“Feels good?” Gage’s voice slid down his spine.
“Yeah.”
Warm breath raced down the inside of Ulric’s thigh. Not long after, Gage’s mouth followed—soft kisses, the sharp points of teeth on Ulric’s sensitive skin. Gage bit him lightly, just enough to let Ulric know he was there. Then he kissed higher and higher, until he reached the crease of Ulric’s thigh. Ulric thought Gage might kiss his cock. He held his breath.
Instead, Gage switched to his other leg, doing the same. Ulric’s instincts grumbled. “You missed something.”
Gage laughed. “Yeah? What’d I miss?”
Ulric spread his legs wider, showing him. But rather than touching Ulric’s cock, Gage slipped a finger between Ulric’s cheeks, stroking around his hole. “I’ll kiss this at the end,” Gage said. “There’s still the rest of you.”
“Fuck.” Ulric growled, wanting more. Wanting to hide in the desperate need of sex, instead of letting Gage see the rest of him. But he’d agreed.
Gage reached the top of Ulric’s thigh. Then he began unbuttoning Ulric’s shirt. Ulric’s stomach flipped.
“You’re beautiful,” Gage murmured. “See, everywhere I kiss, I think that’s beautiful. Give me a chance to show you, babe.”
He kissed all the way along the underside of Ulric’s belly, from one side to the other. More and more of that fabric fell away, until Ulric’s belly was entirely exposed, and then his chest. Every inch Gage uncovered, he kissed.
He reached the last button on Ulric’s shirt, popping that open. Gage kissed Ulric’s collarbones, then his shoulders. Then he kissed up Ulric’s neck, and Ulric knew Gage could see his whole body now. He felt far too naked.
Gage lay down next to him, still clothed, and pressed kisses all over Ulric’s face. “This is beautiful, too,” Gage whispered. “This right here. What I’m kissing.”
Ulric’s throat grew tight.
Maybe he couldn’t see himself in the same light yet, but he felt Gage’s complete acceptance of him. He felt as though he could be utterly naked with Gage, and... it would be all right.
Through the blindfold, Gage kissed his eyelids. Then Gage kissed his nose, and his mouth. “Turn over,” Gage whispered. “I’ll get your back, too.”
His whole front covered in kisses, Ulric eased out of his shirt. He rolled onto his unhurt side; Gage kissed his hair, then his nape. Then he dropped kisses all across Ulric’s back, down his spine, and to his ass.
“Told you this is a fucking beautiful ass,” Gage growled, squeezing it. “Loved it the moment I spanked you.”
Ulric flushed. He remembered that popcorn incident. “It’s just my ass.”
Gage smacked his cheek lightly; Ulric felt it bounce. “Mm, fuck,” Gage whispered. Then he grasped Ulric’s ass, spread it open, and kissed between his cheeks, all the way to his hole. Blood surged between Ulric’s legs. Gage’s face was pressed intimately against his cheeks, his stubble scraping Ulric’s skin. He couldn’t possibly...
Gage kissed him right where he was vulnerable, a slow, deliberate touch. And he flicked his tongue against Ulric’s entrance. “Relax for me, babe.”
“But—” Ulric swallowed.
Something stroked him there, soft and wet. Then it nudged at him like it was seeking entrance.
It wasn’t a spot where anyone had ever kissed, either. Ulric’s face scorched.
“Feel good?” Gage’s voice vibrated through Ulric’s most sensitive parts.
“Fuck.”
“Relax.” Gage kissed his hole again.
So Ulric relaxed. And Gage pushed his tongue inside, a hungry presence spreading him open. Ulric forgot to breathe. Gage was tasting him there. “What—What’re you...”
Gage’s breath rushed against his skin. Was he amused? “Have you never been kissed here?”
“No.”
Gage’s rumble of delight went all the way through Ulric’s insides. “I didn’t realize you were a kiss virgin, babe.”
“What’s a ‘kiss virgin’?” Ulric was glad he couldn’t see Gage’s expression. He wasn’t anywhere as experienced as his alpha was.
“It’s what I call someone who hasn’t been kissed in places.” Gage licked Ulric’s hole, firm and slow. Then he groaned, pushing his tongue back in, sliding out, pushing in again. As though he was fucking Ulric there, but with his tongue. Pleasure scattered down Ulric’s veins.
Ulric bit off his groan. He hadn’t expected this to feel so good.
“Getting you all ready for me,” Gage murmured. He slid a finger into Ulric, and then another. Ulric’s nerves sang as his body stretched around Gage, clinging to his fingers, begging for more.
“Gods, you’re so damn ready,” Gage rasped, pulling his fingers out. He patted Ulric’s hole lightly, before leaning away. The nightstand drawer rumbled open.
Then fabric rustled, and the next time Gage pressed up against him, he was completely naked against Ulric, his thick cock wedging between Ulric’s cheeks.
Ulric’s instincts came roaring back; he growled, turning to try and seek leverage.
Except Gage pinned him down from behind, a delicious slide of skin on skin. And he slid his entire length against Ulric’s hole, showing him what would go inside. Ulric’s breath shuddered out of him.
“This is what you do to me,” Gage murmured, snapping his hips, his cock grinding against Ulric’s entrance. “Don’t move so much, babe. You just got stitched up.”
Ulric wanted to move, he wanted to pin Gage down and dominate him. “You’ll have to make me.”
“Gladly.” Before Ulric could start struggling, Gage anchored him against the mattress. Slick sounds came from further down. Then something touched Ulric between his cheeks—Gage’s fingers, covered in lube. And they shoved roughly inside, stretching Ulric, lubing him up. Getting him ready to receive his alpha’s cock.
Ulric throbbed, growing so hard, he hurt. He wanted Gage. He wanted Gage’s desire. And Gage was touching him all over, despite all his nakedness.
“I’m not making this easy for you,” Ulric growled, struggling.
Gage shoved him down with a snarl, his cock plunging between Ulric’s cheeks, smearing lube over his hole. “Mine,” Gage rasped.
He lodged his blunt tip against Ulric’s entrance, a girthy promise. Then he snapped his hips, pressing hard against Ulric’s hole, forcing it to stretch open around him. And Gage plunged inside, inches at once, so big that Ulric forgot to breathe.
“Fuck, those sounds you make,” Gage whispered in his ear. “When you take my cock.” He gave a deep thrust; Ulric swore, an animal sound ripping out of him. “Yeah, like that. Fuck.”
Gage buried his cock to the hilt, so savagely that Ulric rocked forward. Ulric groaned as his hole opened for his alpha, eagerly taking all that Gage gave him. And Gage began to build a rhythm, slower than he had before.
“I can take it,” Ulric growled. “Harder, Gage.”
“Don’t wanna hurt you.” Gage tightened his grip, his breaths coming more sharply, his groans bliss to Ulric’s ears.
“My ass isn’t hurt,” Ulric retorted. “You don’t have to be fucking gentle with it.”
Gage snarled, plowing so deep that pleasure jolted through Ulric’s veins and his spine bowed. It almost erased the pain of his wounds. Ulric struggled harder—just to provoke his alpha.
“Stop moving, damn it,” Gage hissed. He shoved Ulric against the bed and fucked in hard—a punishment? But pleasure burst through Ulric, more intense than before.
“Not gonna stop.” Ulric thrashed again. His stitches pulled; Gage swore and held him down, thrusting harder, his cock plunging into Ulric like an unyielding length of steel, filling him up over and over, staking his claim.
Ulric shoved at him. Gage gripped his hips and crammed his cock all the way in, swearing. Ulric almost came right there. He reached back to grab Gage; Gage caught his hand, bringing it to his lips.
And he sank his teeth into Ulric’s wrist, a spot that was far too sensitiv
e to be just another part of his body. Ulric’s nerves lit up; his cock swelled so thick, it fucking hurt.
Then he realized that Gage had bitten the scent gland on his wrist—a bonding mark. His heart leaped.
“Wait,” Gage said, his thrusts slowing down a little. “I—I marked you.”
“Not yours unless you claim me properly,” Ulric growled. He bucked at Gage, ignoring the pull on his stitches. “My neck.”
He tilted his head, offering the scent gland there. Gage swore and leaned in, biting hard into the crook of Ulric’s shoulder, right where that sensitive spot was. Pain and pleasure tore through Ulric’s spine, pulling his balls tight. He tried to catch his breath but he couldn’t, his entire body pulsing with need.
Gage had bitten him. He was Gage’s.
“Mine,” Gage snarled. “So fucking beautiful.” And his strokes deepened, his cock slamming into Ulric, a desperate sort of rhythm that showed just how much he wanted Ulric to be his. “Gonna fill you up with my come, babe. Gonna make you all mine.”
Ulric’s entire body sang. “Please.”
“Fuck.” Gage roared, his fingers digging bruisingly-hard into Ulric’s hips. He leaned in and slammed a final time into Ulric, a flood of warmth filling Ulric inside.
Ulric imagined his alpha’s pleasure—his control shattered. Pleasure ripped through his body in a deluge, arching his spine, rolling his eyes back into his head.
For a long while afterward, all he felt was Gage’s bare skin against his own, Gage pressing slow, muzzy kisses across his shoulder. Gage pulled Ulric’s blindfold off.
He was completely naked. And Gage was still kissing him. In fact, Gage was stroking the scent glands on his wrists down Ulric’s sides, marking him with pine. He brushed his scent over Ulric’s chest, over Ulric’s belly, over all the curves of Ulric’s body that weren’t as perfect as his own.
“I think you might be insane,” Ulric mumbled.
Gage huffed. “Nah. I’m just lucky. Because I found the best gift in the world.”
Then he kissed Ulric’s nape, a slow, lingering touch. Ulric’s heart stuttered.
“I love you,” Gage said again. “All of you. Every single bit. Do you believe me now?”
Ulric looked down at Gage’s arm wrapped around his belly, caressing him fondly. Gage’s body pressed against his own, skin on skin. Gage’s mouth on his ear, nipping at him.
Gage had seen all of Ulric, and he was still here.
Ulric’s throat grew tight. “Yeah,” he croaked. He’d never had anyone love him this way before. “I just... It seems too good to be true.”
Gage kissed his shoulder. “Beauty isn’t always visible. A lot of things are invisible and beautiful. Like love. Like kindness. Like your soul.” He pressed his palm over Ulric’s heart.
“You can see kindness, sort of,” Ulric protested.
Gage smiled. “You can see the results of kindness. But it comes from here.” He rubbed Ulric’s chest. “That’s not all, though. The visible parts of you are all beautiful, too.” He stroked Ulric’s arm and kissed his nape. He dragged his wrist over Ulric’s belly, covering Ulric with his scent. “All of this here—regardless of whether you get heavier or lighter, regardless of whether you get old and wrinkly, all of this is beautiful, because it’s part of you. And that’s important, too. All of you is important.
“At some point, I want you to see yourself the way I see you, babe. I think you’re perfect. Every inch of you.” Gage nestled his legs against Ulric’s, and cuddled him close. “Everything I see here, I’m proud that it’s mine.”
Ulric swallowed hard, glancing at his belly, and his arms, and the rest of himself.
Maybe... he could be beautiful. Maybe he already was. He just had to see himself differently.
“Here, I’ll prove that I didn’t mark you only because you made me crazy horny,” Gage said. He took Ulric’s hand, bringing it closer. Then he sniffed at Ulric’s unmarked wrist, found a spot, and kissed it. Ulric’s heart fluttered.
“You’re okay with this, right?” Gage asked.
Ulric swallowed hard, nodding. “Yeah.”
Gage sank his teeth lightly into Ulric’s skin. “This is how much I want you to be mine,” Gage whispered.
And he bit down hard, breaking skin, sending pain and pleasure twisting through Ulric’s body. Ulric gasped. When Gage released him, droplets of blood beaded on his skin. Gage kissed them away. “Mine,” he growled. “Never leaving you again.”
Ulric’s chest squeezed tight. “Will you—let me do the same?”
Over his shoulder, Gage smiled. “Thought you wouldn’t ask.” He gave Ulric his hand; his knot had begun swelling in Ulric’s body, a heavy presence inside that locked them together. “Later, when we aren’t knotted together anymore, I want you to mark my neck, too.”
A smile threatened to burst across Ulric’s face. Gage really wanted him. He turned Gage’s hand over, sniffing carefully at his wrist. One spot in particular smelled most strongly of pine—Gage’s scent gland.
Ulric licked it. Behind, Gage sucked in a deep breath. But he didn’t pull away.
Ulric bit down hard, enough that Gage jerked and swore against him. When Ulric released his alpha, he found a set of teethmarks on Gage’s wrist—the broken skin would heal into a bonding mark.
Gage was his.
Gage growled, pressing himself flush against Ulric’s back. “Yours,” he whispered. “It feels kinda strange.”
“Strange?” Ulric frowned. “How so?”
“Never belonged to anyone before.” Gage smiled against Ulric’s shoulder. “You’re my first. And last.”
Ulric’s heart tumbled. He wanted to hold Gage close, he wanted to show the world his alpha. But he didn’t know who else would be happy about his news, though. He didn’t have much of a family to return to.
“What’s wrong?” Gage whispered.
Ulric twitched his shoulders. “I don’t think my family wants this. You and me.”
A growl began in Gage’s chest. “You’re coming to visit my folks with me,” Gage told him, anger edging his voice. “You’re welcome there, babe. All of them want to meet you.”
“Even if...” Ulric looked down at their linked fingers.
“You’re my bondmate,” Gage told him. “That’s all that matters. You’ll get a whole new family where no one will say shit about you.”
That also sounded too good to be true. Ulric settled back against Gage, imagining it. Then he looked down at his belly, wondering if Gage would ever want a family in the future. If either of them could get pregnant, what would Gage say?
It was too soon to think about it.
30
A Family...?
The children giggled as they chased each other around the pavilion, sunlight glinting off their hair, their snake-skirts fluttering in the breeze.
They looked so happy that Ulric couldn’t help smiling.
“Something you haven’t told me?” Gage murmured, slipping his arm around Ulric’s waist.
Ulric leaned into him. It had been months since they’d become bondmates. Wilkie had moved back into their parents’ place, and from Gage’s conversations with him, Wilkie had been up to some questionable things that Gage wasn’t too happy about.
That aside, everything was good. Ulric had met Gage’s family on a few occasions—Gage’s mom fawned over him like one of her own, and Gage’s dad had taken them out on some bike rides. Ulric had discovered that he enjoyed going cycling outside the gym, too. It was more fun when he had company, when he wasn’t thinking of exercise as work.
This past Sunday, Debbie had joined them—she’d finished the last rounds of her chemotherapy, and she was slowly recovering. Gage no longer minded that Ulric had contributed to a significant portion of her bills.
“Papa! Papa!” A child ran under the pavilion. He seemed about nine, one of the boys who had waved around some snake streamers months back. Going by the snake skirt he now wore, the child seemed just a little obse
ssed.
“What is it, Caleb?” one of the off-duty firefighters asked.
“Can Izzy and I go treasure-hunting?” Caleb bounced on his heels, looking so enthusiastic that Ulric would’ve caved and let them go play. Another boy hurried up next to him, also his age. “There’s a magic house in the woods,” Caleb said. “I think that’s where all the snakes come from!”
“We’ll hide some eggs in there,” Izzy whispered. “It’s pretend-eggs. One day, there’ll be a whole family of snakes all tangled together!”
A few of the firefighters laughed. By this point, Ulric was familiar with the trouser snake joke drifting amongst the team.
Caleb’s dad exchanged a look with his omega, before grinning. “All right. Let’s race to the forest. You all right with that, Izzy?”
Izzy nodded, linking his fingers with Caleb’s. “I think so. I can’t run so fast, but I’ll try.”
“I’ll wait for you.” Caleb gave his friend a fond smile. Hand-in-hand, the three of them set off for the nearby woods.
Ulric watched them go. What would it be like to have a family? To have excitable children who were so happy when you joined them on an adventure?
“What’re you thinking about?” Gage murmured in his ear.
“Those kids.” Ulric’s heart thumped. “They seemed nice.”
“Yeah?” Gage’s smile widened. “You want a couple?”
Ulric’s neck heated up. They hadn’t been officially dating for so long. But the more time he spent with Gage, the deeper in love he fell. And Ulric... kind of wanted to have Gage’s babies.
But he was an alpha. He couldn’t really give Gage a child. Worse, he hadn’t even mentioned children to Gage. Did Gage want a family? With Ulric?
“Your—your cousin mentioned something about implants,” Ulric mumbled.
Gage slid his hand down Ulric’s belly, his eyes darkening. “Yeah? What about them?”
“You... ever thought about a uterus implant?”
“For me, or you?”
Ulric blinked. He hadn’t thought Gage would consider it for himself, too. “You’d want one?”
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