Page 146 of Bonds of Fate

“Would you go to the beach with me? Soon? We could swim, and I can take hundreds of photos of you.” Grayson leans in tokiss him softly, and the wine is even more intoxicating from his lips than it is from the glass.

“Yes.” Kiss. “I will go anywhere with you, Gray.” Kiss. “Anywhere.” The idea of lying naked on a beach with Grayson and their mates ignites a flame in his belly. The scent of musky vanilla starts overflowing with their closeness.

“Fuck.” Grayson licks Nix’s lower lip. “Good to know.” He pulls back, shifts uncomfortably so he can adjust his cock in his pants.

Nix can’t help but follow the action with his eyes, and he sees the tip of Grayson’s leaking erection over the top of his waistband. It’s dark and angry-looking, and he wonders why Grayson isn’t urgent about relieving it. “Doesn’t it hurt?” He points his finger at the leaking dick and feels ridiculous once he’s done it

Grayson coughs a bit, a blush on his cheeks. “Oh. Um…yeah. A bit, but I like it.” He runs a finger over it and shivers.

“How long have you been…” Nix whispers as Grayson licks his precome off his finger. Nix wants to taste it, too. His panties are certainly ruined now, and when he moves, they’re slippery.

Grayson smirks and leans in to kiss him, and Nix gets a fleeting taste. “Since I started this afternoon. Thinking about you here, with me, like this—it gets me going.”

Nix is on his knees before he knows it, reaching for Grayson, intending to take him to the floor and lick him all over.

But Grayson’s sultry expression is suddenly replaced by uncertainty. “Hey, can I show you something?”

It’s hard to pull the wolf back when he’s flashing a hundred ways they can get their soulmate’s bond bite through Nix’s mind at the speed of light. But this is important to Grayson, and if it’s important to him, Nix will do everything in his power to give it to him. Besides, there’s a pleasant ache in Nix’s belly. Maybe Grayson’s onto something.

He can wait.

“Is this where you show me your etchings, good sir?” Nix still finds the old euphemism hilarious, and they must really be soulmates because Grayson laughs again.

“Yup. Come on.” He throws back the last of his wine and leads him toward a large, covered easel.

“Wait. For real?”

Gray wants to share his art, and Nix has always been of the mind that art, no matter its form, is a piece of the artist’s heart and soul. He’s so honored his mate would share that with him.

When the cloth is pulled away, he is stunned. It’s undoubtedly a large canvas in oil, and it’s ofhim.

“Gray. Holy shit. When did you have time to do this?” Nix can see the multitudes of brush strokes in yellow and pink and black and white. Even his freckles, especially the heart-shaped one near his eye. It’s overwhelming, and unshed tears burn behind his eyes. “It’s beautiful. You are so talented, love.”

His mate’s face has a lovely pink blush. “You really think so? I finished it the day you came home—but I started it months ago.”

“But you haven’t known me that long.” Nix notices his eyes are blue in the painting. “How?” He wants to touch it and see if he can feel the brushstrokes under his fingers, see if he canfeelGrayson in each one.

“I dreamed of you. Crazy, right? It was only bits and pieces until I saw you for the first time in the ICU.” The memory is painful, and Grayson clears his throat before continuing. “I should have known you would be special. Your eyes were blue in my dreams, you know? Like they are when your wolf is talking.”

“You dreamed about me before we met? Whoa. Hey, wait. My eyes are blue? When?” Nix isn’t sure which of Grayson’s statements is crazier to hear.

“You didn’t know? Yeah. In the same way, an alpha’s turns red—so not all the time. Glowy and awesome.”

That there are parts of himself that Nix still doesn’t yet know reminds him of those early days. Early days. Ha. It’s been just more than a week. Even so, they’ve come a long way. It doesn’t scare him like it did then, because learning is easier when he has his mates. He can handle the new things because while they might be frightening, his mates hold him through them, even if they’re hard.

They are only going to get harder.

“So, dreaming of me. Soulmates, then?” Nix is still looking at the painting. There’s heavy emotion in those sad eyes, and yet Grayson still sees him as beautiful.

Grayson wraps Nix in his powerful arms and puts his chin on Nix’s shoulder. “Yeah. That alright with you?” His scent is nervous, and Nix rubs his soulmate’s arms soothingly.

“I don’t know what it means, but as long as you’re with me, I’m not scared, Grayson,” Nix says quietly. “Feels right when you say it.”

“Together,” Grayson says.

“Together.”

Grayson turns him in his arms so he can press a light kiss to his lips. “Mmm. Do you want to try something with me? It’s my big ‘date’ idea. I’ve always wanted to try it, but it never seemed right, and it’s kind of messy–”

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