Chapter Twenty

Marcus had never been so hard in his life!

He kissed Dane, savoring the hunger the smaller man responded with. The emotional high and subsequent crash of being in contact with the spirits had left Marcus with a shocking overflow of emotions and pent-up energy. Beyond thrilled that Dane liked his idea, he eagerly anticipated letting go and enjoying the growing passion with his mate.

Mate.

The word was no longer an insult or an unknown thing between them. It sounded sweeter to his ears and warmed his heart more than all the endearments Dane was suddenly using.

When Dane mentioned the incubus magic, his stomach had dropped. Yes, he’d assumed, hoped, they would be intimate when Dane agreed to come back to his cabin, but to discover magic might have been the cause again had fucking hurt. Josh had promised he and Nathan wouldn’t create more sex magic, and Marcus believed him. But the newness of his relationship with Dane, and his still-fragile heart, had caused another burst of momentary fear.

Until Dane assured him, in that same way he’d promised a vow of honesty: “...it is you that I want. It has only been you since I first laid eyes on you. Only you, Marcus. Do you understand?”

The joy and elation that swept through Marcus had flushed away any last vestiges of doubt. Dane truly wanted him with the same passion consuming Marcus for months. Maybe the few beers Marcus had drunk were no more different than a little incubi magic. Hadn’t Josh said Ramona and Luke’s baby was a product of that same magic? The magic couldn’t be bad if such a thing were possible.

Did it matter anymore?

Dane was his soul mate. His hand felt right in Marcus’s bigger one, and his magic felt good inside him too, like a missing piece of something he didn’t know he’d lost. Dane had explained if one of them died—he mentally crossed himself since his hands were full of Dane. My God and your Goddess forbid!—they would be reborn, always searching for their other half. If he understood it all correctly, if they hadn’t been forced to bond and never saw each other again, Marcus would have lived listless and unfulfilled in this and all future lives.

Had he been listless before Dane?

He’d never thought of himself as unfulfilled, though he was always searching for the next big win. He set big goals and worked hard to achieve them. Yet in his most honest moments, the fleeting glow of success always seemed unsatisfying. He’d never voiced the feeling before, instead throwing himself into his next goal. The next accomplishment would be the one to bring true happiness, right? Hell, he’d liked his wizard zombie because it was a tangible reminder of his success when feelings of futility or worthlessness befell him.

Could the life purpose he’d been searching for all this time been Dane’s love?

Talk about some heavy shit.

About as heavy as his balls in his current situation with a writhing, hungry fairy all but climbing him like a tree.

Get your head back in the game, Marcus!

When they pulled apart, both panting, he knew he’d found what he’d been searching for. Dane already filled a part of his soul, but tonight, Marcus wanted Dane to fill his body too.

Breathless, Marcus kissed down Dane’s neck, sucked on his earlobe. “Fuck, I want you inside me.” So consumed by Dane, he could hardly believe what he said next. “I don’t just want your cock and your cum. I want everything from you, Dane. I want your heart. Forever.”

“It’s all yours, Marcus,” Dane shuddered in his arms. “Forever.”

Somehow, Dane managed to untangle himself and whip off his tunic while Marcus stripped as fast as he could. Dane took a little more time, his dilated gaze soaking in Marcus’s muscles, his hard cock and trimmed balls.

“You are most becoming, my sweet.”

No one had ever used such endearing names for Marcus and he fucking loved it.

When Dane’s shorts fell to his feet and that slim, ruddy cock bobbed in offering, Marcus grinned.

“Ready?” Dane asked.

Marcus nodded.

A shimmer of magic swept over Marcus’s skin and in an instant a tall black-skinned Fae Lord with flowing white hair towered over him. Marcus gazed up, up, and up, feeling small and helpless. The sensation was something he could definitely get used to. His cock surged with a gush of precum.

“I can’t look away from you,” Marcus breathed, though that damn loin cloth hid what Marcus could only imagine was a cock as big as the Fae himself.

Smiling, teeth almost pointy, yet not, Dane reached for the cloth. “I don’t want you to look away. Ever,” he remarked, his voice different, smokier.

“You’re so sexy like this.”

“And you’ll be even sexier when this is deep in your ass.”

He tossed the cloth to the side, and Marcus let out a whimper. His cock throbbed even as his ass clenched in concern and he almost changed his mind. No, he wanted to be taken, claimed in the most primal way. He wanted Dane inside him so badly his heart ached within his chest.

Dane’s cock in this form was smooth, veinless even, the head bulbus and pointed like an arrow. His balls were hairless and large, like two huge plums, enough to fill both of Marcus’s hands. Dane stroked his long length, ten inches easily, thick and terrifying.

Is fat fucker even gonna fit?

Oh hell yeah, they’d make that glorious dick fit!

Marcus wanted to be filled with his soul mate.

Two souls becoming one whole.

He stared, wide-eyed and hungry. Behind Dane, gossamer wings glistened in the soft lighting. Marcus knew this creature before him would be tattooed onto his person the moment he had a chance.He belonged to this man, this Fae.

In every possible way.

“How would you like me to take you?” Dane asked.

“However you want me,” he replied breathlessly.

And then big strong arms wrapped around him, a hand larger than his own cupping his ass and drawing him closer. Dane pulled and Marcus had to lift onto his tiptoes so their mouths could meet. His big six-foot-three ass felt fucking dainty next to his Fae.

Dane tasted the same in this form, but something electric danced over Marcus’s skin. Lust and desire, hunger and need.

Magic.

Loving how small he felt in his mate’s dark arms, Marcus melted against him, that huge cock menacing and wet against his belly, and so very hot. Marcus humped Dane’s big thigh, loving the friction of powerful leg against cock.

Then Dane bodily lifted him from the floor.

“Whoa.”

In an act a big man never imagined he’d get to enjoy, Marcus wrapped one leg up and over Dane’s strong hip and, after slight encouragement, lifted his other until they both were wrapped around Dane’s waist, ankles hooked above a powerful ass.

Unbelievable!

Dane clutched both of Marcus’s ass cheeks and thrust their bodies together. Moaning, Marcus clung to his neck, unable to believe he was being held up so effortlessly. He trusted Dane’s strength, and let go of any fear he might drop him, shifting so their chests and cocks were flush. They devoured each other’s mouths, the faint scratch of Dane’s sharp teeth rousing Marcus. He writhed against his broad black chest, relishing the hardness of his pecs scraping his nipples.

Dane kneaded his ass, fingers slipping between.At the scrape of a clawed nail on his hole, Marcus let out a whimper.

“You like this,” Dane all but taunted, wings spread wide and beautiful behind him.

Frantic now, Marcus nodded, humping against the big Fae, loving the way his legs were spread and the weight of his body pulled his ass open, an invitation for Dane’s questing fingers. His whole crack felt stretched, body held firmly in place.

Leaving one hand on his ass, the pull on his hole lessened as Dane pressed his other hand to his lower back. When he ground Marcus against him, Marcus threw back his head and clung to Dane shoulders, leaking all over his naked belly.

With a grunt, Dane squeezed him tight, preventing him from moving.“Not yet, my sweet. I want to be inside you when you come.”

“Yes, yes,” he chanted, lost to passion.

Lost to this man, this Fae Lord.

His soul mate.

Gently Dane laid Marcus on the bed. He kept his legs around him, but the new position eased the stretch on his ass. He missed it but now he had more leverage to grind against Dane’s rock-hard abs. Dane cupped his face, kissing him deep. Marcus had never felt so needy before, so empty. Dane’s hand glided down his chest, followed with wet kisses.He took his damn sweet time, whatever urgency he’d mentioned earlier gone, perhaps transferred to Marcus because he felt fucking helpless with desire.

Dane inched lower and Marcus trembled as that huge dick smeared a trail of precum down his inner thigh. Dane’s hand found a nipple, his mouth the other.

Marcus floated in a pool of ecstasy, head thrown back as Dane played his body like a musical instrument. He swore he could even hear the music, electric violins, chanting, guitar. Exotic, beautiful. And all theirs.

The delicious pull and pinch on his nipples sent shockwaves to his cock. His needy hole fluttered, aching to be filled. Every nerve in his body sang. “Need you,” he panted, utterly lost in the paradise of pleasure.

Nothinghad ever felt like this before.

His hunger reduced him into a shameless mess and he could barely speak or remember to breathe. The weight of a huge lover on top of him was a sensation he couldn’t live without anymore. Glorious... but he needed more.

“Dane,” he gasped. “Please... fuck me, baby.”

“Goddess, you want this so bad, don’t you?” Dane whispered before he bit down on his nipple, licking it afterward, soothing yet rough. He never eased up fingering and teasing the other. Marcus grabbed his shoulder, his back, anywhere he could touch, savoring smooth skin over hard muscles. He found the ridge of Dane’s wings, caressing them and exploring the texture as he fought off orgasm.He refused to come without that huge cock buried deep inside him, but his hips undulated for friction, unable to hold still.

Dane slid the hand not tormenting his nipple down Marcus’s right thigh, then under, forcing him to lift his leg and pressing Marcus’s cock against Dane’s stomach. More importantly, it opened him up so thick fingers could zero in on his pulsing hole. Sudden wetness slicked him, and Marcus groaned as one finger pushed inside.

Magical lube? So fucking cool...

Damn, the fullness felt so good, and yet not enough.

Maybe it never would be.

Never enough of this feeling, the wanting. The need.

Never enough of Dane.

Dane lifted his head, leaving Marcus’s nipple wet and cold to the air. “Look at me.”

Marcus forced his eyes open.

Dane studied him as he finger-fucked him in rhythm with tugs on his nipple.His wings glistened above him, and his lilac eyes shone in the dim cabin, reflecting the moonlight.

Maybe it was all magic. His finger felt like magic, and when it nailed his prostate, Marcus cried out. But didn’t look away.

“You’re beautiful like this.”

“You’re gonna make me come,” Marcus panted, seconds away from painting his lover.He clutched his shoulders harder and stared deep in his eyes. His only coherent thought: “Cock in me... now... please!”

So begging it is then!

Smiling wickedly, those pointed white teeth a sharp contrast on his black iridescent skin, Dane crooked his finger and pressed on his prostate, hard and deliberate.

Marcus screamed, maybe he cried, but pleasure ripped through him, and his whole body arched, his balls seizing and his cock pulsing as he came. Trembling he rode it out while Dane mercilessly milked his prostate, adding a second finger as the orgasm tore through his body, making him sob with pleasure.

His every cell throbbing, Marcus convulsed several times as he tried to come down.He flew so high, not altogether sure Dane hadn’t used magic to make it last longer than usual.

Dane was right there to catch him, wrapping him in his arms and kissing him.

Once capable of speech, Marcus complained, “You didn’t fuck me.”

At his petulant whine, Dane threw back his head and laughed, a melodious sound that only soothed some of his disappointment.

“You said you were going to fuck me.” Yeah, he was pouting. Didn’t care.

“Who said I was finished?” Dane taunted, those fingers still in his ass, stroking more gently now, but pulling him open and readying him.

His cock remained interested, by no means finished.A not so little itch needed to be scratched. Marcus wanted that cock.

And he wanted it now.

But Dane was twice his size and Marcus didn’t possess the physical power to push Dane onto his back and hop on his dick. Not if Dane didn’t want him to, that is. It should have bothered him, not being in control. Instead it made his hunger return, stronger this time. Needier.

While Marcus had this inner debate, Dane kept those fingers scissoring his ass, kissing him fervently. About the time Marcus had totally given in once more, all but liquifying into the mattress, Dane sat up and withdrew his fingers. Kneeling between his legs, he moved Marcus’s thighs to drape one across each knee, spreading him open. Then, without warning, he drove those fingers back into his ass.

“Fuck!”

Catching sight of his own milky cum streaked across Dane’s black belly, Marcus reached out to play with the mess.Dane smiled and fucked him with more purpose. He felt over stimulated but so damn hungry for more than two—oh shit! There were three thick fingers inside him now. Marcus felt shredded, his nipples tender, cock raw. Dane kept plunging his three fingers in and out, stretching him wider than he’d ever been before.

When he took hold of Marcus’s cock and slowly stroked the sensitized rod, Marcus whimpered.

“Play with your nipples while I fuck your ass with my fingers,” Dane ordered.

Obediently, Marcus flicked and pulled shamelessly, as aggressive as when he jerked off alone. He wanted Dane to have this, to be a part of every aspect of him, even the secret things he did on his own. He rolled the nubs, twirled the bars, hips thrusting into Dane’s hands. His nipples burned, overstimulated, but giving off painful thrills as Dane brought his cock around, the circuit of pleasure needing one more thing to complete it.

Their eyes locked, and the aching emptiness deep inside had only one solution.

“Need you,” Marcus groaned, chest heaving and back arching. He didn’t know how he managed to keep his eyes open, staring at the exotic mythical creature priming him for the fuck of his life.“I want your dick in me. Need it.”

“Soon, my sweet.” Dane dipped down to kiss him.

The tenderness of the endearment was almost more powerful than his wicked fingers bringing his body back into compliance. He kissed him while he stretched his ass and stroked his cock. Marcus’s own cum and a warm, tingly magic lube teased the hot flesh. Coming had soothed the desperation, but with every touch, every probe deeper, Dane made his need rise again. Thick fingers speared his hole, his body welcoming them in. When Dane brushed his prostate, he swore he saw stars. But still it wasn’t deep enough, full enough. He wanted...

“More.”

“Almost there, darling.”

Fuck! The pet names would do him in!

No surprise, Dane got his dick fully hard, raging and ready to come once more. Marcus wanted to watch Dane, large and commanding, plunging his fingers in and out, pumping his cock and creating new sensations as he controlled his pleasure, but his eyelids felt weighed down.

“You’re so hot inside,” Dane whispered, twisting both hands and making Marcus tremble.

Marcus had never been so spread open, so fucking vulnerable. He could barely breathe as Dane took his exhausted body along for the pleasure ride. Though difficult as hell to keep his eyes open, play with his nipples, savor the penetration and the gliding tight fist on his cock all while remain conscious, those lilac eyes held him captive, unwilling to release him.

Dane crawled closer, spreading Marcus’s thighs and intensifying the stretch on his ass. Marcus groaned when, holy fuck! Dane arrowed four of his fingers inside his wet ass, thumb massaging the taint.

“Oh, Dane, oh please,” Marcus panted. His hands went limp, playing over his nipples, thumbs twitching enough to keep the sensation alive. Dane fisted his cockhead, digging his thumb into the leaking slit.

Marcus whined, desperate for that big cock, but suddenly afraid of it too. Four fingers was more than he’d ever had inside him, but the need to be filled warred with what his body suddenly warned him might not work. His heart screamed in denial and demand. So he spread his knees, opening as much as he could, begging with his body and his breath, thrusting onto those thick fingers.

“I can’t, I can’t,” he panted. “But I want...”

“You’ll be able to take me, my heart,” Dane promised him, avoiding his prostate now.

When he finally released his cock, Marcus let out a sob of despair. Tenderly, but with a touch full of authority, Dane rubbed his inner thigh, across his stomach and up his arm. “We are made for each other. You are made to take me in all forms, and I you.”

When Dane stilled the fingers inside him, he clasped Marcus’s hand in his other.

Breathless, Marcus opened his eyes to find his mate, his Fae Lord, smiling tenderly down at him. “I ache for you. I need to fill you, my sweet.”

“Fuck me, baby,” Marcus ground out, heart soaring.“No more teasing. Give it to me.”

“As you wish.” When Dane withdrew, the reprieve almost as tortuous as the craving, his hole clenched, tight but ready.

Oh so fucking ready.

Still holding his hand, Dane gripped his fat cock and aimed it at his hole.

Marcus held his breath and relaxed his body to the invasion. A little sting came, but with it a welcome relief. He glided in and Marcus squeezed his hand.

“You’re so big,” he moaned. “Fuck, I can feel you everywhere.”

“So wet and tight,” he murmured, bottoming out until Marcus saw stars.

He must’ve added more lube because the slide felt exquisite, no pain at all. Every inch of Marcus was stuffed, each corner full and complete. He held still and waited for the tense feeling to subside, the muscles to be ready for the hard fucking he needed, all the while savoring the press of those big balls against his cheeks.Inside him it felt as if everything he was and everything he knew, finally made sense. He finally understood life, love, his future. The meaning of life.

And it was this man.

His soul mate.

When Dane kissed him, the action shifted his cock, making Marcus gasp. It was like Dane touched everywhere inside him, clear to his heart.

To his soul.

“Tell me when you are ready for me to fuck you,” Dane breathed around kisses so sweet they might make Marcus come or cry. And he didn’t even care which happened. Both were welcome and inevitable.

Marcus pried open his eyes to gaze up at Dane’s beautiful face, framed by long white hair, and the sight of those iridescent wings haloing him from above.Dane released his hand to cup Marcus’s face and kiss him deeply.

Gasping for air when Dane ended the kiss, Marcus hooked his ankles around Dane’s ass and pulled him in.

“Fuck me.”

And Goddess, did Dane fuck him.

His hips moved in one sweet roll. Marcus groaned low and long as he slid all the way out and plunged back in. Hot, hard, and powerful everywhere, he stuffed him over and over. That cock pulsed against his prostate, tearing him in two as he thrust, only to put him back together on the upstroke. Panting above him, Dane gripped one thigh and opposite shoulder, using the leverage on every slam.If he could crawl deep inside Marcus and stay there forever, he would beg him to do it.

It was where he belonged.

Marcus’s nipple piercings scraped against his muscular chest, his cock hard and ready, rubbing between their stomachs. Shoulders so much broader than his own rolled with power, and Marcus moved with him, amazed and grateful his body could welcome Dane inside like this. He clung to his shoulders, feeling the ridge of where his wings began. They gently fluttered and Dane shuddered.

“Oh yes, touch my wings some more.”

Marcus smiled at the discovery. “Sensitive?”

“Apparently, yes.” Dane smiled back.

Marcus trailed his hands down the wing ridge, delighting in the sparkle of light emitting from them and the goosebumps that rose on Dane’s skin as he explored. It must’ve felt amazing, because Dane groaned and issued harder, more frantic thrusts.

His wings began to beat above them, creating a breeze to cool their sweat.

Marcus touched his beautiful wings gently, for fear of damaging them. Dane’s body thrummed with pleasure, cock pulsing inside his ass. Dane was so deep he swore he could taste him. Marcus shouted and shuddered, barely able to do more than lay there and take it as Dane claimed his body, nailing him over and over. When Dane reached between their bodies, Marcus swore he must’ve used his wings as propulsion to fuck even harder. He felt his orgasm rising, the pleasure, the release so close. His thighs seized and back arched. Dane let go of any pretense of rhythm, grabbed his thighs and lifted onto his knees. He used his whole body and wings as leverage to slam into Marcus’s ass, the air rushing like a fan on full blast.

Those deep thrusts sent Marcus flying over the edge. He convulsed, making inarticulate grunts as his body shuddered and another powerful orgasm took him. His prostate was jabbed repeatedly as he came, cock spraying bursts of hot cum between them. Marcus came so long and so hard he was blinded by fucking fireworks, reeling from the intensity of it all. But he felt it when his mate joined him, that huge cock swelling, burying deep and flooding him with warmth.

Dane seemed to come forever, Marcus’s body soaring with him, weightless and spent. A breeze fluttered the papers on the desk in the cabin, cooling his fevered skin. In his clouded mind, he wondered if they were airborne. He felt like he was floating. Pressure and heat pulsed behind his eyes, his skin hot and tingling. Dane’s gave a few more erratic thrusts, balls tight to his ass, his own squished in the most delicious way. Then he collapsed on Marcus, slamming him back onto the bed, his weight almost unbearable. Marcus tried to catch his breath, even as he felt covered, safe, and cocooned.Satisfied and full. Full of his lover’s cum, his joy, and his very soul.

“That was...” Marcus panted.

Dane must’ve realized he was squishing Marcus, because he rolled to the side, sliding his huge cock out, but staying close. Marcus felt hollowed and raw, but in the best way. He snuggled under Dane’s chin, and was pulled tight into those big arms.His man could fill him up again later, he wouldn’t have to live without this. The realization that they had forever was so all consuming, he choked on a sudden sob.

Dane must’ve misunderstood the reaction to his emotions.

“Sorry, I’m not used to being so big, didn’t mean to crush you,” Dane murmured into his hair, his voice and the practical nature of his words bringing Marcus out of his lust-drenched euphoria.

Wiping his face, Marcus reached up, gliding his hand up Dane’s powerful back until he had white blond tresses tangled in his fingers. Rather than dump all of his emotions out, he said lightly, “I’m not used to being the small one either.”

“Did you like it?”

Chuckling, Marcus propped up so he could see Dane’s exotic face. “Oh yeah, didn’t you hear all the begging?”

“I loved the begging.” Dane gave him a sideways smirk.

He let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Then I say that gets added to the repertoire.”

“The begging or my dick up your ass?”

His ass clenched at the question, as if ready for more. He would hurt tomorrow, but in the best way. “Oh, I think with a cock like yours the begging and the needing it inside me go hand in hand.”

Dane smiled wider, his teeth slightly pointed in this form, but his lilac eyes the same. “It’s a deal then. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It feels good for me to be in this form. More natural, I guess.”

On an elbow, Marcus placed his head in his hand, staying close and not caring if he ended up stuck to him. “Did you not feel comfortable in your human form?”

“That’s not it,” Dane said, reaching out and trailing his clawed hand across his cheek. He’d often wondered how Sheri never got poked or scratched with her wife’s long nails, so he wasn’t all that surprised he barely noticed Dane’s as he stroked his face, jaw, neck. “I suppose this feels more natural. I never noticed anything was off until I could take my true form. Now I realize this is more me, if that makes sense.”

“Yeah, kinda.”

A tingle worked over his ass and groin.He suddenly felt dry and clean everywhere. “Did you magic away our sex mess again?”

Dane grin looked more impish in this form. “I did.”

“Thank you.” If his ass wasn’t so sensitive, he wouldn’t have proof it happened. He blushed and buried his face in Dane’s shoulder. “Um, next time don’t take your cum from inside me though... okay?”

“My apologies.”

He ignored the teasing tone. “I didn’t know I would miss it, ya know?”

“You want to drip of me?”

He shrugged, unable to say yes. He’d never had unprotected sex before, never knew he needed the reminder as much as the tenderness of his skin. Maybe because it was Dane, his soul mate. But he wanted to be marked by him.

Dane kissed the top of his head, whispering. “I only want to make you happy.”

“You do, Dane. You do.”

They laid tangled together, dozing in between kisses, the hum of the ship’s engines and their breathing the only sounds. A serenity the likes of which Marcus had never known filled him, but his mind remained too happy and full to allow sleep. No, they hadn’t spoken romantic vows when their souls were bound, and Marcus had not even been conscious, the decision made out of necessity. While those circumstances had bothered him, he regretted nothing now.

How could he?

Their journey had, though unconventional and heartbreaking at times, bound them together forever. Being in his man’s arms was pure paradise. A pleasant warmth, a true connection, just behind his heart, united them and he never wanted to part.

Warm lips kissed his forehead and Marcus didn’t hold back a purr of contentment. Sighing, he hooked his leg over Dane’s, loving how much bigger he was than him. He adored the petit version too but, “This is kinda fun, ya know? It’s like I get two hot-as-fuck lovers all wrapped up in one guy.”

“You find this form as pleasing as my human one?”

The uncertainty in his voice had Marcus shifting to stroke his face and study his face in the dark room. “You have to ask, after everything?”

Dane adverted his gaze, something he did often in his other form, but when he did it like this, the shyness seemed somehow more enticing. “I thought you just wanted to be fucked by a huge dick.”

Marcus couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh I did! And damn, it was better than I ever imagined. Almost too good, actually. Nothing has ever felt like it. Were we floating near the end?”

“I believe so, yes,” Dane said, his voice different, still smokey, but evasive and unsure.

“I liked that too.”

“You did?”

He ran the flat of his hand down Dane’s throat to his ripped abs. “You’re magnificent. Both versions. Remember I drew you this way and planned to tattoo you onto my body? I don’t ink myself lightly.”

Dane shrugged, his demeanor switching on a dime in a way that left Marcus rattled despite his post-orgasm bliss. “Yes, but you’ve also allowed ugly things to be tattooed to you.”

Suppressing a frown at the snippy tone, Marcus didn’t want to argue after what they’d shared. But despite their newfound trust and assurances of a future together, there were things that needed saying. Marcus was still pissed about the tattoos. “Well, those ugly things are gone, aren’t they?”

Dane shifted, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the bed, putting his back to Marcus. In the blink of an eye, his body shrank to his smaller human form. Marcus couldn’t help but think of this petit version as being the armor, protecting his true self, his heart from Marcus.

And he hated that realization after what they’d shared.

Marcus scooted closer and caressed his silky soft skin, his hand the darker one in contrast now. “Babe, I’m sorry, but you know I’m not happy you took my tattoos. I won’t be over it until you put them back.”

Dane shuddered and even without seeing his face, he could hear the anger—the pain?—in his voice. “I don’t want to put them back.”

“You promised you would put them back. Are you saying you can’t, or you won’t?”

“I said neither,” he snapped, making Marcus flinch. “I could do it right now if I wanted.”

Marcus shook his head in confusion. They weren’t supposed to be arguing after sex, but, “What the fuck, Dane? I thought you said you needed a picture.”

He lied to me?

Dane rolled his pretty eyes. “I am a Fae Lord. One of the most powerful beings in this realm. I don’t need a photo to reverse my magic.” He waved his hand and Marcus felt a hot flash sting across his shoulder.

Flinching, he craned his neck and saw his Day of the Dead skull had been returned. Fighting a flash of temper, he ordered, “Now put the other one back.”

Dane crossed his arm. “Please don’t make me.”

“I want it back.”

Were they really doing this after such mind-numbing sex? Why did everything have to be a fight with Dane?

“I hate that thing!” he declared, jumping to his feet and glaring at Marcus. “Why do I have to look at it for eternity and be reminded of—”

When he stopped short and turned away from him again, Marcus went from angry to curious, but just barely. He tempered his voice. “Reminded of what?”

“I do not wish to discuss it,” he said in a lofty tone.

Climbing from the bed, Marcus approached the stubborn little fairy and placed both hands on his shoulders. His Jell-o legs and tender ass made the movements less than graceful, but at least he wasn’t dripping.

Small favors, he supposed.

Dane tensed at the touch, but only for a moment, and much to Marcus’s relief, he sagged against him. Marcus slipped his arms around his delicate naked body and rested his chin on the top of Dane’s head. Something more serious than missing tattoos was going on, and while Marcus wanted his tattoo back, Dane’s heart was more important.

“Tell me what’s going on in your head, Dane. Please?”

He deflated in Marcus’s arms. “I vowed to give them back to you and I must, but please, Marcus. I don’t want to.” He said the last in a pitiful whisper.

He was trying his damnedest to be calm, but Dane wasn’t making it easy. “Why?”

“It’s ugly,” he said in a snooty tone which Marcus now recognized as a defensive bluff.

Woosah...

He took a couple deep breaths.

Something was really upsetting Dane and rather than get into another spat, Marcus wanted to get to the root and figure it out. “We promised truth, remember? Don’t pretend because it’s ugly. You gave me my skull back. Why does the other one bother you so much?”

They stayed still a long moment, until finally Dane spoke.“They drank my blood.”

Though the words startled him, Marcus didn’t have to ask who he referred to. Obviously, the scars from the torture Dane had undergone remained. If he was ready to share, Marcus wanted to listen—even if it did ruin the awesome post-sex-glow he’d been vibing.Perhaps the sex had made Dane vulnerable too, open enough to share. Marcus waited, silent in support.

“Like I told you, it’s how they lived so long,” Dane explained, trembling in Marcus’s arms. He squeezed him tighter and Dane seemed to relax. “I didn’t know their names at first. The only person I knew during my captivity was Lowery, the gargoyle. He lived in the cell next to me. We became friends, both victims to the warlocks and their humans. There might’ve been shifters and demons involved in the operations as well, because I sensed their blood in the sigils painted around my cell and embedded in my manacles and collar. But they could’ve been captives too, I don’t know.”

Marcus’s heart screamed for the pain Dane had undergone, but wisely he remained silent. He’d seen the cells those paras had been kept in, saw their broken bodies after they were rescued. To picture Dane hurt in such way? He wished he could’ve killed those captors himself. He forced another woosah breath. Right now Dane needed a compassionate ear, not an angry man plotting vengeance.

“Lowery was never in his cell when the warlocks came to draw my blood. They would take so much I would pass out. When I awoke, Lowery would be there, to offer me words of comfort. One day I awoke from my latest bloodletting to find myself alone. I assumed they killed Lowery. I actually wept for him. But then he returned, but not as my friend. He came to drain me.”

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, kissing the top of his head.

Dane caressed the forearms holding him close. “You do not have to apologize for things you did not do, but thank you just the same. I was so angry and hurt that he’d betrayed me. I fought him and he beat me. My closest friend in the world beat me unconscious. I had no magic to defend myself. The collar nullified my power and the manacles on my wrists and ankles weakened me more. The cell was also enchanted. All to keep me submissive. I had my fists, but they were useless against a para made of stone. I broke my hands fighting him and he only laughed.

“Lowery drained me more often than the warlocks did. Was he under command of the one who possessed his stone or did he just do it to hurt me? I may never know. I asked him why he did it, and he would always say he had no choice. But I could see he enjoyed hurting me.”

Once more Marcus wanted to crush that gargoyle statue, but since his mate was opening up, he kept such thoughts to himself. Dane needed to unburden himself and he needed Marcus’s support. Marcus was prepared to give him whatever he needed so they could have the future they both wanted.

“For decades after the warlocks stopped draining me, Lowery was the only person I saw. Until the day he arrived with three humans. They were ancient, I could see it in their eyes. Two appeared hale and strong, a man and a woman. The third.” He shuddered in Marcus’s arms. “He was wretched, decaying. Like some sort of creature raised from the crypt, his hair long and yellowed like a corpse whose hair keeps growing. His hands were boney, some of the skin rotted away. His face seemed to be melting off his bones, eyes bulging and one hanging to the side. It was the most horrific sight I had ever seen, and I saw battlefields after the Great War.”

A flood of guilt and understanding hit Marcus like a tidal wave, intensifying when Dane caressed his now bare forearm.

“His name was Harold,” Dane went on in a whisper. “I heard them call him that as the other two escorted him into the cell and placed him in a chair not far from me. Lowery was repulsed by the man too. When he began hooking up my IV, I asked him what they would do to me. He hit me and gagged me. The woman then explained how Harold had disobeyed the masters. He’d been denied nourishment for three months. My blood was his nourishment, you see. Remember I told you that if humans drink Fae blood they could practically live forever? She said I would feed him directly and see what greatness looked like. What power they had. That they were gods.” Dane’s body tensed. “They were not gods! They were pathetic and weak. It was me who gave them power. Me!”

Marcus shifted Dane and immediately his mate buried his tear-soaked face into his bare chest. Marcus hadn’t realized he’d been crying this whole time. He stroked his back while he shook with unrestrained sobs. Marcus let him cry until the smaller man went weak in his embrace. Then he scooped him up and returned to the bed. He situated them on the pillows with Dane curled in his lap, then safely nestled them both under the sheets.

Eventually Dane’s tears became quiet sniffles. Marcus didn’t want to ask questions, but his curiosity had been peaked and his heart was breaking. His poor Dane!

Fuck, my tattoo reminded him of that decaying monster, didn’t it?

“He drank right from the tube connected to me,” Dane whispered, his voice rough from crying. “I felt him sucking my power from my veins. I knew they drank my blood, but I’d never felt it. It was the worst violation. He was raping my very soul. The stronger he became, the harder he sucked and the more he took. I watched in horror as his dripping skin firmed, his eyes returning to the sockets, his teeth whitening. I knew then they would never let me go. I was nothing to them but nourishment for their evil souls. Cattle, food. I passed out before he was restored. I woke up alone. I felt more helpless and violated than anything that had come before. All the beatings Lowery gave me, the starvation, none of it was as awful as that night.” His voice hitched and he clutched Marcus tighter, his words breaking on a wail. “But they came again and again. The never stopped! They liked how f-fresh I tasted.”

Marcus wept with him, squeezing his man as tight as he could, wishing he could make the hurt go away. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry. So sorry. I’ll keep you safe. You never have to go back there. I promise.”

No clue how he could keep that promise, but he’d find a way.He had magical friends now. Demons, wizards, kings. A fucking all-powerful Goddess. Yeah, and the Fae fucking owed him favors now, and he wasn’t ashamed to call them in.

No one would ever hurt Dane again.

Along with the fear and anger coursing through him, shame followed on their heels. Though he had no way of knowing one day he would be here, listening to the tale of his soul mate’s torture, guilt inundated Marcus. He’d been so proud of that ink. Yet now he felt sick to his stomach that he’d been angry when Dane erased it. But dammit, he still wanted what it represented to him! But knowing what he did now?

Dane trembled and Marcus squeezed him tighter.

How could Marcus even fathom fighting for something that hurt the man he loved so deeply? How could he insist on wearing a reminder of Dane’s rapist on his arm?

He choked down bile, weighing what to say to help bandage Dane’s broken soul. He could keep apologizing, let him know that he understood. Offer more empty promises about keeping him safe from boogeymen he couldn’t see lurking in the dark. But in the end, there was only one thing to do.

“I release you from your promise, Dane,” Marcus whispered.

A warm static moved across their body. Magic.

Dane threw his arms around Marcus’s neck, uttering, “Thank you, thank you,” over and over under his breath. Marcus tightened their embrace, one hand cupping the back of his head the other his back as Dane wept in gratitude.

In the end, the sacrifice was easier than Marucs expected. Maybe because they shared a soul. Didn’t matter though, did it? The tattoo he’d gotten in Amsterdam had been a symbol that he’d been victorious over adversity. But all the goals he’d set in his life had been materialistic, the joy of success temporary. Dane was a true victor of real adversity. And the man in his arms was no mere goal he’d achieved, a box checked on a bucket list. He was everything permanent and wonderful.

The other part of his soul.

Worth it.

After a long bout of tears, Dane’s weeping turned into sniffs and a faint tremble of his shoulders. Marcus’s chest was soaked, his own tears pouring down his neck. He dried Dane’s face then his own with the sheet, cooing and holding him close. “Better?”

Dane nodded, burrowing into Marcus’s neck.

To Marcus’s surprise, he wasn’t finished purging his story.

“Lowery’s cruelty saved me in the end,” Dane whispered. “If he hadn’t starved me and drained me so often, I never would have been small enough to free my wrists from the manacles. Once I could reach my feet, I broke my ankles to free myself.” The savagery of his words and the actions he’d been forced to take was only matched by his tone of voice.

Marcus was so stunned he could only hold Dane closer, trembling at the horrors Dane had lived through. He was so fucking brave.

“Once I was free of the enchanted iron, I had enough power to find a sliver of my magic deep inside me to pull the power of my own blood from the collar. They’d needed it for the spell, but once I pulled it back into me, the spell broke. I was free. I teleported to the realm where the unicorn found me. She fixed my broken body. But I’m still broken, Marcus.” He pulled back and gazed into Marcus’s eyes. His lashes were wet and clumped, the whites of his eyes red, his face swollen from tears. “I may always be broken. I’m sorry about that. I wish I could be whole for you.”

Overcome with emotions—anger at the abuse Dane suffered, replaced by pride in his courage, and an overwhelming sense of affection that only had one word—Marcus cupped Dane’s face in his bigger hands and kissed him with surprising passion. Any doubts he’d had or attachment to a tattoo disappeared. Nothing mattered but Dane, his heart, and their future.

Marcus ended the kiss, Dane’s lips chasing after. He gave him a few more soothing pecks, brushed his hair off his brow and managed to smile. “Don’t apologize for what you didn’t do, remember? That’s our motto, right? I don’t know what being whole means to you, but you’re perfect just the way you are, scars and all. You’re the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever met. I love you.”

Dane looked stunned. “You love me?”

Marcus let out a broken laugh/sob. “I do. I love you, Dane.”

“Even after everything I put you through?”

He did chuckle at that. “Yes. Call me crazy, but I think I loved you from the start. I know it’s too soon to say something like that, but it’s how I feel. It’s in my heart. And my heart wants you. I love you. And I plan to love you and keep you safe every day from here on out. Do you understand?”

And then Marcus was being kissed within an inch of his life. Dane shifted to straddle his lap, taking the kiss deeper. Their naked bodies and the wetness from their tears only made the kiss more intimate.

When he came up for air, Dane cupped Marcus’s cheeks. “I think I can love you too one day. Will you wait for me?”

“Forever, Dane. I’ll wait forever.”