“Let me touch you,” he pleaded. “Please, Evander?—”
“Not yet.”
Evander’s movements grew more frantic as he chased his release. He went rigid a moment later and came with a sharp cry, his cock jerking and spilling his seed all over his fingers and Viggo’s belly as he convulsed. The ripple and clench of the mage’s passage around Viggo’s cock nearly pushed him over the edge.
“Now.” Evander panted and blinked sweat out of his eyes. He undid the knots in the silk cravats with his wind magic. “Touch me now.”
The moment Viggo’s hands were free, he flipped them over.
Evander gasped as his back hit the mattress, Viggo looming above him with wild eyes and desperate need. “Viggo?—”
“My turn,” Viggo growled.
Viggo thrust inside Evander hard and fast, all finesse abandoned in favour of pure, animal desire. Evander’s legs wrapped around his waist. He raked his nails down Viggo’s back as he urged him on with breathless encouragement, his spent cock swelling once more between their bodies.
The bed rocked and creaked beneath them as Viggo savagely claimed Evander, the mage’s rising moans filling Viggo’s ears as he relished the passionate possession. When the Brute finally climaxed, it was with a roar that probably roused half of Mayfair and sent Evander over the edge once more.
They collapsed together in a tangle of sweaty limbs and gasping breaths. Viggo’s heart hammered against his ribs as he slowly came back to himself, his cock still twitching where he was wedged inside his lover’s body.
“That was…” Evander’s voice was hoarse.
“Incredible.” Viggo kissed the mage’s brow, chest heaving.
Evander traced his hands languorously down Viggo’s back. “We should probably do that again sometime.”
Viggo huffed a breathless laugh. “Give me ten minutes.”
Evander’s answering chuckle vibrated through Viggo’s chest where they lay pressed together. They stayed like that for a while, neither willing to move, savouring the warmth and intimacy of the moment.
Evander eventually stirred. “We should clean up.”
“In a minute.”
“Viggo—”
“Just a minute more.”
Evander sighed but didn’t protest, his fingers tracing idle patterns across Viggo’s skin. Outside, London settled into its nighttime rhythms—the distant clatter of carriages bringing home late revellers, the call of the odd street vendor hawking their wares, the ever-present hum of the busy city.
“I love you,” Viggo said quietly.
Evander’s hands stilled. “I love you too.”
The words they exchanged felt like a vow. One that Viggo knew would keep his heart and soul warm through the challenges ahead.
CHAPTER 9
The cavernous interiorof Charing Cross Station echoed with the hiss of steam and the rumble of departing trains. Evander stood near Platform Seven, one hand on his leather travel bag whilst the other gripped the handle of a walking stick—a necessary affectation for a duke travelling abroad, except the silver raven’s head representing his family crest concealed a blade he hoped he wouldn’t need. The weapon was in addition to the magical reinforced folding cane strapped to the inside of his right forearm.
The station smelled of coal smoke, damp wool, the tang of sweat that accompanied large gatherings of people, and the peculiar metallic scent of ozone coming from the arcane magic running through the engines of the locomotives and the enchanted lamps suspended from the vaulted iron and glass ceiling. Weak morning sunlight filtered down from above, casting geometric shadows across the platform where porters hustled luggage and families bid tearful farewells.
Evander checked his pocket watch. Eight-forty.
Fifty minutes until departure.
His team assembled gradually. Rufus arrived first, the inspector carrying a bulging, battered satchel that undoubtedlycontained enough paperwork to clobber someone senseless, and dragging along a small trunk of personal belongings behind him. He greeted Evander and watched a porter take his luggage on board before scanning the crowd with the habitual wariness of a man who’d spent nearly a decade in law enforcement.
A familiar figure came into view at the opposite end of the platform next.
