Page 31 of Lord of the Lone Wolf (Bonded Hearts #3)
To Kitsuki’s delight, he felt Auslin hardening again between them, his heat and their mating bond making such a quick recovery possible. It was a gift Kitsuki intended to take full advantage of.
Auslin’s nails dug deeper into his shoulders. “I can’t,” he protested, but his hips rocked harder. “Not again so soon.”
“You can,” Kitsuki’s dragon insisted. “You will.” One hand slipped between their bodies, wrapping around Auslin’s renewed arousal. The dual stimulation made Auslin writhe beneath him, all thoughts of tomorrow forgotten in the haze of present pleasure.
“Ours,” his dragon growled. The word encompassed more than Auslin now, although Kitsuki wasn’t ready to act on the urges yet. “All ours.”
“Yours,” Auslin gasped. “Always yours.”
Each inhale brought more of Maseo’s wild, earthy aroma to his sensitive nose, mingling with Auslin’s heat-sweet musk in a combination that made his blood sing with desire.
The idea of Maseo watching them, perhaps even joining them, sent an unexpected thrill through him, intensifying his movements as he rolled his hips in deep, deliberate thrusts that made the wish pendant sway against him.
“What did you think of when Maseo was so close to you?” Kitsuki’s dragon asked, nuzzling against Auslin’s neck. The pendant slid to rest in the hollow of Auslin’s throat, gleaming silver against his flushed skin. “When his lips touched your skin?”
“I didn’t think anything,” Auslin denied, his voice cracking on the obvious lie. His body betrayed him further, his inner walls fluttering with arousal. “We were saying goodbye.”
“Your scent tells us differently,” Kitsuki’s dragon murmured, his tone warm and intimate as he traced the curve of Auslin’s jaw with his lips. “It changes when we speak of him. It grows sweeter.”
Auslin’s flush deepened, spreading from his cheeks down his neck to bloom across his chest in rosy patches.
A fine sheen of sweat covered his skin, catching the moonlight filtering through the windows.
His erection twitched in Kitsuki’s hand, the head glistening with beads of fresh precum that spilled over at the mention of Maseo.
“Your body knows what it wants,” Kitsuki’s dragon continued. “Even if your mind hesitates. We are no different.”
Auslin’s hands clutched at his mate’s shoulders, anchoring himself against the tide of sensation.
“Does it please you?” Kitsuki’s dragon asked, his curiosity burning bright and insistent. He gentled his movements, making each thrust slow and deliberate, giving Auslin space to feel every inch of him. “The thought of him near us?”
“I don’t know what I want,” Auslin denied. His fingers sought Maseo’s wish pendant, tracing its contours as if seeking answers in its silver surface. “I shouldn’t want anything but you.”
“What we want and what we should want are not always the same,” Kitsuki’s dragon murmured, stroking Auslin’s flushed cheek. “But there is no shame in desire, beloved. Not between us.”
Auslin turned his face into the touch, his breath coming in short, shallow pants as pleasure built within him.
His thighs tightened around Kitsuki’s waist, heels digging into the small of his back to urge him deeper.
The movement exposed his throat in unconscious submission, a gesture that made Kitsuki’s dragon rumble with satisfaction.
Kitsuki’s mouth found that spot on Auslin’s cheek once more, tasting the half-wolf’s essence mingled with Auslin’s own unique flavor. The combination made his dragon purr. “His scent suits you. So wild and sweet together. Perfect.”
Auslin moaned at the words, his head falling against the pillows. The flush on his chest deepened, spreading as his muscles tensed with approaching release.
“What if he were here with us now?” The question emerged in a reverent whisper, his dragon’s curiosity finding voice. “If he were to touch you as I do? To taste your skin, to experience your heat?”
Kitsuki reached between them, his thumb circling the tip of Auslin’s cock with each upward stroke. His hips maintained a steady rhythm, each thrust deep and deliberate, hitting that perfect spot inside that made Auslin gasp.
“Would you welcome his touch?” Kitsuki’s dragon continued. “Would you open for him as you do for me? Would you let him taste what is ours?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Auslin arched off the bed, every muscle going taut as his scent blossomed with unfiltered want, free from guilt or hesitation, the most honest answer he could give.
A broken sound escaped Auslin’s throat, somewhere between a gasp and a sob, as his body convulsed with pleasure. His inner walls clamped down on Kitsuki’s cock with almost painful intensity as his release overtook him. Hot spurts of his essence coated Kitsuki’s hand and his own stomach.
“Kitsuki,” he breathed, the name both a plea and revelation as his second orgasm caught him unaware. His expression was one of astonishment and discovery, as if he had found something precious he hadn’t known he was seeking.
His dragon roared as he came, claiming Auslin in the most primal way possible. As his orgasm crested, the base of his arousal swelled, his knot locking them together in the ultimate form of possession, ensuring his seed would remain deep inside his mate.
They remained suspended in perfect union, their breath mingling in the small space between them. Auslin trembled in the afterglow, tightening his body around Kitsuki’s knot and drawing soft sounds from both their throats.
The pendant rested between them, warm from their shared heat, a silent witness to their passion and the revelations it had brought. It no longer seemed like a mere token from Maseo but a bridge connecting all three of them across time and space.
“Are you all right?” Kitsuki murmured, his dragon’s silver eyes fading to their normal blue as his logical side reasserted control. He brushed damp strands of hair from Auslin’s forehead with gentle fingers, his touch reverent.
“That was intense,” Auslin replied, his voice hoarse from his cries.
Kitsuki hummed in agreement, shifting to relieve some of his weight on Auslin without disturbing their intimate lock. The movement caused his knot to press against that sensitive spot inside Auslin, making his mate gasp and tighten around him.
“Too much?” Kitsuki asked.
“No,” Auslin breathed, his hands sliding down to rest on Kitsuki’s lower back, keeping him close. “Perfect.”
They lay together in comfortable silence, allowing their heartbeats to slow and synchronize, their bond humming with contentment between them. Kitsuki nuzzled against Auslin’s throat, inhaling the sweet scent of his satisfaction mingled with the musk of his heat.
Auslin’s fingers traced idle patterns across Kitsuki’s skin. “That was unfair.”
Kitsuki pressed a kiss to Auslin’s temple. “What was?”
“Trying to hide my heat from you. I should have known better.” Auslin’s voice carried a hint of embarrassment, though his body remained relaxed and sated beneath Kitsuki’s weight.
“Indeed, you should have,” Kitsuki agreed, his hand stroking along Auslin’s side in a soothing gesture. “But do not feel bad. Your intentions were good, even if misguided.”
His knot would keep them joined for some time, a fact that pleased his dragon. It also gave him time to process the unexpected turn his thoughts had taken during their lovemaking.
Auslin’s fingers continued their exploration of Kitsuki. “We should talk about what just happened.”
Kitsuki tensed, though he kept his expression neutral. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.” Auslin lifted the pendant between them, letting it catch the moonlight. “Maseo affected us both. More than he should have.”
The directness of the statement left little room for evasion. Kitsuki sighed, resting his forehead against Auslin’s. “Yes,” he admitted, the confession both a relief and a burden. “My dragon responded to his presence on your skin and the knowledge that his lips were on any part of you.”
“It wasn’t only your dragon. It was you, too.” He tugged the pendant for emphasis. “And this felt like it connected us to him.”
Kitsuki couldn’t deny it. The taste of Maseo had also captivated his rational mind. “This complicates things.”
Auslin’s fingers stilled. “Or does it confirm what we’ve been avoiding since our last conversation about the trinity bond?”
The mention of their previous discussion hung between them, heavy with implication. Since they had acknowledged their mutual interest in Maseo but had agreed to set the matter aside until after the war, it had become the thing they never talked about.
“I worry about what this means for us,” Kitsuki admitted. “For our bond.”
Auslin’s expression softened. “You’re afraid I’ll think less of you for wanting him.”
“Not only that. I swore I would never be like my father, taking multiple lovers and dividing my attention and affection.”
“I understand this isn’t like that,” Auslin said with a confidence that soothed Kitsuki’s dragon. “You’re not betraying me, nor am I betraying you. If what Kizoshi hinted at is true, a trinity bond isn’t about division. It’s about completion.”
“My dragon has no doubts,” he conceded. “But I am not solely my dragon.”
“But when your dragon speaks with such certainty, he’s usually right.”
The acknowledgment drew a small smile from Kitsuki. “He would claim so.”
A more serious expression crossed Auslin’s face. “How will you handle seeing Maseo in battle, knowing how we both feel?”
The question struck at the heart of Kitsuki’s deepest concern. His smile faded, replaced by a troubled frown. “With difficulty. My dragon already fights me on the matter. We want to keep him safe. The reality of him facing Nasume alone tears us apart.”
“Alone?” Auslin repeated, his brow furrowing. “But you’ll be there. You said he would fight alongside you.”
Kitsuki hesitated, then sighed. “Kizoshi was specific in her instructions. Maseo must face his father alone. It is his battle to fight, his fate to fulfill.”