Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nix woke in their bed with Orion sitting beside him, holding his hand. Cal stood near the door, leaning against the wall.
He tried to sit up but Orion pushed him back down.
"Rest, I think you overdid things. How far did you fly?" There was anger and impatience in Orion's tone.
"Far. A few hours away. I think they're living just at the edge of Thane's territory. They were terrified that March would find them. Now they know he's gone, they want to come home. Jalen is there, so we have a Shaman again. And… and Beren is there and I have a nephew called Mac and he has Bran's smile."
Nix struggled to sit again and this time Orion helped him.
"Don't be mad. I'm sorry I made you worry."
"You gave me such a scare when you didn't come back," Orion said, his anger melting to concern.
"I met Jalen in the air. I didn't know it was Jalen, just that it was one of my people, so I followed him home. Don't you see, Orion, my people will be complete again. Our Shaman and, once Mac has grown up, our leader. We'll be whole."
Orion pressed a kiss to his forehead as hot tears slid down Nix's cheeks.
"I see and I'm so very happy for you and your people. Happy for me, too, since it sounds like you won't be as in demand at home as we thought. Unless you choose to be."
Nix wondered how he'd been so lucky as to have destiny hand him a mate so kind and considerate.
"I don't think I deserve you."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cal slip from the room and shut the door.
Orion framed Nix's face with his hands.
"I think I'm precisely what you deserve."
He leaned in, kissing the tears from Nix's cheeks. Nix managed a watery smile that became stronger as the minutes passed. Orion's lips found his, pressing soft, slow kisses. But Nix didn't want soft and slow. He wanted to soar. Tugging Orion closer and wrapping his legs around his mate's waist, he got his wish as Orion slipped a hand through his hair to the back of his head and deepened the kiss.
Orion pulled away just enough to murmur to him. "I feel like I'm flying alongside you."
Nix leaned over, pushing his mouth against Orion's ear. "Maybe you are."
Orion slipped a hand under his shirt. "You're still very warm, if you need to take some energy…"
It was Nix's turn to frown. He was warm, but he didn't feel that drain, that exhaustion that came with low magical energy.
"It's not that," he said. "I could shift right now if I needed to."
"Then what?" Orion asked. "Just running a little hot?"
Nix closed his eyes, doing a mental catalogue of his body. Was he injured somehow? Had he just overdone things with the distance he'd flown? Had…
He opened his eyes, meeting Orion's dark gaze.
"I guess it snuck up on me."
"What did?" Orion asked, running his thumb in lazy lines along Nix's jaw.
"My heat."
Orion's eye widened and he pushed closer, scenting Nix deeply.
"Are you sure?"
Nix nodded. "It's early hours yet but I'm pretty sure."
"Do we need to…"
"Have sex right now? No. Do you mind if we get some sleep first?"
"There's an idea. Sleep now. Sex later."
Orion shifted to lay down next to him and within minutes they'd drifted off.
He woke to the sound of the door opening and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"I brought breakfast," Orion said. "The others are going to spend the day by the lake, so we'll have some time to ourselves."
They spent the next while eating the French toast Orion had made, washing it down with tea and orange juice.
As the minutes passed, Nix grew more and more uncomfortable, until he was practically squirming where he sat.
Orion gathered up the plates and went to leave the room. Nix let out a sound of dismay at the sight of his mate leaving. Orion froze, turning back to him with a frown that faded to a grin. He set the tray down on a dresser, shut the bedroom door and stripped off his sweats.
His Alpha stepped towards the bed entirely too slowly for Nix's liking, so he climbed out of bed, caught Orion by the hand and pulled him forward.
Orion was half hard already and it was nothing for Nix to sink to his knees beside the bed, lean forward, and trail a line of kisses along his shaft. When he reached the tip, he wrapped his hand around Orion and slowly took him into his mouth.
Orion groaned, hardening quickly under the wet heat of Nix's mouth. The Alpha's fingers laced through his hair, scraping deliciously across his scalp. Every inch of Nix's body, every piece of skin, craved contact with his mate.
He was distracted from his work by Orion's hand on his shoulders, pushing him gently away.
"I know what you need," Orion murmured. "Me, inside you."
His hands slipped under Nix's arms and lifted him slowly. Once on his feet, his mate guided him to their bed, laying Nix on his back in the center and stripping him of his clothes.
Nix couldn't take his eyes from his mate, beads of sweat glistening across Orion's chest as he knelt between Nix's leg.
Nix lifted his legs and Orion caught them, shifting them higher so Nix could wrap them around his waist.
The Alpha's look was predatory as he palmed a hand across Nix's groin, Nix hardening under the light touch. Then Orion's hand slipped behind, dipping between his cheeks to push a finger inside him.
Nix gasped and arched at the touch, the cool of the Alpha's hand a contrast to the heat pouring off his skin. Orion pushed a second finger inside and his eyes fluttered closed.
"You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" Orion's low, gravelly voice asked.
"I need you." Nix's response was a whisper.
Orion's fingers fell away and something bigger took their place, pressing in with small steady thrusts until Orion was sheathed inside Nix. Nix reached for one of Orion's hands, lacing their fingers together as Orion began to thrust inside him.
Nix's breath hitched as each roll of his Alpha's hips sent a wave of pleasure through him. For him, it felt more intense than any of their previous couplings. He could see, from the way Orion moved, from the expression of lazy wonder on his face, that he felt the same.
Orion's hand slipped from his and he grasped Nix's hips, changing the angle between them. On the next thrust, Orion hit that spot of pleasure within him, sending a shower of colorful sparks across his vision and pulling a cry from his lips.
"Yes, Orion, please."
Orion's two hands hit the bed by Nix's shoulders as he leaned forward, bringing his mouth down to capture Nix's in a kiss. Nix wrapped an arm around him to tug him closer, kissing back fiercely, pressing his tongue to Orion's as surely as he pressed his lips. The heat in his body spread like pins and needles across his skin and felt Orion shudder against him.
"I'm close," Orion whispered, slipping an arm under Nix's back while another gripped his hip. Nix had a moment to wonder what his Alpha was doing when Orion neatly flipped them so he lay on his back on the bed and Nix was above him. Only the quick movement of Orion's hands anchored him, stopped him sliding away.
"Your turn," Orion said with a laugh, his large hands settling on Nix's waist.
Nix used his hands and knees to brace himself against Orion's firm body and push upwards before sinking back down. The second time, Orion's hips thrust up to meet him, dragging an incoherent cry from his mouth. By the third and fourth, they'd begun to find their rhythm, bodies meeting with vigour as Orion's stiff cock pushed up into him, again and again.
Orion let go of his waist with one hand, wrapping it around Nix's own hard, leaking cock and using firm strokes that had him gasping.
"Shit, Nix. I'm so close."
Nix was too, just on the cusp. He closed his eyes, trying to heighten the sensations his body was feeling under Orion's hands, Orion's body. Another rise and fall of his hips, Orion hitting just the right spot as he thrust in and out.
"Come for me," Orion urged, stroking him in just the right way for Nix to come apart. He threw his head back with a cry as he came. Orion thrust inside him, coming seconds after him. Little aftershocks of pleasure shook him as Orion's hand, sticky and sweaty, eased off him then guided him down to lie next to him. Nix's body hummed with sated pleasure and he lay his head against Orion's chest.
"Next time, you do all the hard work," he groused.
"Hey," Orion mumbled against him, his eyes slipping closed. "I thought you liked being on top."
"Know-it-all," Nix threw back.
"Show-off."
"Shaggy bear,"
"Insatiable…" Orion's mouth found his neck and he began to pepper kisses along his throat as Nix swallowed hard at the onslaught.
"… mouthy… demanding…"
He lifted his head, his dark eyes finding Nix's.
"When I'm with you, inside you. I feel like I'm flying."
"So do I," Nix whispered, letting his head flop back against Orion's chest. The Alpha's arm wrapped around his back, holding him close.
"Mine," Orion whispered.
Nix body's sang at the word, one that brought such simple joy to his being.
"Yours."