Draechen's Mate [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 2] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove)

by Scarlet Hyacinth

  His decision proved to be the correct one. Even if they’d waited for seemingly an age to finally come together, Karein took his time. He found the bottle of shampoo and poured a generous amount in his palm, then spread it onto Sari’s hair. As Karein massaged his scalp and toyed with his hair, Sari melted into his mate’s embrace, a puddle of warm, aroused satisfaction. He’d had people touching his locks hundreds, no, thousands of times, mostly for the purpose of the elaborate hairdos necessary at the fae court. But with them, he’d never felt even the slightest stirring of sexual excitement. Karein turned this seemingly innocent process into a sensual experience, while keeping it all gentle, slow, without putting any sort of pressure on Sari.

  And he didn’t stop with just Sari’s hair. Instead, he went on to soap up the whole of Sari’s body. It should have been embarrassing to have Karein touching him like that, literally everywhere. Jenarra above, Karein even went ahead and cleaned Sari’s genitals. He didn’t linger like Sari would have liked, keeping his touch nearly platonic, but since Sari was leaning on Karein’s body, he could tell how much the entire process excited the draechen.

  Distantly, Sari knew that he should do something about that, to touch and pleasure Karein. But his bones seemed to have melted and refused to comply. The only sounds he could make were “mmms” and “nnghhs,” whatever that meant. He could practically feel the tension and fatigue of the day seep out of him, leaving behind just lazy contentment.

  At last, Karein rinsed Sari’s hair, paying close attention so that the shampoo foam wouldn’t hurt Sari’s eyes. He appeared to like it, too. It was almost humorous, given how much Karein had feared hurting Sari. Sari had never been one to appreciate excessive pampering, but he had to admit that, this time around, he could certainly make an exception.

  Finally, the draechen quickly cleaned himself up as well. Again, Sari was awfully tempted to echo Karein’s earlier demonstration on his mate’s own body, but Karein didn’t allow him to do so. He finished with striking expedience and, holding Sari close, climbed out of the tub.

  Water dripped all over the place from Sari’s hair, but Karein took care of that problem. He grabbed a towel and started to dry Sari’s hair and body, somehow managing to be both thorough and gentle. It was as if he aimed to avoid tearing even one single hair from Sari’s head. In spite of being in a castle full of enemies, Sari didn’t remember ever feeling so safe.

  It wasn’t Karein’s actions themselves that made it so. In the end, Sari was completely capable of drying his own hair. But the protectiveness behind Karein’s behavior mattered to Sari, making the remaining awkwardness disappear.

  He didn’t comment at all when Karein finished toweling him and took him in his arms, still nude. Karein deposited him on the large bed, among the rose petals. Completely relaxed, Sari smiled up at his mate. “That was nice.”

  It had been more than nice, and so was the view from here. Lying on the pillows, Sari got a great look of his mate’s sculpted physique. From his hard muscles, to his rigid, jutting prick, Karein was all man and all power. Sari wanted to kiss his mate’s luscious mouth, to bury his fingers in Karein’s hair as his mate fucked him into the mattress.

  Karein seemed of a similar mind. “Not done yet,” he answered with a slight twist of his full lips.

  He gestured for Sari to turn over on his stomach. Sari’s stomach fluttered as he obeyed. The position exposed his ass to Karein’s scrutiny. Finally, Karein would take what was his. And indeed, Karein reached for the nightstand and retrieved a bottle of clear oil. Sari might not have any practical experience in bed, but he knew the mechanics of it, and he realized where it would go. Okay, so he was a little nervous, having clearly seen the size of Karein’s dick. But he had confidence that even if it would hurt at first, his body would adapt. Or so he hoped. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint Karein.

  A small part of him was dissatisfied that Karein hadn’t even kissed him. By rights, the intimacy of a kiss paled in front of what they were about to share, but there was something truly drugging about Karein’s kisses. Still, his mate had been so gentle with him so far. Sari couldn’t be so selfish as to demand only what he wanted.

  As it turned out, his guess regarding Karein’s intentions proved to be completely incorrect. Instead of reaching for Sari’s opening, Karein poured the oil on Sari’s shoulders and started to knead. At first, Sari was so surprised by this turn of events that he went a little rigid. But Karein didn’t stop his massaging. “Relax,” the draechen purred in his ear. “Close your eyes and just feel.”

  Hypnotized by the sound of his mate’s voice, Sari obeyed. When was the last time someone had given him a massage? He couldn’t remember. No one had ever been so intimate to him. The only person he’d have allowed so close was his mother, and such a thing between her and Sari wouldn’t have been in the slightest bit appropriate. But with Karein, it was perfect. The draechen found every knot of lingering tension, weeding it out with almost humbling expertise. Karein’s mastery of Sari’s body made him settle in a haze of lazy pleasure. Whatever discomfort that might have clung to him after the bath completely vanished. He was putty in Karein’s talented hands, but very relaxed putty.

  Karein didn’t only linger on Sari’s shoulders and back. He went lower down, bypassing Sari’s buttocks and instead focusing on his legs. Even his feet got the royal treatment. At one point, Karein even turned him over, although Sari wasn’t exactly sure when it happened. With just as much focus, Karein massaged Sari’s front, too, although he managed to avoid Sari’s cock and balls, just like he had with Sari’s ass.

  In a strange way, Sari found himself dangerously close to falling asleep. It was only the sexual desire his mate arose within him that kept him awake. However platonic Karein might have tried to be, Sari still wanted him too much, and he couldn’t have hidden it if he wanted to.

  At last, Karein was left with nothing to massage except Sari’s genitals. Sari opened his eyes and glanced at Karein. “Come to me,” he said simply.

  Karein looked torn. “You’re tired,” he murmured, his voice full of gravel. “You should get some sleep.”

  “And I will,” Sari replied, “after you claim me.” A touch of uncertainty filled him as a small part of Sari wondered if Karein might not want to bind them together at all. It was a huge step to make, and the fact that Sari was ready didn’t mean that Karein automatically felt the same. “If you want, of course,” he hastily added.

  Karein’s nostrils flared, and all of a sudden, his dark eyes gained that wild look that Sari had once seen in Karein’s dragon. “If I want?” he repeated incredulously. “Oh, baby. There’s nothing I crave more in this life.”

  “Then come to me,” Sari said once more. “Kiss me and take me. It’s what I desire, too.”

  Fortunately, Karein’s resistance broke at Sari’s words. Faster than the eye could see, the draechen climbed on top of Sari and crushed their mouths together. Sari parted his lips, moaning as his mate thrust his tongue inside his wet cavern. He fulfilled his own earlier wish, fisting his hands in Karein’s soft, dark hair. Karein groaned wildly, rubbing his hard erection against Sari’s hip, no longer trying to hide what he craved.

  If Karein’s earlier ministrations had been soft and relaxing, the buildup that had gathered during the sensual massage made their current actions frantic, almost desperate. Karein practically devoured Sari’s mouth. There was no other word that could have explained the way Karein kissed, like his life depended on it, like Sari was the last drop of water in an endless desert. When they broke apart to breathe, the draechen proceeded to map the rest of Sari’s body with his mouth. He peppered Sari’s face with butterfly-light kisses, although when he reached Sari’s ear, he bit down on the lobe instead. As he continued to explore, he alternately sucked, nipped, and licked. Sari’s collarbone seemed to fascinate him, but when he reached Sari’s nipples, the real torture began. Briefly, he lifted his head to say, “These naughty things are going to be the death of me.” H
e tweaked one little nub—the left one—hard, causing Sari to cry out in pleasure. “I don’t know how I managed to touch them at all without losing it.”

  Sari didn’t get the chance to reply because Karein engulfed his right nipple in his mouth. More inarticulate sounds escaped him, although they were likely far louder than the ones he’d made in the bath. A small part of Sari was aware that he probably sounded like a cheap harlot, but he couldn’t care less. In fact, if he had to judge by Karein’s own groans, the noises Sari was making seemed to excite Karein a great deal.

  But they were only just beginning, and Karein seemed to have far more elaborate plans in store for Sari. He released Sari’s nipple with a wet pop and licked his lips. “I love how you taste,” he said.

  Sari wanted to argue that likely, half of the flavor Karein had sampled could be traced back to the oil used for the massage. But Karein obviously didn’t care about that, or if he did, he planned to solve the problem in the simplest way imaginable, by tasting Sari where the oil hadn’t touched.

  When Karein took Sari’s dick in his mouth, Sari thought, for a few moments there, that he was simply going to die. He then thought that he was to climax embarrassingly soon, just at the delicious suction around his cock. Miraculously, neither of those two things happened.

  Sari could only find one reason behind it, well, behind why he hadn’t come yet. He had to taste Karein, too. He wanted to feel the weight of Karein’s cock on his tongue so much that his own pleasure was secondary. Pulling on Karein’s hair, he somehow managed to gasp out, “Please… I need… Come here.”

  Those couple of words must have come out a hundred syllables long, but Karein still understood. Without even releasing Sari’s dick from his mouth, Karein changed positions, straddling Sari’s face. As his mate’s dick and plump balls hovered over him, Sari moaned and reached for his prize. He took Karein’s prick into his mouth, greedy for the taste of Karein’s pre-cum.

  The first time he tried to suck Karein’s dick in, he gagged and was reminded of his previous assessment of Karein’s package. But Sari was never one to give up just like that, so he persevered. It was a little awkward, and not at all the skilled blow job he’d have liked to give. Sari almost regretted asking Karein to do this now, because he couldn’t possibly focus on pleasuring Karein like he deserved. Jenarra above, the way Karein was swirling his tongue around Sari’s prick had to be illegal in some countries, because Sari had flashes where he couldn’t even remember what he was doing—something quite remarkable, indeed, given the hard cock in his mouth.

  Still, Karein didn’t seem to mind his lack of experience. Once Sari realized that, he stopped overthinking everything and just went with it. He allowed himself to enjoy the natural flow of things, the simple pleasure provided by Karein’s sinful mouth. At the same time, he took Karein’s dick as far as he could and used his hands on the girth he didn’t manage to accommodate.

  The taste of Karein’s pre-ejaculate made his head spin with lust, and soon, nothing else mattered but their simple chase for their orgasm. And then, a slightly slick finger wormed its way into Sari’s ass, somehow managing to zero in on his prostate. His eyes widening, Sari came, an explosion of bliss rushing through him. Karein grunted, drinking Sari’s spunk down with no hesitation. Moments later, hot streams of cum filled Sari’s mouth at the draechen followed Sari over the edge.

  Sari did his best to swallow his mate’s jizz—after all, it had to be a sin of sorts not to do so. For the most part, he managed, although a small part of it did dribble down his chin. He released a moan of protest when Karein started to pull away, half because he wasn’t done with Karein’s cock, but also due to the fact that… Well, Sari really did like the feel of Karein’s mouth on his dick.

  Karein, however, refused to be thwarted. As the draechen freed himself from Sari’s grip, his finger left Sari’s ass. Almost seeming oblivious to Sari’s dismay, Karein scanned Sari’s face eagerly, as if seeking the answer to questions Sari couldn’t hear. “What?” Sari asked when he thought he could speak.

  “Nothing,” Karein answered. Climbing on top of Sari, he brushed his thumb over Sari’s lips. “You have cum all over your face.”

  Sari couldn’t help but blush at that. He honestly didn’t imagine how he’d been so utterly shameless as to demand Karein’s cock, but he didn’t regret it. He had a feeling there was more behind that odd look Karein had given him, but then, Karein pressed their mouths together, and Sari forgot all about it.

  There was something so impossibly erotic about this kiss. Sari tasted Karein, but also the flavor of his own essence on Karein’s tongue. In spite of having just come, Sari found himself hardening again.

  Karein pulled back, his hands clutching Sari’s hips convulsively. “I need you, baby. I must have you now. Forgive me.”

  Sari wanted to say there was nothing to forgive, but decided that anything he uttered right now could propel them both into endless conversations that would just bring them back to their current point. So he stayed quiet and allowed his body to do the talking. Smiling, he extended his hand, beckoning Karein closer.

  Karein groaned and reached for the bottle of oil once more. Taking his cue, Sari lifted his legs, exposing his opening to Karein’s gaze. The draechen’s breath caught, so he must have liked what he saw. But Sari couldn’t be flirty or coy, not when Karein poured a generous amount of liquid on his fingers and reached for Sari’s opening. This time, when Karein slid one finger in, he went slow, spreading the slick substance all around. Earlier, Sari had never really even gotten the chance to acknowledge the slight invasion before it had propelled him into climax, but now, the strange pressure made Sari hyperaware of every nerve ending in his body. It was unfamiliar, but it didn’t feel wrong. And then, Karein brushed that single finger over Sari’s prostate, and Sari cried out, pleasure skyrocketing through him. “Oh, yes,” he hissed. “Please, Karein… More.”

  This time, Karein didn’t deny him, nor did he try to delay things. Adding more lubricant, he slid a second digit next to the first. This time, the stretch was a little more challenging, but very enjoyable just the same. In fact, Sari’s body practically swallowed both fingers, as if it had been waiting for exactly that.

  A choked groan escaped Karein, but for all his words and his expressed need, he didn’t rush. Instead, he kept finger-fucking Sari, preparing him with the same thoroughness that he had used when washing Sari’s hair. Of course, back then, Sari had been far more patient, but it was a little hard to hold onto that when he was so…well, hard. It certainly didn’t help that Karein ruthlessly rubbed Sari’s prostate, as if intent on showering Sari with the maximum amount of sensual torture he could endure.

  By the time the third finger went in, Sari had become nearly mindless with desire and want. He wanted to beg and plead with his mate, but his thoughts and ideas were scrambling under the assault of the pleasure. His synapses seemed to have short-circuited, and his hold on his power—always legendary both due to training and to his ancestry—started to crumble on itself.

  With a distant corner of his brain, Sari heard something shatter in the room, but he couldn’t have cared less, not when Karein finally deemed him prepared. His mate retrieved his fingers from Sari’s body, then, after a few moments of hesitation, flipped Sari on his belly. He propped a few pillows under Sari, providing him with a more comfortable position. “I want to look into your eyes as I fuck you, but it’ll be easier for you like this,” he explained.

  Sari just nodded and whimpered. He felt like he was no longer a person, but a vessel of pure want. Okay, he’d have liked to gaze up at Karein’s handsome face, too, as the draechen took him for the first time, but whatever they did together would be perfect. Sari was sure of it. He just needed it now, so badly it hurt.

  There was a brief pause, during which Karein must have slicked up his dick, because instants later, something hard and thick nudged at Sari’s opening. Sari held his breath as anticipation coursed through him, making his heart be
at a million miles an hour. And then, slowly, ever so slowly, Karein started to push in.

  It wasn’t an immediate process. Even now, Karein kept a measured pace, going slow, allowing Sari to get used to the invasion. Still, it hurt a little, although Sari wouldn’t have changed that for the life of him. He found that he liked the burn, the bite of pain. It gave him an anchor, made the surreal pleasure more real, convincing him that no, this wasn’t a dream. And yet, when Karein finally bottomed out inside him, Sari could barely breathe because of how very overwhelmed he felt. Spots danced in his vision, and the world seemed both brighter and blurrier somehow. It was dangerously addictive, and Sari couldn’t think about anything else except how desperately he wanted more.

  “Okay?” Karein asked in his ear, obviously feeling the same urgency Sari did.

  Sari opened his mouth to say “yes,” and surprisingly, he actually managed to utter one word. It wasn’t the one he had been going for, but it worked just the same. “Karein…”

  As always, Karein understood. He pulled out of Sari and thrust back inside, this time impaling Sari in one single motion. Sari arched his back, clutching the sheets as hard as he could. The soft rose petals crumbled in his fists, and their perfume combined with the scent of Sari and Karein’s desire to create an intoxicating aroma.

  Karein might have tried to be gentle in the beginning, but soon, it became painfully obvious that he could no longer keep himself in check. Faster and faster, he fucked Sari, always hitting Sari’s prostate in nearly mind-numbing blows. He held onto Sari’s still-damp hair as his dick moved in and out of Sari’s body. The tight grip pulled on Sari’s scalp, which completely clashed with the gentleness Karein had used before in the bath. But Sari didn’t mind. He loved it, oh, how he loved it. Karein’s heat burned him from inside out, his cock stretching Sari’s channel so perfectly. When Karein rocked inside him, Sari felt full, full of his mate, both physically and emotionally. It was as if all his life, he’d wandered around aimlessly, without realizing that he was only half a person. Now, he’d finally found that other half he had been missing.