Page 68 of Only You, No One Else

“What does it do? The spell?” Marcus asked, his voice devoid of the assurance Mark had come to associate it with.

Pierce snarled, his mask slipping for a second to bring back his many voices. “That is my price. Take it or leave it.” He sighed, paced in a perfect circle, the predator in him apparent. Then he stopped and leveled a not-too-gentle stare at Caster. “I told you before. She aims to destroy your world. I can survive the aftermath of her plan.” He waved a hand around, indicating those gathered. “There is enough power here that you may yet survive the chaos she unleashes for a brief time. But unless we subdue her, the world as you know it will be gone forever. Even she is yet unaware of her ally’s plans for her power.”

That eerie silence returned. Mark gripped Caster’s arm tight enough he was sure it caused pain. No one said anything as the implication of Pierce’s words sank in.

Pierce sighed as if exhausted. “I can tell you that while my intentions are selfish, they are mine alone. I do not intend to destroy your world. I need it intact for my purposes. I cannot say the same for Ethel’s ally. I am positive his aim is total destruction, and I can’t have that.”

The conviction of his words, the departure from the strategic way he’d chosen his words before, spoke of an honesty Mark could see. He wouldn’t tell them his plans, which was unsettling, but it was clear he wanted Ethel and her ally, whoever he was, out of the way as much as they did.

Caster turned to Mark. “What do you think?”

The whole group’s attention was on him, and he sighed, easing his death grip on Caster’s arm. He looked at Pierce. “You know that if you betray us or if your intentions threaten this family in any way, we will find a way to destroy you.”

Pierce’s smile lacked the intensity it held before. “I expect nothing less. You do have the power to send me to the Underworld, and that is the last place I want to be.”

Mark looked at Riley, an understanding passing between them.

Pierce’s smile was more brilliant, now fully human. “Right. I like your plan to lure her to the cabin.” He chuckled when gasps tore through the compound. “You are all of interest to me. I was never too far away.” He looked at Riley. “After that spell that I need, you should then cloak me. It will be better for us if she doesn’t know I am free.”

CHAPTER 44

They’d all teleported to the cabin as soon as Riley had completed Pierce’s spell. In war, it was not unusual to form alliances with a less-than-trustworthy ally to achieve your aims, but a part of Caster could not get comfortable with Pierce. He’d left as soon as both his spell and the additional cloaking spell he’d requested were done, but the niggling sense that he was still present would not disappear.

Their plan was dependent on magic, more than muscle. Marcus and his trusted contingent of more than two hundred Born-Vampires were right now on their way to Uncle Lucien’s. The powerful protection and cloaking spells Riley and Amara had bestowed on the whole contingent meant that his uncle would not see them coming or fight his way out, not without Ethel’s help.

Now it was just a matter of timing. They needed to lure Zeke and Ethel out of their hiding place to the cabin and ensure Marcus was ready to strike the moment Uncle Lucien was unprotected.

He walked over to the window, over to the comfort of Mark’s body, and wrapped his arms around him with a sigh. Mark pressed his back into Caster’s chest, accepting the embrace with his whole being. They’d taken a brief reprieve to his bedroom with nothing to do but wait for Marcus to confirm his position.

He buried his face in Mark’s hair and committed his scent to memory. “I love you!” The whisper was lost somewhere in their rhythmic sighs. They were both tired, having been awake for too long, but eager for this to be done with. Caster had one priority: to ensure Mark’s safety. Nothing and no one else mattered.

Mark turned his head enough that their lips met. A single kiss awakened a desire they both couldn’t contain, and the need to have him, to feel every inch of him, took over. He released his hold, allowing Mark to turn in his arms, neither willing to separate nor rush.

Caster’s hands found Mark’s waist as the urgency of the kiss deepened. His appreciation contained in the moan joining Mark’s was not enough to communicate his love; he suspected nothing he did would ever be enough.

Caster’s hands on Mark’s waist tightened a fraction, buoyed by the desire to try to demonstrate the extent of his love. Mark pushed his hips into him, and they both groaned at the contact. He wanted to slow down, take his time to explore, commit this moment to memory, but the rhythmic movement of Mark’s hips against his in perfect concert with his pleasured sighs threw a wrench in those plans.

His hands pushed Mark’s t-shirt up his body, pulling away from the deliciousness of his lips long enough to toss the fabric to the side. His heightened senses caught every reaction, the way his heart skipped a beat when his hands brushed a nipple, the catch in his breath when he reached for his belt. Mark’s mind, consumed by the details of an impending battle a few minutes earlier, was now devoid of most thoughts except for the occasional vivid picture of his desire to have Caster inside him.

Mark pushed out of his pants, underwear, and shoes in record time, his naked magnificence a sight that halted the frantic desire summoning Caster’s action. The space of a breath is all they needed before they needed each other again. Their lips met in a whirlwind of pleasure. Caster struggled out of his own clothing, and somehow, between kisses they ended up in bed, Mark under him, open, accepting and eager.

He wanted to slow this down, infuse it with care, but the desperation in Mark’s mind was difficult to ignore. It matched his own in cadence and quality. Still, for reasons he wouldn’t take time to analyze, he didn’t plunge deep; he pushed in with slow deliberate intent. Mark’s body yielded to his intrusion one breath at a time, a rhythmic, synchronized series of sighs filling the space the moment his body engulfed his cock in its unique warmth and they were one, their connection enhanced by a rare tenderness.

He held still for what felt like an eternity, unwilling to lose this to the desperation of his calling release. Mark reached for his arms, pulling him on top of him. The kiss was the catalyst he needed, but that desperation, deep and abiding, did not manifest in his body’s movement.

His thrusts were a slight movement of his hips, a gentle roll, Mark’s body rising off the bed to meet them. He pulled away from the kiss, begging Mark without words to meet him in the middle. Brown eyes overtaken by the same pleasure he did his best to contain met his, and they moaned in unison.

Mark wrapped his legs around his hips, drawing him even closer, so close his exhale was Mark’s inhale. Mark tightened around him, and he cursed, holding his eyes shut. The rhythm he’d set faltered, and his heart skipped a beat at the images floating through Mark’s mind. Words like forever, eternity, safety, security, and a love he’d been sure would never be his, catalyzed his drive towards the pleasure they both sought.

Mark’s hold on his body tightened to painful proportions, but even as they both sensed its proximity, neither reached for the orgasm they chased. Mark shook his head to deny the overwhelming desire to fall, a desire Caster couldn’t hold back despite his best efforts.

This time, when Mark’s body tightened around him, he granted them both the permission to fall. Mark’s breath caught, his eyes widening a fraction before he was overcome with the force of his orgasm. Caster hissed, unwilling to hold back as he too answered the call, his body trembling with the force of his release. They sighed in unison, each returning to the present moment, yet unwilling to lose their connection, both physical and otherwise.

Caster leaned forward and tried to express his love in a single kiss. But like every time he tried, he failed. There was no physical equivalent for how he felt. It would take an eternity together for Mark to ever understand it, and he was determined to get that eternity, if only so he could keep trying.

***

“You know that she will destroy this place, right?” Mark snuggled deeper into Caster’s embrace. Both sides of him could sense the impending battle was close, and for the first time since he’s seen the memory of himself fight Zeke, he dreaded the coming battle.