35. Toby

Blaise scrambled to his feet first. Unfortunately he forgot I was on his lap. I slid to the floor, landing with a thud.

"Shit." He leaned down to help me up. "I didn't mean to do that. Are you okay?"

I grinned up at him, booping his nose. "It'd take a lot more than that to hurt me."

As we walked towards the bedroom though, I realised that wasn't as true as I wanted it to be. My rear was…sore. I touched it tenderly and realised I was likely going to have a bruise. Fuck.

I followed Blaise into the bedroom and braced myself. I didn't want to upset him about accidentally hurting me, but I wasn't about to keep it from him. "Actually, it's weirdly tender."

Blaise's eyes widened in shock. "Is that…is that normal for you with the curse?"

I gave him a sad smile. I'd avoided talking about it for so long, but it was bound to come up. "It seems to be. The vials from Madison have been holding the curse at bay, so the physical symptoms haven't been prominent until the past few days."

"Has the potion stopped working?"

I cupped his face. "No, darling. I can't take it anymore. Doing so would kill me faster than the curse will."

If I hadn't been touching his skin, I might've missed how violently his body reacted to this revelation.

"So we need to find an answer, and fast."

I didn't argue about him helping me. He was right, I'd been an idiot by holding him at arm's length. No more. "Yes. But there's nothing that can be done tonight, and it's not going to kill me before morning. So why don't we make the most of every moment we have?"

"I'd like that." Blaise kissed my lips softly. "But if I have anything to say about it, we'll have lots of moments. A whole eternity of them."

"Nothing is guaranteed," I warned him. "We can try, but there's a chance we won't find the answer."

Blaise's temperature rose and his eyes looked damp again. "A wise man once told me that all we can do is try. I'm not gonna stop trying, Tobes, so you're not allowed to either."

I kissed him again, unable to keep away. How had I denied myself the taste of him the entire time we were together? The kiss at the fault line had been enough to rock me to my core. Its only saving grace had been the brevity of it. If I'd kissed him like I was now—these slow, drugging exchanges—I would've been hooked.

"On the bed." I paused, wanting to check in with him. "Sure you want this? Me being in charge?"

Blaise kissed me, a smile on his face. "Green. I want it. Actually, I need it. Tell me what to do, Tobes. Remind me what it means to be yours."

His words loosened a growl from my throat. Palming his chest, I walked him backwards until he collapsed on the bed. He didn't take his eyes off me as I stripped him, a fond smile on his face.

Fuck, I didn't deserve this. This beautiful man was giving me the second chance I didn't dare wish for. I wasn't going to waste a second with him.

His cock jutted into the air, the mushroom head shiny with precum. Unable to stop myself, I bent down and sucked him into my mouth.

Blaise moaned, his feet scrabbling against the floor as he tried to find purchase. "Please, Tobes. I won't last. It's been so long."

I pulled off him. "How long?"

Blaise frowned. "What?"

I had no right to feel jealous of anyone Blaise might've been with while we'd been apart. No fucking right. But that didn't change the fact that I was.

"Have you been with any—" I cut myself off and swallowed the rest of the sentence. "Forget I asked. I'm sorry. It doesn't matter who you've been with, just that you're here with me now."

"Tobes." Blaise sat up on his elbows, grinning at me. "There hasn't been anyone since you."

My breath whooshed out of me. "Really?"

"Really," he said, his grin unwavering. "So unless you want me to blow instantly, you're gonna wanna dial it back."

I licked up his shaft before arching a brow at him. "Do I need to remind you who's in charge?"

The cheeky brat winked. "Couldn't hurt. It has been a while. Maybe I've forgotten how this is supposed to go."

Oh, he was asking for it. I knelt down between his spread legs, lifting them so his muscled thighs were resting on my shoulders. "In that case, consider the next hour your reminder. No coming unless I say so."

"Fuck. I should've kept my mouth shut." Blaise's words were completely at odds with the smirk on his face. My boy knew exactly what he was doing.

"Somehow I don't think that's a lesson you'll ever learn." Not if I had anything to say about it.

Before he could snark back at me, I ran my lip piercing over his balls. They jumped in response before drawing tighter to his body. Above me, Blaise's breaths started to come in sharp pants.

I repeated the movement until his thighs were quaking on my shoulders. I didn't give him a break though, just switched my mouth to his shaft. I would've teased him like that longer, but the second I tasted his precum, I needed more.

Taking him into my mouth, I lapped up every drop I could, as though it would give me the strength to go on. It still wasn't enough though. I needed it all—everything Blaise could give me.

Sucking him deep into my throat, I hollowed my cheeks. Blaise was moaning loudly now, his thighs vibrating against my shoulders.

I circled his hole with my finger. My saliva had made him just wet enough for me to slip it inside an inch. Blaise cried out, his spine arching as his orgasm bore down on him.

Which was my signal.

Moving with supernatural speed, I removed my hand and mouth. Blaise's cock twitched angrily as he humped the air.

He blinked down at me helplessly. "Why'd you stop?"

"To remind you of who's in charge." My smirk was wicked as I slowly removed my clothes. I did it a single piece at a time, making sure to fold them neatly just to really tease him.

Blaise's head hit the bed with a thud. "Now I really regret my words."

"Don't worry, I won't make you wait long. I can't." Fully naked, I returned to him. My hand went straight to his shaft, saliva pooling in my mouth at the thought of tasting him again. "Come any time, darling."

It didn't take more than a few seconds before Blaise was filling my mouth. I swallowed him down greedily, savouring every drop.

I'd taken him for granted before. I wasn't going to do that ever again.

I didn't remove my mouth until Blaise collapsed back on the bed. Rising to my full height, I ran my hands over his thighs. His skin pebbled under my touch. Had he missed this as much as I had?

"We can stop there, if you want. We don't have to do anything else tonight."

Blaise was shaking his head before I'd even finished speaking. "Abso-fucking-lutely not. I need to feel you inside me. Please, Tobes. Please."

I shushed him soothingly, still caressing him. His thighs. His abs. His pecs. His throat. His face. "You don't have to beg, my darling. I'm here to please you. Always."

The brat was never far with Blaise. He smirked up at me. "What about when you force me to choke on your cock?"

Bemused, I gripped his throat loosely. "Sorry, do you not enjoy choking on my cock?"

Blaise whimpered, his cock stiffening already. Thank god we both had short refractory periods.

"That's what I thought." I smirked as my thumb traced the shape of his Adam's apple. "Fuck, I've missed this. I've missed you, Blaise. I'm so sorry."

"No more apologies now," he rasped, grabbing my wrist so he could kiss the palm of my hand. "I want us to move on."

"Move on." I rolled the words in my mouth. Funny how I'd spent so long persuading Blaise to do that, and now he was here trying to get me to do the same. "I can try."

His smile was instant. "Trying is all we can ask for."

I caught his smile with my lips, wanting to taste his happiness, to let it settle into my veins and erase anything negative that had ever been there.

I pulled away from him just long enough to grab the lube and douse my fingers. My lips stayed on his while I teased his hole. My tongue in his mouth as I worked him open. My teeth nipping at his swollen lips as I stretched him wide.

When he was vibrating beneath me once more, I moved between his thighs. "Ready for me, darling?"

To my surprise, he shook his head. "No. Not until you call me it."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "Call you what?"

Blaise's cheeks flamed, but he didn't look away from me. "Boy."

My chest constricted. I'd avoided calling him that just as he'd avoided calling me ‘Master.' With our contract and kink dynamic up in the air, I hadn't wanted to rush him into anything he wasn't ready for.

But Blaise was ready. He was communicating what he wanted.

And this time, I was going to fucking listen.

"Open up for me, boy." My voice slid down several octaves, settling into the one I used as Blaise's master. "Your Dom needs you. Are you going to be a good boy and let him in?"

"Yes," he cried, spreading his thighs as wide as they would go. "Take me, Tobes. Please. I want to serve you."

I pushed against the firm muscle of his hole, inhaling deeply as I slid in a few inches. Fuck. I hadn't forgotten how good it felt to be inside Blaise, of course I hadn't, but there was something different about doing this knowing that he loved me. He was choosing me.

No one had ever chosen me before. Part of me didn't believe it, but the truth of it was in Blaise's eyes. In the grip he had on my forearms. In the blissful smile he gave as I bottomed out. In how his heels pushed against my rear, urging me deeper.

He'd chosen me.

I was going to live however many more days fate granted me trying to be the mate Blaise deserved.

"I want to be with you." I punctuated my words with a thrust.

"Yes," Blaise moaned, not taking his eyes off me.

"Marry you." Another thrust.

"Yes."

"Mate you." Another.

"Yes."

There was no stopping me now. With Blaise's hot hands searing my skin, I picked up my pace. The whole time, we didn't look away from each other. That's when it hit me—this was how it would be from now on. Just us. Together. Always.

"I'm so close," Blaise groaned, his hand going between us to stroke himself. "Can I come?"

"Yes," I said hoarsely, barely holding on to my control. "Come, boy."

"Kiss me," he cried suddenly, the hand not on his cock tugging at my neck. "Kiss me, Tobes."

I'd been so used to keeping my distance from his lips during sex that I'd forgotten this was something I could do now. I tilted my head and took his mouth with the same fierce possession I was fucking him with. My tongue mimicked the movements of my hips, dominating Blaise in every way possible.

He cried out against my lips, his hot cum hitting my abdomen. His hole clamped around me almost to the point of pain, whiting out my vision as my own orgasm slammed into me.

I collapsed on Blaise's chest, not caring about the mess that was no doubt sticking us together. "Fuck me."

Blaise laughed wheezily. "I'd say the same, except you just did."

My laughter joined his as we cuddled, letting the sweat dry on our skin. I knew I'd have to get up and clean us both, but I wasn't ready to move yet. Once we got out of this bed, who knew how long it would be before real life was catching up to us?

Perhaps we could just stay here forever. Maybe then we wouldn't have to face what was lurking around the corner.

Our laughter faded away, replaced by a fragile peace. Neither of us spoke for a long time, like we both knew that a single word might shatter it.

We weren't ready for that. Instead we held each other. Quietly. Intimately. Like we had all the time in the world.

Eventually though, Blaise broke the silence. "It's going to be okay…right?"

I pressed a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. "I hope so, boy. Now that I've stopped being a fuckmuppet and realised what I almost walked away from, I'm not giving up on it now. Literal curses can't keep me away."

"Let's hope not."

I hated the heaviness in his voice, but I knew there was nothing I could do to change it. Nothing aside from finding a cure.

"Let's get cleaned up," I said, "find some food, and maybe go for round two?" I carefully separated us and got to my feet.

Blaise stretched on the bed. "Now you're speaking my language."

The next eighteen hours passed in quiet bliss.

Between rounds of love making, Blaise and I talked about anything and everything. We covered it all, from how we'd spent our time apart to how we might spend our future.

The whole time though, the curse hung over us. Neither of us addressed it directly. It was like we both knew that the second we did, there'd be no going back. We'd have to face the fact that this tentative peace had a time limit. This time, one we hadn't set. One we had no control over.

It was dinner time, and Blaise's stomach was rumbling loudly. I moved automatically, pushing against his chest to stand.

His arms tightened around me. "Where are you going?"

I kissed him, revelling in the fact that I could. "To get you food."

"I'm fine," he muttered, pulling me closer. "I don't need to eat."

His stomach chose that moment to protest again. Loudly.

"Nice try." I laughed, nuzzling his neck. "Don't worry, I'll grab you something and come right back."

"I can feed myself."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "Did I say you couldn't?"

"No." His answering smile was the perfect blend of bashful and sweet. "Guess it's just going to take a minute for me to get used to this again. To having you take care of me."

My heart pinched, hating that he'd had the chance to get used to not having me around at all. "Well I'm not going anywhere now. You're stuck with me."

"Good." He kissed me soundly. "Fine, if it'll make you happy to feed me, I won't complain."

I was still laughing at his dramatics as I stood. At first, I didn't realise anything was wrong.

I took one step and frowned. Why were the walls tilting?

Another. Was the floor closer now?

There was a shout in the distance.

Then everything went black.