“What did you feel?” Haru’s voice was rough and husky as he stuffed his powers back down.
“Prickles. Sharp prickles.”
That was interesting. He hadn’t been sure Adrian could feel his magic. Maybe it was thanks to his connection to Caelan that he was sensitive to magic.
“Smell,” he commanded.
Adrian drew in a deep breath and groaned. He pressed tightly to Haru, wrapping his arms around him while shoving his nose into his throat. “Gods,” he moaned. “It really is you. Why the hell does that smell so good to me? It’s like my entire body relaxes whenever I smell it. Is this some kind of dragon-y weapon to make me lower my defenses?”
Haru chuckled even as his heart squeezed. “I doubt there is any other human in the world who notices my scent. Only you.”
No longer able to wait, Haru pushed and prodded Adrian into the bedroom. He threw his mate onto the bed. Adrian laughed as he bounced, and the mattress complained against such abuse.
At last, he could worship his Adrian. He kissed, licked, nibbled, and stroked every inch of his beautiful body. His dusky skin flushed and glistened with sweat. They hungrily kissed and rolled across the bed in a tangle of limbs until Adrian straddled him, sinking onto Haru’s cock. They cried out, that hot, tight connection almost obliterating all sense.
Adrian rode him with joyous abandon, his head thrown back and his lips parted on a long string of needy cries. Haru almost lost himself in the breathtaking sight of the man, his mate. The one who would be at his side always.
Haru gripped Adrian’s hips and thrust upward, pounding into his welcoming body. Adrian shouted his name and begged for more as he grabbed his cock, stroking it frantically.
Muscles tightened, and Adrian clenched his teeth just as he came apart. Long white stripes of Adrian’s cum painted Haru’s chest, marking him as Adrian’s. Haru lost the last of his restraint and came as well, with a shout.
Adrian collapsed on top of him, and Haru wrapped his arms around him, holding him close as they fought to catch their breaths.
“Well,” Adrian panted, his head resting on Haru’s shoulder. “That shower feels like a waste of time now.”
Haru turned his head and stole a kiss. “The important thing is that you smell like me now.”
A huff broke from Adrian’s lips, and he tipped his face up so Haru could see his smile. “I doubt your jasmine scent rubs off quite like that.”
“You’re right. You smell like jasmine and my cum. That is even better.”
Adrian’s loud cackle filled the room and Haru’s heart. They tumbled across the bed, shoving, laughing, and kissing. For this moment, Adrian wasn’t worried about not being enough, and Haru wasn’t worried about his mate rejecting him. The outside world could wait a few more minutes.
CHAPTER 17
Tyche
The appearance of Yesuntei in the prison made Tyche more desperate to get the fuck out of there. While Shey had never admitted to it, Tyche could read between the lines that Shawn was on some kind of fact-gathering mission, and he needed to learn all he could before they broke the fuck out of there. For that, Tyche was willing to show some patience. He’d been in there longer, but he couldn’t say that he’d learned all that much while he’d been there. He also wouldn’t have minded knowing what the fuck was going on.
However, Teitei had changed everything. They needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He liked Yesuntei. Truly, he did, and Tyche didn’t like anyone. She was sweet and fun. If she had her way, people would treat each other with kindness and simply go their separate ways. There would be no killing, anger, or treachery.
But the problem with Yesuntei was that her mind was a fragile thing, like thinly spun crystal. The tiniest amount of pressure and it would shatter. If that happened, so many bad things would follow. It was why Yesuntei was usually never too far from her twin sister, Cirina. The other woman had a shorter temper, a darker view of the world, and was far more likely tostrike out over the smallest slight, but she was also protective of her sister. They acted as a balance to each other and kept bad things from happening.
Unfortunately, he had no idea how to communicate to Shawn that they needed to move up their escape plans without tipping off Teitei and sending her into a panic. For now, he was stuck biding his time and trying to find ways to drop subtle hints to Shawn.
It seemed he was being too subtle, though, because the human wasn’t catching on.
“So, has Ty always been a coffee snob?” Shawn’s playful voice drifted through the cellblock. The annoying man had finished his workout—yes, he would work out in his cell. He claimed it helped to stay fit for a fight and to keep his mind sharp against the unrelenting boredom. The bastard had even hounded Tyche into doing stupid things like sit-ups and push-ups. Tyche had relented and followed along occasionally because he was bored and it was the only way to get Shawn to stop his nagging. The worst part was that Shawn could tell when he was half-assing it, even though he couldn’t see him.
Now he’d turned to Teitei as a source of silly information. Thankfully, he hadn’t asked any truly prying questions, and Teitei hadn’t slipped up and said anything dangerous.
“What are you doing?” Tyche called out from where he was lying on his uncomfortable bed. “I’m right here.”
“Where else would you be? But I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to Teitei because I don’t think she’d lie to me like you do.”
Tyche huffed while Yesuntei giggled from her cell. He could barely hear her light steps as she crossed her cell to the bars to put her closer to Shawn.
“I think Ty has been in a dark love affair with coffee since his very first sip,” she teased. “I wasn’t there when he discovered it,but he has given me many long explanations about who brews the best coffee and who has the best roasting techniques.”
