Page 61 of Free Me

This was not those forty-eight-hours.

“How?” Linus gasped. He nipped Miko’s thigh. “Position? I’m so ready.”

“Whatever you want, baby. Need you.”

Linus tried to get his brain cells to hold hands and make a good decision. Doggie would be awkward with his balance issues, and Miko seemed a little too endorphin-high to ride him. “On our sides. Spooning. Let’s do that, so I can hold you.”

“Yeah.” Miko released a soft moan. “Fuck, yeah, let’s do that.”

“Okay.” Linus snagged the bottle of slick before nudging Miko into position on his right side. He chose this so that while his stump would be against the mattress, he’d have his whole left leg to wrap around Miko’s, to play with him and hold him tight. He slathered slick around his cock, the cold gel a brief shock to his system, before gently pressing some into Miko’s hole. Miko sighed and pushed back against him, welcoming his questing finger.

Everything about this was both strange and familiar, a dance as old as time, despite them both being completely new at it.

Because we’re bondmates. We’re meant to be together, in this life and the next.

“Please, alpha, I need you,” Miko panted. “Now. Claim me.”

“Mine.” Linus tugged his finger free and braced the head of his dick against Miko’s entrance. He had to take a few long, deep breaths to center himself, the enormity of this new step crashing down all at once. His best friend, his lifelong friend, his bondmate, was giving Linus his virginity and making a declaration that they would one day be mates.

It was almost too much to process, so Linus stopped thinking and ran on instinct. Instinct that demanded he push. Push forward into intense pressure that seemed impenetrable—until it gave way to a kind of heat he’d never imagined. Miko made a noise he couldn’t identify or respond to; all Linus could do was push. With each thrust, he moved deeper into that all-encompassing heat, fell further into the deepest well of pleasure he’d ever experienced in his short life. He moved. Mikomoved. They existed together, hips slamming against ass, hands groping, legs tangling, moving as one in the messiest, least practiced way possible.

And it was perfect. It was everything Linus needed and more. He lost himself in this ancient dance, in fucking his omega, in driving them both to orgasm. He wasn’t entirely sure who came first, only that everything twisted into one orgasmic bliss of pleasure that ended with him hauling Miko close. Kissing him hard. His dick wet, Miko’s dick limp, splatters of come everywhere. Skin and sheets damp, the combined scents more intoxicating than any synthesized drug.

“This was everything,” Miko said, his voice slurred with fatigue.

“Yeah.” Linus squeezed his hip and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. “Absolutely everything.”

FIFTEEN

Miko wokein the pitch dark, and it took him a few seconds to orient himself to the strange environment: in bed, surrounded by Linus’s scent and the lingering smell of sex. A very faint glow came from the bedroom doorway, probably from some appliance in the kitchen, but it gave him little to see by. He’d never been somewhere so completely void of light at night, and that clued him into how long he’d slept. Long enough for the sun to set and all remnants of them making love to dry up.

Not super comfortable, but Miko didn’t care. He could barely make out Linus’s sleeping face, and a wave of love surged inside him. He wanted to wake up like this for the rest of his life, and while that was a fantasy, at least for a couple more months, it was one he soaked in for a while longer. Until his bladder reminded him why he’d woken up in the first place.

He slid out of bed and found the cottage’s bathroom without walking into anything or stubbing his toe. The bright lights seared his eyeballs briefly, but he did his business and used a washcloth to clean up a little. No sense in showering yet, unless Linus woke up and they remade the bed. He gazed at his reflection in the mirror and swore he saw someone brand-new looking back at him. Someone older, happier, who trulyunderstood what the words “make love” both felt like in action and meant in his heart.

He understood what it meant to be loved by his bondmate.

Since he didn’t want to wake Linus by rummaging in their suitcase, he rummaged in the linen closet instead, and actually found a couple of beige robes. Perfect. He slipped one on and wandered into the kitchen to get a glass of water. His stomach rumbled for food, though, since they’d slept right through dinner, and the clock on the microwave glared the numbers 8:45 at him. Oops. It was probably too late to go out or order in (even if he could find delivery menus in the kitchen), but they still had snacks in their cooler.

Curious, Miko opened the refrigerator. He stared at actual food where he’d expected to see empty space: eggs, bacon, milk, butter, a loaf of bread, a carton of orange juice and, in a drawer, deli meat and cheese for sandwiches. The freezer had a few ready meals, as well as ice cream, and the pantry had some other odds and ends, like chips. They hadn’t asked for food, but Frey had certainly done them a solid, and Miko made a mental note to find a good way to thank Frey for this.

He decided to make breakfast for dinner, and just as the bacon was starting to scent the entire cottage, a yawning Linus emerged naked on his crutches. He blew a kiss at Miko on his way to the bathroom. Miko pretended to catch the kiss with his mouth and continued cooking. Linus joined him later in his own robe, and he kissed Miko for real that time. Long and hard, and if Miko wasn’t afraid of the bacon burning, it might have led immediately to round two.

Linus had mercy and watched him finish the meal, invading Miko’s personal space as often as possible. They ended up with bacon and fried-egg sandwiches, and the simplicity of it made the meal even more special. Miko didn’t need expensive seafoodor fine wine to feel like he was sitting down to the best meal in the world. All he needed was Linus.

“How do you feel?” Linus asked after they’d both finished eating and were sipping their juice. “Was I too rough?”

“I feel amazing, and no, it was perfect.” Sure, he was a little tender because it had been his first time, and Linus didn’t exactly have a small dick, but how could Miko complain? “We will be doing that as often as possible while we’re in this house.”

“Oh yeah?” Linus’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Are we limiting ourselves to the bedroom? Or are you feeling adventurous?”

“I’m feeling adventurous indoors. My butt does not need frostbite, thank you very much.”

Linus laughed. “Mine either. I was thinking we get busy on the couch.”

His full belly swooped in a wonderful way. “Oh yeah?” The couch faced a brick fireplace, and while the fire had diminished to embers, the visual of having sex by a roaring fire turned Miko’s crank hard. “How about you get the slick while I stoke the fire?”

“Deal.”

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