Chapter 26

It had taken a lot of convincing to get Mads to finally agree to come on vacation with me. He wanted to come, he was just afraid of leaving everyone else at home. Of course, Jude, Kulani, and River had to come with us, otherwise Mads and Jude would’ve been out of sorts. And Mads never would’ve enjoyed himself. Their magic was healed and was strong as ever, but Mads still needed his focus close at hand.

But since Jude was close by, I was able to get my mate to come spend the day with me, just the two of us.

Naturally, I brought him to an aquarium. The first he’d ever been to.

And he was fascinated. Or mesmerized might be the better word for it.

It was adorable.

I’d never seen him look so much like a little kid excited to open their presents on Christmas morning as he did right now. I loved it. I loved seeing him like this.

He’d come so far from the man I’d met in that conference room all those years ago. He was so much more trusting, more willing to show a little vulnerability now and then, and much more willing to show affection and love to everyone around him.

He’d always cared more deeply than anyone I knew—cared about people, about literally everyone, whether he knew them or not. But he never used to show that side of himself, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d had to protect himself and his dyad. With the way he’d grown up, I was lucky he ever dropped his walls enough to let me in, let alone for him to be so open with his love and affection to not only me but our whole pride… and even to others who needed it.

He’d risked his life to save the entire world from two horrible monsters that were determined to destroy it. He’d taken down the two worst terrorists our country had ever seen.

And all my little mage wanted in return was a few vacation days and a trip to the zoo. That was literally what he’d asked to do after the doctor had released him from medical leave.

I’d taken him, of course. We’d turned it into a whole pride trip with even River tagging along.

When Mads had… died a few months ago, I’d thought my world had ended.

So now that he was back and here with me, I was determined to show him how much I cared and admired him every single day. He deserved everything. He deserved the world.

But I knew he didn’t want the world.

All he wanted was a peaceful life where he was able to spend time with our family and volunteer at the animal rescue his friend ran.

I shook my head in fondness at him as he watched a school of Atlantic bluefin tuna swim by, his face lighting up even more.

God, he was so sweet.

When he glanced over his shoulder at me, a smile on his lips, and said, “Did you see that? They’re so pretty,” I knew I had to touch him. Had to.

So I stepped up behind him, wrapped my arms around his waist, and rested my chin on top of his head. He didn’t hesitate to lean back against me and wrap his arms around mine, and it made me smile, warmth gathering in my chest.

“I saw it,” I said after I realized he was waiting for me to respond.

“There are a few sea turtles in this tank, too.” He pointed them out. “They’re so cute.”

“I can already tell you’re going to want to get fish when we get home.”

He shrugged. “I’d love fish, but I don’t know how to keep the cats away from them.”

I thought about it for a second. “What if we put in a koi pond or something in the back yard? Or… I’m sure there are ways to keep the cats from being able to pull the lid off a tank. Maybe if we build the tank into the wall or something, and there’s a… flap or door that opens at the top to feed them. I don’t know, but we can figure it out.”

“I didn’t think you’d want me to get any more animals, but if you’re willing, I’d love to do both those things.”

I snorted. Of course he’d want a tank and a pond. The more animals, the better in his eyes. “We can talk to the pride about it and make sure everyone’s okay with it first. We’ll have to build a fence around the pond so small tigers don’t wind up jumping inside and chasing the poor koi.”

He snorted. “Kealoha would totally do that.” He paused. “Actually, Teo and El might, too. A fence is a good idea.”

“Agreed.” I smiled into his hair, then rubbed my cheek there. After a few minutes, I said, “The next tank has the octopus you’ve been excited to see.” When I’d told him last night that I wanted to take him to the aquarium today, we’d spent a long time looking at the website. Mads had been beside himself about them having an octopus.

“Really?” He sounded so excited I had to hold in a snort.

“Yep.”

He pulled out of my arms to walk over, but grabbed my hand and dragged me with him. Not that he had to pull hard. I was already following him.

“Wow. He’s so cool.”

“He really is.” We’d probably be at this tank even longer than the last, so I settled behind him again with my arms around his waist.

The octopus was more majestic in person than he’d been in the photos we’d seen, and every time he moved one of his arms, Madeo’s body tensed in excitement. He was literally bouncing on his toes, not even noticing how much he was jostling me around. I didn’t mind. This excitement right here was the whole reason I’d wanted to bring him here in the first place.

I wanted to take him to all the places he’d missed out on seeing simply because he was magi. Now that magi weren’t allowed to be turned away, I planned on taking him, Jude, Logan, Ash, and Wren—and perhaps Lilibeth and Scarlett, too—to as many places as they’d let me.

In fact, a week after we got home, Charlie and I had a whole weekend trip planned for the next city over from Fairview that had a zoo—one we hadn’t been to yet—and a couple museums. We were going to take the magi and the kids and try to hit up as many places as possible. We’d have to save the zoo for last or we’d end up spending the entire weekend there. I wouldn’t put it past Mads to camp out there so he could watch the animals at night, too.

Picturing that made me hold in a laugh as my sweet mate continued to stare at the octopus in amazement.

God, he was adorable.

We spent the entire day at the aquarium, which I planned for. I wasn’t even a little surprised when group upon group of people passed by us at every single tank. It was a weekday so it wasn’t as crowded as it could have been, but there’d been a steady stream of people all day.

We even spent an obscene amount of money—and time—in the gift shop. Mads wanted to get every single pride member a small gift, plus he bought the kids a few extra things. He was so worried about everyone else that he almost left without getting himself something, so I marched him around the store for the fifteenth time until he picked out a few things.

We were both loaded with bags as we left. It was ridiculous, but I expected nothing less from my mate.

After tucking the bags in our rental car and getting into the front seats, Mads said, “Thank you for this, Cos. This was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.”

I leaned over the console and captured his lips in a slow, sweet kiss. “I’m glad you had fun, baby.”

He smiled at me, his eyes still lit up with joy. “I really did.” He pecked my lips. “But I’m kinda?—”

“Hungry? Yeah, I figured.”

He fake-glared at me. “How do you know I wasn’t going to say… to say… um…”

I snorted. “You can’t even think of anything but food right now, can you?”

“Tired!” He said it triumphantly, making me laugh. “Shut up.”

I smacked a kiss to his smiling lips, then sat back and put the car in gear. “Don’t worry. I made reservations at an Italian restaurant that’s supposed to be really good.”

“When did you make reservations?”

“Yesterday.”

“Oh. Good.” He was quiet for a moment. “How did you know what time to make it for?”

“I looked at the time the aquarium closed and did thirty minutes after that. I figured we’d be there the entire day, and if we left earlier, we could walk around the boardwalk while we waited.”

“You really know me well, don’t you.”

It wasn’t a question, obviously, but I still said, “I do.”

He huffed a small laugh and placed his hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you for today. This was awesome. I’m glad you convinced me to come here.” He meant on vacation, not to the aquarium. He definitely hadn’t needed any coaxing to go there once we were already in this city.

“I’m glad, too. You needed a vacation.”

“I’ve never had the option before, so it was kind of a foreign concept to me. I mean, obviously I knew humans went on them all the time, it was just… not something I’d ever applied to my life, so I never really expected it to happen.”

Even though I’d been telling him that I wanted to take him on a vacation for months, he still hadn’t thought he’d ever be able to. I sighed internally. It would take a long time to get him—and all the other magi—to understand what it meant to have equal rights and to actually take advantage of certain aspects of it.

There was a lot of hurt, pain, and fear that needed undoing.

But as with many things, time would be the only way to heal them.

It didn’t take long to get to the restaurant—I’d purposefully picked a place that was only a ten-minute drive from the aquarium in case Mads somehow got to stay a few minutes past closing time. I parked, and the two of us got out. As we headed into the restaurant, I grabbed Madeo’s hand, weaving our fingers together.

He tensed for a moment, like he still sometimes did at public displays of affection, but after taking a breath, he clasped my hand tightly and walked toward the door as if nothing happened. I hated that he still got freaked out that someone else would try to harm us for being together. We didn’t usually hold hands like this. We weren’t really that kind of couple, but I couldn’t deny that I liked it and was glad our bond was shining with nothing but affection and warmth, meaning Mads actually wanted to hold my hand and wasn’t simply doing it to make me happy.

I never would’ve made him if he’d been uncomfortable with it.

I gave the hostess my name, and she sat us right away, which was a lucky break since there seemed to be a large number of people in the waiting area. She set a basket of bread on the table between our water glasses, told us the waiter would be there in a minute, and headed off.

“This place seems really nice,” Mads said. “Hopefully they won’t mind if I order two meals instead of one.”

I laughed. “You didn’t even use magic today. How can you need more food?”

His blue eyes were laughing when they met mine. “I was joking. But I’m totally getting dessert.”

I nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

He smiled and opened his menu, so I did the same, scanning it over until I found something I wanted to try. As he continued his perusal, I buttered a roll for him and slid the appetizer plate across the table before making myself one.

Mads folded his menu and glanced at the roll, then back up at me. “Thank you, kitty cat.” His voice was soft and filled with affection.

“You’re welcome, cat lover.”

He dug into his roll, humming in delight. After swallowing a bite, he said, “If everything else tastes half as good as this bread, I’ll be in heaven.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded as he took another bite.

Deciding he needed it more, I set the second roll on his plate as well, then buttered a third one for myself.

Mads shook his head. “No, honey, you eat this one.” He tried to set the second roll on my plate.

I pulled the tiny plate out of his reach, shaking my head. “Nope. You eat it. I’m already making another one, anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

With a put-upon sigh, he set the roll back on his plate. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I might not have been hand-feeding the rolls to him, but it still gave me a small thrill to prepare it for him, even if all I did was butter it.

I took a bite of my roll and had to agree with Madeo’s assessment. It was delicious.

Mads set his roll down and stared at me with a seriousness I wasn’t used to. After a moment, he quietly said, “Thank you, kitty cat.” He held his hand up to stop me from complaining about him thanking me for anything. “No, I get to thank you this time, so shut up.” I held in a snort. “Thank you for today, for taking me to the aquarium and for dinner and everything. And… thank you for convincing me to go on vacation with you. I know I put up a fight because there’s still so much going on at home, but I’m really glad you convinced me to come. This has been… the most amazing week.”

My heart ached with affection and tenderness for this sweet, sweet man. Reaching across the table, I took both his hands in mine and squeezed them. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself, sweetheart. This has been one of the best weeks of my life as well.” I lifted one hand and pressed my lips to his palm. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He said it without hesitation, with a fierceness and certainty I hadn’t thought he could ever have when uttering those words… but he was certain every time he said them now.

I kissed his hand again, and he gave me a small smile. I knew he was unsure about public displays of affection, but right now, his sole focus was on me. He wasn’t paying one bit of attention to the other people around us.

I smiled at that. He was so fucking sweet and so fucking in love with me. Being able to feel that love wrapped around my heart, throughout my entire body, and through my whole soul made me feel warm. It made my own love for him grow.

After dinner, I took Mads back to our hotel. We had our own room next door to Jude, Kulani, and River’s room. There was a door connecting the two inside, but I’d made sure to lock that this morning. As much as I loved my pride, I wanted to have one entire day with my mate, one entire uninterrupted day.

Mads seemed to be of the same mind because as soon as I shut and locked the door behind us, he was on me, pushing me against the door and yanking me down to capture my lips.

His arms slipped around my neck as mine went around his waist, and he surprised the hell out of me by jumping up. I caught him without hesitation, cupping his ass as he wrapped his arms and legs around me. He usually grumbled when I carried him around, but he definitely wasn’t grumbling now.

As his fingers went into my hair, he spoke against my lips. “Take me to bed, kitty cat, and strip naked for me.”

I groaned against him and started moving before I’d made the conscious decision to. Since the room wasn’t very big, it only took me a minute to reach the bed. I went to set Mads on it, but he refused to let go and pulled me down on top of him.

I laughed. “I thought you wanted me to strip for you.”

“I do. But more kissing first.”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

He hummed and pulled me back into a deep kiss, his soft tongue brushing against my rougher one. He nibbled on my bottom lip, then sucked my tongue into his mouth, his hands wandering down my back to my ass. When he rocked up against me, I could feel how turned on he already was. It made my own cock twitch and harden even more.

I broke the kiss to nibble along his jaw and down to his neck where I sucked a bruise into his skin, then licked it to soothe it away. Mads groaned lightly, so I licked the spot again, and he turned his head to the side to allow more access. I loved when he did that. I wasn’t sure he knew how much it meant that he’d show throat to me. I knew he wasn’t doing it to submit to me—I’d never expect that of him because he was my equal in absolutely all things—but it showed that he trusted me fully. That he knew I wouldn’t hurt him, that I’d protect him, love him, cherish him.

And I had spent every day since I met him trying to prove to him that I deserved that trust. And I’d spend every day forward showing him, too.

He gave my chest a small push. “Okay, strip.”

I grinned, pecked his mouth, and stood. I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it at him, making him laugh.

“What kind of strip tease is this? You’re supposed to dance.”

“Ha. Yeah, I don’t think so. You know I can’t dance.”

His blue eyes were alight with laughter. “Sure, you can. You’ve danced with me before.”

“No, I’ve swayed with you before.”

He moved his hand in a circular motion, like go ahead. “Let’s see it, then.”

I rolled my eyes, but since he was having fun and being playful, I went along with it. I swayed back and forth as I kicked off my shoes and socks and tried to undo the button on my pants, but I couldn’t quite get it undone while swaying.

After a few seconds, Mads laughed, kicked his own shoes and socks off, and got up on his knees, knee-walking on the bed to me. “You’re adorable. Let me help.”

“So glad my sexy dance was adorable.”

He snorted as he unhooked my button. “I mean, clearly I enjoyed it.” He waved at the tent in his pants, then unzipped my jeans and kissed my belly as he used his thumbs to push them and my underwear down.

I wiggled out of my pants and reached for Madeo’s shirt, pulling it up and over his head. His skin was littered with new scars from his fight with Anderson, and seeing them made me want to kiss them and hold my mate tight.

I was still having nightmares—I probably would for a very long time—and I’d probably been holding on to Mads a little too tightly, even months later. But he honestly didn’t seem to mind.

His mouth on my nipple brought me back to the moment and out of my own head, and I groaned.

“I really need you naked, too.”

He hummed. “Hm. That can be arranged, kitty cat.”

After another lick to my chest, he undid his pants and pushed them and his boxer briefs down, then sat on the bed to kick them off. He tugged me onto the bed, climbed on top of me, and kissed and sucked and licked and nibbled on my jaw, neck, chest, and abdomen.

After that, I was lost in the sensations of Madeo’s hands and mouth all over me. It was like he wanted to touch, kiss, and lick every single inch of me, and all I could do was hold on for the ride.

I wasn’t sure how long he’d been worshipping me when he pulled his mouth off my cock, climbed up my body, and whispered into my ear, “Do you want to?—”

It took me a second to realize he’d cut himself off. “What? What do you want to do, baby?”

He bit his lip for a moment before speaking. “I want… to be inside you, but only if you want to?—”

“I want to.” I cut him off that time. “I want that, too.”

He stared at me for a moment, then smiled and captured my lips in a sweet and tender kiss.

He pulled back, and I grabbed the lube we’d been using from the nightstand and frowned at the bottle. It was empty. Shit. Now that he’d said it, I really wanted him to take me tonight, but we definitely needed lube for that. Mads refused to take me without it—it’d come up in the past, and for whatever reason, it was a hard line he’d drawn. I respected him too much to push for him to just use spit or something.

Luckily, I was pretty sure we had more in our suitcases.

“Lube. We need more lube,” he muttered against my chest.

I flung my arm in the direction of our suitcases. “Check your top zipper. Pretty sure we shoved extra in there.”

After kissing my pec, he stood and walked around the bed. Even though I was dying for him to touch me again, I decided to drop my arm from my face so I could watch his pretty form move around the room. He moved like someone who was confident in how their body moved. Like a warrior who knew exactly how to step and fight and maneuver.

His lithe muscles tightened and contracted, and the moonlight streaming in through the window sparkled against his glistening skin. Seeing the sweat on his body made me want to get my mouth all over him so I could lick it up, taste it, and breathe it in. God, I loved the way he smelled and tasted. He was like a special dessert that only I was allowed to eat.

Mads unzipped the small flap on the top of his suitcase, and the second he opened it, a burst of air puffed out at him. I blinked.

No, not just a burst of air.

A burst of glitter.

Those little shits!

“Oh my goddess,” Mads yelled. “Those little shits!”

He turned to me, his face completely covered in glitter, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. My prickly mate was now covered in glitter. It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen.

“Not funny,” he said, but he was trying to hold back a smile.

It only made me laugh harder, and after a second, he joined in.

“Those little brats!” He yelled it but was still laughing.

I rolled onto my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows to get a better look at the destruction. Mads looked at me with his pouty lips covered in glitter, and it seemed like the only place I could see on his face that wasn’t glitterfied was his eyes.

Another laugh barked out of me.

Mads flicked some glitter in my direction. “You know that half of this stuff is going to end up on top of you, right?”

I snorted. “If it gets your naked body back on top of me, I can handle the payoff.”

He rolled his eyes, but I could see the amusement on his face and feel it in his soul.

“Want me to help you get the glitter off?”

He shrugged and pulled the bottle of lube out of the bag. It, too, was covered in glitter. “I’m going to go in the bathroom to get this cleaned off. I don’t want you to end up with glitter in your ass.”

I snorted. “Kind of you.”

He laughed and shook his head as he headed for the bathroom.

“You’re going to die when you see how much is on your face.” Since I didn’t like being alone in our big bed, I followed my mate to the bathroom.

He was standing at the sink, rinsing the lube bottle off while muttering to himself about little brothers and payback. Since it didn’t look like he’d tried to get it off his face yet—apparently, the lube was more important to him—I grabbed a washcloth and moved into the room. It had a double sink, so I turned on the other faucet, got the water to a good temperature, and stepped close to Mads.

With two fingers, I gently turned his face toward me and did my best not to let my amusement show. I honestly couldn’t believe how much glitter had ended up on him, and I was relieved that the bulk of it came off with the washcloth. I had to wipe several times in the same spot and keep rinsing off the washcloth with water, but it seemed to be working.

Mads muttered, “You know I can feel how funny you find this, right? And you might think you’re hiding your smile, but you absolutely aren’t.”

I snorted. “Good thing I can feel that you aren’t actually pissed, just frustrated with the delay.”

He sighed. “They’re still getting payback.”

“Oh yeah, and I want in.”

He laughed. “Good. We can plan something tomorrow. Brats.”

“Brats,” I agreed.

Mads set the lube bottle on the counter and turned the faucet off, then fully faced me with his hands on my hips. We were both still naked, and I was still hard and ready to beg him to make love to me just as soon as I finished with his glittered face. One glance at Mads, and I could see he was ready for that, too.

It made me grin, and I leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“You’re going to get glitter all over you,” he murmured.

“Don’t care. I’m not going to let glitter stop me from putting my lips on you or vice versa. Glitter can go fuck itself while you’re fucking me.”

His eyebrows shot up high on his forehead. “That was a lot of fucks in a row, and you usually don’t curse that much.” Especially when we were talking about sex went unsaid, but I knew exactly what he was thinking.

I shrugged. “I think a few fucks were called for tonight.”

He laughed and pressed his lips against mine a little harder than I’d done to him, and I smiled against him before dropping the washcloth somewhere on the counter behind him, grabbing my mate, and pulling him close to my body. He hummed against my lips, then moaned when I took our cocks in my hand and gave them both a few pulls.

“Now where were we, baby? I believe you were about to take me…?”

He smiled. “I was. Turn around.”

My eyebrows shot up. “In here?”

He lifted a brow. “Turn around, kitty cat.”

A thrill shot through my spine, and I raced to comply.

He pressed kisses along my back, running his hands over the globes of my ass. “Hands on the counter, legs spread—far because you’re a giant.”

I followed his instructions with a small laugh. His hands and mouth continued their exploration. He squeezed and rubbed and played for so long, I groaned in frustration.

“Mads. Please.”

He kissed the middle of my back before reaching for the lube. I felt some dribble on my ass crack a moment before his slick fingers appeared. When he slid one inside, I moaned, relieved at finally being filled. God, I never thought I could want someone like this, but I did. I wanted Mads like this and any way he’d let me.

He pushed a second finger in, then a third until I was pushing myself back on him and practically begging him. He kissed my shoulder blade as he slid his fingers out, and I whimpered.

Luckily, he was already there and pushing his cock inside at a slow pace. He froze when just the tip was inside, waiting for me to adjust. When I pushed back again, he slipped farther inside, making us both groan.

He froze again when he bottomed out and quietly asked, “You okay, honey?”

I groaned. “So, so, so okay.”

I felt his lips pull up in a smile before he started to move slowly. Both of us moaned, and I let myself get lost in the sensations, lost in the connection I could feel between our bodies, hearts, and souls.

Our connection escalated the pleasure, making his pleasure echo back to me and mine back to him. It was intense in the best possible way.

He knew my body well and moved my hips back, then held them in place when I moaned loudly because he hit my prostate with each pump.

“Oh, fuck, baby,” I groaned out. “Right there. God, I’m close.”

“Me, too,” he breathed into the skin on my back before placing a soft kiss there. Mads wrapped his arm around the front of me, grabbed my cock, and started pumping in time with his thrusts.

And that was it. My orgasm hit me and whited out my vision as bliss shot through my veins. I felt Mads come behind me, and his pleasure intensified my own through our bond, making my orgasm go on and on.

When we finally finished, Mads wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight as he panted against my back, and I used one hand to cover his, breathing just as heavily. We stayed there for a few minutes, basking in the afterglow.

“Your back is now covered in glitter.”

I barked out a surprised laugh, then moaned because it caused his cock to move inside me. “Worth it.”

“You say that now.”

“I’ll say it later, too.”

He snickered. “If you say so.” He pressed a line of kisses along my back as he pulled out. “I love you, kitty cat.”

I turned to face him and cupped his cheeks. “I love you, too.”

“Do you maybe wanna get in that comfy bed out there and stay up with me all night?” He put his hand over the scar on my chest, and it felt like our scars, our soul bond, sort of jumped in excitement.

I smiled and rubbed my nose against his. “Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”

He grinned, kissed my lips, and wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me tight.

Of course I didn’t hesitate to embrace him back. If I could, I’d keep him right against me, safe and secure, for the rest of our very long lives.

I smiled into his hair because that was the best thing I could’ve hoped for—a very long life with the man in my arms. A life filled with love and laughter, with pride and safety.

Now that we were free—from the government and evil, horrible witches—that long life seemed plausible.

And a life with Madeo Ono-Nai would never be anything but an amazing adventure.