Caster sighed. “Mark, breathe.”
He closed his eyes, a headache forming as he gave up control. The resounding exhale washed away some of his apprehension.
“Again.”
This time, the exhale was a moan he couldn’t contain.
“You’re going to be the death of me.”
The whispered words had him opening his eyes to find a look on Caster’s face he couldn’t decipher. It was a far cry from the pity he’d come to expect from everyone he knew. It was almost as if Caster could see past his pain, into the core of his being.
Mark tried to lower his gaze to escape the real possibility he may have lost the battle to resist, but a subtle shake of Caster’s head stopped him.
“Are you sure?” He held up his hand when Mark started to nod. “Be sure. I don’t like to stop, and I don’t like questions.”
It took two tries to find his voice. “I’m sure.” There was noother choice. He was powerless to resist or restrain his wolf, who was now more awake than he’d been in a long time.
This time, when he broke eye contact, Caster didn’t stop him.
“This is the only time I will repeat myself today. What are you doing here?”
Mark stared at the blue carpet’s edge as it disappeared under the bed. “I… I just…”
“Come here.”
He was on his feet before the last word was out of Caster’s mouth.
Caster reached for his neck, pushing away his shirt’s collar to access the black band he’d worn as an afterthought. “What is this?”
He opened his mouth to explain, but he stumbled on his words when Caster hooked his finger under the collar, the action tightening its grip on his neck. “I… wanted to…”
“You can’t find your words? Your next sentence had better be complete.”
Mark closed his eyes, the moan leaving his lips too mortifying. “I’m sorry. It’s so hard…”
Caster’s hand moved to the back of his neck, drawing him closer with such force Mark’s whole body moved forward and pressed against Caster’s unyielding hardness. “What is so hard?”
“I can’t think when you’re here.”
The deep breath he’d taken as he prepared to answerCaster’s earlier question was ripped from him when Caster’s lips crashed into his with a ferocity he was unprepared for. Mark surrendered to the way Caster’s tongue owned his mouth, his hands finding Caster’s shoulders for support. He couldn’t remember ever being this aroused as he gave away all his power, all his control.
And Caster took it all. His tight grip on Mark’s head controlled the encounter, his tongue, the press of his hard body against him taking every reservation away. His hands dug into Caster’s shoulders as he floated between reality and the bliss calling to him. Mark’s moans disappeared in the intensity of the kiss. He wanted to move, to seek relief for his aching cock, but Caster’s grip, his control, was too much to overcome. All he could do was float in a sea of pleasure waves rising and falling with every pass of Caster’s tongue over his.
Then, as fast as it had begun, Caster pulled away, their harsh breaths meeting in the tiny space between their faces. “You will answer every question I have with honesty, or this doesn’t happen.”
The significance of his words penetrated Mark’s mushy brain, and he started to fight his body’s desire to surrender to Caster’s will.
Caster tightened his hold. “No. No. We won’t talk about that. Just what you need from me, nothing more.” He closed the distance between them, but this time the gentle touch of his lips was a comfort, not a display of his dominance. The effect on Mark remained the same either way. The fight within him died, overcome by the desire to give Caster everything. Even the parts of himself he never dared to share with another.
§
Caster would never have imagined that he would run into Mark here, of all places. Or that he would get to taste the lips that had haunted his dreams for days. It had been clear he was a submissive from their first meeting, and even as he talked himself out of thinking it, Caster had been certain from that moment that this would happen. It was an inevitable fact he needed to come to terms with before it overtook everything.
Brown eyes, full of something Caster could only describe as apprehension tinged with the pain he’d seen in them a few days ago, bore into his. For a split second, he almost gave in to the side of him that insisted this was a mistake, but Mark’s whole body relaxed against him when their lips touched a second time. He’d intended this kiss to signify his strength, his dominance. To remove the hope in those eyes, but Mark’s total surrender stole his resolve, turning it into a lover’s kiss, a declaration of something he wasn’t ready to face.
When he was sure he would drown in the unique taste of Mark, he pulled back, putting a pittance of distance between them. Confusion replaced apprehension in the brown eyesstaring at him, waiting for him to take charge.
His hand reached for that blasted collar again. “Does this belong to anyone?”