“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
Delaney shook his head and dropped his arm to his side. Then he turned and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Just really stupid fucking shit. I can’t even say it out loud. Especially not to you.”
His body’s overreactions forgotten, Grigori pinned him with a hard stare. “Why not to me? I thought we were determined to be friends as well as lovers. That’s the kind of relationship I believed we both wanted. One I thought we already had.”
“We are. It’s just—look, I don’t even want to think this stuff, let alone say it. I wouldn’t tell anyone. Not you. Not Idris. Not another living being. Not even Greggory.”
“I’m that person you tell everything to, even when it’s stupid. That’s what I want from my mate.”
After raking his hands through his hair, Delaney glanced up at him again. “I need to know exactly what you want from a mate. We don’t talk about those things. I don’t know where we’re supposed to be in our relationship. That’s the kind of stupid shit I’m talking about that is in my head lately.”
“Why is that stupid shit?”
“Tell me, Grigori. Tell me what kind of timeline we’re supposed to be on. What kind of feelings am I supposed to have? Because I’ll be honest, I don’t think we’re on the same page.”
“Would you like me to tell you how I feel?”
Delaney nodded emphatically. “Yes. Yes, I would.”
“I love you.”
Grigori didn’t know what he expected when he confessed what was in his heart, but a wizard staring at him blankly wouldn’t have been his first guess. Then he smiled, and fireworks went off inside Grigori’s soul. Until the grin faded and the dark eyes grew troubled. “Shit, Grigori. I love you too.”
“But you aren’t happy about it.”
Delaney hopped to his feet and wound his arms around Grigori, who reluctantly held him back. He was being forced onto a roller coaster of emotions and like the real ones, it made Grigori want to throw up.
“I’m scared,” his strong wizard whispered. “Is love supposed to grow this fast? Are we ready? How do we know if we’re not? What if we have some big fight and wind up drawing up separation papers? Why is this so hard?”
His words soothed all the jagged edges he’d cut into Grigori. “I’m scared of those things too. I think we’re ready, or we wouldn’t be in love. Who cares if it went faster than we believed it would? You make me happy. I hope I do the same for you. I think we’re supposed to be a little frightened—it’ll keep us from destroying our relationship because of something stupid.”
Delaney stared up at him. His beautiful eyes were hopeful, but there was still fear lurking in the darkness. “I was sitting here watching this movie and I couldn’t focus on it. I kept thinking about how I wished you were with me. Then I reminded myself we both have lives and things to do on our own. So I focused on how good it is when we’re together. My idiotic brain starts creating pictures of our mating ceremony, you feeding from me, and shit like that. I have to beat it up and tell it to slow the fuck down, but I love you. I can’t help but want everything. Then you pop in here, and I’m scared I’m going to shout out my heart.”
“I’m glad you did. I want those things too. I want to live here permanently and share our bed with you. I want to stand out in the garden where Idris and Mac had their ceremony and pledge my heart to you. I want you to wear my collar, so everyone knows Fate gave me an amazing gift. Instead of asking ourselves if we’re moving too fast, we should be wondering what the hell we’re waiting for.”
“Are you serious? You want to schedule our matebond ceremony?”
Grigori kissed him, then smiled. “As soon as possible.”
“Can I add Volkov to my name?”
“I wasn’t going to ask you to, but I was hoping you would.”
“You’ll hold my hand when I get scared of the future?”
“As long as you hold mine when I start sweating profusely.”
“I’ll always be there for you. Friend. Lover. Mate. All that stuff,” Delaney told him. There was nothing on his face to suggest he ever had a moment of fear. There was only happiness, and it warmed Grigori down to his toes. He’d managed to not screw up the incredible gift of Delaney, and they had an eternity to devote to each other.
“I’m going to be counting on you for all those things, and I’ll do my best to be the same for you.”
Delaney grinned. “You’ve been doing a damn good job so far.”
“I must be. You fell in love with me.”
“It was surprisingly easy.”
“Your eyes. I fell in them right there in that hotel.”
“If I’d known how good sex would be, I would’ve booked us a room that night.”
“Delsaurus?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to need your dick inside me tonight.”
“Seriously?” Delaney whispered the question.
Grigori gripped the back of his neck lightly and took his mouth in a deep kiss. Then he trailed his lips along his jaw and up to his ear. “My ass is going to take such awesome care of your fat cock.”
“What if I wanted to bottom?”
Teasing his lobe with his teeth, Grigori said, “Not tonight. Learn to compromise.”
Delaney shivered. A second later he pulled away and whipped off his T-shirt. “Where’d you stick the lube?”
Grigori shucked off his own button-down with agile fingers. “No clue. You should find it,” he said as he pulled his belt off.
After shoving his pajama bottoms to the floor—without any underwear, Grigori delightfully noted—Delaney dove across the mattress and fished around in the mountain of black pillows. His firm ass with the perfectly rounded, muscular cheeks was on full display. Grigori stroked his own sex through his underwear at the amazing sight. He had such plans for that ass, but this night he would be the one getting thoroughly fucked.
Regretfully removing his palm from his dick, Grigori tore off his remaining clothing. He’d just stepped out of his jeans when Delaney rolled over. Grigori’s eyes zeroed in on his already hard cock. It delighted him that Delaney was so eager to be inside him. “Found it,” his mate announced as he waved the bottle around.
“Good. You know what to do.”
Delaney waggled his brows as he poured some out and warmed it. They’d become very proficient at using it to jerk each other off and so it was nothing new, but knowing the step they were taking ramped up Grigori’s desire. Not only had they fully committed their hearts, now he would finally have Delaney filling him up.
He climbed up onto the bed next to the wizard and leaned over to kiss him. Delaney’s tongue darted through his lips and sought out every recess of Grigori’s mouth. As pleasurable as it was, Grigori pulled away. They went from zero to aching in only seconds, but Grigori didn’t care. He rolled over and got up onto his knees.
“Go on, stretch me out.”
“Just a little nervous here,” Delaney said as he got into position behind him. Grigori sighed as Delaney’s fingers smoothed around his hole.
“You’ve played with yourself back there. My body’s the same as yours.”
“Yeah, but I can’t feel what I’m doing,” he complained as he gingerly slid one digit inside. “It’s tight in here.”
Grigori chuckled. He lowered his head down onto his arms as he enjoyed Delaney’s hesitant touching. “Imagine what it’s going to feel like on your dick.”
“Is it going to be okay if I come before I’m even all the way in?”
“Put two in there,” Grigori ordered and was elated when Delaney listened. “You can come whenever you want. I’m going to start jerking myself off as soon as I feel your dick. It’s going to be amazing for both of us. Just don’t pull out until I’m done, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. I want to find your prostate. I think it’s…yep, I got it. Your back arched and you moaned.”
“Keep touching it,” he managed as his eyes crossed. Delane
y was nailing him in the perfect spot with every downstroke. “Use three. Go. Do it now.”
“You sure?”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely. Totally sure.”
Much to Grigori’s delight, Delaney didn’t ask a second time. He worked three digits inside and pumped them in and out of his hole. His confidence had obviously grown, because he increased the tempo and Grigori was loving every minute of it. He wanted so bad to touch his dick, which was leaking and ready to play, but he needed Delaney’s cock instead of his torturous fingers.
“Delsaurus,” he said after licking his lips.
“Yeah?”
“More lube.”
His fingers disappeared. “Am I hurting you?”
“Not at all. You need it on your dick,” Grigori explained as his brain screamed for Delaney to hurry the fuck up already.
“I’m nervous.”
“It’s going to be amazing. Grab the base of your dick and start pushing it slowly inside me.”
“Grabbing hold. Check,” Delaney said. The mattress shifted as Delaney moved closer to him; then a wet cock hit his ass cheek. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine, line him up to my hole and just push,” he coaxed. Grigori wrapped his fingers around his own sex as Delaney pressed against his hole. “Yeah, like that. Keep going.”
His own harsh breathing was all he heard as Delaney filled him in slow motion. Knowing this was his mate’s first experience with any kind of penetration, he shoved aside his own impatience and let Delaney take his time, but it was killing him. He was so hard, and he wanted Delaney to pound him senseless.
When his cockhead finally popped through the first barrier of Grigori’s body, he nearly sang a song of pure undulated joy.
“You okay?” Delaney asked softly as he continued to slide in.
Grigori jerked himself with sure strokes. “Definitely. What does it feel like on your dick?”
“Tight. Hot. Fucking fantastic.”
His words delighted Grigori, and he was even more ecstatic when Delaney’s pubes tickled his cheeks. Somehow, he’d survived Delaney’s gentle onslaught. “Fuck me now. No holding back. Let loose, Delsaurus. Like you’re invading a hostile city.”
Delaney didn’t answer him in words. Instead, he latched his hands onto his flanks and pummeled him. It was not the hard fucking of Grigori’s dreams, but Delaney wasn’t ready for that, and it hardly mattered. He was hitting Grigori in the perfect spot to drive him out of his mind. He yanked himself faster as his balls tightened.
“Grigori,” Delaney shouted as his seed splashed inside him. Grigori would have smiled if he was not so lost in his own needs. Knowing Delaney had just come inside him set off his own release. His spine tingled, and he grasped the sheets tightly with his free hand as his seed spilled over his fist.
After several seconds, Delaney’s voice reached his ears. “I should’ve waited.”
“Huh?”
“When you came, your ass clamped down on my dick. I should’ve waited but, Grigori, being inside you blew my mind.”
Grigori chuckled. “And your load.”
“Fuck yeah,” he replied. They both concentrated on catching their breaths as Delaney smoothed his hands up and down Grigori’s thighs and rib cage. “Can I pull out now? I want to kiss you.”
“Oh, good. I thought you were going to make a permanent home back there. You’re practically lying on top of me. I was wondering how I’d ever find pants to fit over us both.”
His words aside, Grigori felt the loss of Delaney inside him profoundly. He liked the connection of body and mind. Once Delaney cast his spell to clean them up, Grigori rolled over and was clobbered by an affectionate wizard. Their lips met in a tender kiss.
“I love you, Delsaurus.”
“I love you too,” he responded, then tongued him thoroughly. “We’re really going to do this mating thing?”
“Consider it scheduled.”
“What about drinking my blood? When are we going to do that? How are we going to be safe? Once we’re bound, you drinking blood besides mine will make you sick, so we need a plan.”
Grigori kissed him to cut off the stream of questions. “I know you’re a worrywart…but one step at a time. It’ll all work out. I promise. Fate matched us up perfectly.”
“One last question and we’ll sleep.”
“Hit me.”
“Where’s my butt plug?”
Grigori laughed darkly. “Oh, don’t you worry, I have it. I’ve been saving it to torture you. I was going to use it on you today, but I lost track of time.”
“Considering what we just did together, I can forgive you.”
“I appreciate your understanding.”
Delaney yawned in his face. “Bedtime.”
“I let you have my ass, the least you can do is grab the blankets.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it,” Delaney griped as he tugged on the bedding to get them both covered. Grigori would have helped him, but he was too busy reveling in the amazing evening they just shared. He smiled at the prospect of uniting them fully and couldn’t wait for morning so they could get started on their plans. When Delaney managed to get them bundled up, Grigori pulled him close and closed his eyes.
They popped open a second later. “Greggory, get out here and come to bed.”
Chapter 22
Delaney stuffed his feet into his sneakers and tied them while wearing a huge smile. The night before, he was lying on his bed and trying not to lose his mind over where his heart led him. He’d practically cried into his damn pillow, afraid and full of insecurity about whether he would be a good mate and what the future might hold. Then Grigori teleported into his bedroom and created a tension that not even his familiar wanted to deal with.
He’d tried in vain to act nonchalant and ask the usual questions about how his day was, but Grigori already knew him way too well. Delaney wished he’d confronted Grigori with all the shit in his head sooner, but he’d lacked the gumption. Somehow Grigori was in the same place as he was, and it was almost surreal to think that in a few minutes, they would announce to their family they were ready for a ceremony which would bind them for eternity.
Grigori wanted to tell his parents on his own because his mother was still wary about his reaction when he drank Delaney’s blood. A solution that made it safe for them both needed to be found. He would not tolerate Grigori hurting in any shape or form, and he had faith that they would work it out. The vampire told him he drank every two weeks, so if he had his fill before they united their souls, it didn’t leave them much of a window.
“I can actually see the worry on your face,” Grigori said when he came to stand next to him where he was sitting at the edge of the bed. “Do you think they’re going to have an issue with our mating ceremony?”
“No, I can’t imagine that at all,” Delaney assured him. “I was thinking about the blood thing.”
“I have a pretty easy solution, but I want to run it past my mom, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You ready for breakfast? Because I’m starving. Some wizard and I expended a lot of energy last night.”
Delaney’s grin was enormous. “Oh man, it was so good.” A part of him was still in awe of his vampire’s gift of allowing him to fuck him. The feel of Grigori’s body around his cock was something he would always crave. It also made him hungry for them to switch places and have Grigori filling him up.
Grigori held out a hand and wiggled his fingers. “Come along, no reminiscing on how beautifully you owned my ass last night, or we’ll never make it out of this room.”
“Fine,” Delaney replied as he rested his palm against Grigori’s and got to his feet. They crossed the space of their large room and as soon as Grigori opened the door, Greggory darted out and flew down the hall. “I guess he’s hungry too.”
“Or he’s scared there’s going to be more sex talk.”
“There’s that.”
They wandered down the hall and arrived at the expansive
kitchen where all the D’Vaires were already gathered. The mood was jovial as people grabbed plates and heaped them with amazing food. Delaney followed suit and dropped Grigori’s hand, so he could scoop some hash browns onto his dish.
When he had a mega-pile of bacon, a scant amount of fruit, and a pile of scrambled eggs, Delaney took a seat next to Idris. Grigori was at his side only seconds later and Delaney was rather smug about the idea that he would be there for the rest of their immortal lives. He hopped up to get a cup of coffee for himself and Grigori. Since he was in such a good mood, he didn’t even glare when Duff bumped into him.
“Sorry,” he offered the Kellas cat shifter as he headed back to his table with their drinks. Duff didn’t say anything in return, but Delaney couldn’t have cared less.
They exchanged the usual morning chitchat with everyone until Aleksander carried his dishes to the dishwasher. Delaney reached down and gave Grigori’s thigh a squeeze. “Before you head to your office, Aleksander, is it all right if I talk to everybody for a second?”
“Of course, Del. Go ahead,” Aleksander invited. He strode over and refilled his mug with hot brew, then leaned idly against the counter.
Delaney rose, as did Grigori. After they laced their fingers, Delaney said, “Well, we just wanted everyone to know that Grigori and I have decided to have our matebond ceremony.”
Idris dropped his fork and clapped. “Congratulations,” he enthused with his ever-present bright smile.
“It’s about time,” Dra’Kaedan commented. “The two of you have been wandering around here forever with love shining in your eyes.”
“They’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks,” Duff countered.
“We’re wizards, things happen for us in thunderbolts. One probably struck them the minute they met. It was the same for Mac and me,” Idris remarked as he stood and hugged them both. Aleksander was next, then all the D’Vaires came over and embraced them. It didn’t escape Delaney’s attention that Duff bypassed him for Grigori.
Larissa clasped her hands together. “So, when? When do we get to have your ceremony?”
Becoming D'Vaire (D'Vaire, Book 11) Page 18