Page 47 of Wonder
I stopped moving. “Reno....”
“It’s fine.I’mfine. I want you.” He sent over a wave of determination, then he slid his hands under my t-shirt.
I clamped my hands over his. “You’re not very aroused.”
He glared. “There’s a lot of pressure happening here. I was hoping we could make out a little and things would, you know, heat up.”
I huffed an aggravated breath. “Okay, but if you’re not feeling it within a few minutes, we’re doing it the other way.”
He copied my huff. “Fine.”
I smiled. Reno’s prickliness came out when he was feeling defensive or stressed, so my job was to relax him as much as possible. He’d leave this bed knowing how good sex between mates could be. One more thing to make him think twice about severing our bond. “Can I kiss you?”
He nodded, not taking his eyes off mine.
I kept the first kiss soft, delicate even. Just a taste. But our magics surged together, and when I eased my head back, Reno chased my lips with his. I let him take the lead for a moment, and he pressed against me, his erection grinding into mine through our clothes as he thrust his tongue into my mouth.
I rumbled a groan into our kiss before tearing my mouth away. “Naked.”
“Right.” He was panting, and our mating connection was sun-bright between us.
I yanked my t-shirt over my head and unbuttoned my jeans. Reno’s body was even more sinful than I’d pictured it. His broad chest was flushed under the soft, thick hair. He didn’t have defined abs, but I couldn’t wait to cuddle into his belly. And his cock was a thing of beauty, nicely wide and thick. I didn’t like thinking about how long it’d been since I had anything inside me but a toy. Too bad we didn’t have time for penetration right now.
I guided him down onto the bed. The first touch of his naked skin against mine, our magics flaring high and twining together, felt like the reward I’d earned after all the years of loneliness. I tucked my face into his neck, smelling the blood so close under his skin. “I’m not going to last long. Can we...?” I wrapped my hand around his cock and moved so I could bring mine into the circle of my fingers.
He sucked in a breath. “Yes. God, yes.” He made an abortive thrust with his hips. “Lube. I have lube.” But his hands were gripping my shoulder and ass, and he didn’t move them.
I was salivating over the scent of his blood, so I released our cocks and took a second to spit into my hand. He moaned, his legs moving restlessly as he thrust against me. His now-slick cock slid along mine. The sensation was so good, I didn’t even notice my fangs descending until they were hovering over Reno’s neck. “Can I bite you?”
“Uh-huh.” He pushed into my fist again, hauling my body into his as if he were trying to make us one.
Right. Our mating.
I reached for our mating connection, now a bright river between our whirling magical cores. “I consent to this bond.” I closed my eyes and saw our cores start to spin in sync with each other.
Reno stiffened in my arms, but before I could ask him if he wanted to stop, I felt that determination coming from him again. “I consent to this bond.” He took his hand off my ass and joined it with mine around our cocks instead. The additional pressure doubled in intensity as it echoed through the connection between us.
Gently I used my fangs to make a small slice in his neck, just below the line of his beard stubble, then I sucked. Reno’s blood was delicious, better than anything I’d ever tasted. Rich, sweet, and fizzing with his magic. He moaned, and his cock swelled as he thrust into our hands. My pleasure chased his, and I could feel what he felt, the friction of our cocks moving together and the heat of my mouth on his neck. I sucked harder, and the sensations whirled through us like a tornado. We both came, and the double shockwave of our orgasms had my whole body clenching, clinging to Reno for what seemed like forever.
At last we shuddered to completion, our muscles lax. I licked Reno’s neck to heal the cut, and he shivered. “The wound will be gone in a minute or two, now that we’re mated.”
“Mmmm. I forgot about that benefit.”
He’d also get a longer lifespan if we stayed mated, but we had time to discuss that later. Right now, Reno’s face was more peaceful than I’d ever seen it, the stress lines temporarily gone and a small smile on his lips. I closed my eyes to admire our joined magical cores.
Except the joining was... off. Our cores were not bonded into one. It was more like they wereattached, with multiple strands of magic trying desperately to tie the two cores together. They spun side by side, but mine turned a tiny bit faster than Reno’s,making the magic strands twist and stretch as they tried to accommodate the difference. I felt nauseated just looking at it.
How fucked up was our mating? Could we even speak mind-to-mind?
Reno.
His entire body jolted, so I guessed I had my answer. He slapped my chest and scowled. “Warn a person!”
I caught his hand with mine. “Sorry. But you need to look at our cores.” I tried to control my panic. The bond had taken at least enough to allow mind-speak, but would it be enough for Reno to call a vision? For him to want to stay bonded with me? Right now we might be able to undo the bond by unraveling the magic that was tying our cores together. Should I ask Reno if he wanted to?
He closed his eyes for an instant, then jackknifed up into a sitting position. He squeezed my fingers with one hand and patted his chest frantically with the other. “It didn’t take? It was me, wasn’t it? I screwed it up.” He stared at me with pleading eyes. “Can I even call a vision like this?”
My heart hurt to see my mate in distress. I could feel his worry and fright, and it helped me push my own panic aside. I sat up and put my arms around him. “Shhh. We’ll figure it out.” I synced my breathing with his until he calmed a little. I kissed his cheek. “The bond took at least a little bit, or I wouldn’t have been able to communicate mind-to-mind.”
