“Holy shit,” Connor said when he could speak again.
Leyden huffed a laugh against his shoulder. “Yeah.”
“That was…” Connor struggled for words. Nothing seemed adequate. “Nothing like I expected.”
“Bad unexpected?”
“Good unexpected.” Connor reached back, touching Leyden’s shoulder. “When I touched myself before, it was just physical. Getting off. But this was nothing like that.”
“This was making love.”
“Yeah.” Connor turned his head to one side, and Leyden leaned over his shoulder kissing the side of Connor’s mouth.
“Let me pull out so I can hug you properly.”
Leyden pulled out slowly, but Connor still winced at the drag, suddenly aware of muscles he’d never paid attention to before.
“Are you sore?”
“A few twinges. Nothing major.” Connor caught Leyden’s hand and kissed it. “Well worth it.”
After cleaning them up with a handful of wipes, Leyden settled beside him and pulled Connor into his arms. Connor went willingly, the exhaustion and satisfaction washing over him. Leyden’s contentment was flowing through their bond, along with his love, and Connor hoped his mate could feel his own similar feelings.
“Thank you,” Connor said quietly. “For waiting. For being patient with me.”
“You were always worth waiting for.” Leyden kissed the top of his head. “You’re everything to me.”
“Love you, too.” Connor closed his eyes, letting the steady thump of his mate’s heartbeat lull him into sleep.
Chapter Thirty
Connor woke up draped across Leyden like a blanket. One leg was hooked over Leyden’s thigh, and his arm was splayed across his mate’s chest. Checking for discomfort was more of a habit, but nothing came. All he could feel was contentment and bone-deep satisfaction.
“Morning,” Leyden rumbled, fingers stroking through Connor’s hair. “How do you feel?”
Connor took inventory. Muscles slightly sore, ass tender, throat dry. But nothing hurt. Nothing felt wrong.
“Good.” Connor pressed a kiss to Leyden’s chest. “Really good, actually.”
“Not sore? Not regretting…”
“Stop.” Connor lifted his head, and met those worried gray eyes. “I’m fine. Better than fine. I’m happy.”
Relief flooded through their bond. Leyden’s hand cupped Connor’s jaw, thumb brushing over his cheekbone.
“I keep waiting for you to pull away,” Leyden admitted. “For you to tell me it was too much.”
“It wasn’t.” Connor settled back against Leyden’s chest. “Last night was perfect.”
They lay quiet for a while. Connor traced patterns on Leyden’s skin, mapping his mate’s body, committing it to memory.
“What did you like?” Leyden asked eventually. “About last night, I mean.”
Connor thought about it, as heat crept up his neck, but he pushed through the embarrassment. They’d already done the thing - talking about it shouldn’t be harder.
“All of it.” Connor paused, searching for specifics. “The way you checked in with me. You made sure I was okay. Oh, and youdidn’t rush, even though I could feel how much you wanted to through our bond.”
“I needed to know you were okay.”
