I’m honestly not sure if I’m hoping that the bond will work or that it won’t. My heart thuds heavily inside my chest as Rune and I stare at each other for several seconds that manage to last an eternity. He’s right though. It might not be romantic, but it’s practical. If there’s even the slightest chance that the bond could work and he could become more powerful than he’s ever been, we have to try.
I can feel the fluttering tug in the center of my chest, the one that feels like Rune, and with our words still lingering in the air, I have to wonder if it’s a sign that he could be my fated mate. There’s only one way for us to find out.
“Well, are you waiting for me to buy you dinner first or what?” I tease, running my hands up his thighs, his light weight pressing down on me as he straddles my lap.
His lips twitch with a smile. “I was waiting for you to look less like you have a date with an executioner and more like a man about to get laid.”
A laugh rumbles in my throat, loosening some of the tension inside of me. And then I force all of the worries and what-ifs about the future to the farthest corner of my mind and focus on him. I move my hands to his arms and trace the pattern of his tattoos with the tips of my fingers, feeling the slightest crackle and spark of his magic stirring under his skin, coaxed by my touch. That has to be a sign too, doesn’t it? Why would his magic react so strongly to me? Why would it beinsideme if we weren’t fated? The tight knot of worry in my gut starts to warm into something else, something that feels a lot more like longing than fear.
“That’s better,” he murmurs, his smile getting wider as he leans in close, bringing his lips just an inch from mine. “And I don’t mean to put extra pressure on things, but we probably don’t have a hell of a lot of time before Lurch comes back.”
“Right, totally no pressure. Just hurry up and fuck you before we get caught and possibly murdered. Oh, and hopefully we’re fated mates otherwise we’re going to be totally fucked, and not in the good way.”
He snorts a laugh. “The sarcasm is a good start. I always figured if Ihadto have a mate or long-term partner, it would have to be someone fluent in sarcasm.” He brushes his lips lightly against mine and another warm spark ignites, the heat in my belly expanding to fill my chest and leach into my veins. “Shit, if we’re going to avoid having an audience again too soon, we need to try to keep my magic flowing inside. It’s the little sparks that are creating a scent and a palpable energy that keeps drawing them down here.”
“I don’t know how to do that.” Even now, sliding my hands under his shirt, along his buttery soft skin, I can feel the sparks of magic my touch is creating.
“Close your eyes.”
I do as he says, and he tugs off my shirt. I lift my arms to help him, and once it’s gone, Rune puts his hands on my chest. And again, his skin against mine immediately causes the now-familiar pulse of magic to start to dance along the surface of my skin, ricocheting between his hand and my chest.
“Focus on the magic,” he says, and I do that too. I picture it, feeling the shape of it as it pools right under the warmth of his hand, drawn to him like a magnet. “And now, imagine pulling it deeper into yourself, right towards your core.”
It feels impossible at first, like trying to grab the wind.
“Focus,” he says, brushing his lips against mine again. I try to imagine it as something solid I can physically touch, and little by little, I manage to pull it away from the surface of my skin and hold it deeper inside me where it’s safe. “Good. Hold on to it for me, let it build, and when the moment is right, let it fill me up so I can use it to create our bond.”
It’s impossible to not recognize the metaphor, to not imagine whatelsemy body is aching to fill him with. I let my eyes flutter open and meet his. There’s the slightest glow behind his irises, hopefully just enough magic to tide him over until he’s ready for the rest of it.
“What about lube?” I ask, and he smirks.
“Already taken care of. All we need now is you…” He tugs the button on my jeans open. “And me.” He slips his shirt off and tosses it aside.
“Tell me what else you want in a mate.” I ghost my hands over his skin again. I can feel the pulse of magic growing, but I manage to hold it back, letting it gather and build in my gut like a writhing ball of electricity.
He grinds against me, teasing his open mouth over mine again, making my cock swell and tugging a needy rumbling sound from deep in my gut.
“I would want someone strong and brave.”
I nod, undoing the button on his jeans.
“Off to a good start,” I murmur.
He hums in agreement, flicking his tongue along the seam of my lips before climbing off my lap so we can both shimmy out of our jeans.
My eyes follow the pendulum of his hard cock, swinging between his thighs, long and slender, begging for my mouth again. I lean forward and catch it between my lips, laving my tongue over his crown to taste the salty-sweet flavor of his precum just starting to bead on his slit. He groans and sways forward, thrusting deeper into my mouth, dragging his length along my tongue and bracing his hands on my sturdy shoulders.
I pull back, wrapping my hand around his base and looking up at him with his cock still poised near my lips. His hips twitch and his eyelids flutter.
“What else?” I wrap my lips around him and swallow him down again.
His head lolls back and he moans quietly. “Good oral skills are high on the list.”
I rumble a laugh, and he gasps at the way the sound vibrates down his shaft.
“Kind, I suppose,” he says more quietly, digging his fingers harder into my shoulders and flexing his hips forward again. “Someone to soften me, balance me out.”
I grab his ass cheeks and encourage him to thrust. His breath hitches and he starts to slowly fuck my mouth.
