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“I don’t wantto wake him up, but he can’t sleep there all night. He’ll end up with a crick in his neck.” Shane was barely whispering, trying not to disturb Ellis.
Except I doubted a freight train would disturb him at this point. He’d obviously sat down on the couch—and it was an extremely comfortable couch—and leaned his head back before closing his eyes. Now his head was lolled to one side, his mouth was gaping open, and he was snoring.
Something must’ve been wrong with me, because I found him adorable. I dearly wanted to hug him and curl up beside him to cuddle.
But we were supposed to be bonding. With sex. And we only had eleven hours until Manny’s deadline of 10am tomorrow morning when he was bringing Pia back.
I sighed. Ellis was in no shape for sex right now, much less something as significant as bonding. “Will you be okay magic-wise if we wait until morning for the bonding? We can set an alarm.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” But Shane rubbed his chest. Before I could say anything, though, he turned to me and put his hand onmy arm. The heat of his touch went right to my balls. “Why don’t we get ready for bed and then we can just tuck Ellis under the covers with us?”
“Good plan.” I followed him back into the bedroom. We’d put all of Ellis’ clothes away, leaving only a duffel bag Ellis had placed on Shane’s chest of drawers. It didn’t feel like clothes, so we weren’t sure if we should open it or not. Shane had also moved a bunch of sweaters and other items he didn’t wear often into the attic so there’d be room for my stuff when I was ready. Given that we’d be almost literally joined at the hip starting tomorrow, I was sure I’d be ready sooner rather than later.
We undressed down to our boxers. I’d kind of planned to leave my t-shirt on, but Shane took his off, so I followed suit. Shane, for all that he was over a decade older than me, was in fantastic shape. The physical labor required by his job had given him some amazing muscles. His back was a work of art that I couldn’t wait to map with my tongue.
I went to the gym fairly regularly, but my frame wasn’t designed to carry much muscle. My brain automatically tried to feel self-conscious about my physique, but when Shane turned and blatantly eyeballed me, the lust came through our connection loud and clear.
Damn. I couldn’t wait to experience that feeling during sex.
But that reminded me. “Shane. Last night when I was putting everyone’s clothes away. Um, you were in the bathroom, and I got the feeling you were upset about something? It didn’t seem like just Ellis getting kidnapped. I got distracted so I didn’t get to ask you today, but are you okay?”
He turned ruddy under his tan. The blush went all the way down his neck to his sternum, creating a V between his pecs. “It was nothing.” He busied himself putting toothpaste on his toothbrush.
My eyebrows met my hairline. “Really? Because you looked like you’d been crying. I want to respect your privacy, but if all that stuff in the compendium about bonding is true, we’ll be all up in each other’s business whether we want to be or not. Do you want to tell me now, or should I just find out through the bond tomorrow?”
He glared at me in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. I leaned my hip on the counter and crossed my arms as I waited for him.
He spat and rinsed, then he dried his hands and face on a towel.
I waited.
His posture changed when he decided. He straightened his spine and threw back his shoulders before spinning around to face me. His expression was defiant. “I was going to do it for Ellis. Let him have a relationship with you at the same time he had one with me.” My eyebrows flew back up. “Especially after he was... taken.” His voice broke on that last word. “I knew he wanted you, and I wanted him to have whatever made him happy.”
He crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders. “But then you were nesting. Putting Ellis’ things away in the closet and making sure he was comfortable. It’s something magic carriers only do with mates.” He looked away. “I was jealous. I knew Ellis and I were mates, and the nesting meant you and he were mates. I’d been ready to just have a platonic relationship between you and me, but I... I wanted you to want me the same way you wanted Ellis. Like a mate.”
I’d been trying not to touch Shane, not wanting to risk starting something that Ellis wouldn’t be here to participatein, but I couldn’t stand to see him in pain, even if the pain was only a memory. I closed the few steps between us and circled my arms around him.
He hugged me back. “And then you were asking me about ironing my shorts. Mine, not Ellis’. And I was so happy.”
Fuck. I couldn’tnotkiss him after that. Ellis would feel the same way in my place.
I ducked down and caught Shane’s lips in mine. He hesitated for half a second before responding, opening his mouth to take my tongue inside.
I couldn’t see the connection between us, but I tried to push my feelings toward him—all the affection, admiration, fascination, and lust I’d been feeling since we’d met.
He gasped, and our kiss faltered before he pulled me closer with renewed hunger. I ran my hands over his back, which felt as incredible as it looked. His furry chest teased my nipples, so I brought my hand around and gently pulled on one of his nubs. He sucked in a breath, and a bolt of lust went from my own nipple down to my dick. Fuck, the compendium hadn’t been kidding about that feedback loop.
Shane’s rock-hard dick ground against mine, and I barely stifled my groan. Shit. We needed to stop before I blew.
I grasped Shane’s upper arms and pushed against him, separating our mouths and our bodies enough so I could step back. Reluctantly—and I felt his reluctanceveryclearly through our connection—he moved away as well. We were both panting, and in the mirror above the sink I could see our matching lips, swollen and shiny with saliva, and our chins red with beard burn.
I wiped my mouth and stared ruefully down at the erection straining against the front of my briefs. “Probably a mistaketo do that before getting into bed with both of you when I can’t do anything about this.”
Shane reached out a hand and hovered it over my sternum. “Our connection is even stronger, though. It’ll make bonding that much easier.”
“Oh, yeah? Shit, I can’t wait til I can see connections.”
“Maybe the bonding will help with that.” He blew out a breath. “Let’s go get Ellis off the couch.”
