Something danced in Ward’s eyes and he laughed lightly, like he knew something Mathias didn’t. “What’s so funny?” Mathias asked, puzzled, but not offended.
“Nothing,” Ward replied, shaking his head. He pulled on Mathias’s hand, guiding him away from the house. “Come on. Where is this den of yours?”
Mathias gave Ward a look of disbelief. “Are you serious? Why would you want to go there?”
Ward shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want to.”
There was something beyond the nonchalance involved in the gesture, something that kept Mathias from resisting or protesting any further. Besides, he wanted to get his mate alone, and he was acutely aware of all the people inside the house. Mathias’s wolf wasn’t too happy about having the Alphas so close to the mate he hadn’t claimed, so he happily embraced the offer.
Instead of walking, though, he chose the easier, faster version. He picked Ward up in his arms, making his mate yelp in surprise.
Okay, so his impulse had very little to do with expedience and was more about his desire to be close to his mate again. Thankfully, Ward seemed to understand that, because after that brief moment of confused struggle, he quieted down in Mathias’s arms.
There was something peaceful and unique in carrying his mate through the forest toward a place he had made his own. The silence around them, Ward’s scent, his warmth, his unconscious sensuality—it soothed the hole in Mathias’s heart, the one he’d been desperately trying to patch since his argument with his mate.
And maybe he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, because Ward murmured, “I missed you, Mathias.”
“I missed you too, Ward,” Mathias replied. “You have no idea how much.”
“Is this really happening?” Ward tightened his hold on Mathias’s neck. “Do you really want me for me?”
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted. And I know that sounds a little crazy when I say it out loud, but inside... It feels right.”
Ward nodded and set his head on Mathias’s shoulder. “It does. Right.”
That one word was perhaps the best way to describe what Mathias felt for his mate. His magic, his heart, his body all screamed it. No, the world wasn’t perfect, and neither were the two of them, but together they fit perfectly nonetheless.
In no time, they reached Mathias’s den. It was at that point that Mathias began to feel a little apprehensive. He’d cleaned up the place a bit, but in the end, it was still a cave. It might be suitable for Mathias’s wolf, but for Ward, not so much.
Still, Ward scanned the den with obvious interest. He gasped lightly when he passed through the wards keeping the place secure. “What was that?”
“My magic. I’m not here a lot, so I cast a spell that would keep anyone, or anything, from wandering inside.”
It didn’t seem to have worked on his mate, at least not the way it was intended. In fact, Ward turned toward him, and his eyes flared with heat. “I like it.”
Mathias almost swallowed his own tongue. Clearly, that was the understatement of the century, because the burst of his power had touched Ward at some level Mathias had not originally expected. “I like it a lot.”
“I see,” Mathias replied. He had not planned for anything sensual to happen—they were in the middle of nowhere, after all, and his mate deserved better. But Ward’s gaze on him was so hot and open, full of every desire they’d done their best to suppress. Mathias’s wolf howled, snarling at him to claim the beautiful human.
Still, they’d only just reached some form of agreement, and Mathias didn’t want to waste that. He took a step back, having every intention of giving his mate a second to clear his head of the unexpected effect of the magic.
Ward followed, stepping back through the shields. “Sorry about that,” Mathias told his mate. “I didn’t expect my magic to—“
Before he could finish the phrase, Ward crossed the remaining distance between them and pressed his mouth to Mathias’s. It was their first ever real kiss, and it was nothing like what Mathias had expected.
The magic pulsing over Ward’s body had faded, but the spark it had ignited inside the human remained. Their kiss was gentle, almost chaste, not much beyond a close-mouthed lip-lock, but Mathias was still left breathless by the sheer want in it.
When they broke apart, their gazes met and Ward smiled. “I don’t want to wait anymore. Just... Make me believe and make me forget.”
For all his apparently carefree expression, there was an almost-apology in his eyes. It occurred to Mathias that Ward needed to exorcise his past with his human ex in more than one way. Mathias’s reluctance to take things further worked up to a point, but after that, it might do more harm than good.
Still, there was one problem and something Mathias couldn’t hide. “If we do this, Ward... I don’t think I can stop myself from claiming you as my mate.”
He’d never gotten the chance to explain to Ward what that meant, and when Ward pressed their bodies together, the words didn’t come. His mate, however, seemed to understand. “You’re right. We might not be ready for that kind of commitment.” His smile widened, turning into a wicked grin. “But that doesn’t mean we have to suffer in silence.”
That was the only warning Mathias got before his mate shoved him against a tree trunk and dropped to his knees. Normally, Mathias’s strength would have kept a human from managing to maneuver him into any sort of position, but he was so taken aback by this turn of events that he went along with it. His reward came when his mate palmed his already hard-as-nails cock through the material of his jeans. “Ward,” he heard himself groan.
His mate chuckled, but didn’t tease Mathias further. He unbuttoned Mathias’s jeans and lowered his zipper with his teeth. Mathias’s cock sprang out from its confines, drawing a small sound of awe and surprise from Ward. Mathias was inspired enough to look down, and the sight of his mate kneeling in front of him was almost enough to have him coming on the spot.