Page 73 of Contested Crown

“You would be king of two principal houses. You would be recognized as the greatest mage king.” I swallowed, and Cade’s thumbs tightened on my jaw, as though he wanted to prevent me from saying anything else, prevent me from encouraging him to give me up.

“I would be king of a house that kidnaps mages. Of a house that does something no one has ever done before.” Cade’s breath flowed over my skin, leaving goose bumps and shivers in its wake.

His words were careful, as nonjudgmental as he could make them, but I heard in his voice the unhappiness at what we had seen.

“It saves people,” I said.

Cade’s fingers tightened even more until they were digging in, his thumbs grinding against my jawbone. I thought he might strike out, hit me, anything to help with the pain I knew he felt in his chest.

Instead, he threw himself forward, landing in my lap. He dragged my face to his, fingers still digging into my flesh, kissing me like I was oxygen and he was drowning.

I let him, wrapping my arms around him to remind us I was here, to remind him he was with me. There was no one else.

The kisses didn’t slow, no matter how tightly I held him. I could still feel him breathing unevenly, a gasp of air between kisses.

With a very human growl, I rose, keeping him in my arms as I stood. His legs wrapped around my waist, and he thrust forward, his ass brushing my cock. I stumbled to the bed, my knees bumping into it and then tumbling us forward. I managed to keep myself from falling completely on top of him, but he wrapped his arms around my neck and dragged me down until my weight pressed him against the soft mattress.

He released his arms, but then his hands were everywhere, his nails sharp, fingers digging, as though he was trying to claw all the way down to my bones. When he drew blood, I made an annoyed sound and grabbed both of his wrists in my hands, pressing them above his head, the comforter too soft for what I had in mind.

Carefully, I maneuvered so that both of his wrists were held in one of my hands, pressed above his head. He panted, whining and thrusting up, his entire body tightening and releasing.

“Miles.” He said my name with such desperation I knew what he needed.

Leaning back, I undid his belt with one hand, tugging it loose. He raised his hips to help me. Then, giving him time to say no, giving him the option of refusing, I wrapped the leather around his wrists, knotting it as tight as I could.

When I was done, he sagged, all the fight going out of him. He looked up at me, eyes half-lidded. Then, his eyes trailed down to my naked throat.

I swallowed, feeling the emptiness there. Leaning back on my heels, I pulled my shirt over my head. Cade watched me, the desperation gone but the hunger remaining.

“I wish I was wearing your collar,” I said.

It was the most honest thing, and his eyes went wide, his hips twitching up. He exhaled, inhaling as though to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth.

I stripped, taking off my clothes efficiently before turning to him. His eyes were fixed on my cock, half-hard and hanging heavy between my thighs. When he licked his lips, I smirked.

“You want me to feed it to you? Make you get me hard before I decide what to do with your perfect ass?” I kept the words conversational, gentle. We were riding a line here, and I didn’t want to push too hard. I still remembered when Cade had said he called me safe. What did that mean to him, a man who had never felt safe anywhere, even in bed?

Cade shivered, his whole body tensing and relaxing. When he looked at me, I could see some of the desperation returning.

“You want me to take care of you? You want me to take care of you like I’ve been doing all these weeks?” I waited, but Cade chewed on his lip, then forced his mouth open, tongue lingering on his bottom lip hungrily.

I wanted to take that as a yes. I wanted to climb up his body and thrust my cock into his waiting mouth. Safe. I needed to remember that, because I didn’t want to ever be a place that wasn’t safe for him anymore.

“Use your words, Cade,” I coaxed. “Please.”

“Yes,” Cade said immediately. “Take care of me. Take me.”

Those were two entirely different sentiments, but I could feel the same urgency underneath both of them, the same desire. I recognized it because I knew how much I yearned for Cade’s collar around my neck, for him to cinch it tight and to know that meant as much as I gave in to him, he was giving in to me.

“Okay. I’ve got you, Cade,” I whispered the words, using them to ground myself.

I crawled up his body until my thighs framed his shoulders. My cock was more than half-hard now, and Cade leaned his head up, already suckling on the tip. Hushing him, I slid forward until his head met the mattress.

With one hand, I pressed down on his bound wrists, feeling them sink into the mattress. My other hand took most of my weight so that I wasn’t thrusting too hard into his mouth, so the hand on his bound wrists wasn’t leaning too hard.

Cade choked, and I eased back until I heard him inhale deep, a gasp of air. But then he tilted his head up again, and I thrust back into the inviting heat of his mouth. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. I wanted more, so much more.

Cade whined, curving his neck forward, trying to take more. I was fully hard now, and I gently pressed until his head was back on the bed, and he was choking, his eyelashes damp.