Chapter Eight
Jeff’s knees almost gave out as Nick took his cock in hand. “Hang on,” he said, and Jeff jammed his right palm against his mouth and bit down for a moment, hoping the pain would help calm him down. There was no way he was going to last. Of course, with Nick looking up at him with that expression on his face, no amount of pain was going to soothe his arousal into anything controllable. Nick ran a thumb over the tip of his cock, and Jeff jerked.
“Jesus, Nick. Give a man some warning,” he croaked. His left hand scrabbled at the tile walls, but there wasn’t anything to hang onto.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Nick said, and then he licked the tip of Jeff’s erection.
Jeff’s hips thrust without his conscious control, and his cock sank into Nick’s mouth. “Fuck, fuck,” he said, groaning as the perfect heat of his soulmate’s mouth closed around his erection. Self-control? He had none, at least not where Nick was concerned.
“Damn, you taste good,” Nick murmured, backing off to stroke him with his hand.
Jeff couldn’t reply. The energy that tied them together flared brighter, and he almost choked on the water spraying down over his head and shoulders. Nick grinned up at him, hazel eyes bright, and then he sucked Jeff in again as his fingers danced around his balls. Jeff moaned, and then gritted his teeth when Jeff slid a wet finger back to tease at his hole. “Nick—” he broke off as his lover sucked hard, easing off again. “Oh God.”
Nick smiled, then licked down the underside of his shaft. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll fuck you,” he murmured, sliding a wet finger into Jeff’s hole.
Jeff’s cock swelled harder, and he thunked his head back on the tiles. How did he not know he’d like that? “Please, Nick. Stop teasing.”
Nick laughed, and then he sucked him in again, this time sliding Jeff’s erection all the way back into his throat. Jeff groaned as pleasure raced through him, and then Nick swallowed, trapping the head of his cock in his throat. It was the most exquisite sensation he’d ever felt. He shuddered as their bond flared again. For a moment he worried that they might be slipping into yet another vision, but then Nick slid his finger inside his hole a bit further, bumping something that sent shards of pleasure up his spine. “Oh, fuck me,” Jeff said, gasping as his hips snapped forward.
Nick eased back and licked the head of his cock while his finger pressed against the spot inside him. Jeff hovered on the edge of pleasure too sharp to contain, desperate to climax. “God, Nick. What the fuck are you doing to me?” He slid his hands into Nick’s hair, and started thrusting, totally out of his mind with the sensations running through his body. “Your mouth—” he muttered, as Nick looked up at him. My soulmate is letting me fuck his mouth, was all Jeff could think, and then Nick did another something with his finger, twisted it somehow, and energy flashed between them, hard and hot. He growled, hips pushing forward, and then his orgasm crashed through him. He shuddered with the intensity of it. Nick sucked him through it, and then eased off as the pleasure rode into almost-pain. Jeff slid down the shower walls as Nick slowly eased his finger out and lightly cupped Jeff’s balls.
“Good?” Nick asked, licking his lips as if he drove men to madness every day.
Jeff blinked. His soulmate had swallowed every last drop of his semen. “Jesus, Nick.” He reached out and hauled the man in for a kiss. When their lips met, he tasted himself. “What the hell was that?”
“Just a blowjob,” Nick said, laughing.
Jeff shook his head. “Just a blowjob? Ha. I don’t think so.” He staggered to his feet, then hauled Nick up, too. “Don’t move,” he said, still shaky. He shut off the water and grabbed a towel, hurriedly drying himself off. While he watched, Nick started jacking his erection, and astonishingly, Jeff’s cock twitched. “I said don’t move,” he told Nick, grabbing another towel. He tugged his soulmate out of the shower, and then proceeded to give him a thorough drying off. He paid special attention to Nick’s shaft, rubbing it lightly with the towel until his lover moaned.
“If you keep that up, I’m going to blow right now,” Nick said, breathless.
Jeff grinned. “That’s the idea.” He moved Nick until he was leaning back against the sink, and then he went to his knees and got up close and personal with another man’s cock for the first time in his life. He took his soulmate’s erection in hand, and then hesitated, looking up.
“You don’t have to,” Nick said, sounding strangled. His damp hair stuck to his forehead, and the muscles of his chest flexed.
Yeah, right, Jeff thought, mouth going dry all over again. As if I’d leave him like this. As if I could leave him like this. He leaned in and tentatively touched his tongue to the slit at the tip of Nick’s cock. “You taste sweet,” he said, surprised.
Nick gripped the counter hard enough for his knuckles to go white. “Jeff, you’re killing me here.”
Jeff opened his mouth and slid Nick in, sucking lightly. Nick moaned and thrust hard, but Jeff had him pinned to the counter by now, hands on his hips. No way did he want to start gagging in the middle of the first time he gave head. He backed off, half-smiling at Nick’s protesting moan. “Easy,” he murmured, and then he took Nick in again, sucking harder this time. He could feel Nick’s cock swelling in his mouth, and it was pretty much the best thing ever. He loved knowing that he was the one doing this to his soulmate. The heat of their bond spiked, and he closed his eyes, savoring the pleasure he sensed rushing through Nick’s body. He touched his lover’s balls, then gripped his ass in both hands, letting Nick set the pace. Nick had a really perfect set of glutes, and he let himself dig in, relishing the taut muscles under his fingers.
“Oh my God.” Nick groaned, hips moving faster.
Jeff let his mouth go slack, and Nick’s cock hit the back of his throat. To his surprise, he didn’t gag or choke. It was as if their soulmate bond and his Craft power allowed him to do this without any of the trouble he thought he’d have. Instead of gagging, he felt nothing but pleasure as he sucked. Nick smelled like damp skin and musk, and Jeff knew without a doubt that he could spend the rest of his life doing this to his lover. His own cock hardened, despite the mind-blowing orgasm he’d just experienced. He gripped himself with one hand, lightly stroking in time with Nick’s thrusts. It felt good. Nick felt good in his mouth, and he squeezed harder, trembling when little bursts of pleasure zipped through him.
Nick moaned, and Jeff’s cock swelled even more, and he was suddenly dangerously close to coming. He swallowed around Nick’s cock, again and again, and his soulmate must have liked it because he groaned, and then the muscles under Jeff’s palm flexed tight and solid. Nick suddenly stiffened as his cock pulsed his orgasm right down Jeff’s throat. Jeff swallowed again, and again, and then to his shock, he lost the battle with his self-control and tipped over the edge, too. He moaned around Nick’s erection, hand gripping himself so tightly the pressure bordered on pain. When the last waves of pleasure finally settled, he leaned back, breathing hard as Nick’s cock slid out of his mouth. He looked up. Nick stared down at him, face flushed. Jeff touched his lips. They felt sensitive and swollen. He could hardly believe he’d just done that. “Damn, Nick,” he said. A smile teased the corner of his mouth.
Nick snorted. “I think that’s my line,” he said roughly. He reached down and hauled Jeff up and into a hug. “I could sleep for a week after that.”
Sleep sounded like a good idea to Jeff. “Yeah, me too.” He held onto his soulmate, letting his Craft energy settle back down. It seemed stronger again, but also more stable. “Did we just bond again?”
Nick shook his head. “No, we were already bonded, but I think the sex deepens our connection.” He grinned. “We should probably do it as much as possible.”
Jeff snorted. “My energy feels even stronger than before, and it felt pretty fucking strong already.” Jeff forced himself to let go of Nick. He looked around the bathroom, then shook his head. They could deal with the mess in the morning. He picked up their used towels and cleaned himself up, then tossed them on top of the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. He followed Nick into the bedroom.
Nick dropped onto the bed in a boneless heap. “My energy feels stronger, too, and I’m not sure that’s entirely a good thing. The thought of stronger or more frequent visions doesn’t exactly fill me with excitement.” He closed his eyes.
Jeff wrestled the covers down, shifting Nick over so that they could both get under the comforter. The room wasn’t cold, but with the building’s central air, it wasn’t exactly warm, either. “Maybe you’ll have more control, not less, and you’ll be able to choose when to see things. My power feels more settled. More stable.” He shook his head and drew the covers up over them both. “It could be a good thing. Isn’t having a soulmate supposed to help people with Craft power?”
Nick sighed. “Yeah, but no one has ever had my power. I’m the only Seer I know of, so there’s no way to tell whether our bonding will help me or not.”
“You don’t regret it, do you?” Jeff had to ask.
Nick went up on an elbow. “No. Definitely not.” His hazel eyes were steady.
Thank God, because I don’t think I could handle it if he checked out on me, Jeff thought as he tugged Nick back down. “We don’t have to figure everything out right now.”
“Now you sound like me,” Nick said, sounding amused. “I’m usually the one calming everyone down and figuring out what to do next.”
Jeff shrugged. “We’re bonded. We’re going to be bonded for the rest of our lives. That means I support you when you need it. This thing—” He gestured between them. “—goes both ways.” He leaned back to look at Nick’s face. “I’m not always a basket case, you know. My parents’ death hasn’t been easy, and you came into my life right in the middle of it. I’m actually pretty easygoing.” He smiled. “You can lean on me when you need to, Nick.”
Nick’s expression eased. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’m so used to protecting other people that…” He trailed off, but Nick didn’t have to finish his thought. Jeff already knew what his soulmate was going to say.
He smiled. “It’s okay, Nick. I know.” And he did know. He’d seen it all, when they bonded. Nick’s life stretched out in his memories, full and rich. “I know you, Nick.”
Nick nodded. “So you do.” He yawned, suddenly.
Jeff laughed as he found himself yawning, too. “Sleep, now.”
“Yeah.” Nick switched off the light, then settled in against Jeff. “Sleep.”
****
Nick woke up disoriented. His mind felt strange, as if he’d had a vision in his sleep that he couldn’t remember, like a dream that dissipates as soon as the morning sun hits the bed. He sat up and grabbed his phone to check the time, then put it back down on the nightstand when he saw that it was still too early to get up.
“You okay?” Jeff asked sleepily, rolling closer to Nick.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Go back to sleep,” Nick said, running a hand down Jeff’s bare arm. He shivered, wondering how in the hell he’d managed to bond with someone. Jeff already meant more to him than anyone else in the world, and it was weird going from being alone, and expecting to be alone forever, to this. He’d spent his entire adult life knowing that his soulmate was dead, yet here he was. How did I get that old vision so terribly wrong? he wondered.
“Hey.” Jeff got up on one elbow. The nightlight in the bathroom was just bright enough to illuminate his face. Concern slanted across his expression. “You’re not okay. You seem restless.”
Nick shrugged. “Guess I’m not used to sleeping in.” That wasn’t it, not really, but he didn’t want to worry his lover. There was no sense in obsessing over past mistakes, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that suddenly pressed in on him.
“You realize I can sense your uneasiness,” Jeff pointed out, sounding more awake.
Shit. Nick turned to Jeff. “I forgot about that, actually.” He huffed under his breath as he realized that he could sense Jeff, too. His soulmate was definitely awake now, and worried. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Jeff drew him back down into the sleep-warmed covers. “What’s bothering you? Bad dream?”
Nick sighed. “You could say that.” He debated for a moment, but then realized that Jeff deserved to know what he was feeling. “I feel like I have a vision hovering just out of range, but it won’t materialize.”
“A bad vision, clearly,” Jeff murmured.
Nick nodded. “Aren’t they always?”
Jeff frowned. “I don’t know. Are they always visions of terrible things that could happen? Or do you occasionally see good stuff, too?” He ran a finger down Nick’s arm. “Sometimes, when I’m working on a painting or sculpture, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I left something important unfinished. I usually just need to relax into the feeling and the solution to what I need to know reveals itself.” He threaded their fingers together. “Maybe you need to remember the good visions. Maybe you’re limiting yourself unnecessarily.”
He’s got a point. Nick stared at his lover. “I usually only pay attention to the bad visions, unfortunately.” He grimaced, realizing as he said the words that he’d spent his life not only paying attention to them, but also pursuing the bad visions in often futile attempts to change their outcome.
“That’s a shitty way to live,” Jeff said.
“It is what it is,” Nick replied, feeling depressed. “I need to do what I can.”
Jeff pursed his lips, then drew Nick closer. “You don’t have to live that way, Nick. I know life sucks. Believe me, I, of all people, know that, but there’s a lot of good in the world. I wouldn’t have met you, otherwise.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” Nick said, not wanting to mention Jeff’s parents or the people trying to kill him. He wanted to sink into the sweet oblivion of sleep, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen. Not now. Not with his power tickling at the edges of his mind.
“Yeah, I have, but I don’t think the rest of my life will be shitty,” Jeff said, stroking a finger down Nick’s jaw. “Not anymore.”
Nick’s cock twitched. “You don’t want to talk about my visions right now.”
“No, I don’t,” Jeff said. His hand stilled.
Nick leaned in and touched his lips to his soulmate’s. “What do you want, Jeff?”
Jeff groaned softly. “You have to ask?”
Nick smiled, kissing him with purpose. His cock was fully hard now. “I know what I want,” he said. Sex is as good a distraction as any from my power.
Jeff shuddered as he slid his hands around Nick’s waist. “What?”
“I want you to fuck me,” Nick said. He could pinpoint the exact moment Jeff realized exactly what he meant.
“Oh, God,” Jeff said, voice hoarse. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” Nick’s voice was rough. “Completely serious. Hang on,” he said, rolling back around to fumble in the nightstand. He came back with lube. “It won’t take much to get me ready.” He slid down the covers.
“Get you ready? Oh, Jesus,” Jeff said, taking the small tube from Nick. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“It’s not that hard,” Nick said, even as he stroked himself. Amusement at the innuendo drifted through him, and he knew his soulmate thought he was absurd. Better than being gloomy, he thought.
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Ha. Very funny.”
Nick smiled, then lay back. “Lube, and then more lube. That’s basically all you need to know. The rest is self-explanatory.” He took the tube back from Jeff and squeezed some onto his fingers. “Like this.” He began fingering himself, shivering with pleasure. There was something incredibly arousing about doing this while Jeff watched. He’s your soulmate, he reminded himself. That intensifies everything. Jeff stared at his face, and then his gaze dropped down to where Nick was opening himself. His green eyes had darkened to black in the dim light, and Nick knew that neither of them were going to last very long. He added another finger and pushed through the burn as he stretched muscles that hadn’t experienced this in years.
“Let me,” Jeff finally said, pushing Nick’s hands away.
The moment his fingers touched Nick’s body, heat speared through him. He threw his head back and groaned. He grabbed his cock and squeezed hard, hoping to stave off his climax.
Jeff worked one finger inside, and then another. “This okay?” he asked as he stroked his free hand down Nick’s waist.
“Jesus, Jeff,” Nick panted, grabbing Jeff’s hand and putting it over his erection. “I’m not going to be able to last if you keep asking me that.”
“I’ve hardly touched you yet,” Jeff said, even as he began to stroke Nick’s cock. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“You could’ve fooled me,” Nick said, gritting his teeth. He tried to keep from shoving himself down on Jeff’s fingers, but failed. He wanted his lover’s cock inside with a desperation that shocked him. “Jeff—” he started to say, but then his soulmate shifted his fingers and hit his prostate. Light flared behind his eyelids, and dimly he heard Jeff groan, too, as the pleasure spearing through him bounced through their bond.
“Oh my God,” Jeff said.
Nick grabbed him and hauled him over top of him. “Fuck me, Jeff,” he said, hips jerking.
Jeff angled his cock down. Nick helped him, and when the tip of his lover pushed at his ring of muscles, they both froze.
“Come on,” Nick said through gritted teeth. “I’m not going to break.” He emphasized the words with another twitch of his hips.
“If I move at all, I’m going to blow,” Jeff gritted out.
Nick wrapped his legs around his soulmate and shoved. Jeff’s cock slid inside, and they both shuddered. The pleasure sizzled along the bond, white-hot and intense. Jeff’s hips snapped forward as his control broke, and Nick cried out as his lover pushed inside hard enough to force them both up the bed. “Oh fuck,” he gasped as Jeff dropped his head down on his shoulder. “Move. Please.”
Jeff was shaking. “You feel so fucking good.”
Nick held him tightly, feeling the overwhelming emotions tying them together ever more tightly. The vision that had been waiting in the corner of his mind edged closer, and he shut his eyes as he willed it to just wait. “If you don’t move now, Jeff, I’m going to fall into a vision. Come on. I can take it.”
With a growl Nick hadn’t ever expected to hear from him, Jeff began to thrust, slow and then harder, until they were both grunting with the effort it took not to bang into the wall. “I can’t last,” Jeff said, voice low and broken.
“No need to,” Nick said, fingers digging into Jeff’s shoulders.
Jeff shifted position slightly, and that movement angled his cock just right. The next shove inside hammered Nick’s prostate, and that was it. Game over. His climax rushed through him like a freight train smashing a thousand miles over the speed limit: relentless and impossibly powerful. He threw his head back, voice gone hoarse with pleasure, and then Jeff cried out and shuddered as he shoved inside one last time. His cock jerked as all of his muscles locked up. For a long moment, everything seemed to freeze, and Nick’s power flared through them both, flashing scenes past them too quickly for him to focus on just one, but then a single image of their fingers clasped together pushed forward. It wavered, and then broke into a thousand bright colors. Jeff collapsed, panting, and Nick caught him and held on as hard as he could, but the pleasure had wrung every last bit of strength out of him. Not to mention that bizarre vision flash, he thought, bemused.
“Oh my God,” Jeff said, trembling. “Did you see that?”
Nick nodded. He didn’t have a fucking clue what to say. Their bond glowed bright and strong in his mind, and he knew that there was nothing short of death that could ever destroy what they had. “Soulmate,” he murmured, finally.
Jeff sighed as his cock softened and slipped out. “I never thought I’d have a soulmate,” he said, easing down off Nick’s body and into a boneless sprawl alongside him. The bed was wrecked: the sheets were half on, half off, and there were no pillows anywhere on the mattress. The comforter hung onto the lower corner of the bed like a man clinging to the edge of a cliff.
“Neither did I,” Nick said, speaking barely above a whisper. He held onto Jeff in a way that he would’ve denied needing a few days ago. It was strange how quickly the soulmate bond tied two people together. He shifted slightly, surprised that nothing hurt after that epic bout of sex. Jeff’s Healing Craft has a lot of perks to it, he thought, amused.
“Guess your visions were wrong all those years ago, hmm?” Jeff asked. “I’m alive, and we’re here together. Bonded.”
Nick went still as a sudden chill swept through him, chasing the afterglow of their lovemaking away too soon. “My visions are never wrong,” he whispered, holding on to Jeff more tightly. “I may not remember everything they show me, and I know I focus too much on the bad, but they’re never wrong.” The thought of losing this man, just when he’d found him, tormented him. No. I can’t lose him now, he vowed. He’d do anything to keep Jeff safe.
“Hey. It’s okay,” Jeff said, lifting up. His expression told Nick that he’d felt the same chill sweep through him. “The visions’ outcome can be misinterpreted. You know that. I’ve already been in three fires in my lifetime, and I’m still alive.” He grabbed onto Nick’s arms. “I’m still here with you.”
Nick shook his head. It didn’t matter how tightly Jeff gripped him; he knew the truth. “You need to be careful, Jeff. Something could still happen. We haven’t figured out yet how to stop your ex and the others from trying to kill you.” He swallowed hard as the thought of Jeff dying pushed through him, slow and inexorable, like a tsunami.
“I’m not dead yet, Nick. And I have no intention of ending up that way,” Jeff said, pulling him close.
Nick didn’t argue. He let his soulmate hold him tight as morning slowly walked towards them, but deep in his mind he couldn’t help worry that they hadn’t seen the last of the flames. His visions were never wrong. There was still time to die.
“Stop it, Nick,” Jeff murmured. “I can feel you stressing over it.”
“We can’t stay here forever, Jeff.” Nick sighed and forced his muscles to relax. “And I can’t lose you,” he whispered.
“You won’t,” Jeff replied. “We should get some more sleep before morning. We have a lot to do. I figure we could head to Virginia and visit my old lab. Maybe someone there will know how to find Vivian. It’s better than spending all our time reacting to things as they happen.”
“Go on the offensive?” Nick liked that idea. He was tired of being one step behind while a group of Craft anarchists threatened Jeff.
“Yeah.” Jeff reached down and retrieved their pillows. “Hang tight a second.” He got out of bed and padded to the bathroom.
Nick watched him move. Even in the dim light Jeff’s strength was evident. Muscles slid beneath his skin as he walked away, and then Nick heard the water running. Jeff returned with a damp cloth that he tossed to Nick. Nick caught it and cleaned himself up as best he could. Jeff took it back and threw it in the direction of the bathroom as he climbed back into bed. “Stop thinking about fire, Nick. I can see the thoughts on your face.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking about?” Nick asked. He wrapped his arms around his soulmate.
“I just know,” Jeff said, sighing as he leaned against Nick’s shoulder. “There’s nothing we can do about it right now. We need sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.” He let out a long, slow breath. “If there’s one thing I learned from my parents’ death, it’s that you have to take things one step at a time.”
“Tomorrow is already today,” Nick pointed out.
Jeff lifted his head and Nick could almost feel his glare against his skin. “Today, tomorrow, whatever. We’ll figure everything out in the morning.”
Nick nodded, sensing Jeff’s frustration. He knew that neither of them really believed those words, but he was willing to push his worries aside. For now, he thought, wishing he could take Jeff and run away, but he knew their problems would follow them. “In the morning then,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “There’ll be time enough for drama, then.”