Page 41 of The Baker and the Kraken

They all looked out for one another, and Simon, Liv, and Joseph all found hookups. Maggie, Evie, and Ryan seemed to bond in their single-ness. Simon was back in time to see that they all got home safely. He took his role as best person for the wedding extremely seriously—to the point that two weeks later, he tried to enforce the only rule Calder put his foot down about.

He was adamant. “Call it the honeymoon phase if you wish, but I will never spend a night without Adam unnecessarily. I lived a long time without him, and I’m going to enjoy every single moment with him now.”

Simon let out a gusty sigh. “Ugh, you’re the worst. That’s so romantic. I’m not sure I can take it. Fine, fine, you can spend the night before the wedding together. Just remember that you need to be up at a decent hour, so don’t spend the whole night having super hot sex.”

“We won’t,” Adam promised while smiling at Calder like he hung the moon.

Not the whole night, anyway.

The actual bonding between a witch and a shifter was a private event for most couples or triads. (Calder hadn’t heard of the bond working between more than three people, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.) For shifter familiars and their witches, it usually involved sex, and Adam had signed up enthusiastically for that option.

Adam

Adam had never really thought that he was going to get married. He’d certainly never thought that he’d bond with a shifter. And yet here he was, happier than he’d ever thought he could be.

He was so glad that the actual bonding was private—obviously, of course, since it involved sexy times, but also because it meant that by the time they had the ceremony in front of people, it didn’t matter what happened. Adam could face plant in the middle of walking down the aisle, but the bond would already be formed. (Not that he thought Calder would leave him because of that, but it took a lot of the pressure off, which was definitely a good thing for Adam and his clumsiness.)

Adam was also a fan of the intimacy, of knowing that at the end of the day, this bond was between him and Calder and no one else. He knew his friends supported him while his dad probably never would and strangers probably had an opinion, but none of that mattered. This was between him and Calder.

Also—tentacle sex!

Not that the bond had to involve tentacle sex—Calder had been quite clear about that—but as Adam had learned since they’d gotten together, all sex with Calder was amazing, and sex that also involved tentacles was the absolute best. Adam never had to worry that he was going to do something wrong with his hands, and Calder had enough limbs to make sure that the chances of Adam kneeing him in the groin were extremely low—yet one more tentacle could always catch Adam’s offending limb before it did any damage.

Adam hadn’t known he had a thing for tentacles or for being a little restrained during sex until he met Calder—but then, he’d learned so much about himself since he’d met his mate. Calder always made room for him and accepted him just as he was, which somehow allowed Adam to be a better person, if still a clumsy one.

It was amazing.

And so, the night before their official wedding and bonding ceremony—Simon had found a witch who could do both, of course—Adam and Calder were naked in bed. Adam was so glad Calder hadn’t let Simon talk them into spending the night apart. Obviously, they could have done the bonding at a different time, but this was exactly what Adam wanted.

They often started with Calder on top of Adam, his big body supported by all his tentacles that perfectly caged Adam in and made sure he wasn’t too heavy for Adam. And then he’d flip them, so that Calder was on the bottom and his tentacles could wrap all the way around Adam. They’d experimented with plenty of other positions, too. Adam liked all of them, really, because it was him and Calder, but this was one of his favorites. Before Calder, Adam had liked the idea of riding someone, but the coordination required had always made him antsy—and therefore that much more likely to hit someone where it hurt instead, or step on them while trying to straddle them or somehow elbow them in the face even though his elbow shouldn’t have been anywhere near their head!

But Calder made it easy, his tentacles guiding Adam and always ready to take over if Adam’s thighs decided it was a bit too much of a workout. (But his sex stamina had gotten way better since he’d gotten intimate with Calder. Jogging, swimming, and even squats and yoga were worth it for this kind of reward. Also, Calder and all his tentacles doing yoga was the best and most hilarious thing Adam had ever seen.) Sometimes, Calder’s tentacles did all the work just because Adam liked the sensation of being suspended and moved at Calder’s whim. Seriously, with so many more limbs than a regular human had, there were so many more options, and it was glorious.

Because Calder was able to multitask better than anyone Adam knew, he kissed Adam while prepping him with a slicked-up tentacle that really had ruined Adam for all other sex. (Tentacles were really flexible, okay, and they could pinpoint the prostate way better than fingers or a cock. Also: suckers. Calder knew exactly how to apply just the right amount of pressure with them, and Adam saw actual stars. On the regular.)

So, yes, Adam was already a writhing, panting mess by the time Calder was lining up his cock and Adam was sliding down on it, groaning as it filled him. Their favorite positions were ones where they faced one another. Calder’s already dark eyes went even darker when they were making love, like the darkest depths of the ocean, and Adam could get lost in them. They kissed, and a sneaky tentacle tweaked Adam’s nipple, making him gasp into Calder’s mouth.

Calder was an expert at making Adam come untouched, and he thankfully never seemed to mind when Adam came fast. (Adam would challenge anyone not to do the same under similar stimulation.) Sometimes, though, if he wanted to tease Adam, he’d use one of his tentacles around the base of Adam’s cock to stave off the orgasm.

Today, though, although Adam liked the idea of the two of them being connected forever, the truth was that they both wanted this bond, and they wanted it yesterday. He was well aware that if given a choice, Calder would probably have bonded the day they’d first seen one another, even taking into account the cake disaster. Adam hadn’t been as quick on the uptake, but he was ready now, and he didn’t want to delay anymore. (Also, pleasure was arching up his spine and suffusing his entire body, and he couldn’t imagine putting this off.)

Calder’s expression was somehow both intense and soft as he gazed up at Adam. “Will you be my mate, sweetheart?”

“Yes, please,” Adam gasped out, making Calder rumble a laugh but beam at him with so much affection it made Adam’s breath catch. “Will you be mine?”

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure.”

Intent, that was what Calder had told him. They needed to want to bond, and the actual words spoken formalized that intent but didn’t actually matter very much. Adam couldn’t remember ever wanting something so much in his entire life, and in that moment, sweaty and naked and grinding down on Calder’s cock, he’d never felt more accepted and more whole. Calder wanted him just like this, looked at him like Calder was the lucky one, when it was obviously the other way around. Adam wanted this man so very much, and he wanted to be with him forever.

He understood, finally, why you’d bond with someone even if you didn’t have forever. You wanted as much time as you could have, as much connection as you could have, each moment precious. Even if your lives were cut short—and that could happen to anyone—you made the deliberate choice to be together in every way because denying it was unthinkable, and some time together was better than none.

With Calder, Adam was getting more time than he could entirely conceive of.

Calder’s hips thrust up as Adam drove down, the angle perfect to hit Adam’s prostate yet again, and he cried out as he came, come splattering all over Calder. Calder stiffened and groaned as he came inside Adam even as one of his tentacles scooped up some of Adam’s come and brought it to his mouth. At the same time, one of his arms wrapped around Adam’s collarbone and tightened, just a little.

Stars burst across Adam’s vision, an entire spangled universe, even as his cock jerked and somehow managed to paint a few more stripes across Calder’s skin. It was impossible to describe the sensation. And then Adam realized it wasn’t all him. He was wrung out with pleasure and sated and happy… but so was Calder.

He could feel what his mate felt.