Tex didn’t want to.
Nymon’s bedroom was small, with a bed covered in a green quilt that matched Nymon’s hair.More plants lined the windowsill and every other flat surface in the room.Moonlight filtered through the leaves of the ones hanging from a hook in front of the window, casting shadows into the room.
Tex pulled Nymon close again, kissing him more slowly this time.His mate’s hands slid under his shirt, fingers tracing the muscles of his back.When they broke apart to breathe, Tex tugged the shirt over his head, then reached for Nymon’s.
Nymon’s skin was marked with beautiful swirling patterns, green like the leaves that surrounded them.Tex traced one with his fingertip, following it along Nymon’s skin.Nymon shivered.
“Sensitive?”Tex asked.
“Everything’s sensitive right now.”Nymon’s hands were unsteady.“I’ve never felt like this before.”
Neither had Tex, but then, he’d never been with his mate before.The bond amplified every sensation, or at least, it felt like it did, and that didn’t change as they undressed each other, brushing fingers against naked skin and pushing fabric out of the way.
When they finally dropped onto the bed together, no clothes separating them anymore, the plants in the room went wild.Vines covered the headboard.Flowers bloomed in every pot.The air grew so fragrant it was almost dizzying to Tex’s sensitive shifter nose.
Nymon made a frustrated sound.“I can’t control it.”
“Stop trying.”Tex kissed his throat, then his shoulder.“Let it happen.”It might be odd, but Tex liked it.It was uniquely Nymon.
They moved together, learning each other’s bodies, exploring what made the other gasp and beg for more.Tex had been with plenty of other people before, but it had been nothing like this.The bond made it unique, and Tex knew he could never return to being with anyone else, not even if something were to happen to Nymon.
Tex would make sure nothing did.
“I want to bond with you,” Nymon said as Tex traced a path down his neck with his lips.
Tex went still.“Nymon—”
“I know demons don’t have fated mates.Iamyour mate, though.”Nymon pushed up on one elbow, meeting Tex’s eyes.“And I feel it.This connection between us.I don’t want to lose it or you.”
“You won’t.We don’t have to rush into anything.We’ll find a way to make this work.”
“I’m not rushing.It feels right, and I know that this is forever.I want it.”Nymon’s hand came up to cup Tex’s face.“I’m not going to change my mind.I’ve always yearned for something, and I didn’t know what, but I do now.My soul knew you were out there, and it was reaching for you.”
Tex should argue.He didn’t want Nymon to regret this, and he was afraid that his mate would, even though Nymon was looking at him with trust and want.He believed what he was saying.He did want this.
There was no way to know what would happen to them in the future or how their feelings would change, but Nymon was right.They were mates, and that was all that mattered.
“You’re sure?”he asked.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
Tex shifted his hand, letting his wolf through just enough to change one fingernail into a claw.Nymon’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t pull away.
Tex reached up and dragged the claw across his own neck, just deep enough to draw blood.The pain was sharp and brief, but Tex welcomed it.Nymon never looked away.He leaned in and pressed his mouth to the cut, tracing the wound with his tongue.The sensation shot through Tex like lightning, and he couldn’t resist pulling his mate closer.Nymon knew what to expect and how it worked, so Tex didn’t ask him if he was sure again.He doubted that Nymon would have told him he wanted them to bond if he wasn’t.
The bite was quick.Tex tasted copper and something sweeter that he knew was unique to Nymon—maybe his magic?Pleasure looped between them as they pressed together, moving as they drank each other’s blood.Nymon dropped to his back, and Tex followed, hiking one of Nymon’s legs higher around his hip when Nymon wrapped it there.Their cocks were pressed together between their bodies, the friction was maddening but oh so good.
Tex was vaguely aware that the plants in the room exploded with new growth.He could see a vine reach for Nymon from the nightstand in the corner of his eye, but he focused on his mate and their bond.When their bond reached its completion, it was almost like he could feel Nymon’s magic as if it were his own, just for a moment.
Nymon cried out as he came, and his magic surged.Every plant in the room bloomed at once in an explosion of color and life.The scent was overwhelming, and Tex buried his face in Nymon’s neck, overwhelmed by all the sensations as he, too, came.
It took Tex a moment to come back into his body, and when he did, he quickly licked the bite wound on Nymon’s neck clean.Once he was sure that Nymon had stopped bleeding, he flopped sideways, still panting slightly.
They lay tangled together, with Nymon tracing patterns on Tex’s chest while Tex’s fingers stroked through Nymon’s green hair.The room looked like a garden, with almost no signs of the furniture under it.The plants had even reached the bed.
“I should probably feel more embarrassed about that,” Nymon murmured.
“Don’t be.”Tex kissed his temple.“It’s perfect.”It was a lot, but that didn’t mean that Tex didn’t appreciate it.
