Lindsay against his chest, tucked up safe and warm.
Lindsay wrapped his arms around Dane’s neck and nudged his nose against Dane’s chin. “I didn’t
know how to stop,” he murmured. “Still don’t, I guess.” At the Institute, all his fighting had seemed
hopeless and stupid. Now, it actually felt like the smart thing to do.
“Guess we have that in common.” They didn’t seem to have much else in common, with Dane so dark
and huge and Lindsay so pale and small in his arms. Dane carried him to bed, tucking him into the turned-
down blankets and leaning over him to kiss him, slowly and sweetly, as though he were tucking Lindsay
into bed. “I’m going to build the fire up so you don’t get cold in the night.”
Dane left Lindsay snuggled in soft sheets and heaps of blankets while he crouched to put more wood
on the fire and adjust the flue so it would burn slowly. Lindsay sighed and settled into the blankets. Izia had said he should rest, and the look she’d given Dane… Well, Lindsay knew she’d meant he shouldn’t be
getting up to anything with Dane, either.
When he was satisfied with the fire, Dane wandered around the room, turning down the lamps and
checking the windows. Lindsay took full advantage of the opportunity to watch Dane move. He was bare,
and entirely comfortable with it. His powerful muscles shifted under his furred skin as he moved, and
Lindsay wondered if any of Dane’s appearance would change tomorrow. It wouldn’t matter, though.
Lindsay had grown far more attached to who Dane was than to how he looked.
Dane pulled something out of his bag before he came back to bed, sliding in next to Lindsay. His
warm body pressed up against Lindsay’s side as he leaned in to kiss Lindsay on the mouth. “Sleepy?”
Lindsay snuggled closer, shaking his head. “Not yet,” he murmured. It was hard to truly be sleepy
when he was so nervous about what was going to happen to him tomorrow.
“You need to sleep.” Dane’s hand slid down Lindsay’s body to cup between his thighs. He kissed
Lindsay again, hungry and shameless about what he wanted, in spite of his words.
Lindsay moaned and arched up into the touch. He spread his legs and wound his fingers in Dane’s
hair. “Definitely not interested in going to sleep right now,” he muttered breathlessly. “Especially not if you’re touching me like that.” He arched and licked at Dane’s lips. “Please don’t stop touching me like
that.”
“Don’t want to,” Dane confessed. His hand kept moving, stroking slowly, while he kissed Lindsay. “I
want you.”
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“You can have me,” Lindsay promised, whispering between kisses. “Tell me what you want me to do.
Anything.” As long as Dane didn’t stop touching him, Lindsay would give him whatever he wanted.
Dane didn’t ask for anything. He just slid his body over Lindsay’s, slipping between his thighs and
leaning over him to keep kissing him. He’d been careful before, but now he was even more tender, going so
slowly, as though he was trying to enjoy every moment.
Dane kissed behind Lindsay’s ear. “Soon, you’re not going to need me anymore,” he murmured. He
didn’t sound sorry about it, he sounded proud.
The pride in Dane’s tone warmed Lindsay, but he knew Dane was wrong. “Some kinds of need don’t
go away just because what’s broken gets fixed.”
That made Dane purr and bite at Lindsay’s neck. He wrapped his arms around Lindsay and shifted to
slide the head of his cock between Lindsay’s ass cheeks. He didn’t say anything else, just let their bodies move together.
Lindsay moaned softly, moving to keep Dane’s cock sliding against him. His moans got sharper as the
friction built up, making his dick leak precome onto his belly, and he turned his head to catch Dane’s
mouth again, kissing him wantonly.
Dane shifted and, a moment later, he pushed a hand between them to slide a slick finger into Lindsay.
His kisses were as needy as Lindsay’s; his usual reserve seemed to have disappeared.
“Please,” Lindsay whispered, writhing under Dane. Taking his cue from the way Dane kissed him, he
nipped at Dane’s lower lip and licked into his mouth, making pleading sounds.
Dane didn’t make him wait too long. He got Lindsay slick, then himself, before sliding his cock into
place. His hair was falling around him in rough waves, his expression was intense, but then a smile tugged
at the corners of his mouth. Lindsay smiled back, tentatively, and leaned up to press a quick kiss to Dane’s lips.
“Good.” Dane kissed Lindsay back into the pillows and moved faster. He pushed himself up, arms
straight, looking at Lindsay hungrily while they fucked. Being stared at like that was like being washed in pure heat.
Lindsay tried to muffle his moans, biting his lip and turning his face into the curve of his arm.
Everything felt too amazingly good, and his moans kept coming louder and louder. His cheeks were on fire
with embarrassment, but he still couldn’t stop.
“They can’t hear you,” Dane whispered. Maybe he was telling the truth. Lindsay didn’t think about it.
He accepted Dane’s reassurance and stopped trying to hold back or muffle himself. “Their loss. You sound
so good.” Dane inhaled slowly, breathing in Lindsay’s pleasure.
Lindsay’s next moan came clearer, louder than the others.
“Like that. Feel it.” Dane’s voice was rough. He moved harder and faster, rolling his hips to let
Lindsay feel all of him.
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Lindsay shivered harder, overwhelmed with pleasure. His moans turned into cries that all sounded
like Dane’s name.
Dane whispered praises and compliments, how beautiful Lindsay was, how much he wanted Lindsay,
how good it was to be with him—things he’d never said before. Lindsay soaked it all up, the words filling
him up with pleasure just as the physical sensations did. He could never have imagined that someone would
have so many words for him, for how wonderful he was, but Dane kept talking, all for him. The rush of
emotion added more depth and need to his cries as he writhed under Dane, trying to pull him deeper, trying
to feel everything.
Dane didn’t stop speaking, not even when he came. His voice got raw, but his words were still sweet
and soothing. It seemed like he would never run out of tender things to say, like he had saved them all up
for now.
Finally Dane stopped moving and gently disentangled their limbs. He didn’t pull out, though. He kept
their bodies close and snuggled Lindsay against him, burrowing in Lindsay’s hair with a soft sigh of
contentment. Dane kissed his forehead and stroked his hair. “Think you can sleep now?” His expression
was as affectionate as his features could manage.
“If I say no, does that mean you’re going to fuck me again?” Lindsay asked, letting a hint of a grin tug
the corners of his lips.
“If I say yes, does that mean you’re going to make yourself stay awake?”
Lindsay laughed and wriggled under Dane. “Maybe. Would you blame me?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been in bed with me.” Dane tumbled them over in bed so that Lindsay was
on top of him. “You need your rest, though. Tomorrow, things change.”
Lindsay braced himself on his hands so he could see Dane, his smile fading. “I know.” He didn’t
know what to think about what Ezqel would do to him. He wanted his magic, wanted to stop being so damn
helpless, but his last encounter with Ezqel’s magic hadn’t left him wanting another taste of it.