Page 16 of Medium

Holy fuck.

Did we bond?

His eyes, back to their normal brown, got serious. “I’m pretty sure.”

Holy fuck.

A bunch of different emotions ran through me. Excitement, nervousness, unworthiness, happiness, among many others. It took me a minute to realize not all of those emotions were mine, but they were so jumbled up I didn’t know how to start separating them out.

I cleared my throat and ran my finger through the sparse hair on his chest. “Um, are you okay with being bonded to me?”

Worry came through loud and clear, so I rushed to assure him, “I’m good with it. I mean, it’s a little fast. I wasn’t expecting.... But I’m glad. Really.” I pecked him on the lips.

Ellis’s face cleared. “Me too. Um, I’m glad too.”

I tucked my face into his neck and hugged him to me. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the scent of him. My mate.

I woke up after what had to have been a couple of hours at least, based on how stiff I was and the crusted cum trapped between our bodies. At least I’d slid off Ellis to the side, so while we were still holding each other, I wasn’t squashing him or cutting off his air.

I knew I needed to get up and get us clean, but first I just wanted to bask in the feeling. We were bonded. Ellis and me. I smiled and focused inward to check out our magic, the one wheel shared between the two of us, big and sparkling.

I could see and feel all of the connections to our Wonders, twice as many as I’d had before, and my sense of my District had expanded, doubling in size. That was all good.

But the wheel.

Something was wrong with the wheel.

Belly clenching, I sat up. My jeans were still caught around my ankles, so I tossed them over the side of the bed before shaking Ellis’ shoulder. “Hey, Ellis, wake up.”

“Huh?” He was still wearing his glasses, which were adorably crooked.

I reached out and straightened them on his face. “Hi. Sorry to wake you.”

His forehead scrunched. “What’s wrong. You feel... worried.” He sat up, then irritably kicked off his shorts, which had been tangled around his knees.

“Um, can you look at our magic? Is it supposed to be... doing that?”

Yes, the wheel was big and sparkling. But it was also lopsided. And it didn’t spin smoothly. It sort of... limped.

Ellis gasped, “Shit, did we screw up our magic with the bond?”

“How? We weren’t even trying to bond. Unless... is there a certain way it has to be done?”

He rubbed his face. “I didn’t think so? I mean Cal and Greg bonded without having sex. And it wouldn’t have taken if wehadn’t both wanted it, right?” His expression was tentative, and I felt his uncertainty through the bond. At least the sharing of emotions was working the way I’d heard it was supposed to.

I nodded, sending him my determination and reassurance. “Right. We both wanted this, and we’re not trying to undo it.” His expression eased, and I leaned over and kissed him. “Um, who knows the most about bonds?”

He shrugged as he stared down at his torso. His concern came through to me loud and clear. “I’m not sure, maybe Cal? He had to research them for the compendium, right?”

I reached for his hand. “Good idea. And it’ll be alright. We’ll figure it out and fix it.” I tried to project all the tenderness and affection I had for him. He smiled, so I must’ve done it correctly.

Ellis took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay.”

Our phones were in the living room, so I slid to my feet. Then I looked down at myself and grimaced. “I’m gonna clean up.” I gestured at the cum. “You wanna come with?”

Smiling, he scooted toward me to the side of the bed. “Yeah. I don’t want to talk to people while I’m still covered in spooge.”

My shower wasn’t huge, but we made it work. There was just enough room for both of us to get some of the water no matter where we stood. I took my time covering Ellis in body wash. I wanted to learn his body, every inch of him. I could’ve spent hours tracing my fingers over his pecs, his back, his thighs.