Cast A Spell (Mages and Mates #4)

22. Thal

Thal

O tto’s bombshell question ended the meeting. He might not be as strong as his brother, but Otto was smarter, more experienced, and a better mage.

“I need a shower,” Otto said.

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t realized he’d led us back to our room. He was watching me when I met his gaze. Through our bond, I’d learned the stoic facade he presented to the world came at a cost. Otto came across as aloof, but at his core he craved the closeness with another he denied himself.

“Is that an invitation?”

“It wasn’t, but it should’ve been,” he said with a lopsided grin. “But if I never said this before, I’m not a fan of shower sex. It’s too restrictive.”

Directness was another side of Otto he kept contained. He’d been trained to give only what information was required. A good diplomat never volunteered too much. A good mate held back nothing.

“I think it can be fun, but I prefer the bed.” I moved in and pressed our lips together. Otto melded into me physically and emotionally. The ability to lower his walls, even if just to me, washed away a weariness that was bone deep.

The kiss ended, and neither of us moved back. I ran my thumb across his cheek and stared into his beautiful brown eyes. His soul buckled under the weight of responsibility he’d foisted upon himself. As a young man, he’d seen injustice toward his younger brothers and stepped in to defend them. He carried that white knight persona into adulthood. It was a crushing burden he refused to shrug off.

I couldn’t convince him to leave it for someone else, and I wasn’t going to try. Otto wouldn’t be the being I loved so much if he didn’t remain true to himself. He didn’t, however, need to carry it alone.

“Let’s go wash up and go to bed,” I said softly.

“You know me so well.” He stole another kiss and took my hand.

I watch as he stripped off his clothes, admiring his lean, athletic build as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Even though he loved to run, he had the lithe, muscular build of an athlete. His broad shoulders tapering to a slim waist and abs that could’ve been etched from granite. As the shirt slipped off, it revealed his smooth chest dusted with dark hair.

It didn’t matter that I’d seen and felt his body before. I stood transfixed. My eyes traced the contours of his torso and the defined ridges and planes, as he shimmied out of his pants. His strong thighs and calves flexed as he stepped up and down to free himself of the restricting clothing.

Otto looked up, catching me staring. He smiled and his eyes sparkled with mischief. He had the sexy confidence that came from knowing I adored every inch of him.

“Are you going to shower with your clothes on?” he asked with a touch of snark. “Aside from how much I love seeing your naked body, it will make it hard for you to get clean.”

He’d busted me for staring, but I didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed. “A mate’s allowed to admire the view.”

“Good to know,” he said. “I’ll take full advantage of my rights once you get naked.”

I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside. Otto slid his briefs down and flipped them on top of my shirt. He might not like shower sex, but his cock was at full attention. I couldn’t call him on it because once I pushed my jeans and boxers down, I was in a similar state of arousal.

We might not prefer shower sex, but it was going to be hard to resist.

Otto turned his bare ass to me and adjusted the water. I slid up behind him and put my hands around his waist. He leaned back against me, using his left hand to test the water.

With my cock pressed firmly in the cleft of his firm ass, I felt my resolve to be good waver a bit. “Maybe we should shower separately.”

“Am I being a tease?” He sounded distressed as he moved away.

I regretted my words. I had enough willpower to wait a few minutes. “No, this is on me. You excite me like no one else has. I find it hard to resist.”

“If it’s any help, I obviously have similar feelings,” he said, looking down at his hard-on. “If it’s too much, I’m good exploring if being mates changes my opinion of sex in the shower.”

I loved him for offering, but his heart wasn’t into it, which meant mine wasn’t, either. “Let’s stick to getting clean. We can explore this another time.”

Otto tested the water again and led me under the spray. Before we could get fully wet, he spun around and kissed me hard enough to back me against the tiles. When we broke apart, we were flushed and panting softly. “I’m not used to someone putting me above their own desires.”

I gently pushed his wet hair aside, my fingers lightly grazing his forehead. “No. Other people would, but you won't let them. You let me because you know how I feel."

Otto cupped my face, his warm palms igniting heat across my skin. He wrestled with his desires and resisted kissing me again. “Let’s get washed up.”

I did as he suggested, but I had hopes we’d need to shower again before we went to sleep.

O tto took an extra minute to brush his teeth, so I got in bed to wait for him. I didn’t need our connection to know we both wanted the same thing. We’d waited for all the right reasons, but now we didn’t need to be good or obey someone else’s rules.

He opened the door and shut the light. I loved looking at his body. Only the towel prevented me from seeing everything. Running his hand through his damp hair, he barely managed to tame his wayward locks.

He held the waist of the towel with his right hand and stared at me.

“You are so beautiful,” I said.

The bashful smile only made me want him more. “No one who said that before meant it like you.”

I wanted to feel his skin on mine. To press my lips to his and rest my weight against him. “Come here and I’ll show you just how much I mean it.”

With a flick of his wrist, the towel slid down his slim hips, leaving him gloriously naked. I inspected every bit, and I thought I’d burst. He was hard, but I didn’t let my gaze linger. I sought out his eyes and we stared at each other as he climbed onto the end of the bed and crawled over me.

I shivered despite the warm body that covered mine. It was strong and comforting yet made me pulse with vibrant energy. He ran his hand lazily over my chest and abdomen. It was incredibly sensual but lacked overt sexual tension.

I cupped his face, running my thumb across his cheek. Leaning closer, I pressed my forehead to his. My eyes were closed, and it heightened my other senses. He smelled like the open sky and pine trees. His body moved gently with each breath and the warm air washed over my chin and neck.

In life, you can’t go back and relive firsts. Often, we don’t think about them in the moment, but Otto and I had. We knew it wasn’t right before and we waited. I’d like to think it was so we could make an amazing memory of our first time, but it wasn’t. Elana had rules, and we didn’t want our first time to be rolling on the ground. Even in the privacy of a tent, we needed to hold off given the danger we faced.

This, however, was the right moment.

Otto put his hand on my cheek and caressed my skin. Where his fingers passed, my face tingled. The feeling spread through me, and I wanted to live in that place forever. He slid his fingers behind my head and gently pulled us closer.

Our lips touched for a kiss that lingered. I ran my tongue along the groove in his lips until they parted. The heat from our kiss unleashed a need I’d been holding in for days.

He hooked his leg around mine, locking us together as our tongues tangled in a gentle dance. All I knew were his lips, his skin on mine, and the fingers that traced imaginary patterns on my face.

We broke for air, and I pressed my forehead to his.

“I know I’ve said this before, but you are an amazing kisser,” he said.

I almost said, “So are you,” but that was so lame. “I’ll never get tired of kissing you.”

Not much better, but my brain was distracted. We’d spent days learning that we didn’t need sex to be intimate, but now I wanted more. Otto did, too.

“You planning to go alpha on me?” Otto asked.

I’d clearly lit a fire in him when I tried to order him to bed. “Yes. You ready to submit?”

The wicked grin he gave me in return was sexy as hell, but it didn’t give me confidence he’d let me take charge. He leaned until his lips were beside my ear.

“I want to feel you inside me,” he breathed into my ear. “Make me scream your name out loud and beg you for more.”

Maybe I was wrong, and he was ready to do my bidding. “No screaming is probably best.”

“I’ve made sure no one can hear us.” He licked my ear, causing me to shiver.

Soundproofing the room removed my last inhibition. I rolled him over, straddled his hips, and pinned him to the bed. My cock pressed against his as I leaned forward. “Good.”

Crushing my lips to his, I plunged into his mouth and explored with an urgent need. He tried to put his arms around me, but I grabbed them and pushed them back onto the mattress. “I didn’t say you could touch me.”

Otto shivered and I felt his excitement. He spent his days being in control and maintaining an air of command. He wasn’t normally submissive but our bond allowed him to explore something different.

Kissing my way down his body, I headed toward his right nipple. I remembered this was a spot, and I planned to exploit it before I gave him what he wanted. My tongue painted a wet line around the brown nub before I bit it gently. I tweaked the left one with my hand, drawing a moan as Otto writhed beneath me.

“Fuck!” he hissed loudly, making good on his promise to be loud.

Drifting lower, my bottom lip touched his leaking cock. I paused to run my tongue around the sensitive head, but I didn’t linger. We had other plans.

Otto bucked, trying to get me to suck his cock, but I put my hands on his hips to hold him down. “Not tonight.”

I loved the taste and feel of him in my mouth, but he made it clear what he really wanted. He wanted me balls deep inside him and I planned to give him what he needed. Licking my way down his shaft, I tickled his furry balls with the tip of my tongue. Then I put my hands under his thighs and pushed up.

The puckered, pink flesh winked as his body clenched in my hands. I blew air over his hole, sending more shivers through his body.

“Oh God, Thal.” Otto nearly shouted.

In the back of my mind I thought how embarrassed we’d be if his spell didn’t work, but by that point, I didn’t care. I did it again just before swiping my tongue across the wrinkled rosy skin.

“Fuck yeah,” he growled in an urgent plea. His hands gripped the sheets on either side of his hips. “That’s what I need.”

My tongue darted forward, forcing the tight muscles to let me in. I slid my hands down until I cupped his cheeks. Using my thumbs, I opened him wider, and burrowed deeper. My nose was jammed against his skin as I strained to wiggle my tongue as far in as I could.

“More!” he demanded.

I gave him a last lick before I tucked my legs under me and sat back. Wetting my finger, I pressed it into his entrance. The muscle clenched around me, and I gave him a second to relax.

My dick pointed toward its desired home, but it wasn’t time yet. I applied more spit to his hole and slid my finger back in, working it in and out. Before I could add a second one, Otto’s left arm shot out and I heard something slap into his palm. He pushed a bottle of lube into my hand.

“Nice trick,” I said, flicking the cap open with my thumb.

I squeezed a few drops onto my fingers and slowly inserted a second digit. Twisting them inside him, I smiled as he squirmed and sucked in a breath.

“Please,” he said. “Fuck me now!”

Otto might have wanted me to be in control, but he was a bossy bottom. “Not until I’m ready.”

I dribbled more of the slick liquid onto my fingers and worked the lube into his ass until I could slide in and out easily. Then I coated my cock, pushed his legs back, and positioned the head against his hole.

“Slow or hard and fast?” I asked.

“Whatever you want,” he said, locking his gaze to mine. “I’ll be good either way.”

Connected as we were, I knew what he wanted. I also knew he didn’t want to tell me, since I was in control. I leaned in and covered his lips with mine as I pushed into him.

Otto moaned loudly as I slid my entire length deep into his warmth. He was so loud I doubted the spell could prevent others from hearing us. His hands flew up to frame my face as he deepened the kiss.

I stayed still as he’d adjusted to the burn. Still kissing, I nudged my hips forward to press myself into him as far as I could. He groaned into my mouth, but he never released me. The heat around my cock radiated through me and I let out a pleased hum.

“You feel so good,” I said once our lips parted. I detected no signs of distress so I eased out and plunged back in. “That what you want?”

A needy, filthy noise escaped his lips as my body slapped against his. “Yes! More!” He angled his hips up and whooshed out a breath when I slammed into him. “Fuck me, Thal!”

The stream of demands spurred me to give him what he craved. He slid his hands around my head and pulled me back into a kiss. His tongue forced itself into my mouth and I was closer way sooner than I wanted.

“I’m close,” I whispered. “You want me to stop?”

“No!” He wrapped his long legs around me. “Come for me, Thal. I want to feel you shoot.”

I buried my face against his shoulder and sucked gently. I had the presence of mind not to leave a visible mark, but tasting him tipped me over the edge. My body tingled a second before I hit that moment of no return.

“Oh shit. I’m coming.” I fucked him harder, and I heard his grunts as I hit deeper than before.

My body shook as I shot. He clenched his muscles around me, and I sought his mouth. His lips parted and I plunged my tongue in as my cock continued to spasm inside him. With a last heave, I collapsed my weight onto him.

“Oh fuck,” he said in a surprised voice. “That’s what a knot feels like”

Shifter only got a knot in human form with their mates. It felt incredible. I leaned forward and he grunted from the sensation.

Three soft kisses later, I sat up and fisted his cock. Pushing my still-hard dick up, I raked his prostate.

“Oh God,” Otto shouted. “That feels so good.”

“Come for me.” I ordered in my strongest alpha voice.

He wiggled his hips and pushed himself down onto me. “Right there. Yes.”

His breath came in ragged gulps as my slippery hand continued to work his cock. “That’s it. Come for me!”

His muscles squeezed, sending shudders through me as his cock fired a blast of white cum across his stomach and chest, all the way to his chin. He continued to clench and release as he came. When he finished, I released his dick and leaned forward for a soft kiss.

“That was amazing,” I said.

“You stole my line.” Otto said. “I swear you forced the cum out when you ordered me. So damn hot!”

My knot receded and I eased out of him. I kissed him again, and moved to the side of the bed. “Let me get something to clean you up.”