Page 9 of Pain

She bonded with Zandren first, which was fine. I wasn’t a competitive guy. Patience might not be my middle name, but it was definitely something I actively aspired to be. Especially when it came to getting my mate to trust me. Besides, being first didn’t always mean you were the best when it came to this kind of thing. And sure, she’d fucked Drak, but they didn’t mate. He was blinded by his bloodlust, and she was hypnotized by him because of it. Either way, I had faith that my mate would find her way to me on her own terms and in her own time. And I wasn’t wrong.

When she stepped into the room as I lay there healing from Melissima’s ministrations, I thought maybe we’d just talk a bit, get to know each other a little better. Only in my wildest, most depraved dreams did I think she’d want to climb on top of me and ride my fingers and flames the way she did. Not aftereverything we’d all been through.

Then again, orgasms were a great way to get rid of elevated levels of cortisol and increase the dopamine in our brains. And there wasn’t anything more powerful than sex magic. It was one of the reasons why mating was encouraged to happen sooner rather than later. Because the more bonded mates were, the quicker they could heal each other, and the more powerful their magic became.

I could already feel my organs repairing and my wounds sealing up beneath Melissima’s dressings. By morning, I’d be back to one hundred percent, maybe even sooner than morning if Omaera stayed with me and kept her hands on me.

It didn’t even matter that we hadn’t bonded or had sex. That would come in time. For now, I was more than content just holding her. Just being with her and letting her get to know me.

Hopefully, she liked what she learned.

Not everyone did.

We were quiet for a little while, both of us resting after a very intense, healing, and magical encounter. I could tell she wasn’t asleep, but I also knew she needed to rest.

“Are both your parents fire-mages?” she asked softly, breaking the silence that hung softly in the room. She swallowed and twirled her delicate finger around the hair on my chest. “Are they still alive?”

I sucked in a deep breath and squeezed her tighter against me. I knew this conversation would come up, eventually. I just hadn’t had an opportunity to figure out how I was going to talk to her about it all. About my family.

I must have been quiet too long because she paused her finger, shifted her chin to rest on my chest, and glanced up at me. “A-are they dead?”

I shook my head and pressed my lips together. “No. They’re not dead.”

Relief, but also wariness, shimmered in her green eyes. “But judging by your expression and that look in your eyes, you wish they were?”

Glancing at the ceiling, I gathered my thoughts. “It’s complicated.”

“Don’t shut me out. Please. You know everything about me. About my family. Don’t I deserve the same from you?”

She did.

She absolutely did.

She deserved the fucking moon, stars, and every goddamned planet in the solar system.

I sighed and met her probing gaze. “My dad was—isa fire-mage. My motherisa dark-mage.”

Her dark brows furrowed. “What’s a dark-mage?”

“One who practices and is skilled in dark magic.”

“That’s a thing? But … how can you beborna dark-mage? Isn’t that like putting a curse on a baby? That doesn’t seem remotely fair.”

“She was born an earth-mage, but somewhere along the way got … tangled up with the wrong crowd, if we’re going to use cliché terms. She basically sold her soul to become a dark-mage. Which means she is a danger to everyone. She turned my father over to the dark as well, but he never sold his soul, as far as I know.” A thick, spiky ball formed at the back of my throat. “I was raised by my paternal grandmother—a fire-mage as well. Both my parents have been in prison in Hell for over three hundred years. They were part of a big plot to essentially perform a mass genocide on humans, but your father was one of the ones who thwarted them.”

Her eyes went wide. “M-my dad?”

I nodded. “Yeah. He, along with Zandren’s father and several others, put their differences aside in order to stop my parents. Though, they weren’t alone. There were a lot of mages who sold their souls to the dark.”

“This sounds like Harry Potter, almost. Are you telling me there is a prison like Azkaban and your parents are there rotting for eternity? Where is it?” She sat up, but made sure to keep her hand on me. Even though the topic of discussion was heavy, I was also a man, and this was my mate, and she was fucking gorgeous. So, of course my brain short-circuited a little, and my eyes dropped and basically glued themselves to her perfect tits. She cleared her throat, and I reluctantly pulled my gaze to her face, where she regarded me with amusement.

“Sorry. Actually, no. I’m not sorry. Your tits are fucking fantastic. The mere sight of them is curing all that ails me. In fact, lean over here and stick one of those sweet little nipples into my mouth.” I tugged on her hand, but she resisted.

“I’mserious, Maxar.”

“So am I. Let me just taste them, then I’ll answer your questions. I promise.”

Rolling her eyes, she acquiesced and leaned over me, letting her nipples graze my lips. I latched onto the right one first and sucked until she gasped. Then I gently, but nottoogently, scissored my teeth over the tender peak before finally flicking my tongue back and forth over it. I did the same to the other nipple until her moans had my cock stiffening in my black sweats. I could have very easily picked her up and gone for round two with my hands between her legs—in fact, I tried—but she pulled away and sat back, pressing her hand to my chest again.

---