Chapter 32

G rant followed Roman into their bedroom at the D'Vaire mansion, and although it was after midnight, he still buzzed with energy. From the moment Roman's dagger had sliced his palm, he'd been overwhelmed by emotion. It was unexpected. Grant had thought himself prepared for his matebond ceremony, but he'd quickly learned that nothing could've equipped him to handle the love rocketing through him.

Securing the door behind them, Grant grabbed one of the belt loops on Roman's jeans and tugged him backward.

"What the?" Roman sputtered as Grant used the quick reflexes his resurrection had given him to grab his mate and swing him around so they were facing one another. Cupping Roman's face, Grant sealed their mouths together.

Roman's moan was a happy little sound as he hauled Grant close. The lovely twisting of their souls from that afternoon filtered through Grant's mind, and he sighed joyfully. Although he had no time to speculate on who would make a perfect partner for him, Roman fit him. It was impossible to imagine anyone else at his side.

"We waited too long for our matebond ceremony," Grant said, his eyes meeting Roman's.

Roman smiled. "I agree. When do you think we should've had it?"

"If I had to do it over again, I would've done it elven style and made you mine within seventy-two hours of meeting you."

"I have to admit, I never understood their need to rush until you were resurrected."

"Today was incredible."

"It was," Roman said. "I thought I knew what to expect, but wow…it was so gorgeous. That moment our two souls became one dazzled me. I'll never forget it."

"I'm going to hold you to that promise."

"Did you make any romantic plans for this evening?" Roman asked.

Grant's brows lifted in surprise. "Did you expect me to? Wait, did you?"

"I don't know if it counts, but there's champagne and cupcakes in here somewhere."

"You get points for that. Does wearing a cute little pair of lime-green undies count as romance?"

"In this relationship? Fuck yes. Also, I have lime-scented lube."

Closing his eyes as he trembled, Grant clutched Roman and reveled in the wave of lust that swept through him. "Does that mean you're finally going to fuck me?"

"We took things a little too slow for you, didn't we?"

"Hell yes."

"I'd love to fuck you if that's what you want."

"I can be naked and face down on that bed in about five seconds."

Roman kissed the corner of Grant's mouth. "What's the rush?"

"Well, my knees are already like jelly, so I might collapse on the floor, and that's going to be embarrassing for both of us. Maybe for the entire Order of the Fallen Knights."

"Let's get on the bed."

Forcing himself to let go of Roman, Grant ignored his hardening dick and took the few steps to the king-sized bed as leisurely as he could manage. Roman tugged the silver comforter embroidered with swirls of blue and green to the foot of the mattress and lowered to his knees to untie Grant's boots.

Grant tried in vain not to notice how easy it would be for Roman to suck him off in that position and sat there helplessly as Roman tugged off his footwear. Roman took a seat next to Grant and shucked off his own shoes.

"I'm sorry, I can't seem to get my arms to work to help you," Grant said as Roman embraced him and nipped his chin.

"Just relax, baby."

Since Grant had no other choice, he nodded and wondered what the hell was wrong with him. Roman had barely touched him, but he was already vibrating with need. That wasn't the surprising part. It took hardly anything for Grant to respond physically to the sexy man who'd loved him right since the first time they'd had sex.

What was new was the heavy thumping of his heart and the languidness of his limbs as Roman gently teased him with his tongue. Grant met him stroke for stroke as they made out, but the bliss rooted in his soul made each sensation more intense than ever before.

It was lovely.

The muscles in Grant's arms bunched as he finally managed to lift them. He grabbed Roman's T-shirt and yanked the damn thing upward. With barely a pause in their kisses, Roman tore it off his head with some help from Grant, and it hit the floor. Grant moaned as he caressed Roman's smooth skin, and his cock throbbed in the confines of his pants.

Ignoring the tightening of his balls, Grant focused on driving Roman as wild as he felt. He offered no protest as Roman plucked Grant's shirt from his jeans and tugged it off.

"Want to lie down?"

Grant nodded enthusiastically and crawled up to the head of the bed. He tore his socks off and threw them. Where they landed was anyone's guess. Grant settled his head on a pillow and was ready for more drugging kisses. Instead, his hips nearly jackknifed off the bed. Roman cupped Grant's dick in his palm and squeezed.

"Do you want some champagne?" Roman asked, locking his eyes on Grant's. In those blue eyes was a tantalizing mixture of lust and love.

"Are you out of your damn mind? No."

Roman laughed. "Are you sure? I really want tonight to be romantic."

"Drink your damn champagne later, Calixtus."

To ensure that Roman didn't wander away to fill a glass or some other shit, Grant laid a palm on Roman's cheek and fused their lips together. His mate's thirst could wait until Grant finally had the privilege of having Roman buried inside him.

Thankfully, Roman made no move to get away. But he didn't touch him either.

"What's going on?" Grant asked.

Roman smiled, but something about it set Grant on edge. "What if we came to a compromise?"

"Compromise? What kind of compromise? I want you inside me."

"Oh, that's definitely happening," Roman said.

Grant relaxed marginally as Roman unfastened his own jeans. "Okay, so what's the compromise?"

"You get to take your pants off, but I want you to keep your bright little undies on."

"Are you getting naked?"

"That is an option."

"No, it's not an option. It's a requirement. And keep your mouth away from my dick because I will shoot down your throat, which is not part of the plan for the night."

"My preference is to have you face down."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Grant muttered as he wiggled out of his jeans.

"Is that a problem for you?"

"Nope, I'm good," Grant promised, tossing a pillow into the middle of the bed and rolling over so his mate could live out his fantasy.

Roman coasted a palm across Grant's cotton-clad ass. "Green is sexy on you."

"Stop yammering and get your clothes off, Calixtus."

To Grant's immense relief, Roman didn't argue, and the mattress bounced slightly as the other fallen knight disrobed. The smell of limes permeated the air, and Grant grinned as he rested his cheek on a silvery pillowcase. Grant spread his legs to ensure Roman had plenty of room to get between them.

"Is that the lube?"

"No, it's massage oil. It was a package deal."

"I do love a man who can't resist a bargain."

Roman chuckled. His palms landed on Grant's shoulders. A groan flowed out of Grant as Roman pushed heavily into him to knead his muscles. "How's this for romance?"

"I could definitely get used to this," Grant assured Roman. Although his balls were still begging to be emptied, Grant liquefied beneath Roman's sure touch. He wasn't sure where the hell Roman had learned how to massage him into a state of both relaxation and heightened desire, and he sure as fuck didn't care. All Grant wanted was for it to last forever.

"Good, yeah?"

"Everything about you is good," Grant replied after a long moan. "Scratch that. Everything about you is wonderful, and I fucking adore you."

"I love you too, baby."

Grant was pleased with his lot in life, and his nerve endings alternated between little pings of electrified desire and bliss. Roman worked his way along Grant's back. Then his palms landed on Grant's ass again. He squeezed hard, and Grant's toes curled in delight.

A protest nearly left his lips when Roman's hands disappeared. But any disappointment was long forgotten a second later. Roman peeled Grant's Jockeys to his thighs, and Grant nearly shouted at the feel of his wet tongue gliding down his crack.

It didn't happen a second time, which pissed Grant off, but only until Roman slid his underwear off. Roman cupped his ass cheeks and spread them apart. Roman's mouth landed on Grant's hole, and he nearly shot off the bed.

All the relaxation Roman had worked into him with the lovely massage was long forgotten as his mate rimmed him. Grant reached out and slapped his hands on the headboard as little licks of desire bombarded him in quick succession. He missed the round poles of their bed at home; he enjoyed having something solid to hold on to as Roman drowned him in pleasure.

Just as Roman did with blowjobs, he drove Grant out of his mind with his earnest desire to overwhelm Grant with sensation. Grant was reduced to a quivering, trembling mess, and he loved it. His cock throbbed, his balls ached, and he could barely wrap his head around a coherent thought. It was almost beyond his ability to endure.

Then Roman worked a finger into his ass and pushed Grant to the edge of sanity. He wasn't sure who the fuck he'd been in his past life as a human, but he must've done something right to get such a fantastic mate in this one. Desperate to have Roman plunging into him, Grant forced himself to use his beleaguered brain to review boring case laws.

It was the lone defense he had to wait out the stretching he needed before he could get what he wanted.

"Stop it," Roman ordered.

"Huh?" Grant managed.

"You're grinding your dick into the pillow. If you want me to fuck you, knock it off."

Grant hadn't realized he was moving, but he stilled instantly. The hard edge to Roman's voice sent a wave of sparks along his spine, and he bit his lip to keep from coming. To reprimand him, Roman had lifted his mouth away, which helped Grant pull himself together a little.

The tantalizing moment of sanity didn't last. Roman slid two slick fingers into his center and immediately crooked them to graze Grant's prostate. The zing of pleasure had Grant calling out Roman's name.

"Hey, baby, it's okay," Roman coaxed as his free hand landed on Grant's hip. In stark contrast to the digits stretching him, Roman smoothed his palm along Grant's flank in a tender move that did little to cut through the red wave of lust consuming Grant.

Grant buried his face in the pillow and forced himself to breathe deeply. He had no complaints. What he'd wanted since his first taste of passion was to be driven to his limit. Some voice inside had assured him that the only way to get there was to get Roman inside him. Damn if that instinct hadn't been dead right.

Roman pushed three fingers into Grant's hole, and he groaned loudly. He was stuffed full, but also not nearly full enough. Grant sure as hell hoped Roman was enjoying their night as much as he was, but questions would have to wait for later. It took entirely too much effort to figure out how words worked.

"Can you get up on your knees for me?" Roman coaxed softly.

Eager to accommodate him, Grant found it surprisingly difficult to obey the words. Thankfully, Roman was attuned to him and guided him into the correct position with his steady, sure hands. Grant spread his trembling legs apart as far as it was comfortable and waited anxiously as Roman shuffled closer to him.

His eyes slid shut as the head of Roman's cock pressed against him. Grant exhaled slowly and filled his head with relaxing thoughts as Roman pushed inside him. Immediately fond of the way he was being opened and the heat of Roman's dick, Grant laid his cheek on the pillow and relished the coolness of the sheet on his skin.

Roman moved leisurely, giving Grant plenty of opportunity to protest, but that was the last thing he wanted. Grant was consumed with Roman's thick length in his channel and waited eagerly for his other half to fill him completely. The feel of Roman's springy curls on his ass tickled slightly when he finally bottomed out, but Grant barely noticed.

Pressing close to him, Roman's fingers curled around Grant's length. At his side, Roman's hand slapped onto the mattress, and he flexed his hips. Instinctively, Grant matched his rhythm. They might have started off the night slowly, but Roman was fucking him with intent. Which was exactly what Grant wanted and needed.

Roman's grip on his cock tightened. Between the fantastic jerking of his length and the hot dick gliding in and out of his channel, Grant had to gnash his teeth to stave off his orgasm. He was desperate to extend their lovemaking as long as possible.

But it was not to be. Grant's breath caught, and he froze as he shot out over Roman's crafty fist. His muscles locked, and his entire body shook with the force of his climax. But the most beautiful part was the hot seed filling him and the breathless way his name fell from Roman's lips.

Grant amped his up own pleasure by reliving that moment earlier in the garden when his soul was tied to Roman's for eternity.

Roman's lips brushed his shoulder several seconds later as they both tried to calm their racing hearts and fill their desperate lungs.

"I love you," Grant whispered.

"I love you too," Roman replied instantly.

That was all the romance Grant needed.