Page 20 of Keeper of All

“You have me,” Mao growled, his fingers sweeping down the crease of his ass and sinking in. The feeling of being filled, taken by this man was all-consuming.

His skin prickled with sweat as Ekon pushed up to slip a hand under his balls and nudge the fingers deeper.

“Impatient as always my sweet mate, but you know we go at my pace.”

Ekon groaned in frustration, his brows tugged together as he met Mao’s dark eyes seeing a light of mischief.

Sitting on Mao’s lap as they were it was easier for Ekon to take control, so he did. He placed his bare feet on the log Mao used as a seat, and rose enough to grab hold of Mao’s fly and drag it down. Grinning at Mao when his tut was cut short when Ekon took hold of Mao’s erection and without ceremony dropped on it. He gasped at the fullness and how his body fought to accept what it wanted.

“Gods!” Mao cried out, his eyes full of lust as he grabbed Ekon’s hips in a painful grip that ramped up Ekon’s need to show dominance despite the cock in his ass.

He winked salaciously and squeezed the cock in his ass, feeling the silky hot rod in all the right places. “Hold on, this won’t take long.”

Mao’s mouth dropped open as Ekon felt his magic in the center of his body. It warmed and spread as he used his desire for Mao to direct the potent power to his ass. He brought his mouth back to Mao’s and gave him a burning kiss that could set the forest alight as he used magic to squeeze Mao’s cock to mimic him fucking him relentlessly without moving his hips.

“Damn… how… fuck… w-what you d-do to m-me,” he rasped in breathless pants against Ekon’s slick lips. His grip punishing as if trying to hold Ekon still when he wasn’t actually moving.

Ekon’s magic allowed him to ride Mao to completion as his own need to come barreled through him and come spurted over Mao’s chest. Sex was heavy in the night air when Ekon’s head flopped onto Mao’s naked, shuddering shoulder.

They sat wrapped in each other's arms as their skin cooled and their breathing evened out. Mao gently nuzzled into his hair, breathing him in. “Smell so sexy.”

He shivered at the sexy undertone as the hand holding him closer trailed fingers down his spine to where there were still joined. Two weeks of endless days scanning, and this was the reward. Mind-boggling sex at night was their reward.

Each day Ekon’s frustration grew at the lack of finding the file that could give him answers. For example, how he could magically clean himself and Mao without the use of a bathroom. A thought sorted out the pesky lack of bathroom, and Mao’s husky chuckle said he had felt the gentle magic.

“It’s still weird. Feels like air touching me.” Mao rose carefully and placed Ekon on the ground, already reaching for sweats and a T-shirt before Ekon could decide if round two was on the cards.

When Mao offered him clothes Ekon didn’t say anything and nodded his thanks, getting dressed. He sat back down to put his boots on, first brushing off the dirt and leaves.

Aware that Mao was silently observing, he kept Mao in his periphery vision. Tension was in those firm muscles. He exuded unleashed power, Ekon sensed Mao’s animal there just beneath the surface, lurking and watchful.

Mao crouched to tend the fire. It wasn’t unusual but these past few weeks their bond had strengthened so he could easily pick up his… disquiet.

Ekon didn’t have to delve deep to figure out the reasons. Mao’s interreflection was becoming more apparent while they worked. What Ekon appreciated about his mate, he didn’t force him to talk or pepper him with questions, and it gave Ekon time to consider what to say. He had never been one to talk about “feelings.” About himself. How did he talk about himself when he didn’t know all the answers?

It was confusing when he couldn’t determine what was him and what was the fae inside him. Except he felt his time had run out. It wasn’t any one thing that Mao did or thought, just this pressing disappointment that came at Ekon at odd times when they were working side by side doing the endless boring task.

He had no clue exactly how many files they’d scanned, but they were in their tens of thousands, and Ekon had learned the first day to touch as little as possible to stop the pain. It was like a thousand little cuts all happening at once when he brushed his fingers over the files of the dead.

Was it their pain he was picking up or that of the previous keeper? Ekon couldn’t find an answer inside him that fit. It joined the pile of others that unsettled him.

“Got macaroni cheese. That suit?”

Ekon blinked his eyes into focus and found Mao held a pan in his hand, standing right in front of him. His searching gaze revealed concern. It deepened daily.

“Yep. I’ll eat anything.” He paused and licked his lips at the curt nod, undecided about it being the right moment to open up. To give Mao what he wanted—needed from him.

Mao stayed where he was, his eyes narrowing, then he sighed, and what looked like disappointment crossed his handsome features before he went to the firepit.

“I can see your disappointment,” Ekon murmured softly, compelled by the strength of his emotions for Mao to speak. Acknowledge they had an issue, even when he wasn’t sure how to fix it.

The sound of the fire spitting as Mao added wood was the only noise as Ekon rubbed at his pant legs staring at Mao’s rigid shoulders.

“I won’t deny it,” he responded after several seconds, only he never shifted his gaze from the fire so Ekon couldn’t see his expression. He couldn’t pick up anything between them right then, and he suspected Mao was blocking him, much as he did to him. “You are hiding from me.”

Spoken quietly, except the words could have been bellowed for the impact. “I’m not hiding.” Ekon didn’t see it like that. Because how could someone hide when they didn’t know what—who they are? “I can’t hide when I don’t know what or who I am.”

He rubbed damp palms up and down his pant legs, staring at Mao who cast a look over his shoulder. Ekon couldn’t say if it was disbelief or something else. “They took me when I was barely walking. I have no memory of my parents, none. I can only recall men, too many to count, with implements that caused me pain until I didn’t know who I was. What I was, except what they made me into.” His chest hurt as he struggled to breathe at the pressure of his past weighing in on him.