Page 30 of Elas (Mate’s Mark #2)

“I thought I was doing something good,” I say, and the words are unsteady as I stare at the ceiling, trying to contain the pool of tears in my eyes.

“I just… I just wanted to do something , you know? Ever since I was brought here, I’ve felt so useless.

Back home, I was always helping people. Yeah, it was chaotic sometimes, and messy, but I was making a difference.

People don’t want my help here. They want to shove me into a closet and forget I exist for no other reason than how I was born.

I saw them leave that door unlocked, and it was a chance to do something. ”

“Never apologize for this heart, okay?” Elas reaches for me, but hesitates and seems to change his mind. Disappointment floods my already fragile emotional bank, because I just want him to pull me into his arms again. A tear overflows and slips down my cheek.

Elas’s face twists, and it’s heartbreaking to watch his frustrated uncertainty.

“August, baby, I’m sorry. I keep doing this all wrong.

Don’t cry. Please? You’re breaking my heart here, doc.

” He tears his gloves off so his palm shines freely, then pulls my shirts over my head.

The white gold creates a stunning contrast against his blue skin, and he presses his mark over mine.

Pure light and energy swirl in my chest, a serene tranquility blooming and radiating from his touch. “I’m not upset with you,” I finally manage to say through my constricted windpipe. “We’re still learning each other, and we’re bound to get some things wrong.”

“So I did do something wrong?” he asks, weaving his fingers through my hair while those enormous eyes lock on mine.

“Life wasn’t always this complicated. It’s just a lot.”

“No, I upset you. Tell me what you wanted me to do. Tell me where I messed up, so I don’t do it again.” Gods, he really is seven feet of pure sweetness, and my heart pinches at how distraught he looks.

I reach up and run my fingertips over his cheek, grazing the scar that slices through his lip. “I’m not great at relationships, Elas. Eventually, people figure out that I can’t be what they need me to be. When you didn’t touch me, I… I worried you might’ve been having second thoughts.”

“You weren’t what they needed you to be because you weren’t theirs . They were just placeholders while you found your way to me.”

“Elas…” I wrap my hands around his neck and tug him closer.

“I should hunt them down for making you feel less than perfect,” he says, his lip twitching in a snarl.

His fingers tighten in my hair, and my breath catches at the sting.

“Anyone who’s ever hurt you deserves to suffer.

” The air charges, a shift in the atmosphere as those shimmering flecks in his eyes darken into deep pits of solid, bottomless black.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I say. “ They don’t matter. Besides, they’re so far from here.” He doesn’t even blink as his head tilts to the side.

“Do you think distance matters when it comes to you? You believe I couldn’t track them to the very ends of the earth? If I want something, I find it.” That hand in my hair tugs me forward until there’s no space between us, his breath hot on my skin. “And if I want it, I take it.”

“And you want me?” I whisper, and a predatorial smile spreads across his lips as he uses my hair to tilt my chin up. I shudder as he licks along the column of my throat, scraping his teeth over my Adam’s apple.

“ Yes ,” he growls, the vibrations rolling over my skin.

That deep-rooted instinctual awareness of being hunted sends my senses into overdrive.

My body goes on full alert, the tiny hairs on my arms standing up on end as his eyes slowly roam my face.

My feet itch to run , but he grips my hip and holds me in place .

“What’s wrong, doc?” His nostrils flare as he takes a deep breath, and a smirk tugs over his lips. “Scared?”

“Yes,” I whisper, refusing to lie to him.

I’m not afraid of Elas.

But the monster he could be? The easy way he could overpower me? A shudder works my spine as he loosens his grip on my body, and I scoot back on his legs. His eyes take a deliberate path down my bare chest and lower, snagging on my thickening cock underneath my scrubs.

He grunts, a low, rumbling sound that’s nearly a purr as his gaze travels back up to meet mine. “If you’re scared, you better run.”

My feet hit the floor and I sprint towards his bedroom, despite knowing there’s nowhere to hide. Adrenaline spikes through my veins as his heavy steps thunder behind me, and my instincts bellow for my legs to move faster, knowing the alpha predator is on my heels.

I make it inside his bedroom and throw my weight against the door as he catches it. My feet anchor against the floor, but they’re no match for his strength. He shoves it open, pushing me against the wall and caging me in his arms.

“Going somewhere?” His breath saws out of him in rapid pants as I shake my head, then duck under his arm.

I try to run, but he snags me around the waist and yanks me against him.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you want to be caught,” he murmurs in my ear as I lift my chin and offer him my neck.

“You aren’t fighting very hard, August. Do you not want to get away, after all? ”

He picks me off the floor like I weigh nothing, and I thrash in his grip as he carries me to the bed.

My chest lands on the mattress, feet on the floor and obscenely bent over for him.

He hovers over me, his giant body barely touching mine, but trapping me nonetheless.

Pinned by his hips, I can do nothing but squirm as he lifts his chest.

Metal clinks and leather creaks as he removes his armor, and his chestpiece is tossed aside with a loud thud. My heart thunders as a zipper whirs, and then his lips are against my ear. “Tell me now if you don’t want this, August. I won’t be able to hold back much longer.”

“So don’t hold back,” I taunt. He groans my name, his forehead resting against my neck as he takes a few deliberate breaths. “I know what I’m asking for, Elas. I know what this is.” His eyes meet mine as I glance over my shoulder, still wild and velvety black, but more tender.

The heat from his body is so intense it feels like it should burn me alive. He leans close, his chest flush against my back. “And what is it, baby?” His voice is thick as he slides my pants down, exposing my ass.

“It’s… it’s us . The start of us… our beginning. And it feels right.”

“ Fuck, ” he mutters, crashing his lips to mine in a clumsy kiss. “That’s what you want? To be mine?”

I pull back with a gentle smile, one that's full of sincerity and overflowing with emotion. “If we’re telling the truth, El? I think I’ve been yours for a while now.”

His teeth pinch my bottom lip and I gasp as he kisses me with even more ferocity. Leather creaks softly as he lifts off me, our eyes still locked as he removes his boots and tosses them aside with a thud. He peels his pants off next, and when his body meets mine again, it’s all blazing skin.

No boundaries.

Nothing at all between us.

“You are mine, doc,” he murmurs as he rocks his hips, and I shudder at the slide of his cock along my skin.

“You look like mine…” Lips trail down my neck, his tongue mapping a path.

“Taste like mine. Feel like mine.” His hips flex again, and I gasp as his cock slips between my thighs.

My cheek presses against the sheets as I arch my spine, and heavy hands land on my legs and pin them together.

He pulls back, slickness spreading between the flesh of my thighs.

A low grunt leaves his throat as he drives forward again, jarring my body against the bed.

“Do you want to be mine, August?” He thrusts harder, forming a rhythm as he fucks my thighs.

The friction against my sensitive skin, sliding against my taint and nudging my balls, is as frustrating as it is euphoric.

My cock grinds against the bed, but it’s not enough to get me any further than deliciously frustrated.

“Yes. Yes, yes, please. I need more, El. Give me more.” I push back against him, and he chuckles as he knocks me into the mattress with a rough thrust.

“Do your tiny balls not enjoy this?” he teases, and I choke on a laugh.

“My balls are not tiny.” He pulls away completely and palms my ass cheeks, spreading me wide as I whine. I’ve never been so exposed to another, and I jolt as Elas leans in and places a kiss right on my sac.

“They are no bigger than walnuts. It’s fine, August. I accept you and your balls.” I laugh louder, and I can hear his smile.

“Just because yours are the size of a grapefruit doesn’t mean mine are small. ”

“You’ve been sneaking peeks at my balls, have you?” A flush burns at my cheeks from his teasing.

“I… may have seen them. That first night, when I slept in your room.”

He chuckles as he slips his cock back between my legs. “They are big, yes.”

“So is your…” I grunt as he thrusts, building his rhythm once more. “Your cock,” I finish weakly as he grips my shoulders.

“Squeeze your legs,” he orders as he arches me further, and my thighs tremble with the strain of holding them together. “Yes, my cock is big, and it gets bigger. When I fuck you, you’ll feel it for days after.”

“What… what do you mean, it gets bigger ?”

“Mmm,” he grunts, and his voice grows strained. “It is big now, yes, but when I’m ready to come, it grows much longer.”

“Longer?” I choke.

“Yes. Longer to breed my mate… force my cum so deep you’ll feel it here.

” He reaches around to my stomach and squeezes.

“You will ache for me.” His lips land on my shoulder, his tusks scraping along my skin as his hips thrust faster.

“I’ll fuck you until you can’t do anything but lie in this bed, soaked in me.

You’ll carry my scent, inside and out. Is that what you want, baby? Does my mate want to be coated in me?”

“Oh, gods, yes,” I groan, and his arm around my stomach tenses as he yanks me back roughly.

His desperate moan prickles my skin in goosebumps, and his cock bucks between my thighs.

A thick, wet rush of heat spreads between my legs as Elas ruts into me, body quaking as he releases a predatorial snarl.

“Holy shit,” I gasp as he uses my body for his pleasure, grunting with every jerky thrust. When he finally slows and places my feet on the floor, he’s panting.

Unable to help my curiosity, I lift my chest off the mattress and spread my legs, surprised to find a clear, viscous fluid dripping down my skin. “Your cum is clear?”

Another deep chuckle rumbles from behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to find Elas’s eyes ignited. He nudges forward, his slick cock still hard against my ass. “That wasn’t cum, August. That was just round one.”