Page 21

Zaryen could barely keep track of what was happening once the ceremony was over.

He knew there had been cheers from the arena, a long and loud applause which would normally make him elated and self-conscious in equal measures, but at that moment, his whole focus was on his companion.

Then there had been hugs, and congratulations, and more hugs—Zaryen was fairly sure Meveris”s mother hugged him more than she hugged her own son, but again, he couldn”t say for certain, because he couldn”t think straight.

They might have agreed to have an early dinner with Meveris”s family before their return to Paryada. Probably.

But all that really mattered was Meveris—Meveris”s hand in his, Meveris”s arm pressed against him, Meveris”s heartbeat that Zaryen could now, miraculously, hear. It was quiet, more of an echo, but still.

Finally, finally, they were allowed to go to their rooms. If there had been no one watching, Zaryen would take off running to get there faster, but instead they made their way in as dignified manner as possible, up until the moment they both stepped into their bedroom.

Once the door closed, Zaryen basically tackled Meveris, and only his companion”s reflexes and strength allowed them to land on the mattress and not on the ground.

Zaryen didn”t care, really, he would have been fine with the ground, but he could admit the bed was better.

Much better, for what he had in mind.

”Hook, you”re unreal,” he breathed out as he straddled Meveris”s lap, staring down at him. ”Your wings… I can”t even… I need to touch them as soon as possible. I couldn”t do this today, with everyone watching, but I have to put my hands on every scale on your body. I have to.”

”Okay.” Meveris settled his hands on Zaryen”s hips. ”Whatever you want.”

Zaryen grabbed the top of his robe and pulled it off, then tugged and pushed until Meveris lost his as well. They”d separated so that they could get rid of the rest of their clothes and grab the lube, and then Zaryen was settling astride Meveris”s lap once again.

Skin against skin, soft, and hot, and beautiful. And his. Theirs.

Leaning down for a kiss, he rolled his hips at the same time, and he could feel Meveris”s cock sliding against his ass cheeks.

He moaned into his companion”s mouth, and Meveris growled and grabbed the back of Zaryen”s neck, pulling him even closer. The kiss was hungry and sloppy, a bit uncoordinated, with Zaryen trying to stretch himself at the same time and Meveris running his hands between Zaryen”s shoulder blades, where his mark was still tingling, still fresh.

When Zaryen could no longer wait, he sat up and positioned them before taking Meveris inside, as fast and as deep as he could go. He arched his back, momentarily overwhelmed by the stretch, the feeling of fullness, and the slight pain quickly turning into pleasure that threatened to toss him over the edge way too quickly.

”Look at you,” Meveris murmured, gripping Zaryen”s thighs. ”You”re the unreal one. So beautiful, so soft, so—”

”Yours.”

”All mine.” Meveris”s eyes were almost black, his neck flushed, as he tightened his hold and pushed his hips up, as if trying to get even deeper. ”Our bond is sealed now. We”re one.”

”We”re one.”

Zaryen put his hands on Meveris”s chest, seeking that echo of his heartbeat again, but it had dimmed to almost nothing by now. He knew that humans didn”t get to hear their companion”s heartbeat usually, but he wished he could. He missed it.

”I want to feel you inside me, always.” He brushed his fingers over Meveris”s heart. ”Want to hear you.”

Thrusting into Zaryen again, Meveris curled one of his hands around Zaryen”s wrist, keeping it in place on his chest.

”You can have all of me,” he said in a low, rumbly voice. ”Whatever you want.”

They fell into a rhythm like this, slower now for a change, and they stared into each other”s eyes as they moved. It was as if Zaryen”s body spread and expanded, flowing down onto Meveris but also spilling in every direction, breaking into pieces only to become one again. And somewhere in that current, both in and outside of him, he heard it again—the rhythm of Meveris”s heart.

It was fast now, similar to his, and it reverberated through him, like a wave that covered him whole until it retreated, but this time leaving behind the certainty it would return.

Zaryen”s breath caught in his throat, and he stilled, overwhelmed, letting Meveris take over, letting the pleasure drown him as his companion moved in and out of his body, somehow hitting all the right spots over and over again.

”I can”t believe I get to have you for the rest of our lives.” Meveris”s voice was quiet and out of breath, and yet it seemed so clear. ”You”re beautiful, and strong, and so smart, so curious about everything.”

”Not everything.” Zaryen shook his head, surprised that he managed to form words in that fog of pleasure. ”You. And us. I want us to have it all.”

”I already have that, with you.”

Zaryen”s body trembled as he came, longer than he”d ever had, his body rearranging itself in new ways, stretching, and molding, and expanding to fit all there was of him, now. Of them.

When Meveris came soon after, it seemed to push Zaryen over the edge again, somehow, causing him to lose all sense of time and space. He vaguely registered dropping on his companion”s chest and Meveris murmuring something and holding him close as Zaryen lay there, shivering and trying to catch his breath.

Everything was a living, pulsing sensation—Meveris”s hands on his back, the mark shifting on Zaryen”s skin, the sounds of their breathing and their heartbeats.

He had no idea how long they stayed like this before Meveris moved them gently, slipping out of his body, and Zaryen groaned as he stretched his legs, trying to ignore the sudden emptiness.

Meveris dropped a kiss on his forehead. ”I guess we overdid it a bit, huh?”

”No such thing.” Zaryen put a hand on his companion”s neck. ”I”d never have enough of you.”

”Likewise.” Meveris”s lips stretched in a soft, beautiful smile Zaryen had never seen outside of this room. ”But as much as I love seeing you like this, I wouldn”t mind taking a ride, either.”

Mouth going dry, Zaryen wished he could go again right this second.

”You wouldn”t mind, would you?” he said instead after clearing his throat. ”How generous.”

Meveris chuckled. ”I try. But then again, there”s something else I”d like to do, first. Not now,” he added, ”but soon.”

”And what”s that?”

”I want to take you from behind,” Meveris whispered, and his words, along with the slow circles he was rubbing over the skin of Zaryen”s hip, made Zaryen shiver. ”And watch my mark on your skin as we move together.”

Wind”s curse.

That was…

That was…

”I love you,” he blurted out without any control, too overwhelmed by the mental image and everything else that made them so perfect for each other.

Meveris stilled and stared at him for a second, then two, then three.

Putting a hand on his companion”s chest, Zaryen sought that familiar rhythm under his palm as he waited.

He wasn”t worried. He wasn”t afraid.

There were people and things in his life that he”d lost and that he was going to miss for a long, long time—maybe forever. But he had Meveris now, and that was forever, too. There was no doubt in Zaryen”s mind, or his heart, or anywhere else.

So he waited.

Meveris”s eyes were wide and bright when he smiled, and Zaryen”s heart jumped, ready to fly…

”I love you, too.”

…because he knew his companion would always catch it, no matter what.

Meveris kissed his forehead, his eyelids, and his cheeks before finally reaching his mouth. The press of his lips was soft at first, then more firm, both claiming and hungry at once.

”I love you so much,” Meveris whispered between kisses. ”I”m going to do everything I can to make you happy, I promise.”

”You already do.”

After that, Zaryen turned onto his stomach and relaxed against the mattress as Meveris mapped his entire back with his hands and lips, circling over and over around the bonding mark, the one that would stay on Zaryen”s skin forever.

It wasn”t even sexual, it was more like… worship. Their bond connection flew wide open, full, and happy, and strong.

When Zaryen rolled over again, he was overwhelmed by it all, throat tight and eyes wet, and he needed his companion to cover him from head to toe, to press him against the mattress and hold him like this for as long as they could get away with. At some point, they would need to get up, shower, get dressed, and go out there into the world, but not yet.

Not yet.

This, right here, was only for the two of them.