Page 56 of Only You, No One Else

That endearment, its tenderness in the midst of such chaotic pleasure, was his undoing, and Mark fell apart, his body dissolving into the pleasure the brightness promised with so much force, his legs shook. In the distance, the echo of Caster’s pleasure as it flooded his body was evident, but nothing compared to the call of the stratosphere. He reached its edge and jumped, certain Caster would be there to put the pieces back together.

CHAPTER 36

Caster’s intention as they’d undressed and walked into the massive bathroom had been to get clean before finding Riley to continue the fight. He was unsure how a simple need to reassure Mark that he was not harmed had led to their most explosive lovemaking session yet. He’d been overcome with the need to fuck, and Mark, in his usual surrender, had embraced that animal in him with little resistance. Mark had reveled in it, and now half an hour after he’d come down from the heights of his surrender, Caster was once again battling the need to tear his clothes off, plunge back into him and never leave.

“Stop!” Mark’s smile hid behind the warning, but it was there.

Caster pushed off the wall he’d sought as an anchor to keep from giving in to that base desire as he watched Mark dress with the delicate care he seemed to accord every action. “Stop what?”

Mark’s smile lit his face. “Looking at me like that.” He stepped back when Caster advanced into his space. “We have a lot to do.”

Their eyes met in the tiny space between them. Caster could have him on the bed in half a second, and Mark knew it, seemed to revel in it. Instead, he kept his movements slow as he advanced further still, smiling when Mark sighed, all pretenses of resistance slipping away as his hands found Caster’s chest.

The desperate need for him hummed in the background, but Caster’s touch on the loose strands of his hair on his forehead was a slight caress. “I love you. You know that, right?”

Mark sucked in a breath and nodded, the movement of his hands over Caster’s chest a distraction they both didn’t need.

“Promise me you’ll never forget.” His voice was a hoarse whisper, the burden of those words a little too much to bear given the threat on their love.

Mark caught his gaze, the promise of an eternity flashing in those eyes. “I swear it.”

The kiss was a gentle brush of the lips. But Mark’s total acceptance took over, and the niggling desperate need for him drove Caster to want more. By the time he regained control, Mark was breathing hard. They were both aroused again, but desperation was replaced by a comfort he never thought he would experience.

Mark broke eye contact first, but it was the sudden injection of what could only be sadness that pulled Caster away from his desire. The images flowing past his mind were of a woman Caster didn’t know.

“What is it?”

Mark shook his head, not to deny him a response, his mind flooding with images Caster was having a hard time organizing into coherent communication. He reached for Caster’s hand and Caster followed his lead. They ended up on the couch and Caster waited, certain what he was about to hear would be significant.

“Amelia told me about my mother.”

Caster sucked in a breath. He didn’t know much about Mark’s mother. She’d never been a topic of discussion even in Dean’s most unguarded moments, and Mark had only mentioned her once. At the time he didn’t push, sensing a strained relationship between mother and son, and he’d been sure Mark would never be his, so it had seemed beyond inappropriate to talk about it. Now, as he watched Mark battle confusion and pain, he was unsure what to do.

Mark’s smile lacked the luster it had acquired in recent times. “I was so wrong about her. I feel so…” He glanced at Caster, as if seeking his comfort. “…guilty.” He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “I…”

Caster took his hand. “Tell me about her.”

Mark opened his eyes, relaxing into the couch with a sigh, but it seemed he couldn’t find the words.

“Everything.” Caster smiled. “I want to know the woman who brought you to me.”

This time his smile was a bit brighter. “I have one good memory of my mother. She was crying, I don’t know why, but I went to her, crawled into her lap, and she buried her face in my hair.” He took a breath. “I don’t know why that moment comes to me every time I reach for her.” He lowered his gaze. “I loved her so much, Caster and I thought…”

The grief he battled called to every protective instinct in Caster, but he was certain that Mark needed to express his feelings more than he needed his comfort.

“Amelia said she loved me so much, she died for me.”

Caster could not contain his gasp in that moment, and the myriad of confused thoughts streaming from Mark’s mind didn’t help his reaction. But he regained control, determined to be the steady presence Mark needed. “Dean never said how she died, and I got the sense he didn’t want to talk about it. Do you know?”

Mark shook his head. “By the time she died, our relationship was so broken we barely spoke.” He pushed further into the couch, the far-away look in his eyes indicating a journey into his memory. “She sent me to my grandfather when I was very little.”

“Your grandfather raised you?’

Mark nodded.

“The Prime Alpha before Dean.”

“That’s how Dean and I grew so close. It was clear from a very early age Dean would challenge for the Prime, and my grandfather was getting him ready for that destiny.” He chuckled. “Getting both of us ready, really…”