by Erin M. Leaf
“Yeah, that’s just fucking—” Theo broke off, eyes closing as he fucked into Guy’s hand while fingering himself. “I want you so fucking bad. I’m not going to be able to go slow.” He opened his eyes, and the heat in them thrust through Guy’s defenses. “I’m not going to be able to be gentle for much longer, Guy.”
Guy swallowed down the guilt and the memories and let himself do what felt natural. He grabbed Theo’s hips and muscled him up over his cock. “Come on,” he growled. “I don’t need gentle.”
Theo opened his eyes and let Guy lower him down. “I can feel your arousal, like a livewire inside my bones. Jesus.”
Guy inhaled sharply when the tip of his shaft met Theo’s tight pucker. “I’m going to fucking lose it, Theo,” he said, shocking himself. He said it again, to get used the sound on his tongue. “Theo.” He hadn’t sounded this fucked up in years. His cock throbbed, and he felt his Craft energy swell, as if a wave were about to crash down on them. He grabbed the base of his erection, trying to stave off his orgasm. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“You do know how,” Theo said, screwing himself down slowly.
Too slowly. Guy moaned as Theo’s tight hole surrounded the head of his cock. “Fuck. Oh, fuck me.” He shivered.
“Yes. That’s exactly what we’re doing.” Theo slowly lowered himself down. Guy’s hips jerked, shoving inside, but Theo rode him out. “Easy.”
Guy looked up at the younger man. Theo’s face was flushed, and his dark hair tumbled over his shoulders, longer than he’d realized. He had his head tipped back with his eyes closed. Guy reached up and sank his fingers into the dark strands at Theo’s temples, loving their softness. Then, he scraped his fingertips over Theo’s jaw, and the rough stubble tingled. Theo opened his eyes, and energy lit them from deep inside. Guy stopped breathing as his Craft power surged. Theo’s eyes widened, and then a surge of electricity danced through them. Guy drew Theo down to him and kissed him roughly even as his hips thrust hard inside the younger man’s body.
Theo groaned. “Guy.”
Guy couldn’t answer. It was as if his body had suddenly seized control, and he drew out, then fucked inside again, and again, harder each time. “Theo,” he managed to say, and then a bolt of energy sizzled through his bones. He crushed Theo to him as they made love, and suddenly he felt Theo’s emotions in a crashing avalanche of heat and power.
“Guy, oh my God, I can feel the wood all around us,” Theo said, and Guy nodded, still grappling with the crashing emotions sparking through him. Theo was lust and hope and worry and love all wrapped up into one insanely bright package. He fucked in again and again, and out of nowhere his orgasm suddenly peaked.
“I’m coming,” he croaked, holding on so tight he worried he’d break Theo’s arms.
Theo gripped him even harder, fingers sinking into Guy’s shoulders. “So am I,” he gasped, and then liquid heat spattered between them both.
Guy shuddered as his cock pulsed. It felt so fucking good. Better than anything. Better than he’d ever felt with his wife. He sucked in air, but it didn’t feel like enough oxygen. He kissed Theo again, chasing the younger man’s taste, because he knew it was the only thing that would keep him here, grounded and sane.
Theo kissed him back just as savagely, and then the wave of pleasure slowly faded, and so did the energy flaring through them. Guy trembled, holding on for dear life as Theo’s emotions slowly receded. His Craft power settled back down into his bones, but not quite the same as it was before. It felt richer. More alive. He could sense minute grains and residual potential in the wood around him, from the frame of the sofa to the solid walls of his cabin. He slowly forced his fingers to let go of Theo’s hips. “God. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Theo snorted. “No more than I did you.” He lifted his face and kissed Guy softly. “I can’t move yet.”
That was fine with Guy. “I’m not sure I’ll ever move again.” He inhaled deeply, waiting for his Craft energy to subside, but it didn’t. Was this what it meant to be bonded?
“Yes. You’re my soulmate,” Theo murmured, putting a hand on Guy’s face. “And there’s no going back.” His thumb rubbed across Guy’s lower lip.
Guy stared at Theo, and abruptly his eyes burned. He thought of his wife, and how hard they’d wished for this connection, and could never find it. Now, here he was, years after her death, with a man he’d never imagined ever meeting, let along making love with. “Everything feels different.” He could barely get the words out.
“Don’t be sad,” Theo said, leaning his forehead against Guy’s. “This is a good thing, Guy.”
Guy exhaled roughly. “I can’t help what I feel.”
A long moment passed, and then Theo sighed. “I know.”
“Can you feel me more clearly?” Guy asked. He concentrated on the joy he felt over their connection, and the guilt about Pamela subsided a bit. I shouldn’t ruin this. Theo deserves better.
Theo nodded. “Yeah. My power is stronger.” He smiled wryly. “A lot stronger.” He shook his head. “This is going to be tricky, when I go back to DC.”
A pang of worry shot through Guy. “You shouldn’t go into a big city until you’re sure you can handle it.” The last thing he wanted was for Theo to get hurt. I’ve only just found him. The horror of possibly losing him brought tears to his eyes. No. You’re being paranoid. Get a grip, man. “You can stay here.”
The stared at him. “You mean that.”
Guy flushed, looking away. “Just because I miss my dead wife doesn’t mean I don’t feel anything for you. You should be able to sense it. I’m not trying to hide anything.” He looked down to where their bodies were still connected. I’m not denying what just happened, he thought, feeling his cock harden again as Theo’s heat pushed through him. “Fuck. Are you using your Empathy?”
Theo’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah. God, you feel—” He broke off, and visibly swallowed, obviously feeling Guy’s growing arousal. “Again?” He rose up, and then sank down again.
Guy groaned. Theo’s tight heat enveloped his erection perfectly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Ha. This doesn’t hurt one fucking bit,” Theo said, biting his lower lip. “You feel fabulous. Fuck me again.”
Guy raked his hands up through Theo’s hair, then brought the younger man’s mouth down for a kiss. “I want you in my bed.”
Theo gasped, nodding. “Yeah. Okay.” He made to get up, but Guy stopped him and stood up, grabbing Theo by the ass. The younger man was heavy, but not too heavy for Guy. His WoodCraft gave him strength, and he wasn’t afraid to use it. “Holy shit, Guy. You’re fucking strong. I’m not a small man,” Theo said, grabbing on.
“Don’t wiggle,” Guy said, as Theo wrapped his legs around Guy’s waist. He used his Craft power to draw strength in from the wood around him, and headed for the upstairs bedroom. His cock slipped out in transit, but he figured it was just as well. They didn’t need any broken penis incidents right now. He’d never live that down.
“You’re crazy,” Theo said, laughing. “I’m six feet tall, for God’s sake.”
“And I’m a WoodCrafter. We’re stronger than average,” Guy said, kicking open his bedroom door. He strode over to the bed and dropped Theo down, then immediately shoved him up the mattress. He deliberately ignored the photo of his wife propped up against the lamp on the nightstand.
“Bossy,” Theo said, not sounding the least bit put out.
“Fuck. Shut up.” Guy grabbed Theo’s legs and slung them into the crook of his elbows. “Hold on. Use the headboard. I don’t know if I can do this slow.” He dropped his head down on Theo’s chest and breathed for a moment. God, what is going on with me? he thought, inhaling the scent of his soulmate. Drying spunk from their earlier fuck stuck to his face, but he didn’t care. When he looked up, the lust in Theo’s eyes pushed him into action. He lined up his cock with Theo’s hole, and prayed for strength.
The amusement on Theo’s face faded as Guy pushed
inside roughly. “Oh, yeah. That’s good.” Theo grabbed the wooden slats and held on as Guy began pounding into him. “That’s perfect,” he said, between thrusts.
Guy looked at the muscles in Theo’s arm, and at his chest, and the cock pushing into his abdomen, and groaned. “You’re so fucking gorgeous.” He reached down and grabbed Theo’s erection, jacking him as he fucked inside, desperate to feel his soulmate’s orgasm against his body again. “Come on. Come for me.”
“I will,” Theo said, panting. Sweat slicked his chest. “Jesus, Guy.” His biceps bulged as he pushed back against Guy’s thrusts.
Guy shut his eyes tightly. He needed this. He needed to forget. “I’m almost there.”
“Me too. Open your damned eyes.” Theo grabbed his head and forced Guy to look at him. “I’m here with you. Admit it.”
Guy stared down into Theo’s dark eyes, looking for … what? Salvation? Theo looked back at him, steady and sure and aroused. “Jesus, Theo.”
“It’s okay,” Theo murmured.
Guy groaned. “I love you,” he said, feeling like the words were being torn out of his fucking chest.
“I love you, too,” Theo said, and then he moaned, long and low as his cock jerked in Guy’s grip. Hot spunk jetted out between their bodies, and Guy lost it, hips thrusting faster, beyond his control. His climax pushed through him, and he sighed as the pleasure took him down. Theo grabbed him, and Guy slumped into the younger man.
“This is impossible,” Guy murmured a long time later. He sighed and rolled off his soulmate. “Sorry,” he muttered as Theo took a deep breath. “Didn’t mean to crush you.”
“You didn’t crush me. And no. This is not impossible. Just improbable,” Theo countered.
Guy smiled despite himself. He’d heard the stories about soulmates, but he always figured they had an element of fiction to them, because whoever fell in love instantly? He hadn’t even experienced that with his wife. “Soulmates, hmm? I barely know you, yet here we are.” He glanced over at the photo of Pamela smiling into the camera.
“Yes, here we are,” Theo said, going up on an elbow. “She was pretty.”
“Yeah.” Guy reached out and touched the picture, remembering what it had felt like to kiss her. “She was a good woman.” The same old grief that had dogged him for the past three years pricked at him again. “I thought that being mated would fix this feeling,” he said, rubbing at his chest.
“No. Bonding doesn’t take away your life,” Theo told him. “It just adds more to it.”
Guy looked at the young man in his bed. “I never expected this. I never expected you.” He flushed as he remembered telling Theo he loved him. Who did that after only just meeting someone? They hadn’t even known each other for a week yet. But he told you he loved you, too, a little voice at the back of his head reminded him. “I’m sorry. Things moved kind of fast.” He looked around the bedroom. “I didn’t plan this.”
“Believe me, I know. I didn’t plan this either. I really meant to just have lunch with you.” Theo kissed Guy, and then rolled out of bed. “Don’t be sorry.” He glanced around, then grabbed some tissues from the nightstand. “I’m sorry. Julio is probably wondering what the hell is taking me so long. I have to go back to DC tonight.”
“Tonight?” Guy sat up. He glanced at the floor. His pants were downstairs, and their soulmate rings were still in the soft pouch in the front pocket. I’ll tell Theo about them later.
Theo nodded. “Yeah. Some unexpected problem came up. The Council called an emergency meeting. I don’t know the details.” He shrugged. “Duty calls.”
Guy frowned. “That seems odd. What could possibly be an emergency? There aren’t enough of us with enough power to make problems. Some non-gifted humans don’t even believe in Craft power. We’re very much a minority.” He stood up and followed Theo back downstairs.
“I know, and it’s probably just some friction between non-Crafters and Crafters again. Or it could be that old man Brechek is finally stepping down as Council Head. He mentioned it to me a couple times in the past few months. And there’s some weird shit going on behind the scenes that I haven’t been able to pin down. Brechek is a wily old bastard, and he’s been dumping more of the day-to-day tasks of running the Council on me while he’s focusing his attention elsewhere. And that worries me enough that I can’t ignore this summons.” Theo dragged on his pants, then checked the clock on the wall. “Either way, I have to go. I have just enough time to shower before I have to catch my train.” He looked at Guy as he pulled on his shirt. “And you need some time to process what just happened.”
“Hey. I’m not in denial,” Guy protested. Now he felt guilty for missing his wife and for making Theo feel bad. He quickly jerked on his pants. He didn’t feel right being naked in front of Theo while they were having this conversation. “Not anymore.”
“This is all very new to you.” Theo grabbed his phone and grimaced at the display. “Three missed texts.” He tapped out a quick message. “I gotta go.”
Guy stared at him. “Wait. Theo, you don’t have to rush off. You can shower here if you need to save time.” He knew part of why Theo was running off was because of him. He didn’t know how he knew, but he didn’t doubt his certainty.
Theo shook his head. “I have stuff at my place I need to pick up.” He walked over to Guy and kissed him softly. “Don’t worry. You’re my soulmate. I’m not rushing off. I’m not leaving you. I’m just going to work,” He straightened up and headed for the door. “Don’t work too hard this afternoon.”
“Speak for yourself,” Guy said, forcing a smile. He felt unsettled. Exhausted. He didn’t know how the hell Theo thought he’d be able to concentrate at a Council meeting after what they’d just done together.
“Yeah, yeah.” Theo smiled, then headed out of the room.
Guy sank down onto the sofa where they’d first made love. He touched his mouth, then absently rubbed his chest where an ache seemed to have settled right over his heart. “What the hell just happened?”
Chapter Seven
“You are a damned fool for leaving like that,” Theo muttered to himself several hours later as he strode down Sixteenth Street towards I Street. Two of his bodyguards, Julio and Nick, trailed him. He had no idea where his third bodyguard, John, was, and he didn’t care. He’d never been able to read the guy, and this stunt solidified his feeling that John was involved in whatever nefarious situation Brechek was hiding from him. He didn’t know if John was working for Brechek or against him, but he knew enough not to trust the man at his back anymore. After this, he intended to dismiss John whether or not Brechek approved.
“Jesus, Theo. Could you walk any faster?” Rose said, annoyance clear in her tone.
“Sorry.” Theo grimaced. He knew he should slow down, but he refused to be late to the meeting. He dodged a couple of tourists gawking at the view. The Council owned a building at the intersection of the two streets, just a few blocks north of the White House. Most people thought it was an ordinary office building and had no idea that the Council had its headquarters within multiple floors of the building, mostly below the street level. The Council made a lot of money from renting the top floors in such an exclusive section of DC.
He turned off the sidewalk and pushed open the glass doors, holding them for his assistant, Rose. Julio and Nick waited until he’d entered, and then followed him. Theo nodded at the security guard as he headed for the elevators. Most of the security guards at this building had some form of Craft power, and they were required to know members of the Council at a glance. Theo had only been a member for six months, but he still remembered the first time he’d been here, and his surprise when the guard greeted him by name.
“You know, talking to yourself is a sign of dementia in Empaths,” Rose said as he touched the security pad set under the normal numbers. The system read his fingerprints and automatically headed down to the main Council level. “Most people are more cheerful when they hook up, not less.”
/> Julio snorted in amusement, but Theo ignored him, tossing Rose an impatient look. “I had to dash out right after our date. And I did a shit job of letting him know I understand why he’s having so much trouble dealing with our connection.” He rubbed his temples, but it didn’t help the headache he’d developed since he got on the train.
“He’s a big boy. I’m sure he’s not going to do anything drastic,” Rose said, grabbing the brass rail as the elevator accelerated. “What could he do, anyway? He’s your soulmate, right? He’s not going to cut off his own arm to spite his face.”
Theo rolled his eyes. “I’m not worried about that.” He grimaced. “Did you file the health care proxy and power of attorney documents?”
“Yes. I rushed both Craft and human versions through. I’m still listed as your secondary contact, but Guy is now your primary legal next of kin,” Rose replied, lifting her briefcase. “I have copies, here. You’re lucky I know people, or it would’ve taken weeks. You have no idea what a miracle I did, pulling that off in a few days.”
“Yes, yes. You’re awesome,” Theo told her, mind already moving to the next task. Worrying about Guy made it harder for him to concentrate than he liked.
“Do you want the copies now?” Rose asked.
“No, you hold onto them for me,” he replied, distracted. The elevators stopped, and they headed for the Council chambers at the end of the hall. The receptionist nodded a greeting as they approached, and then pushed the button to unlock the doors. “Everyone else is waiting on you, Delegate Fraser.”
His bodyguards headed for the security office at the rear of the floor as Theo stopped by the desk. “They’re all here already? I’m not late, Mary,” he said to her, confused. He’d made sure of that. What the hell was this meeting about, anyway? He concentrated, and sensed her consternation. She knew something.
The receptionist shrugged, gaze darting to the doors as if she was afraid someone was watching. “No, you’re not late.”
And maybe someone is watching. Wouldn’t surprise me. Theo sensed Mary’s increasing worry as he stood there. He gave her a reassuring smile, then went inside with Rose at his heels. Most of the Delegates were older than he was, and not particularly open-minded. His sexuality had caused a bit of a ruckus when he’d been chosen to serve, but his Craft skill was indisputable, and they needed an Empath on the Council. They hadn’t had one in fifty years, in direct contradiction to the rule that at least one Empath serve as a Delegate, and more often as Head. The slow erosion of Craft power over the past century had forced everyone to accept situations they knew were not ideal. An Empath kept the Council honest. Which it’s not, anymore, Theo mused, already shoring up his mental walls. Every meeting gave him a headache, because he had to work so hard to filter out some of the negative emotions, but not so much that he’d lose his edge.