watched as the surprise melted off Kort’s face to be replaced with feral desire. His hands settled on Mace’s hips, his fingers flexing, Kort encouraged Mace’s rocking movements.
“Damn straight it is.”
Chapter Eight
Kort gritted his teeth. His cock leaked in his loincloth. Feeling his balls roll, he tightened his grip. He’d been doing so well, or so he’d thought. Keeping his hands on Mace’s back or hip had been hard enough when he’d wanted to touch and explore every inch of his human mate... all in the name of getting to know each other. Now, though, he just couldn’t help himself.
Continuing to encourage his sweet mate’s movements with one hand, Kort slid his second up to palm his neck. He rubbed his fingers over the vertebrae running along the back of the slender column as he tickled his pulse point with his thumb. Lowering his head, he nuzzled his temple against Mace’s own.
After a few seconds, Kort eased back just enough to peer into Mace’s eyes. He found the honey-brown orbs heavily dilated with lust and need. While he might be a virgin, Kort had seen plenty of porn, not to mention gargoyles with their mates. He knew enough to get them moving toward the completion their bodies so desperately craved.
Kort pressed his lips to the corner of Mace’s mouth for an instant. He lifted his head and slipped out his tongue, tracing his sensitive appendage along Mace’s lower lip. Next he nibbled along that same plump flesh.
When Kort felt Mace gasp and shudder against him, he took advantage. He sealed his lips over Mace’s mouth as he slipped his tongue into his warmth. Licking along the back of his teeth, then over the roof of his mouth, he mapped his mate’s cavity.
Kort tilted his head and deepened the connection. Wrapping his tongue around Mace’s, he stroked his appendage down his mate’s own. The move reminded him of what else he wanted to do to his lover, and he lost a little control. Increasing his movement’s speed, he fucked his mouth as he thought about doing the same to his ass.
Tightening his grip on Mace’s hip, Kort groaned and rocked his own hips. He planted his feet and used his wings as leverage to increase the pressure. As he lapped at Mace’s mouth, Kort felt his balls tingle and draw up close to his body. His dick pulsed pre-cum and he knew his orgasm approached.
Mace yanked his mouth away, letting out a long, low moan. His hand disappeared from his shoulder and pushed between them. It took a second to realize that his mate was trying to open his jeans.
Kort leaned back on his wings. He pushed his own hand between them, batting away Mace’s before making quick work of the fly by snapping off the button. He then wrenched the zipper down. He paused for just an instant to regain a smidge of control, then he eased his hand into Mace’s briefs and pulled out his lover’s prick.
For the second time in his life, Kort held another man’s penis. He loved that it was the same dick, too. Knowing he connected with his mate made it even better. At this angle, it wasn’t so easy to figure out a rhythm.
Kort adjusted his angle, slowing his movements so he could get it right. He stared at Mace’s face, gauging his enjoyment. Taking in his slightly open mouth, flushed face, and the way his chest heaved as Mace panted, Kort swelled with pride at being able to please his lover.
As Kort continued to jack his lover’s prick, Mace moaned throatily. He rocked in Kort’s grip and rested his cast on Kort’s shoulder. He moved his good hand to Kort’s hip and tugged at the ties of his loincloth.
“Wanna see you, too,” Mace demanded, his words s
lightly slurred, betraying his enjoyment. “God, you look huge straining this material,” he babbled in obvious admiration. “So sexy.”
Mace managed to get the ties undone, so he pushed the fabric down, freeing Kort’s engorged cock.
“Look at you,” Mace continued, a look of wonder on his face. “Your cock is fucking huge,” he whispered. “I did this to you.”
When Mace traced his fingertip up the underside of his shaft, Kort moaned. Tingles caused by the soft touch of his mate traveled down his cock to his balls. He knew if Mace kept doing that, he’d soon orgasm.
Wanting his mate to come, too, Kort started stroking Mace’s dick again. He didn’t know when he’d stopped. He’d been too enraptured by seeing and feeling his lover touch him. Nothing could have prepared him for the heady pride swelling through him at knowing he’d impressed his mate.
“Press my dick to yours,” Mace urged. “Wanna feel your big, red cock against my own.”
Obeying, Kort repositioned his hand, wrapping it around both their cocks. He moaned upon feeling the heat of his lover’s prick pressed against his own. While his own dick was slightly bumpy, like his hide, Mace’s penis was long and smooth. The contrast felt so different, so amazing.
Kort felt the tell-tale tingle at the base of his spine. Groaning, he tried to hold back his orgasm even as he knew it was impossible. Releasing their dicks, he took a second to grip his foreskin and pulled it over the flushed cap of his lover’s cock.
Mace squeaked, then moaned loudly. His body jolted as he cried, “Kort! Oh, oh, oh!”
Reveling in Mace’s shouts, Kort groaned and bucked. His balls unloaded his seed, sending it spurting up his stalk. It flowed over their heads, then oozed down their stalks. As he continued jacking them both, he growled Mace’s name as blissful pings of pleasure sent him floating pleasantly.
Kort’s Treasure Page 6
