Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

OGDEN

My kitty cat sucked in a sharp breath at my question.

" Rewards ?" Simon asked. His eyes were wide, and his pupils were compressing into vertical slits, showing how close to the surface his shifter side was.

" Yes , love," I whispered in his ear. " I want to make you feel good, to be deep inside you when you fall apart."

" Yes ." He gulped. " Yes . Let's do that."

" You're going to look so good on your hands and knees, waiting for my cock."

Simon slipped his hand behind my head and pulled me down to kiss him. Our mouths collided with the same fury as they had in my hoard room. We pulled at one another's clothing, throwing a shirt over my shoulder, dropping another behind the couch… The pants were challenging because neither of us wanted to separate, but we got it done. I tried to push off my underwear next, but Simon grabbed my hands .

" No ." His voice was rough and deep. " Let me see."

Oh , my kitty cat liked my underwear. I grinned and wiggled my hips. He swallowed hard. It was a good thing I'd packed a lot more. Van and Dillon might have complained about all my suitcases, but they contained very important things… like two weeks' worth of silky and lacy undies in almost every color in the rainbow.

Simon's thick fingers slipped across the smooth fabric. His breath quickened as he traced the outline of my hard dick through the fabric. I braced my hands on his shoulders as I rose on my knees to give him more access. A wet spot stained the silk, and he rubbed his thumb across it. His tongue dipped out and slid along his top lip like he was imagining his mouth following the same route as his thumb. I shivered and moaned under his touch.

His gaze shot up to catch on mine. " You like that?"

" I think I'd like anything you did to me."

Emboldened by my words, he cupped my erection. The heat of his palm bled through the thin fabric. I was so hard now I thought the silk would rip under the pressure. With his other hand, he cradled my balls. His gentle touch almost undid me.

But I didn't want to come until he did.

I leaned forward and drew my lips across his neck, just like I'd done earlier. He tilted his head to the side to give me more access.

" I want to bite you," I murmured against his throat. I nipped at the taut skin. " Right here."

" Yes ," he whispered as his hips rocked and his hands tightened on my cock and balls in the most delicious way.

" We should move to the bed. "

He groaned his disappointment at the delay.

I expected him to release me so I could climb off him, but he wrapped his arms around me and somehow stood with me clinging to him. He carried me into his bedroom and sat down on the mattress, still holding me. I was stronger than most supes, but seeing his strength and ability to haul me around was a huge turn-on.

I pushed on his shoulders until his back hit the mattress.

" Good kitty cat," I murmured. " Now it's my turn to play. But if any of this is too much, tell me."

" I can handle you," he said, punctuating his words with a soft huff of breath and an eye roll. For as much as he called himself a scaredy cat, my kitty wasn't timid in bed. I liked it.

I started with kisses. I covered his face and his neck and shoulders with soft, teasing touches of my lips to his skin. Dropping a few on his temples and along his throat again and at the corner of his mouth. He turned to capture my mouth with his, but I didn't linger. I could get lost in his mouth, spend hours luxuriating in the gentle tug of his lips and the warm sweep of his tongue against mine. But we had a lifetime to kiss and make love.

Tonight , I wanted to get to know him, play his body until he created the sweetest sounds of want and need and pleasure. I wanted to discover what made his pulse quicken from allegro to vivace to presto, to rejoice in all the tones of his breaths and his moans as he gave himself over to pleasure, to explore how beautifully our bodies could harmonize …

Because we would harmonize, and it would be beautiful. There was no doubt in my mind.

With each brush of my fingers and sweep of my tongue, his body became my favorite instrument. Gorgeous . He wrapped his fingers in the sheets. Sweat coated his skin. His erection stood proud of his hips.

" Ogden , please," Simon begged.

I'd told him I wanted him to beg, but I hadn't intended to make him suffer.

" I got lost in your body, kitty cat," I whispered against his navel. " I won't make you wait much longer, I promise. Just let me get you ready." I looked around, but his bedside table didn't have any drawers. " Do you have lube?"

He muttered a curse, then he lifted me off his body. He raced to his dresser and pulled out… a box with a lock? Then he grabbed a pair of socks from another drawer, unfolded them, and dumped out a tiny key. He fumbled, trying to put the key in the lock. Finally , the two lined up and there was a click. He threw back the lid and wrapped his hand around a bottle of lube. He lifted it, brandishing it like a victor with his spoils.

" Simon , love, why is your lube in a locked box in your drawer?"

He looked at the box, then at the lube. " Uh … my brothers used to steal it. They always went through theirs faster than I did. They still do."

I squished up my nose. Families could share a lot of things, but I didn't think lube should be one of them. That was a discussion for another day. I would have a nice long chat with his brothers, all five of them, about personal boundaries. I took the lube from Simon and motioned him to come back to the bed. The lube was the cheapest brand available. It would work, I was sure, but that would be something else I'd need to change. My kitty cat deserved the best of everything, including lubricant.

" You go through that every time you want to touch yourself?"

He scratched the back of his head and bit his bottom lip.

" Simon ?"

" I don't usually worry about lube. I mostly use spit, or if I'm in the shower, soap."

That would definitely be changing. If our relationship progressed as I suspected it might, we'd be getting naked a lot. Friction and discomfort were not part of the plan. Lube was one of the best inventions of the modern era. We would use it. A lot of it.

" I've dreamed of taking you from behind. You on your hands and knees. Do you want that?"

" Yes ," Simon hissed. Then he tossed me the lube and crawled to the center of the bed. He raised his ass as if presenting it to me. He was beautiful like this, breathtaking really, with his thick thighs, his round smooth ass, and then there was his hole. Right there. Begging to be touched.

I dropped the bottle of lube on the mattress, needing to explore him a little more before we went any further. I spread my hands over his lower back and stroked up to his shoulders before drawing them down again to the base of his spine. His breath quickened as I did it again and again. Did he enjoy being petted like this ?

When his legs started to shake, I let my touch skate lower to his ass. He whimpered. He was pure perfection. His skin was so soft. His ass was begging to be squeezed and spanked and bitten.

" Ogden , you said you wouldn't make me wait."

" Yes , yes," I said, as I reached for the lube. It was so damn easy to get distracted by his beautiful body. I coated my fingers. My heartbeats quickened as I pulled his ass cheeks apart to look at his tight hole. " So pretty."

I needed a quick taste first. As soon as I swept my tongue over him, he purred. I'd heard him purr before, but he usually tried to cover it up. He didn't this time. Maybe he didn't even know he was doing it. I licked and tongued him until I didn't think I could last much longer. The heady scent of his pre-cum told me Simon was right there with me.

My fingers slipped against him, and he shuddered. His purring grew louder.

" Ready ?"

" So fucking— I mean freaking—ready," he mumbled.

I grinned. I'd never heard my kitty cat swear before. Not like that. I pressed the tip of my finger against his hole. He pushed back against it. Then my finger slipped into his perfect, tight heat. We both groaned.

" More ," he demanded.

So I gave him more. When his entrance was slippery and prepped, I crawled over him. He was taller than me, but I was determined to make this an amazing experience for both of us. That meant biting.

Biting during sex wouldn't create a mating bond—as much as I wished it were true, human storytellers got that wrong—but it created an energy exchange that was exhilarating. As I released into him, I'd bite him and his blood would go into me, and if we were lucky, some magic might happen. Folklore said that if the energy exchange was particularly intense, it could be a sign you were with your fated mate. I expected our exchange would be nuclear.

" Can I bite you?"

He shivered and nodded.

" Words . I need words."

" Yes . Bite me. And hurry up."

I snickered, but I wasn't about to argue with him. We both wanted this. I reached for my cock. Fuck . I still had my damn underwear on. I shoved them down and positioned myself at his opening. My breath caught at the first brush of my tip against his crease.

This was so much better than being with a human. I was always so worried about hurting a human, but with a supe I could let go. And since supes couldn't transmit or contract sexual infections or diseases, we didn't need to use condoms. I would be with him, bare skin to bare skin. I almost came just from the thought of it.

And then I was pressing against him. Into him. Joining our bodies as closely as two bodies could be. He was beautiful perfection, exactly as I'd imagined.

His body harmonized with mine. His bubble butt cushioned my thrusts. His groans were the most beautiful sounds I'd ever heard. The air itself seemed to sing around us. And then a wild explosion of color exploded from me, originating in my chest where I'd always imagined my magic lived. The whirl of color encompassed every shade that made up my dragon's magic—the cobalt blue of water, the pale pastel blue of the sky, the vibrant yellow of fire. They flowed like ribbons from me, wrapping around the two of us like a cocoon.

" Ogden ," Simon gasped, as another color—a verdant green—joined my magic. It was Simon's , and it was stunning.

I'd felt Simon's magic when our magics had connected during the summoning, but it was nothing like this. This was full, alive, powerful. Whatever magic the whistle contained, this was a thousand times stronger.

Our bodies moved in beautiful synchronicity, just like our magic. The tempo of our movements quickened, building to an explosive crescendo, chasing a beautiful bliss that could only be found with one another. My claws and teeth elongated as Simon twisted his head to the side, exposing the length of his neck to me. I bit down as euphoria grabbed me and threw me over the edge. Simon shook under me with his own orgasm. Everything erupted in a stunning display of color and magic and sweet ecstasy.

Simon collapsed beneath me, and I rolled us to our sides, not willing to separate our bodies yet. I wanted this connection to last forever and ever.

When our bodies cooled, and our breaths calmed, I reluctantly rolled away from Simon . I stumbled toward his bathroom and found a threadbare washcloth under the sink. I returned with the warm wet cloth to find Simon hadn't moved. His skin was flushed and sweaty. The red spot on his neck where I'd bitten him was already fading more quickly than I'd hoped. I wiped my spend and the lube from his body. I wished I had another cloth to wipe away his sweat too, but this was the only clean cloth I'd seen in his bathroom.

I nudged him until he rolled onto his back. His wide eyes watched me as I cleaned cum off his soft stomach with gentle strokes. His cheeks darkened with my actions, but he didn't turn away or avert his eyes. When I was done, I tossed the cloth toward the bathroom. It didn't make it that far, but we could get it later. Right now, all I wanted to do was to hold Simon , except our releases had soaked into the blanket, right in the middle of the bed. No one should have to deal with the wet spot.

" Roll to the side," I whispered. He did. Then I pushed the messy blanket off the bed. Damn it, I needed to get another one from the closet. I ran to the closet and grabbed one of the blankets he'd given me last night. I spread it out over him, then I crawled in beside him.

We faced one another.

" Are you okay, love?" I pushed his sweat slick hair off his forehead so I could see his beautiful green eyes.

" Did you see that? The magic… It … I've never…"

" Yeah . I saw it." I drew my fingers down his cheek. There was nothing sexual in what I was doing now, but I just… I couldn't stop touching him.

" Do you think that means we're fated mates?"

That's exactly what I thought, but I couldn't tell from his tone how he felt about it. He was cautious, my kitty cat. I didn't want to push him if he wasn't ready to admit it yet. I could be patient. " What do you think?"

" Yes , I think that's what it means," he said, much more decisively than I would have expected of him. His gaze held mine. " I think you are my fated mate. "

I swallowed around a lump in my throat. " I think you might be right."

" Why wouldn't the Eternal Magic have blessed us then?" His gaze drifted up and down my body, not in a sexy way. He was searching for something. " We don't have matching marks that show us as fated mates, at least not that I can see."

" She is all knowing," I said after I'd given his question some thought. " Perhaps she doesn't feel we are ready yet."

" Willow Lake has a lot of fated mates. I heard someone say we now have more fated mate pairings than some big cities. But I … I never believed I'd find mine too." His eyes were glossy when he met my gaze. " Do you think she will bless us?"

" Absolutely . I don't doubt it for a moment."

His smile was beautiful as he scooted closer and wrapped his arms around me. We stayed like that, silently holding one another, for a long, long time.

In some ways, being fated mates wouldn't change much between us. We had connected through the summoning magic. Our relationship was already physical. And we'd agreed to live together.

Except … Once Wesley and the others discovered our bond, I expected them to try to exploit it. They'd chosen to abduct me for a reason. They'd even embedded a tracking device in my arm so they could find me if I escaped. I doubted they were done with me yet.

Suddenly I was even more determined to find Wesley and eliminate him and his cohorts, because our relationship put Simon at risk. I could handle them threatening me, but if they came for Simon to get to me, I couldn't deal with that. At all. Simon was more precious than anything in my hoard.

I had the urge to shift and coil around him, hold him tight and keep him safe from the rest of the world, but this was enough. For the moment.