Page 4 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
“Then what is it?”
With a sigh, Ozen admitted, “I don’t know, firefly. I can’t seem to stay away from you. There’s this driving need for me to…”
Avery held his breath, waiting for Ozen to finish. When he didn’t, Avery pushed again. “To what?”
“To breed you.”
Chapter Three
He hadn’t realized that was what he’d been trying to do until Avery asked him outright, but Ozen’s instincts were screaming it at him now. He needed to breed his mate. But that was impossible. They were both males, and neither had the ability to change their gender.
Avery must have been thinking the same thing, because he finally twisted in Ozen’s arms, breaking their intimate connection so he could look Ozen in the eyes. The movement made Ozen snarl; he didn’t like the idea of his release leaving his mate’s body, even with the knowledge that it wouldn’t get Avery pregnant.
His mate didn’t flinch at the sound, cupping Ozen’s cheeks and drawing him down for a chaste kiss. He didn’t let it go further, and while Ozen’s instincts wanted to push, he was grateful for Avery putting up that boundary. He didn’t want to lose control again. He didn’t want to hurt his Avery.
“Okay. Your instincts–” he shot a questioning look at Ozen, waiting for his nod of agreement before continuing, “–are telling you to breed me. But we can’t do that, as far as I’m aware, anyway. Is this… Do you think you need more than one mate?Are you thinking we need to bring someone else in so you can… breed them?”
From the look on his face, it wasn’t what Avery wanted in the slightest. He honestly looked hurt, though Ozen knew without a shadow of a doubt that if Ozen truly felt that way, Avery would allow it because he wanted to make him happy. Luckily, that wasn’t what Ozen needed, and honestly, the idea of bringing in someone new to their bonding made him a little green just thinking about it.
“No, my love. That’s not what I want. You’re all I need, and I don’t see that changing. No, this is different. I’m not sure when exactly it started, or why. It’s just… all I can think about lately.”
Avery couldn’t hide the relief on his face, and Ozen spent a few moments reassuring him with affectionate kisses without pushing for more. He loved his Avery. He never wanted him to doubt even for a second that he was enough for him.
Once he was sure Avery was okay, both emotionally and physically, after dealing with Ozen’s demands, he let out a breath, nuzzling Avery’s neck and breathing him in. He could deal with a great many things, but upsetting his mate wasn’t one of them. And he wasn’t willing to drag this out like the last time his instincts confused him.
“I’ll speak with my grandfather,” he promised. “We’ll figure it out.”
“The party is in a few days,” Avery pointed out. “You can talk to him in person if it makes it any easier.”
He nodded slowly. That seemed like a good idea. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of discussing it in front of Korath, who still thought incubi weren’t supposed to have mates, but he didn’t like the idea of an impersonal phone call discussing something so delicate. In person would be better.
In the meantime, he had taken too much time away from Avery’s traditions. He helped them to stand, ignoring the way hisinstincts demanded he fix the issue of his release escaping his mate’s body to drip down his thighs. He wanted to put it back. He stopped himself by sheer force of will, instead cleaning Avery up with magic and helping him right his clothing so they could get back to decorating.
Avery put on music, dragging Ozen with him to the tree where the lights were already twinkling and the star on top was lit. He’d done his own research on human holiday traditions, and most of it was based in religion, which he knew Avery didn’t follow. Instead, he told stories of his parents and their traditions, making no comment about Ozen hovering as he put more decorations on the tree.
His conversation with his grandfather couldn’t come soon enough. He wanted this holiday season to be about Avery and his traditions, not about his issues. He needed to figure out what was going on.
“So you decorate the tree? Then what?” he queried, putting an ornament on a higher branch when Avery requested it.
“Well, there’s a gift exchange and watching movies. Some families go caroling, but I’m not comfortable with the idea of singing in public. If it snows enough, we could go on the terrace and make a snowman or something, but we’ve only had a light dusting so far. Oh! And cookies! My mother made tons of cookies every holiday. I always had a blast decorating them with her, even though they weren’t exactly pretty.” He shrugged. “She didn’t care. I was just a kid, after all. After they cooled, we’d leave them near the tree for Santa to eat.”
“Santa?” Ozen frowned.
Avery wrinkled his nose adorably. “My dad in a costume. He’d take bites out of the cookies and drink the milk so I thought the myth was real. I figured it out the year he decided to grow his own beard and there were crumbs in it the next morning.”
Chuckling, Ozen wrapped himself around his mate, this time not pushing for anything more than the connection as Avery told him about telling his parents he knew Santa wasn’t real and joining in on the present buying with his allowance. It was all said with this nostalgic smile that made Ozen want to recreate the moments with him. To bring back the traditions he’d lost.
Their arrivalin the shadow realm was smooth, with no idiotic demons trying to stop them from passing through the portal.
The shadow realm wasn’t always dark, despite the name. It was mid-afternoon when they arrived, the sun shining brightly on the cascading lava falls and sparkling off the river that cut through the main city. The portal station in the shadow realm was elevated so the view of the city stretched out below them. A steady sense of ‘home’ filled Ozen’s chest, and he watched avidly as Avery took in the place he grew up.
“Oh, wow! Are those hot springs?” He pointed off to the right, where steam rose off the water near a smaller lava fall.
“Yes, but not the only ones in the city. Korath’s home has private hot springs we can use if you’re interested. Most homes in the cities have them.”
With their fingers interlaced, Ozen led the way down the hill toward the line of cars waiting at the bottom. He flagged a ride, chuckling as he tugged Avery along. His mate was too busy looking around to watch where he was going. He really had been distracted last time.
Since he wanted to make the trip a memorable one, he asked the driver to take the scenic route through the city. It would take longer and cost more, but he wanted Avery to see it all. Theycrossed over the bridge, Avery practically plastered against the window as he took it all in.
