Chapter twenty-six

Drew

It’s freezing out here on the boundary of my property. I wish Luci would go inside, but I understand his desire to help with the wards and to see them done. Along with his need to be near me. He was so upset last night after the ghostly visit from his father. It took me hours to calm him down.

I’m proud that I make him feel safe. It makes me feel all warm and tingly inside. But I hate that he is out here, traipsing through the mud with me.

His nose has gone red from the cold and it is utterly adorable. He looks up at me and his breath comes out in a white cloud.

“Do you want to go get warmed up?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I’m fine.”

The look of determination in his beautiful eyes is making my heart beat faster. He probably is perfectly fine. He has been through much worse. Luci has endured things I could never imagine in my darkest of dreams. He doesn’t need me to protect him from a bit of cold weather. He does need me to get on with these wards, which now include weavings against psychic projections.

“Okay,” I say with a smile as I take his gloved hand.

We walk hand in hand to the next ward on my boundary. My garden ends in a thick tangle of weeds and a small wood heavy with undergrowth. It belongs to a local farmer and I’ve never asked why he lets this patch go wild.

As we approach the next ward, I nearly jump out of my skin. There is a man standing amongst the weeds and the trees, just on the very edge of the farmer’s property. His green Barbour jacket blends in well with the undergrowth and I didn’t see him until I was right next to him.

Luci’s grip on my hand tightens, and I give him a reassuring squeeze.

“Can I help you?” I say in my most withering tone to the stranger.

Ice-blue eyes meet mine evenly. “I was looking for a lost hound and stopped to admire your gardens. Very pretty.”

His gaze flicks to Luci with clear insinuation. Anger ignites within me and I bristle. Luci steps behind me, using me as a shield from the stranger’s gaze and I like that I can protect Luci in this small way.

“Get away from my property,” I snarl.

“I’m not on your property,” the stranger replies mildly.

A flash of magic swirls in his eyes, confirming my suspicions. This isn’t a random person. This is a mage and likely a Revivalist. Either here to test my wards or to deliver a threat. Possibly both.

“Or in your property,” he adds with a smirk as he tries to look over my shoulder at Luci.

My free hand clenches into a fist. “What do you want?”

“You know what we want. I’m just here to remind you that we always get what we set our sights on.”

What a load of nonsense. Revivalists have been trying to reopen the portals to the fey realm for hundreds of years. They still haven’t succeeded.

With a growl, I throw out a spell. The magic clouds around the stranger like a swarm of angry bees and stinging just as sharply. The stranger swears and backs away, disappearing into the woods.

I surprised him. I got lucky. I do not know if I have greater strength or skill than him. My spell will last for a few hours, but then he might come back. I think my wards will keep him out, but strengthening them is a damn good idea, except that damn parlor trick used up most of my magic.

I invented the spell when I was still a boy and it uses a ridiculous amount of power.

“Damnit!” I say out loud.

Luci tugs on my arm, and I turn around to face him. I can see in his gorgeous eyes that he understands the problem perfectly. I watch mesmerized as a tinge of pink flows over his pale cheeks.

“I’m not ripe but…” he tails off, drops his gaze and bites his bottom lip.

My heart flutters. How can anyone be this adorable? My magic reaches out and coils around his. He is not ripe, but he is by no means empty. If I take him up on his shy offer, I will gain enough power to finish strengthening the wards today instead of having to wait a few days for my own magic to slowly replenish.

My fingers find his chin and tilt his face up to mine. The words, ‘are you sure?’ are on my lips, but I let them die. He doesn’t need that from me. He needs certainty. Clear instructions. He needs me to make the decisions.

My cock is already stirring. I don’t need a reason to take Luci to bed in the middle of the day.

“That’s an excellent idea,” I say.

Luci’s eyes light up with joy and the sight steals another little piece of my soul forever. He is going to own all of me soon and I don’t mind at all.

“Let’s go inside,” I say, and I lead him by the hand all the way up to his bedchamber.

As we step inside, I feel his hand trembling. I pull him forward to face me, but he won’t look at me.

“I’ll go prepare,” he says softly, and he lets go of my hand.

I grab his wrist, and he looks up at me in surprise. I’m not going to bed him if he is feeling nervous. Gaining his magic will be incredibly useful, but Luci’s wellbeing is far more important. No doubt he has been taught all sorts of nonsense about having sex when not ripe. He probably believes it is distasteful. Unseemly. Something to be tolerated only if his husband requests it.

Though he seemed happy enough with what we did in the library. Hopefully, that means he will be happy with this. He just needs to get in the mood.

I lean down and brush my lips over his. My hand wraps around his waist and I pull him close. His lips are soft and plump and he tastes delicious. His kiss is shy at first, and then his hunger ignites. He melts in my arms. Soft. Compliant. Eager.

My cock presses against the zip of my fly painfully. Reluctantly, I break away from the kiss. Luci’s eyes flutter open. His pupils are blown, making his eyes wide and dark. There is color in his cheeks, but it’s not embarrassment. That’s better.

“Go on then,” I say as I pat his ass.

I think he might feel more comfortable if he performs the ritual of preparing himself.

He nods and hurries off to his bathroom. Gods. Why did I pat his ass? The feel of his peachy goodness in my hand was incredible, and now I have to stand here alone, not kneading and squeezing that ass. Talk about tormenting myself.

Luckily for me, Luci returns quickly. Wearing a receiving gown. I keep my grimace of disgust to myself. If it makes him feel like he is in familiar waters, then so be it.

My gaze drops to the brace on a silver chain around his neck. A shudder of revulsion dances over me. The deep teeth marks glower at me accusingly. What the fuck did I do to him on our wedding night?

Gently, I lift the horrid thing over his head while he stares at me with enormous eyes.

“You don’t need this,” I say. “I want to hear you.”

He nods shyly and I fling the brace onto a nearby armchair. I’ll burn it later. But I have much better things to be doing right now.

I take his hand and sit him on the edge of his bed. Then I drop to my knees and begin to lift his white gown up. He gasps and tries to wriggle backwards.

“Where are you going?” I ask.