Page 7

Chapter 7

Zayne

T he taste of Ash exploded on my tongue when I coaxed his lips open and deepened our kiss. My hand went to the back of his neck, and I held him against me. He leaned into me. His chest flush with mine and the heat of our bodies mingling.

My thumb brushed over the silky-smooth skin of his cheek, and he shuddered against me.

“Zayne,” he whispered.

“Yes, mate?” Gods, I loved the sound of that. Loved the taste of him. How I had I lasted this long without him?

“Is this real, or did I get electrocuted this morning and this is just a dream?”

I chuckled softly. “It is real, mate. If you want it. We can slow down. We can just talk—”

We needed to talk, there was no denying that. But for now? Now I wanted my lips, teeth, tongue, hands, and cock to do it for me, not my words. My mate seemed to feel the same way.

Ash’s lips slammed down on mine, cutting off my words. If I had any doubt that he felt it too, that was long gone. He pushed at my shoulders until I was pinned against the cabinet. This wasn’t a shy, meek omega—he saw what he wanted and he took it. Gods, that was hot.

He tugged at the shirt I wore until it was untucked from my pants, and then his hand was pressing against my bare skin. His touch lit a fire under my skin. I needed more of him. I needed everything.

I nipped at his lips, and he hissed in a breath.

“I do want this, Zayne. I didn’t let myself even think it. I was going to ignore this attraction. But I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you.”

My heart pounded in my chest. This was the bond between mates. More real and powerful than anything I’d ever felt before. Fuck, how cold had I been to this wonderful man who was mine. He was be treasured and cared for, not ignored. I had a lot to make up for.

“The bond between mates cannot be ignored. Ash, I’m sorry... I should have—” So many things.

He put a finger to my lips. “Show me with your body, Zayne.”

That I could do.

I swept Ash into my arms and continued to kiss him as I walked him through my house to the primary bedroom, the one I hoped we would share from now on.

When I came upon him looking so dejected and hurt, I didn’t think before I acted. He needed a place to stay, and I had one. But then his hand slipped into mine or mine into his, I wasn’t even sure which anymore. It didn’t matter, all that did was the way his skin felt against my own and how it changed everything in that split second. I was no longer able to deny to myself who he was to me, and containing it? Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

Once inside the bedroom, I set him down, and we pulled apart long enough for us to remove our shirts. Ash was all toned muscles and smooth skin, while my body was more buff and my chest coated in hair. He ran his hands down my chest, each caress telling me more than our words had been able to.

Ash leaned forward and pressed a kiss to one pec, then the other. His mouth traveled downward until it latched onto my nipple.

My cock grew hard, and I pushed down the track pants I wore and kicked them across the room. This was really happening. Ash was mine and I was his.

While Ash laved at my nipple, I began to explore his body more thoroughly. My hands roved over his shoulders, his chest, until I reached the lean line of his hips. I worked my hand underneath the waistband of his pants until I found what I was looking for. My mate’s cock was long, hard, and hot beneath my hand. He wanted this every bit as much as I did.

Ash hissed at the touch. The sounds he made while I jerked him had my own cock leaking. I had no idea it could be this good, and I never wanted this moment to end.

“Slow down.” Ash clutched at my shoulders. “I want you inside me before I come, and I’m already so close.”

So was I.

As much as I wanted to see him come undone just by my hand, watch as he blew his load over my body, I knew my dragon wouldn’t be satisfied until I claimed Ash in the most primal of ways. There would be more time for other play later. Lots more time.

“You know what that will mean, Ash?” I refused to mark my mate without his permission, and asking while I was balls deep wasn’t consent.

He nodded. “I’ll be yours.”

“And I’ll be yours. We’ll be mates, Ash. Forever.”

“And always.”

The smile that lit up his face spurred me on. My mate wanted this just as I did.

I lifted him up and put him so that his head was cushioned by my pillow. He leaned to the side and inhaled deeply before wiggling his head on it. He was getting my scent on him, and my dragon roared at the sight of it.

“You picked me up like I was nothing.” He pulled his bottom lip in with his teeth and then added, “It was hot.”

My mate was smaller than me, but he wasn’t a little thing, and thankfully, my dragon strength came in handy. Ash spread his legs for me. The slick that dripped from his hole told me just how much he wanted this. He was so ready for me.

I covered his body with my own. We were chest to chest, face to face. Every inch of our exposed skin touched. Our heat and our scent mingled together to make one.

The feeling of this connection overwhelmed me for a few seconds, and all I could do was savor it. Nothing else remained but our flesh touching and ours scents dancing together.

And then he wiggled beneath me, his moan pulling me back to the present.

I kissed him while I reached between his legs. He lifted his knees, giving me access to where he wanted me most. When my fingers found his hole, it was warm with slick and pliant under my touch. It didn’t take me long until I had two fingers worked inside him. Meanwhile his mouth never left mine.

“Fill me up, Zayne.”

He bucked his hips.

“Fuck. I need you.”

If he kept going like this, I was going to be the one coming too soon.

“Breed me. Make me yours.”

The heat that filled me at his words felt like the sun burst inside my chest, sending flames of liquid lust down my spine and into my limbs. There would be no denying him, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.

My cock ached with my need to be inside him, to spill my seed deep in his body and mark him as my own. To fill him with my cock and seal us together the way our lives would be one after this.

“You’re sure?” I needed to make sure. I don’t think I could handle it if he regretted a single moment of this.

Ash’s legs locked around my waist, and he urged me forward. “Fuck yes, mate. Now. Fill me with your seed. I want it to brand me from the inside out.”

I could not deny what my mate needed.

As I pushed into him, Ash sucked in a breath and buried his face into my shoulder. The muscles of his channel tightened around me. I went slow, allowing Ash to adjust to my size. His eyes fluttered open and his gaze locked on mine.

Then his hips rolled upward, drawing me in deeper. His hands clutched at my back. I followed his rhythm.

“Fuck, just like that, Zayne. More, more!” He kept on babbling, his words incoherent but his message loud and clear.

I smiled and kissed him. My mate knew what he wanted and took what he needed. I moved, slow at first, but quickly building up speed until I was pounding into him. Ash’s moans filed the air, and his hard cock leaked.

Our breath quickened as we moved as one, our bodies undulating in sync with one another. I couldn’t get enough of him, the way his muscles flexed and moved. The way his abs contracted each time I thrust into him. He looked up at me with such desire that it took my breath away.

“Come for me, mate. Breed me,” he urged. And I came undone.

Finally, I couldn’t hold back any longer. With one powerful thrust, I spilled my seed deep inside Ash. He was my mate. Mine. My cum marked him as such, my knot filling him, keeping us together.

Ash’s body trembled with pleasure and then he too was coming. His own cum coated our stomachs.

I pulled Ash close, holding him tightly while we both came down from our orgasmic high.

“That was…” His words fell away and were replaced with slow, patterned breathing as he drifted off to sleep.

“Sleep well, my mate.” I kissed his brow and rolled us over until he was on top to avoid him feeling mushed and covered us with a blanket.

I listened to his soft snores until my knot subsided and then eased him onto his side. He snuggled into me, becoming my little spoon as he napped. My body longed for sleep, too, but my dragon and I were enjoying this peaceful time with out sleeping mate.

When I woke up this morning, there’d been no way I could’ve predicted the way it would turn out. Heck, my sorry ass did everything to ensure it didn’t, with the way I acted at work. But fate seemed to always have a way, and now here I was holding my always and forever in my arms and we were about to start our lives together.

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, and allowed myself to finally fall asleep in the only place I wanted to be—with my mate. The rest of the world would still be there when we woke—we still had to work together, to bring out team to victory, but now we were doing it together as mates, and the world looked a whole lot brighter.