Epilogue

Three Weeks Later

Everest rolled over and snuggled up against Cadel's back, his hand sliding over the lion shifter's waist to rest on his belly. Cadel was right. Not everything needed to be asked with words. Cadel's hand closed over his wrist, and for a moment, Everest thought he might remove his hand because he wanted more sleep. They had gone to bed late after they had prowled around the castle—Cadel on four feet and him on two.

And got to sleep even later, as Cadel's blood had been hot from the shift. This morning it was his blood that was hot. Part lust, part the need to shift, finally rising. It had taken two weeks for him to turn the spark into a flame and for the bruises on his skin to disappear. Most of the memories of the day he'd almost died were gone.

Burned away by magic or locked away for his own good?

Cadel guided Everest's hand lower.

Everest smiled as his fingers brushed the hot hardness of Cadel's cock. "I have an idea."

"That sounds dangerous." Cadel's voice was soft and rough and filled with sleep .

Maybe it was, but he was ready for more…he needed more. He wasn't made of glass. The bruises had faded, and his magic was back. Sure, there were scars that weren't visible, damage to his magic, and he didn't know what his phoenix would be like when he shifted. This might be as healed as he was ever going to be, so he wasn't going to keep waiting.

"I want…" He took a breath and softened the request. "I'd like you to fuck me." He forced himself to keep breathing. He needed more than what they had been doing. There was a part of him that wanted to play games again. "It's fine if you don't want to…" He could do with some of the clever words he'd once had about now.

Cadel rolled over, keeping him close and pressing him into the mattress the way he did some mornings before grinding against him until they both came undone. "Of course I want to."

"Then why…" But as he stared up at Cadel, Everest understood why his lion had been waiting for him to ask. They were both figuring out who he was and moving slowly, taking a few stumbling steps at a time until they were sure of the ground. "Have you ever?—"

"Yeah."

Everest frowned.

Cadel grinned. "Some women like anal." His tongue flicked over Everest's lips, and then he kissed down his neck. His teeth grazed over Everest's skin, making his back arch. "Lube?"

"Top drawer." Everest reached out a hand and flapped it in the direction of the bedside table, unable to reach with Cadel on top of him.

Cadel reached over and grabbed the lube.

"Do you want a condom?" Everest asked. They were in there too.

Cadel glanced at him. There was a look in his eyes that he only got when he was about to say something but thought it might cross a line. He never had.

"Just say it."

"I'd rather fill you with my cum, sir."

Everest smiled and beckoned him closer. "You should say that again…while you're fucking me."

"And what position does sir like to be in while getting fucked and filled?"

Everest's heart did a rapid little patter that he was sure Cadel heard. From the flaring of his nostrils, it was clear he already smelled lust on Everest's skin. Usually, he was bent over a desk, or something, ass up. Sometimes he was on top, riding the dick.

There had always been a level of power and impersonality that made it clear he was in control…looking back, he didn't quite understand how he'd done it. Or why people had obeyed him.

"Like this." Everest rolled his hips.

Cadel rubbed his stubble against Everest's neck, making him squirm. Then he gave a growl that vibrated through Everest's chest. He'd done that while sucking Everest's cock two nights ago, and he'd come on the spot. He didn't know if it was the vibrations or the way it was supposed to be a threat, but to him, it felt like…like home…he was protected, and Cadel wouldn't let anyone hurt him.

Cadel laughed and rocked back onto his heels as he flicked open the tube.

Even though Everest's dick leaked pre-cum onto his belly, Cadel ignored it as he fingered Everest's hole. He kept his gaze on Everest's face as if expecting him to change his mind or something.

The only thing he wanted to do was order him to hurry up .

Something ghosted over his skin, a little wave of delight and awe. "Are you doing something with the bond?"

That's what they called it, even though it wasn't anything like a fated mates bond. No, this one was keeping him glued together. And he knew that a previous version of him would be horrified, and a future version might be too. But this is what he needed in this life.

Kaine said he'd gone through so many bodyguards because he needed to find the right one. And perhaps there was some truth to that. That some part of his mind had been solving the aftermath problem, even though he hadn't been consciously aware of it.

Another tiny sensation rippled over him, so small he'd have missed it if he hadn't been paying attention.

"I'm appreciating the view, sir."

"I can tell." He reached his arms overhead and arched his back so Cadel's fingers brushed his prostate. "Mmm."

Cadel didn't need to be shown twice. He leaned in and licked up the spilled pre-cum as he swept his fingers over the spot. Everest's toes curled. If Cadel growled or licked his dick, he was done.

But his tongue, which was a little rougher than a human's, was everywhere except where he wanted it.

It took everything he had not to fuck himself on Cadel's fingers or thrust up with the hope that Cadel got the hint. His dick throbbed like he hadn't had sex in a month. He could order him and tell him what to do. But that was a game for another day.

Cadel pressed a third finger into him, and Everest shuddered, a moan slipping from his lips. Then he was empty.

"You want it?"

"Yes, like yesterday." He lifted his hips.

"Nah. You didn't want it yesterday." The head of Cadel's dick pressed against his hole but didn't enter. Cadel was trying to kill him.

Everest glared at him. "You're going to push in nice and slow and fuck me until I cum."

Heat flared in Cadel's eyes as he thrust in slow enough that it would take an hour before he sank all the way. "Yes, sir. Nice and slow."

Everest closed his eyes, and Cadel leaned over to claim his lips as he thrust the rest of the way in. And for a heartbeat, it was too much. He was too full and too stretched. Then Cadel started to move, his cock dragging over Everest's prostate, and he couldn't think. He gripped Cadel's shoulders, nails pressing against his skin as he met each thrust. His dick rubbed against Cadel's abs with every stroke.

"Mmm. Like that." He could barely get the words out.

Cadel rolled his hips and kissed him, his tongue sweeping over Everest's before trailing kisses along his jaw and down his neck. His stubble was rough on his skin, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to pull away or turn his head for more. He opted for the latter, and Cadel took the invitation.

"You feel so good. I can't wait to fill you with my cum, sir."

The gravelly words rolled through him, and he gave in, toes curling as he came painting Cadel's stomach and matting the hair on his chest. "Do you like wearing my cum?"

"Yes. I like being yours." Cadel thrust in a couple more times and stilled, making good on his promise to fill him up. Everest uncurled his fingers and opened his eyes to find Cadel watching him, with a small smile dancing on his lips.

His smile brightened. "Hey…you've got flames in your eyes."

Everest didn't try to hide them; they had been missing for too long. And even though he'd just come, there was a heat in his blood that wasn't lust. "I think I need to shift. "

He hoped he hadn't forgotten how to do it.

Cadel frowned. "Like, right now or today?"

"Today." He wasn't in a rush to get up. He cupped Cadel's face with both hands, needing to tell him, even though he was sure the words weren't needed. "I love you."

Cadel turned his head and kissed his palm. "I love you, too."

Everest was going to spend the rest of this life learning how to live and love Cadel the way they both deserved.

Oliver's story is next in Phoenix Found. Preorder direct from TJ to receive the book early.

Perrin Shade's family has worked for the phoenix shifters for hundreds of years. It was always assumed he would do the same. But as his thirtieth birthday approaches, the restlessness he's kept hidden grows. He only knows Mont de Leucoy. He's never had a chance to explore the world. But there is a reason his family sought sanctuary in the kingdom…

He is the kind of paranormal being that many would like to forget exists. The kinds that even paranormals hunted.

A ghoul.

Oliver has spent the last ten years being told that he is a danger to others. That the Coven would hunt and kill him if they found him and that his parents abandoned him. Now, he is being told that is all a lie.

He is a phoenix shifter and his brothers have been searching for him. They claim to know him, but how can they when he doesn't know himself?

They have their history, their duties, and their expectations. He should be embracing all of this, but instead, all he wants to do is leave before the weight of the past crushes him. The only person who treats him as if he isn't broken is the castle handyman, Perrin.

Can a man who is really a monster help the man who is convinced he is a monster learn how to live and love?