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Syrus made a low, agonized sound and deepened the kiss. Luke leaned into it, letting his muscles relax completely, Syrus’s hold on his face and his broad body under Luke’s the only things keeping Luke upright.

His surrender seemed to do something to Syrus, and Luke felt it the moment that careful restraint snapped. Syrus’s kiss turned demanding, his searching tongue and forceful lips leaving no more room for hesitation. He released his hold on Luke’s face and began tugging at Luke’s clothes. Even as Luke was pliant, letting himself be manhandled, he heard something rip with the force of Syrus’s need.

He laughed into Syrus’s mouth as he was flipped onto his back. Syrus followed him until he was straddling Luke’s waist with his massive thighs, his kiss just as insistent as ever as his hands roamed over Luke’s naked body, lighting up Luke’s nerve endings everywhere they landed.

Luke thought he had an idea of what might come next: a rough, hurried fuck, a quick physical reassurance of what they meant to each other.

But Syrus seemed to have other ideas. He broke the kiss and moved downward, lips and tongue tasting along Luke’s throat, his chest. Like he was mapping Luke’s skin, claiming every inch for himself and himself alone.

As Syrus made his thorough way down to Luke’s stomach, Luke’s cock throbbed. He dug his fingers into the comforter and fought to hold still as Syrus mouthed at the tender skin at his hip.

Syrus moved even lower, nosing along the hair on Luke’s inner thigh as he looked up at him through pale lashes. “You wish me to stay, dear Luke?” he asked in a low croon. “To accept me into your life? Your soul?”

“Yes,” Luke breathed. It was the only answer he had, the only one he’d ever had when it came to Syrus.

Syrus rewarded him by licking a long strip along the crease of Luke’s groin, his nose nudging along Luke’s neglected cock.

Luke’s dick jerked, precum oozing from the tip.

Syrus smirked up at him. “So responsive. Your body always knew, didn’t it? Just like your sweet, brave soul. Drawn to me.” His dark eyes narrowed. “And now your mind has caught up?”

The last part turned into a question, and Luke dutifully answered again, “Yes. It has.”

Something dangerous flashed in Syrus’s gaze. That same possessiveness that should have had a sane Luke running in the other direction from the very beginning. But something must have broken in him—or maybe something had always been broken—because it only sent a thrill up his spine, a new spark to join the molten heat erupting from Syrus’s touch.

Syrus grinned like he knew exactly the effect he had on Luke. He probably did. If nothing else, Luke’s steadily leaking dick must have made it pretty obvious.

And then Syrus was flipping Luke over onto his stomach, nudging his legs apart to settle on top of him. His oral exploration began again, along Luke’s shoulders and his back, down to the dip of his spine right before the curve of his ass. Places that shouldn’t have been overly sensitive but somehow left Luke clutching at the covers again, his breath coming in shallow pants.

It didn’t help that Syrus talked all the while, every time he came up for air. He muttered the usual things at first, crooning about how beautiful Luke was, how delicious he found the salt on his skin.

Luke tried to relax into it, tried not to buck and whine as he rested his head on folded hands and let himself be cherished in Syrus’s extremely thorough, teasing way.

“I’m older than you think,” Syrus murmured eventually, his hands mapping Luke’s waist while he nibbled gently on Luke’s hip.

It took Luke a minute to realize Syrus was saying something that apparently needed a response. “I kind of—kind of figured.”

“You’ll grow older too.”

“Yes. That’s kind of a given.”

Syrus pinched Luke’s side in reprimand. “Older than you might have expected. After we bond.” He surged up, covering Luke with his body once more, his hard cock nudging at Luke’s ass. He rubbed his cheek against Luke’s. “And we will bond,” he declared, low and sure. “You can no longer remain unprotected. We will be a pod. You, me, Colby.”

Luke tensed and lifted his head. “What about Colby though. If I age…slower?” It was a guess, based on Syrus’s words, but Syrus nodded, smooth skin rubbing against Luke’s stubble, so Luke supposed he’d gotten it correct. “What about my son?”

“He’s of your blood,” Syrus reassured. “He’ll be pod. When he comes of age, he’ll have to make a decision. To accept or refuse.”

Luke slowly relaxed. His son would be given a choice, then. He wouldn’t be roped into Luke’s decisions for an untold number of years, not unless that was what he wanted.

Syrus rose onto his hands, his lower body coming to rest fully against Luke, all cool, bare skin to Luke’s scorching heat. “And you, Luke?” Syrus asked.

Luke knew exactly what the merman wanted to hear. “I’ve made my choice already.”

“Me,” Syrus said with dark satisfaction.

“Yes. You.”

Syrus made a low, pleased sound, then shifted down yet again, settling between Luke’s spread legs. His big hands came to rest on Luke’s cheeks, spreading them. He didn’t pay attention to what he’d bared. Not yet. Instead, he nuzzled and nipped at the meat of Luke’s ass. “So beautiful,” he murmured. “So brave.”