A Marked Man

by Kira Stone

  “Oh.” Sequoia might have mentioned that, but he hadn’t been interested in getting intimate with the female witch so he’d ignored that particular suggestion. “Then by all means, help me. Maybe a little further south?”

  “You got it,” Teake murmured.

  A soft, strong hand engulfed his rigid shaft and began to stroke him. Deft fingers lifted his balls, fondling them. With the power swirling through his system, the arousing sensations were magnified a hundred-fold. Somehow he managed to keep enough presence of mind to continue the spell that would bond them together forever.

  Ritual phrases tumbled from his lips, sometimes echoed by his lover. It was a long, complicated spell. It didn’t help that in the middle of it, Teake stripped off Thorne’s pants and took his cock into his mouth. He anchored one hand in Teake’s long hair while the other broke up the burning herbs in a crucible. Did it matter that his recitation was occasionally punctuated by cries of “Oh, fuck!” and “Yes!”? He hoped not. There was no way he could stop them from occasionally slipping out too.

  When the herbs were reduced to powdered cinders, he mixed them with a few drops of warm honey. He jerked Teake’s head back and stared down into his wide green eyes. His pink lips were swollen from his dedicated cock-sucking. The way his tongue still darted out to lick the purpled head nearly brought him to his knees.

  The ritual. Must finish it.

  Absolutely, Teake replied. I’ll never let you go now.

  It’s time to leave your Mark.

  Teake crawled up his body, trailing a string of kisses. When he reached Thorne’s lips, he kissed him deeply. The warm, familiar taste of him ratcheted up the heat another few degrees. Oh, how he loved this man! He couldn’t imagine another ever making him feel the way Teake did, in bed or out of it.

  “Ready?” Teake asked him.

  “Yeah, I’m always ready for you,” Thorne quipped back, knowing the teasing response held more meaning for both of them.

  Teake turned to the altar and separated the wooden pen into two halves. He used the athame to scrape the ash and honey mixture into the hollow tube. Since turnabout was fair play, Thorne helped him by pressing his honey-slicked finger over Teake’s anus. He used his other hand to cup Teake’s balls as he gently finger-fucked him from behind.

  “Am I helping?” Thorne asked as he licked the outer shell of his lover’s ear.

  “You have no idea.”

  But he did have a very good idea of how much benefit there was to this kind of sex play because the magic building between them caused the air to tingle, thicken, intensify. It had never done so when he’d practiced the ritual with Sequoia, and Thorne could only hope it was the love they shared that made the spell so potent.

  “This is going to hurt,” Teake warned as he put an arm around Thorne’s waist.

  Thorne knew that. He’d felt the sting of the flesh scribe before, just enough to prepare him for what to expect. “Do it.”

  The magical ink seared his skin as Teake began to inscribe ancient symbols on his skin. At first he tried to keep up his sexual assault on his lover’s body, but then the enormous pain made it impossible to control his own movements. He looked down, half expecting to see blisters forming where Teake drew upon his chest, directly over his heart. But there was nothing except the black, viscous fluid that clung to his skin as though it were tar.

  Teake finished with the flesh scribe and tossed it onto the altar where it too burned up as though it knew its purpose had been served. Only the key was left, scorched but whole. Except now there was a thorn on it in place of the fancy tree Teake had carved into its surface. How curious. Had they done something wrong?

  But he had no time to worry about that. Teake wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in close. “Pain’s over. Time for a little pleasure.”

  Chapter 6 -- The Mark

  Their next kiss was slow and sweet. Thorne traced the strong cords along Teake’s neck with his thumbs. He gave only a fleeting thought to the blood that flowed under the translucent skin. He cared far more about the man. Never again would he look at Teake and see his next meal, only the man he loved.

  “On the floor,” Teake urged him. “Stretch out on your back.”

  Thorne did as asked, picking a spot on the rug even though it might leave friction marks on his back when Teake started to pound into him.

  Teake lay beside him, turning on his side so he could look down into Thorne’s face. He took a handful of his brown mane and softly brushed it over Thorne’s chest. “You got rid of your nipple rings. Why?”

  “Gave them to Rainer at the party.” His nerves were on high alert from the mystical signs the scribe left on him. The cool hair skating over the tortured flesh felt wonderful, like a healing breeze. “Witches don’t wear them.”

  Teake kissed each nipple, murmuring so low Thorne couldn’t hear what he said. But there was a tight tingle that had him moaning, and Thorne realized Teake had healed the piercing holes. Then the man licked the tiny nubs. Suckled them. Never too long or too hard. This time had to be about pleasure, not the pain he sometimes enjoyed during sex.

  Pleasure, not pain. Love, not lust. All the rules swam through his consciousness as he tried to make sure he’d followed every one. When orgasm hit, they’d find out once and for all if he’d passed the test. What if his love for Teake wasn’t enough? What if he’d done everything he could to make this work, and he still failed? What if after all this, Gaia didn’t find him worthy of bearing Teake’s Mark?

  “Sssh,” Teake said, kissing his way up Thorne’s throat to reach his ear. “You’re mine now. Nothing that happens here will change that.”

  “But what if the Mark doesn’t take?” He ran one hand over Teake’s hip. The other, trapped between their bodies, brushed against his thigh.

  “Then we’ll try again next year, and again and again if we must, until Gaia acknowledges what I already know.” He stroked the side of Thorne’s face with the back of his fingers. “That there’s only one man I want to share my life with, and that’s you.”

  Man, not vampire. Not even witch. But man. Teake saw him as a whole person, and one of great value to him. That was all Thorne needed to hear to wash away the remainder of his doubt.

  After a tight embrace, Teake gave him a light shove. “On your stomach so I can have at that sweet ass of yours.”

  He rested on his elbows to prevent his sore chest from scraping against the floor and brought one knee up. Teake kissed his way down his spine. Anticipation made him tighten his buttocks, but a playful slap from Teake had him releasing the tension.

  Teake parted the fleshy globes and licked the seam from top to bottom. He lashed Thorne’s balls with the tip of his tongue, sending currents of pure sexual energy zinging through his body. Then back up to the tight bundle of nerves where he darted his tongue inside. Again and again he did this, as tiny moans and gasps escaped Thorne’s lips. It was nothing Teake hadn’t done to him before, but this time it appeared to be magnified. More intense. Not only his own pleasure, but he could sense Teake’s heightened enjoyment as well.

  Teake’s thumb replaced his tongue, driving into him as far as it could go. Thorne clenched his internal muscles, trying to draw it in deeper. “More, give me more.”

  “Like this?”

  The thumb withdrew to be replaced by two fingers. They were warm and slick. Perhaps Teake had thought to use some of the honey from the ritual as a lubricant since Thorne forgot to put anything else within reach. The digits twisted inside him, searching for the sweet, spongy spot. When Teake found it, a wave of near-orgasmic pleasure crashed through his body.

  “Good.” It was good, but he still didn’t have that full feeling that meant he was being well and truly loved by another man. “Want more though. Please. Want you.”

  The fingers left his body to be replaced seconds later by the head of Teake’s massive erection. Weight settled over him as Teake pressed his chest to Thorne’s back. “Ready for me?”

  “Y
eah, baby. Do it.”

  After stretching Thorne so deliciously, Teake had no problem sinking his cock into Thorne’s ass. One long, slow thrust did the trick, and Thorne relished the feeling of every inch sliding into his body. Then Teake set a slow rhythm designed to drive him wild. In… and out. In… and out.

  With a low growl of frustration, Thorne rocked his hips, trying to speed him up. “Fuck me harder.”

  “No.”

  “No? Why the hell not?” His cock was so hard it burned. He would have started jerking himself off by now if he didn’t need both arms to keep his decorated chest from colliding with the rug.

  “Because being inside you is a near-religious experience for me and I’m not going to rush through it this time.”

  Thorne’s heart flipped over and against his back he felt Teake’s give the same lurch, once more impressing upon him the intimate connection they already shared. “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh.” Teake jerked his hips, thrusting deep. “As in, oh you feel so fucking good around me that I never want to leave.”

  Magic continued to condense and surround them. There was no way to breathe without taking more of it into his body. He’d never felt so heavy or so light, certainly not at the same time.

  He brought his left knee up higher to give Teake better access. He was so stretched, so stuffed, and still he wanted to take him deeper. He clawed the wood in front of him, fighting to remain in place despite all the forces attempting to pull him in different directions.

  With one hand on Thorne’s hip, the other cupping his right shoulder, Teake ground into him. He could feel the scrape of rough, curly hairs against his inner thighs, his ass. Their balls jostled against each other with every thrust. His cock rubbed over the soft rug. He was close to coming. Climax was mere seconds away.

  But not this way.

  “Let me turn over. I want to see your face.”

  Teake pulled out just long enough for Thorne to flip onto his back, then he filled Thorne up with his meaty cock. Thorne clung to him with his legs and arms, holding him close. He raised his hips off the ground with every thrust. He looked up into the eyes of his lover, so strong, so confident, so green. He radiated calmness and a profound love. Thorne’s focus narrowed until nothing else existed but their intimate connection and the love they shared.

  “Come for me, baby,” Teake crooned to him. “Come for us.”

  Thorne expected the climax to run him over like a semi-truck. Instead, it unfolded from somewhere deep inside as if he were delicate and treasured. As if moving too quickly would damage him in some irreparable way. Orgasmic tendrils snaked through his body. Time elapsed in slow frame-by-frame segments. He could memorize every line in his lover’s handsome face. Catalogue every synapse as it was touched by the ribbon of pleasure threading through his system. It was the feeling Teake gave him every time they made love, only intensified. This is what he wanted to give back to his lover, the feeling of love and completeness Teake gave to him.

  Are you sure this is what you want? a voice asked him from out of the nothingness/everythingness that gave birth to every living thing. It was androgynous, but loving.

  “Yes! Yes!” he cried out, both answering the awesome presence that could only be Gaia as well as urging Teake on to more powerful thrusts.

  As it is written, so let it be done.

  Fresh, sharp pain slammed into his solar plexus. He gasped, tensed. A vise-like grip clenched his balls and the climactic rush of semen had no chance to escape. Not even dying under Kassian’s bite had caused him so much agony. He ground his teeth together, trying to keep the scream barricaded within his throat.

  Like a redundant circuit, the magic-fueled orgasm flowed out of him, into Teake’s body and back. The pulsing ebb and flow of erotic energy gradually started replacing the torturous paroxysms with overwhelming pleasure. His balls, now burning with the need for release, were suddenly freed. Cum erupted down his shaft. Thick, large drops spattered his chest, his chin. Teake was hit too, and his rapid thrusting rubbed the creamy essence between their sweat-slicked bodies.

  “Holy fuck,” Teake said rapturously.

  It was a sentiment Thorne would have echoed, had he had the breath to speak.

  Teake’s climax erupted next, sending a rush of warm liquid into Thorne’s thirsty body. Aftershocks turned into another mini-orgasm for Thorne, and he moaned with ecstasy as a final burst of masculine cream bubbled up from his cock.

  And then it was over… the spell gave the almost imperceptible pop that signaled an end to the ritual.

  As the level of energy in the room returned to normal, their strength ebbed too. Teake collapsed on top of him, still buried in his ass. Thorne raised his numb arms to hold him. Oddly, it felt as if he were inside Teake’s body too, feeling surrounded by his own arms.

  “Incredible.” Teake’s voice sounded rough and weak. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Everything was perfect… except one thing wasn’t quite right. “Ack!”

  “What happened? Are you hurt?”

  “I think I broke a tooth.” He fished around in his mouth, and found two fragments which he spit out onto his hand. “See?”

  “Your fangs. They’re gone,” Teake said, whispering with wonder.

  Thorne ran his tongue over his teeth and, sure enough, Teake was right. His points were gone, or rather, they were now in his hand.

  “And you have this instead.” Teake’s finger traced over the dark lines etched into his sternum.

  Thorne used the last remaining ounce of strength to get up and shuffle into the bathroom. Reflected in the mirror, he saw the symbol outlined on his skin. However, instead of the runes that stood for Teake’s name, the lines formed the symbol he’d etched on the spirit key. Even Thorne’s skin seemed different, a shade or two darker than the ghostly pallor he’d had for the past fifty years.

  Teake came in beside him and put an arm around his waist. His concerned gaze met Thorne’s in the mirror. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah. Better than all right.” It really was. Thorne knew a part of Sebastian would always linger in his DNA, but he’d never felt more human, more loved.

  “Then let’s go to bed. I think we both could use a little rest.”

  As they passed the remains on the altar, the key Teake had given him caught his eye. The garnets gleamed in the shape of a thorn rather than the branches of a tree, and suddenly Thorne knew what he was supposed to do with it.

  He picked it up and carried it to the bed where Teake waited for him. He slipped the leather cord over Teake’s head. “For you, the key to my heart.”

  “I already own your heart, remember?” Teake teased.

  Thorne didn’t smile. He was serious about this. “A symbol to wear, to show others you belong to me too.”

  Teake tilted his head to the side, considering, then nodded. “I accept. But only until we can get back to Green Mountain and petition Davina for another flesh scribe to make it permanent, for I belong to you as much as you belong to me.”

  As dawn’s golden light spilled over the frost covered hills, Thorne and Teake crawled under the handmade quilts on the large canopy bed.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” he whispered as Teake embraced him, chest to back. His palm rested over the symbol that was now forever etched into his skin.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, my dearest one.”

  Thorne sighed, letting go of every care, content to live the rest of his life as a Marked man.

  Kira Stone

  Kira Stone lives in a warm, many-chambered cave tucked away in the Scottish Highlands. A small band of ever-changing heroes keeps her company. As they relax in front of a roaring fire, devils dance and angels sing her bawdy songs. Faerie folk often stop in for a cup of mulled wine and to listen to her spin a yarn or two. And when daylight turns to dusk, together they somehow find a way to keep the cold, uncaring world at bay for another night…

  Okay, maybe not. LOL. When Kira isn’t living in a fa
ntasy world, she’s writing about one from her ordinary house in Ohio with a few feline companions (who don’t sing nearly as well as the angels do). Is it any wonder she prefers the cave? You can check out Kira’s website at http://www.kirastonebooks.com, or join her Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kirastonebooks.