Alaric’s mouth left his and he brushed it over his cheek and down to Chander’s jaw. He bit down on the bony edge before moving to his earlobe. Alaric nibbled and sucked. Chander couldn’t help but writhe against him while he began to hum out his rapture. Alaric lifted slightly so he could travel farther down his body. Kisses were laid over his collarbone and Alaric’s magnificent lips traced over the skull Chander had been born with.
He heard the rumble of Alaric’s voice but couldn’t make out the words he whispered against the mark of Fate. Alaric’s hands moved under him, and he caressed Chander’s shoulder blades as he dragged his tongue down his rib cage and over the now quivering muscles of his belly. Obviously, Alaric could see the rigid cock but much to Chander’s chagrin, he bypassed it. Instead of sucking it down his throat as would have been Chander’s wish, Alaric moved back up and shifted his weight so he could reach over and open the drawer in the table alongside the bed.
Chander was pleased to see the lube in his hand and when Alaric’s mouth found his again, he was smiling.
“Can I have you?” Alaric purred.
“Definitely.”
Alaric sat up on his knees and Chander bent his legs and spread them wide so his mate could climb between them. Once he was in place, Alaric opened the bottle with a snick and used it liberally. Chander remembered the first time they’d done this and what a quick learner his man had turned out to be. It ramped up the anticipation of the moment. Once he’d warmed it, Alaric used slick fingers to trace around Chander’s entrance.
“It feels good,” he told Alaric as his eyes fell closed. Alaric’s response was to push two digits inside Chander’s greedy body. It was a tight fit, but there was no pinch of pain. Working to open him up, Alaric pumped them in and out as Chander’s anus began to stretch for the coming invasion. Chander could feel his dick leaking and he grabbed the sheets in his fists when Alaric hit his prostate for the first time. The evening had been one he’d wished would never end, he had been content to savor each moment and every touch. But now the desire was ramping up exponentially.
Still he would not rush Alaric, so he held on as he continued to glide over the tight bundle of nerves. It was both torment and delight. Chander blew out a breath and relaxed his hold on the soft fabric as Alaric removed his clever hand. The tension was renewed when Alaric pushed three fingers inside him. His back arched as his cock jerked. He was closer than he would have liked, but there was no way to slow down. All he could do was hold on and endure the exquisite torture.
Time was a mere concept and Chander had no idea how much had passed while Alaric drove him crazy. At long last, Alaric pulled away and Chander opened his eyes to see the sentinel rubbing his hand over his glistening length. It was a sight that forced the breath from his lungs and he thanked Fate that soon he’d have it buried inside him. As if reading his mind, Alaric released himself and rose to his knees. He shuffled forward and Chander lifted his ass higher to give him better access.
Alaric gripped Chander’s hip in one hand and his dick in the other. Pressing the head to Chander’s hole, he felt his mate begin to push it against him. Stretched from all the attention Alaric had given it, his body easily accommodated the thickness. Once the head popped inside, Chander wanted to yell at him to shove it in already but he knew it would fall on deaf ears. Alaric was apparently willing to go slow as a glacier, and all Chander could do was endure.
Letting his lashes fall, he concentrated on the heat and the fullness Alaric was creating inside him. It might have been seconds, or it could have very well been hours but at long last, Alaric was buried deep. Alaric released his flank and lowered his body over Chander. He shoved his arms under him and Chander lifted his own to place his hands on Alaric’s damp back. As soon as Alaric began to rock his body against Chander’s, he captured his mouth in a searing kiss.
Chander responded by wrapping his legs around Alaric’s waist. The sentinel moaned against his lips and thrust more vigorously. Chander’s dick was rubbing against Alaric’s belly and it was just the right amount of friction. With no warning, his gums tingled and his fangs punched through. He had no choice but to pull his lips away from Alaric’s. From the depths of his soul, his demon surged to the forefront. He wanted Alaric, but they hadn’t discussed completing their matebond, so Chander fought back. It was a battle of mere seconds, Alaric increased his tempo and his movements were getting jerkier. Alaric was close and so was he. The demon inside relented as tingles danced like electric shocks down his spine.
His orgasm tore through him like a fire and he yelled out as every muscle clenched from head to toe. A roar sounded above him, and he knew Alaric had followed. The release they had both worked so hard for seemed to shimmer through his veins for an eternity. It was a new beginning and a homecoming at the same time.
Never again would Chander allow anything to keep them from this necessary part of who they were together. He slid his hands into Alaric’s damp hair as his man huffed out heavy breaths close to his ear. They were still wrapped together intimately, and it saddened Chander to think they’d ever have to move.
Exhaustion filtered through him as the pleasure waned and Alaric’s mouth skimmed over his cheek. He turned his head slightly so their lips would meet. It was a gentle kiss, and Chander nearly cried at the simplicity of it.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” Alaric replied. They were more than mere words to Chander. They signified a promise he’d made and intended to keep. Alaric was his and he dared anyone—even himself—to ever come between them again.
Chapter 28
When Chander woke the next morning, the first thing he became aware of was the heavy arm draped over his midsection. He’d barely digested that when he registered the hard shaft poking him in the ass. After a fantastic night of making love, he had apparently fallen asleep in Alaric’s bed. As predicaments went, it was a pretty awesome one. His mind began to kick into gear and he grew concerned. Last night hadn’t been planned, and they had to meet up with the Skeleton Seven at some point.
He needed to get home, get showered, and dressed. The men who had been watching the movie the previous night in Victor’s room had probably figured out exactly where he and Alaric had wandered off to. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to hide their extracurricular activities, but they hadn’t agreed to advertise them either. Chander carefully rolled his body out from under Alaric’s. The Lich Sentinel didn’t budge an eyelash as Chander freed himself. Once clear, he warily crossed the room with one eye on Alaric. He wished he could just wake the man up and ask him how to handle everything, but it seemed like a bad idea to have an important discussion which pertained to their future and how quickly they wanted to let the world in on their latest step forward before anyone had coffee.
He wriggled into his briefs and jeans before donning his T-shirt. His sneakers were next to the couch in the living area and he hoped no one else was up yet. He could possibly even get back before Baxter and Benton appeared out of whatever guest room they had used the night before. Chander opened the door and stepped out still watching the sleeping man who had so miraculously loved him the night before. He pursed his lips in an air kiss before shutting the wooden panel between them.
Turning around, Chander saw nine sentinels and a cat shifter staring at him. So much for discretion, he thought in amusement.
“Uh huh, we see you.” Victor crossed his arms over his apron. “Wearing yesterday’s clothes and hair in tangled curls. I’d call it a walk of shame but since you were with your sexy mate, I’ll wisely refrain.”
“Yeah,” Chander said, not knowing how else to respond. “Morning, everyone.”
“Someone had fun last night,” Baxter observed.
Gedeon grinned. “He’s probably talking about himself.”
“He does seem preoccupied with sexual relations,” Ducarius agreed.
“I didn’t think it seemed that interesting when we learned about it,” Albrecht stated.
“I did not even listen to more than the basic facts,” Ducarius retorted. “The knowledge is useless. I am a skeleton and I have no mate.”
“If he had fun, he had it without me,” Benton informed them. “I was fucking tired and went right to sleep.”
Baxter scowled. “You dopes, I was referring to Chander.”
“There’s tomato juice if you want some,” Victor offered with a grin.
“Fuck you, Victor. I hate that shit. I want coffee,” Chander replied.
“I know, I couldn’t resist,” Victor admitted as he grabbed a mug and filled it with the piping hot brew Chander hoped to never live without again. He ambled over to the table where the sentinels were either eating or lounging. Chander accepted the drink from Victor and soon had a plate of eggs and toast in front of him as well. “Eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chander was halfway through his breakfast as the chatter of the men in the room washed over him when he heard a door shut.
“Good morning,” Alaric said as he walked toward them.
Chander looked up at Alaric and smiled self-consciously. “Hey.”
Sitting down next to him, Alaric leaned over and kissed him. “How’s your breakfast?”
“Delicious.”
Victor was soon plying Alaric with food and drink. The Lich Sentinel graciously accepted the dishes. Chander began to feel weirder and weirder about the fact that he snuck out of Alaric’s bedroom. He leaned close so he could get some measure of privacy. “I didn’t want to wake you. I thought I’d go home, get changed, and come back. I didn’t think the whole gang was out here either.”
Of course, everyone had quieted to listen to his words. “Are you upset we’re here?” Cassius asked.
“No, I just…well, Alaric and I didn’t…we…shit…” Chander managed.
“What Chand means to say is we didn’t plan last night.”
Chander immediately turned to Alaric and laid a hand on his arm. The sentinel was reserved, and he wanted to reassure him he was happy with the world around him and especially his relationship with Alaric. “Hey, I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about us. We didn’t discuss letting the cat out of the bag though.”
“A cat was involved?” Eduard asked.
“Does he mean Victor?” Cassius inquired.
Raising his eyes to the ceiling, Chander laughed. “Shit, I’m six hundred and sixty-five years old. You would think I would know how to have a morning-after conversation. There was no cat involved—it’s an expression. I didn’t know if Alaric wanted everyone to know about last night. That’s all.”
“How do you feel about it?” Alaric asked.
Chander pushed off his chair so he could kiss his cheek. “I find our level of public engagement to be acceptable and welcome.”
“That means he doesn’t care that everyone knows he and Alaric did the nasty last night,” Baxter added.
“If it’s nasty, why are you always so interested in doing it?” Albrecht asked.
Once again Chander turned to Alaric. This time Alaric seemed relaxed and was smiling. “Have I mentioned how much I love these guys?”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Alaric said with a wink before turning back to the assembled sentinels. “Are we still planning to go to D’Vaire to train?”
There was a chorus of affirmative replies and nods. “Do we get to go?” Baxter asked.
“I need to shower and change, then we can head over,” Chander responded.
“If you hadn’t been in a rush to leave, I could have washed your back,” Alaric replied.
“I know, I’m an idiot,” Chander retorted. “I’ll bring some things over, so I can make it up to you by washing yours tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll consider that just compensation.”
* * *
Hours later, Chander was sitting on the deck at the Draconis Court of D’Vaire and wondering how he could have made such a serious miscalculation. He’d been ready and willing to visit everyone at D’Vaire and had been warmly greeted by all. Alaric and the Skeleton Seven were frequent visitors and so the mood had been jovial. Then Trystan had reminded Chander that his father’s mate, Reverent Knight Conley Gylde-Kempe had expressed a frequent and fervent wish that he could compete against Alaric in hand-to-hand combat.
Chander had eagerly invited both Conley and Drystan over. Alaric had been more than willing to accommodate the request to set aside his daggers and match his power against Conley’s. Now Chander was parked on a chaise lounge hoping someday he would get Alaric back. Conley might not have Alaric’s height or strength, but the man was super fast. They were both seemingly indefatigable.
“This could go on for days,” Drystan said from the chair next to him. He held out a bag of candy that Chander helped himself to.
“Not if you hand over that tranquilizer gun.”
“I’m not going to let you shoot Con.”
“What makes you think I wouldn’t drop my own mate?”
“I think you like him too much.”
“Didn’t stop me from tranqing Bax and Ben.”
“True,” Drystan agreed. “I’m glad you and Alaric are working things out.”
“He’s too good of a person. After what I did, he should have told me to hit the road.”
“Don’t tear it apart. It’s a second chance.…If you worry about all the reasons you don’t think it should work then it never will.”
Chander looked over at his friend of six centuries and saw the worry in his blue eyes. “Believe it or not, I figured that out. I’m not going to let anyone mess this up, not even me.”
“Good, you deserve to be happy.”
“I’m trying to be. I know I can’t be a good partner if I’m not able to deal with my own shit.”
“Exactly. You can’t be there for anyone else if you can’t first be there for yourself.”
“Why the hell didn’t I come to you for relationship advice?”
“I was still pissed at you,” Drystan reminded him.
“You’re another one of those too good people. You had no reason to forgive me.”
“You see that man out there dripping with sweat trying to kick your man in the nuts? You gave me a second shot with him. This time around, he’s mine for eternity. That’s a gift with no measure. Yes, you fucked up, but Con’s right. You didn’t do it maliciously,” Drystan replied. “Remember that when you start beating yourself over the head with guilt. Whatever reason you had, it wasn’t to hurt me and you were willing to sacrifice damn near everything to give him back to me. Thank you.”
“I don’t want your gratitude, but I’m glad to have your friendship. Conley’s too.”
“He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Chander said.
“So is Alaric.”
“Damn right.”
“It’s going to be made official on Monday, but I’ve got more good news for you,” Drystan confided. “The investigator is going to release his findings for the case regarding you coming between Con and me.”
Chander was confused. “He never interviewed me.”
“No, but he did interview us. His decision was that he could not go outside the law. Without our consent, he would have had to. You’re officially off the hook.”
“Wow.”
“Things are looking up for you.”
Chander couldn’t help his smile. “Yeah.”
“So why the fuck aren’t you fighting back against the Order of Necromancia? You’re the Arch Lich.”
“I don’t want to be.”
“How can you say that? You were incredible. Look at what you built the Council into. You think a shit leader could do that? You think fucking Sigimund could do that? No way.”
“I may have accomplished some things with the Council, but I couldn’t even take care of my own people. For all my supposed intelligence, I never figured out how to fix the bylaws so I could kick the elder council out of my life. They ran rampant doing damage and allowing me to take the blame fo
r it.”
“You needed the Council to help you, and you didn’t get the support you deserved. Things are different now. You could get your title back and rule your people. The bylaws don’t allow for an elder council any longer,” Drystan said.
“The Council was more than willing to allow me to go in the first place.”
“You resigned.”
“Drystan, you were in that room. My supporters were few and mostly silent. The writing was on the wall.”
“I disagree.”
“You think I gave up too easily?”
“I think you were unhappy and hurting. That was the last straw.”
“I was all of that. It’s not a life I want to return to. I like helping the Sentinel Brotherhood, but I’m happy it’s Alaric who has to go to Headquarters every day and not me.”
“You can’t hide forever. Even if you don’t take your rightful title back, Alaric is going to expect you to carry his.”
“The truth is, right now I’d rather be Lich Sentinel-mate than Arch Lich.”
“How long are you going to be able to deny your rightful place in the world? You’re the strongest sorcerer there is, and Fate has given you a role she expects you to fulfill.”
“Then she should have made that clear to the world instead of allowing some power-hungry assholes to undermine me my whole life.”
“You think I don’t agree with you? I’m on your side, Chand. I think many more people are than you realize.”
“I won’t fight the current Arch Lich. If the people of the Order of Necromancia are content to have him rule over them, I won’t topple the government again. That kind of chaos doesn’t create stability, which is what a race needs to flourish. We’re a small population compared to most. I don’t have the luxury of churning things up because I want to get revenge on Sigimund. If things change I’ll reevaluate my position but for now, Alaric and the Sentinel Brotherhood are my focus. Things work out and he’ll get to determine how involved I am in governing. I’m his mate, not a shared title like yours, and I’m absolutely content with that.”
Fall of the Arch Lich (D'Vaire, Book 6) Page 19