Page 29

Despite the horrid vision, I had a bit of a pep in my step as I walked into Milo’s place, feeling fresher, newer, ready for anything. It was a damn good haircut, long overdue. There was also a serious conversation I needed to have with Milo, something I’d have to tell him before the end of the school year—not that it was much of an ending. But I wanted to celebrate his return to guild work even if it made me anxious. Even if it reminded me of losing Finn. Even if my chest tightened every time I thought back to when he collapsed on stage, surrounded by The Sisters Three, The True Witch, and Theodore Whitlock.

I buried that fear, that worry, because Milo wouldn’t be deterred, and I did support him.

Stepping through the foyer, I fought back the disappointment that came from that lack of a farewell, all the things left unsaid before the school year ended, the months of preparation now lost that my homeroom coven would never get back. Well, they would. They were all dedicated. They’d find time to make up for that lost learning. I hoped, at the very least.

Milo shimmied across the living room to the kitchen, adding a bit of levitation for a real pep in his step as music blasted from every room of the penthouse.

He’d changed his suit, no jacket, tie, or dress shoes—definitely his way of unwinding for the evening. His blond hair was curly and slightly damp, clearly shower-fresh from the smell of his body wash.

I kept quiet, enjoying the swagger of his hips as he floated around the kitchen island, meal prepping for the week, because for some god-awful reason he genuinely enjoyed chopping, washing, sorting, cooking, and organizing a bunch of fruits and veggies for snacks during long workdays.

Work. Milo was back to work, taking on cases, preparing for how to capture Theodore Whitlock, how to infiltrate the Celestial Coven, how to fight against The True Witch.

I swallowed the wafting trepidation. Not merely mine but the fear nearby, too. With my mind floating throughout the entire city, it became somewhat second nature to sync to certain emotions. Then they struck me harder, heavier, so much fucking worse.

Okay, maybe I wasn’t quite ready for this conversation.

“Where’s Ben?” I asked, not sensing his surface thoughts anywhere in the building.

“He’s chilling with my acolytes tonight. Figured big case stuff going on today, plus…” Milo turned off the stereo, clinging to the song lyrics freshly plastered in his mind, humming softly before he smirked. “You know they all got an apartment together?”

“Your acolytes?”

“Yeah, and you know that’s because—”

“They aren’t paid,” I interrupted. “The system is cruel? Guilds are greedy and use loopholes to exploit free labor for years? Capitalism is the ultimate magic?”

“No.” Milo’s face fell flat, thoughts fizzling into disappointment. “Sad face. I was gonna say ‘cause they have confusing feelings to work out. My version was Three’s Company poly vibes. Your version makes me feel bad about the economy. Sadder face.”

“And maybe for exploiting your acolytes?”

“I’m not exploiting them. I’ve been handing them top-tier cases while working this Global Guild investigation.”

“And babysitting duty.”

Milo frowned, a pouty, sour expression that showed he hadn’t really seen it that way, but he was too stubborn to admit I had a point. Too stubborn to even think it, the song lyrics played louder along his surface thoughts.

“We’re gonna have to get him a real nanny soon.”

“We?” Milo asked.

“You, sorry.” My face warmed, flustered a bit by the very confusing situation. And it was confusing. Milo had taken Benjamin in temporarily for the sake of a case, for the chance to offer the kid some stability. Now, though, even as everything continued spiraling toward potential chaos, things seemed to have unfolded better for the kid. I wasn’t sure if it was Milo’s doing, if it was Milo’s hope, but I sensed Milo had no intention of letting Ben slip through the cracks of the system. “Whatever. I just included myself in the equation in case you needed help. Whatever. What do I care? It’s whatever.”

“Alrighty, you’ve clearly got zero fucks to give or whatever .” Milo smirked in his annoyingly minxy way, surface thoughts revealing the conversation he’d had with Ben about staying longer, about the conversation Ben had with me, about how I’d offered him a manifestation wrapped in the form of a persona to protect him if the ocean ever returned.

“Maybe I give one or two fucks.” I shrugged. “Whatever.”

Milo’s eyes fluttered momentarily as he wrapped his thoughts around visions—some still fractured and tumbling chaotically around Milo’s mind. “I also sort of figured we’d need to have a serious convo.”

Damn. He knew what I wanted to discuss. Of course he did. He was Milo fucking Evergreen. He knew everything about me, everything I’d ever contemplated.

“And that hair has serious convo written all over it.”

“You don’t like it?” I ran my hand through the back, feeling the short buzz before reaching the ruffled top.

“I love it. But I am gonna miss yanking you by those long locks.” Milo winked. “Now, to this serious conversation. I know it’s coming. So—and this is the first time you’ll hear me say this so savor it—just spit it out.”

I ground my teeth to stifle a small bubbling laughter. Damn clairvoyants.

Milo playfully batted his lashes, teasing and always knowing what was on my mind, with or without his magic. Our connection in itself was magical, bonded and linked on a level I’d never fully comprehend. That said, I wanted to spend our lives together figuring it out.

It didn’t seem like this was a conversation to avoid, so I dipped my toe into the topic. “You really did a thing today, huh?”

“The merger between Cerberus and Gemini was part of this long game plan.” Milo scrunched his face, fighting back aggravation for how much improvisation had popped up since fate had deviated so far off the careful paths he’d arranged.

“I know. Sort of glimpsed that much during the reveal.”

“Oh, man. I was so upset.” Milo made his angry face, his overdramatized angry face where one poke in his stomach would result in a giggle fit because only one of us wore a scowl well in this relationship. “I had all these plans of having a statue of an Orthrus—which is basically a two-headed Cerberus—which would’ve been amazing. Sort of like an homage or a tribute or something. Gemini and Cerberus overlapping because, you know.”

“Gemini is the twin sign, and Cerberus is the demon dog.” I nodded. “And this Orthrus is the demon dog but twinning?”

“Twinning!” Milo laughed loudly, obnoxiously, then stopped immediately and shot me an overly serious face. “But they said I couldn’t use it because of trademarking. Apparently, some guild in Milwaukee uses the Orthrus demon as their emblem, and we can’t because of copyright and blah, blah, blah.”

I always found it strange how the Midwest used so many demon names for their guilds. Of all the things they could’ve picked.

“I think what you created, what you’re creating, is amazing.” I paused, contemplating. “It’s gonna open so many new doors in the industry. It’s the big picture guilds and academies never grasped.”

“It’s also a big picture that folks can scribble all over and ruin if we’re not careful,” Milo said. “But that’s a problem for the future, one I’ll redirect if need be. Thankfully, Gemini has some awesome educators. Seriously, Chanelle’s a boss ass bitch, the way she sat down with the Cerberus board and just… Wow.”

“Gemini is in great hands, which is why I think I’m okay walking away.”

“What?” Milo’s quickened heartbeat rang so loudly it thrummed alongside his worried thoughts.

“I’m leaving Gemini—leaving teaching—for a while. I’ll take a sabbatical or something.” I took my time with the words, biting back my own feelings while tiptoeing around Milo’s. He’d seen this possibility, clearly alluding to it when mentioning the serious conversation we needed to have, but I doubted he believed it’d actually cement into reality. I honestly couldn’t believe I’d emailed the headmaster with my request, a request to leave. “It’s just the right thing to do for right now.”

“There are lots of right choices, Dorian. Some are more extreme than others.” He glanced at my chopped-off hair.

I huffed. “Subtle as ever, Evergreen.”

“I do like it. I just want you to know it’s a big choice, a permanent choice, a guiding decision.”

“Yeah, but think of how much I’ll save on shampoo.”

Milo rolled his eyes. I knew he meant leaving education, but maybe I’d stolen some of Milo’s great avoidance through sass technique.

“I’m losing my homeroom coven to their third year anyway. They’re going to be prioritizing their internships. Teachers don’t get to follow their students up to graduation anymore.”

“What about your other students? Your history classes? Won’t some of your homeroom coven kids being taking your advanced history?”

“Probably, but Dower will find someone to fill in for the coursework.” I shrugged. “I won’t be any good to my students so long as I’m carrying this weight.”

“Weight?”

“You make it look so easy.” I smiled at Milo, simply awed by everything about him.

“Make what look easy?” His brow crinkled in the cutest way when he didn’t know the answer to something. An expression I rarely saw, with him being a clairvoyant and all.

“Carrying the weight of the world,” I said, soaking in his flustered expression, his soft pride, his lingering guilt for still not having an answer for every problem in existence. “I can’t return to the industry forever, I’m not built for it, but I need to see this case through to the end. I know I have the right magic, the ability and conviction to stop The True Witch and Theodore Whitlock.”

“You mean kill them?” Milo swallowed hard, holding back his concerns, the ethics, the desire he had to do the same.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. In the heat of the moment, it felt right, righteous, but now… “I just know I have to help stop them. What happens when I find them… I’ll cross that bridge and carry that burden. But I can’t allow them to stay out there, hurting people, plotting against the future, your future, the beautiful and wonderful happiest ever after that ever aftered you are creating.”

I brushed my hands over his face, resting them on his shoulders and squeezing his tight muscles. Careful to be gentle.

“Dorian—”

“I want to return to Cerberus as an enchanter. I want the resources, the access.”

“You’re lucky you know a guy.” Milo kissed me, sloppy and wet and silly because the vulnerability, the fear he had for this path, this journey made things far too serious. “I suppose I can pull some strings, but you’re gonna have to pull something for me. Well, more of a yank. A gentle tug, actually.”

I shoved my hand down Milo’s pants and gripped his semi-hard cock.

He stifled a moan. “What am I saying? You know what you’re doing.”

I continued to jerk Milo’s cock, guiding his backward steps with my eyes as we reached the bedroom, where I immediately stripped off my clothes. With a delicate touch of telekinesis, I unfastened Milo’s pants and yanked them down to his ankles—feeling the spike of aggressive lust radiating from his core.

I rubbed my palm over the head of his dick, playing with the precum that dripped and teasing his sensitive tip. It only took a few more tugs for him to get fully erect.

He wanted me this second, every which way, but mostly, he wanted to feel me buried inside him. Milo craved my passionate touch, my carnal hunger, my primal roar as I fucked him.

I couldn’t, though. Not yet. The bruises had finally faded, and the broken bones had finally been mended, but I wasn’t ready to be rough. Waving over the lube, I applied some as I continued stroking Milo. Then I gently worked my mouth over his body, planting kisses. On his lips. His cheeks. His neck. His shoulders. His chest. His biceps. His abs. And then all over again, all the while running my hand up and down his cock.

The great Enchanter Evergreen had returned to work, declared himself ready and eager to protect the city—but I only saw the sweet man I declared that I’d protect.

“Fuck me.” Milo leaned forward, biting my ear and shouting his demands on a loop. He wanted me to make him scream aloud. He wanted to feel my every inch.

With a hand pressed to his chest, I shoved him back, giving him that authority he sought. But only for the moment, only to push him deeper into the soft mattress.

As he lay back, legs spread, I slipped in and spread his cheeks, licked his hole. I dribbled spit and licked and lathered his pretty hole. I took my time, running my tongue up his taint and taking his balls into my mouth before returning to his hole. Milo convulsed, releasing a satisfied whimper every time my tongue poked a bit deeper.

With Milo quivering, I wanted to ram my cock into him this instant. Every fiber of me demanded I plunge deep inside and grant his desires. Instead, I used the lube and stuck my fingers inside him, readying him for my cock, readying myself too, perhaps.

Every time his lust and longing sent me spiraling into this primal hunger, I held back and pushed my fingers deeper and faster, watching his hard cock bounce as he moved back and forth, demanding more.

I finally moved in closer, sliding my cock into Milo. He groaned, biting his bottom lip and lifting his head back.

“Wait.” I tilted his head forward, locking his eyes back onto me. “I wanna see your face, see all of you.”

Milo returned his gaze with his beautiful blue eyes. I took gentle thrusts, maintaining the same steady rhythmic pace, watching his face scrunch, expressions shifting between pain and pleasure.

I panted, keeping my strokes slow and giving him my entire length, letting him feel every inch.

“Don’t hold back.” Milo tightened his thighs around my hips, locking me in place. “I’m fine. I can handle it.”

“I know.” My gaze shifted, unable to keep eye contact with him. “I just…I, um…I…I’m feeling this.”

“You’re lying.” Milo didn’t say it, but we both knew I only ever drew passion from my partner’s pleasure.

I’d get fucked every night if it made Milo happy. I’d fuck him into the ground gasping and begging for cum if it made him happy. My only true arousal came from bringing my partners off. Finn and Milo, their needs were always my needs.

So when I declared I craved something, it was the weakest of lies on my part.

“I don’t want you holding back. I want to feel you, all of you.” Milo wrapped his arms around my shoulders, running his fingers through my freshly cut hair and returning my eyes to meet his. “Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t treat me like I’ve changed.”

“I’m not…” I pressed my forehead against his. “I’m afraid I’ve changed. My magic, yes, but also what I want, what I need to do moving forward…”

“Does this change include me?”

I widened my eyes. “Always. That’s never a question.”

Milo’s eyes watered a bit. “It’s just the future is always shifting, and you’re making new decisions and this coven, this horrible coven… I don’t know if I have all the answers anymore.”

“Whatever future lies ahead, I want you in it.”

Milo rolled his eyes up, doing his best to fight back tears because he felt splotchy and not sexy, then closed them tightly, unable to look at me. “I’m sorry I’m so damn dramatic sometimes.”

“You’re never dramatic.” I kissed his eyelids. “And you’re always sexy.”

“Dorian,” he whispered, unsure what to say next but wishing to say so much more.

So I spoke, I filled the silence, I quelled his worries, or I hoped I had.

“I’m sorry I ever gave you those doubts.” I kissed him. “I’m sorry I spent so many years lost on myself.” I kissed him again. “I’m sorry you ever have to worry that I’m not in this.” I kissed him again. “I am. I am yours for as long as you’ll have me. I belong to you. I will never leave you. I will never stop trying to make you happy. I will always serve at your altar because you’re my everything.”

Milo kissed me until we couldn’t breathe, until everything except our lips had vanished. We parted and panted, and then he leaned in and whispered, “Fuck me.”

I’d give him my everything. I moved closer, pressing my chest against Milo’s, kissing him, hugging him tightly as I pumped into him faster.

I pounded him, eliciting moans.

“You can do better than that,” I growled, demanding the sweet sound of his surrender. “This is what you wanted, right?”

He whimpered, gritting his teeth, and taking sharp, quick breaths.

“Take all of me.” I railed him. “Fucking take all of me.”

I fucked faster and harder until his gasps turned into shouts, aloud and internally, his every thought lost on the slap of our skin and the feel of my cock. Milo’s eyes got glossy, lost in the swift thrusts I took. His breathing hitched, and I wanted more. I wanted everything. Delving deep into Milo’s mind, I stepped completely inside him, embracing the warmth of his body and the bliss of his memories.

Every pinky touch, every hug, every kiss, every quickie, every romantic evening, every rough fuck, everything intimate between us floated here in Milo’s inner core. The ones between him and me, the ones between Finn and him, the ones he’d watched between Finn and me, and of course, every experience the three of us shared together.

Fuck. I took a sharp breath, entranced by the sweeping memories and pounded harder into Milo. Each thrust made him grunt, and I kept going until he screamed.

Craning my neck, I listened outside his mind until he shouted, and then I slapped my hand over his mouth, muffling his voice and giving him the rough fuck he sought.

“Look at me.” I panted heavily against my knuckles, my lips pressed to the back of my hand and craving the taste of Milo’s lovely lips. Another part of me surged with ecstasy every time he whimpered into my palm, begging for more.

I kept my eyes locked on him, showing my attentiveness, but I fixated more on the inner core he continued working at repairing.

Most of his memories were intact and organized exactly as they should be, but the visions continued bouncing around. So many had been sorted and fixed in the three layers of his inner core. I wanted all of it restored, so I waved my hands and guided those straggler visions. Thousands, tens of thousands, fought against me, enjoying their adventures throughout Milo’s head.

I snorted, fighting to keep from laughing aloud and alerting Milo to my actions. But the way some visions scampered away, hiding in the shadows of Milo’s mind. It reminded me of when Charlie got outside and went on an adventure. He even wriggled free of my telekinesis—mostly when he cried, pretending the grip hurt him.

One by one, I captured the visions and moved them to where they belonged. I couldn’t see them clearly, the images they presented, but with my mind synced so precisely with Milo’s, I instinctively knew where to place them.

After I’d tucked away the final vision in a filing cabinet, I stepped out of his inner core and rejoined him fully. I released my hug, holding my arms on the sides of Milo’s head and watching his face jerk as his glossy eyes fought not to roll back.

“How’d you…how’d you do that?”

“The visions?” I licked his neck, continuing to pound him. “I listened to you, to your needs, to your guidance.”

“So, you just psychically connected on such a level you managed to put all my visions where they belonged?” Milo blinked a few times, playfully, but also holding back the groans my strokes caused. “Even though you…even though…you can’t see them? Can’t see my…my…my full system?”

“You’ve got an easy system to follow. I mean, the Fateful Viewing of Infinite Possibilities and the Dispatch Board of Destiny? They’re brilliant. Plus, the…” I quirked a brow. “Do you have a name for the office area?”

“It’s just The Office,” Milo gasped. “It’s iconic.”

“Well, it’s all practically labeled, so thank you for helping me help you.”

“I can’t believe you did this for me.” Milo had his weepy gush face.

“It’s nothing you haven’t done for me.”

“And you used the names.” Milo let out a long, drawn-out moan seconds from his release.

“I’d do anything for you.” Even use those ridiculous silly names for his inner core.

He grunted and shot his load. Three powerful jets shot out; the first hit my stomach, and the second and third streamed far, landing on Milo’s chest.

I kissed him, then pulled out of him and worked my way down his chest, running my tongue against his sticky skin so I could taste his cum, taste him.

“Wait,” Milo wrapped his legs around my back, using them to push upward. “Finish.”

I really only wanted to feel his orgasm, taste his climax. Make him happy. Everything was to make him happy.

“I wanna taste you, too.” Milo’s yearning drew me in.

Scooting up his body, I straddled Milo’s chest, positioning my hard cock and shoving it into Milo’s open mouth. He’d stuck his tongue out, inviting me to ram it right down his throat. I ran my fingers through his curly blond locks, controlling his head and bobbing it forward while meeting him halfway, knocking the head of my cock further but stopping shy of the back of his throat.

“Goddamn.” Every sensation of his warm, wet mouth hit my nerves. I didn’t want it to end. Not yet.

I twitched, dick throbbing, pulsating. “I’m gonna…” I sucked my teeth. “I’m gonna cum.”

I went to pull out, to jerk my cock the few needed strokes, and let out my load. But Milo gripped my ass and pushed me down onto his face. He gurgled and gagged, taking in the full length of my shaft, and the instant my dickhead met the tight muscles of Milo’s throat, I came.

“Fuck.” My body jerked, taking uncontrollable thrusts as I milked the rest of my load into Milo’s mouth, savoring the sound of his choking. It made me cum harder.

Milo lay there grinning as I slid off him. I kissed him, wiping the slop of spit that ran down his jaw. I lay on top of him, enjoying the sweet, gentle embrace while continuing to kiss, to wrap each other in fluids and lube and sweat. I couldn’t help but bask in this blissful sensation.

But after ten minutes, Milo was done with tender touches.

I rolled over, resting on the pillow, while Milo scooted over, snuggling close. He wrapped his arms around my stomach, playfully rubbing the hairs on my belly. Our sweaty bodies clung together as Milo pressed in closer, taking these easy breaths of satisfaction. I loved it, loved how effortlessly our breathing synced.

“You know,” Milo whispered into my ear. “With a performance like that, I might be able to pull some strings.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Milo laughed, loud and obnoxious.

I smiled, the grin filling my entire face because of how wonderful Milo’s happiness rang in the back of my ear.

“If you ask nicely”—I moved his arm down my waist and put his hand over my slightly erect dick—“I can give you some more incentive. You know you want more.”

Milo played with my dick, moving his hand over my balls and cupping them, rubbing them. Then he pulled his hips back and bumped my butt with his already stiff boner.

“Seriously?” I chuckled. “Full attention already?”

“Not quite.” Milo grabbed the lube and stroked himself a few times before slipping his dick between my cheeks, the head sitting right against my hole. “I’ve missed this.”

“Me too.” I whimpered as he pushed inside.

“Relax—it’s just the tip.” Milo kissed my shoulder, letting me adjust. “You feel so good.”

Milo took gentle strokes, easing the full length of his cock into me one inch at a time while he nibbled and kissed my shoulder, my neck, my nape. I craved his lips, lifting my head back and searching for his touch. Milo teased me, leaving pecks along my cheek, my jaw, but missing my lips every time. My mouth wasn’t the part he teased. He’d fisted his hands loosely around my erection, guiding me with each thrust of his hips. They bucked me forward and back, running my shaft through the lubed hand Milo kept at my cock.

I moaned, begging, pleading, craving every single touch. Every part of me was in Milo’s grasp, in his control, and I wanted to offer him more. I always wanted to offer Milo more.

“I love you.” Would that be enough? Would my love be enough? I hoped so. How I hoped I was enough for Milo.

“I have always loved you.” Milo kissed me, running his tongue lightly over mine, similar to how his body had slightly positioned itself on top of me now, even as we lay on our sides. “I will always love you. I will love you in every possible future. I’ve loved you in versions of the future where our paths never crossed, futures where I lost you, futures that we’ll never meet, and futures still yet to unfold. You are my forever, Dorian. You are the piece of me that wakes me each day, the piece that pumps my heart, the piece that makes me smile. Dorian, you are my everything.”

I collapsed into ecstasy from his words, from his touch. Before I came, I arched and pushed fast and hard to the base of Milo’s cock, clenching around him. When my hips convulsed, Milo’s bucked in a similar motion, each of us cumming.

Milo kept his flaccid dick inside me, scooting closer and hugging me tightly. The stir of his thoughts told me that he had a long night planned. For now, he rested, buried deep.

“I don’t know what lies ahead.” I pushed against him, dozing off. “ But please know that I’ll do everything in my power to give you the happiest ever after that ever aftered. ”

Milo kissed my shoulder, nuzzling into my neck. “ And I will do the same. ”

We rested, minds syncing to all the beautiful thoughts that ran freely throughout Milo’s mind.