Haven 5: Invincible (11 page)

“How about something else?” Torren asked, obviously trying not to laugh as well. “And you shouldn’t say that word.”

“’Cause it’s a bad word?” Torren nodded, and Wren did as well.

“Some people called him Mr. Reeves.”

“That’s good,” Torren praised the boy. “I’m very proud of you for remembering that.”

Wren’s sweet face lit up in a huge grin. “Can I stay now? Please, please, pretty please?”

Torren chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m not going to let anyone ever hurt you again. You got that?” Nodding rapidly and still grinning from ear to ear, Wren threw his arms around Torren’s neck and hugged his fiercely. “Thank you, Torren. I love you.”

Torren looked surprised but recovered quickly, holding Wren close and resting his cheek on the top of his head. “I love you, too, little man.”

Just like that, Aslan was a bawling, blubbering mess all over again. It really wasn’t his fault, though. In that moment, watching the man he loved comforting the little boy in his arms, Aslan saw his entire future laid out in front of him, and he wanted it so much that he ached with it.

“You can never have that. Your mate will tire of you soon and
cast you aside like the others. Come back to us. We’re the only ones
who truly care about you.”

It had been several days since he’d heard the snide, calculating voice. With his heart overflowing with love, it was almost too easy to tune the little cocksucker out, though.

“You’re wrong,”
he said silently.
“I have everything I need right
here.”

“Why is everyone crying?” Raith asked as he walked back into the room with a small carton of chocolate milk in his hand.

“Who’s crying?” Galen’s voice cracked, and he wiped at his eyes again.

“Are you still mad?” Wren asked, refusing to relinquish his hold on Torren. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Raith smiled and shook his head. “You didn’t make me mad, little dude. Look, I brought you some chocolate milk.” He held it up and winked. “So, am I forgiven?”

Wren wiggled until Torren passed him over to Raith. “Yes, now gimme.”

Raith chuckled, but Aslan frowned. “What do you say?”

“Umm, gimme, please?”

Aslan snorted and rolled his eyes. “Close enough. Raith, make sure he eats something with that.”

“I’ll race you for the last ice-cream bar.” Wren squealed and darted out of the room once he was on his feet, Raith hot on his heels.

“That’s not what I meant!” Aslan yelled after them. He huffed and threw his hands in the air. “I give up.” Torren wrapped him up in his arms and spun him around in a circle. “Stop worrying so much,
caro.
We’ll make sure they eat their vegetables and brush their teeth before bedtime.”

“You are an idiot.” Aslan was laughing as he pressed his mouth to Torren’s, though. “I love you, too, you know.”

“Mmm,” Torren purred. “How much?”

“Take me to bed and I’ll show you.”

After a quick check to be sure that their guests would keep an eye on Wren, Torren tossed Aslan over his shoulder and raced down the hall toward their suite. Reaching up, he swatted his little mate on his upturned bottom. “What are you giggling about?”

“Impatient much?”

“I’ve been thinking about sinking my cock into your tight ass all day. What do you think?” It wasn’t a lie. He’d been sporting a semi since he woke up that morning, walking around on autopilot and debating just blowing the whole day off and taking Aslan to bed. He still needed to meet with Bannon, but he had a couple of hours yet, and he intended to make every single minute count.

Stepping into their bedroom, he flung Aslan on the bed and prowled up his slim body, growling seductively in the way he knew drove his man wild.

“Gods, I love that,” Aslan moaned, dropping his head back on the pillow to expose his neck and give Torren more room to play.

“Hurry.”

Torren had no intentions of doing anything so foolish. “I finally have you right where I want you, and I plan to take my time.” Spotting the scars on his mate’s neck, Torren traced them lightly, frowning at the marks on the otherwise flawless skin. He’d seen them before, but never asked how Aslan had come about them. “What is this?”

Aslan tensed, lifting his head as though in slow motion to look into Torren’s eyes. “It’s nothing. Just a couple of scars.”

“And that was a brush-off if I ever heard one. You want to try that again?” He arched an eyebrow in question, letting his lover know in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t budging on this.

Aslan shrugged and pushed up to press his back against the headboard but wouldn’t meet Torren’s gaze. “I was sold to a vampire coven a while back that used me as their personal snack machine. One night they got a little carried away.” Anger roiled through him, boiling his blood that something had happened to his mate and he’d not been there to protect him.

“Continue.”

“They ripped my neck open and basically drained me. I guess I died after that. I woke up some time later tired, hungry, and hurting everywhere.”

Aslan hadn’t been claimed or bonded to Torren at the time. How had he come back from that? Logically, Torren knew that a witch had to die and reawaken in order to become a Limina
.
Having been to the other side and returning to the realm of the living was what created the threshold in the first place.

“When you d–died.” It was almost too much for him to get the word out, and the mere thought sent his heart racing in panic. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Torren tried again. “When you died, where did you go?”

“Somewhere dark, cold, and lonely,” Aslan replied in a hollow voice. “I don’t ever want to go back there.”
Purgatory
. While a soul was trapped in Purgatory they could be recalled to this realm. Who had called Aslan back, though? “Baby…” Torren trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his question. It was likely that whoever had pulled Aslan back from the abyss wouldn’t want to draw attention to themselves. “Did you hear a voice or see anyone while you were in that dark place?”

To his surprise, Aslan nodded slowly. “There was a man there at the end. He was really hot.” Aslan giggled when Torren growled at him. He didn’t like his mate thinking about other men like that. “He looked kind of like you, actually.”

Torren perked up at the information. “Like me how?”

“Big, dark hair, these sexy black eyes.” He laughed and swatted at Torren when he growled again. “He had a tattoo.” Aslan rubbed his right arm from shoulder to elbow.

Swallowing hard, Torren tried not to get his hopes up. “Did he say anything? Did he tell you his name?”

“I think so, but I can’t remember it.”

“Think, baby. This is really important.” Aslan bobbed his head again, his eyebrows scrunching together as he concentrated. “It was a funny name. I thought he’d mispronounced it or I’d heard him wrong.” He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and chewed it vigorously. Then he started mewling softly, rocking himself back and forth and slapping his palm against the side of his head in frustration.

Taking his mate’s wrist, Torren gently pulled his hand away from his head and drew his lover into his arms. “Hush now,
caro
. It’s okay.”

“You said it was important.” Aslan started thumping his forehead against Torren’s chest. “God, I’m so fucking useless.”

“That’s enough,” Torren said firmly. He grabbed Aslan’s chin and forced his head back so that he could look into his eyes. “You are without a doubt the most amazing person I know. Besides myself, you are the only person who I trust unconditionally. No matter what happens or what we’re up against, I know that you’ll always have my back. In my book, that is far from useless.” While essentially the same at his core, this reincarnation of Aslan was still someone new, with unique feelings, thoughts, concerns, and uncertainties. Torren had been so happy to find his
Infinity
that he hadn’t stopped to consider that. He was treating Aslan as though he was the same man he’d been over a hundred and fifty years ago, which he realized wasn’t fair to either of them.

The connection was still there, however, the bond between them as strong as ever. Since finding the balancing half of his soul, he’d been less gruff and far easier to get along with—according to his brothers, anyway. He still had a hard time placing his faith in others, though. Not so the case with Aslan. The man owned him, and Torren was more than pleased with his possession.

The memory of love during their lifetimes was comforting but unrealistic. Aslan was a different man, and therefore Torren would need to love him differently. It was a learning process, but he couldn’t deny the warmth that spread through him each time Aslan did something as simple as smile or hold his hand.

Part of him wanted to blame the whole thing on their shared soul.

A much larger part wanted to punch him in the mouth for being an idiot. Fate had designed Aslan to be perfect for him in every way, shape, and form from his small, lithe body to his endearingly quirky personality.

Somewhere deep inside, Torren had pushed away and denied a seemingly ingrained need to care for someone. Up until a week ago, he’d been certain that he didn’t need anyone but himself. The truth of the matter was that Aslan needed his strength, and Torren needed to surrender some of his rigidly held control. They were so well matched that their union could have only been formed by destiny. And who was he to deny the carefully set path rolled out before him?

“Did I lose you?”

Torren felt a soft hand cup his jaw and his lover’s thumb brush across his bottom lip. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he smiled tenderly and pressed his mouth to Aslan’s. No matter what form the man took, it was so easy to love him. “Sorry, baby. I was just thinking.”

“Good things, I hope.”

Sliding his hands beneath the hem of Aslan’s shirt, Torren pressed his palms flat against the warm expanse of his mate’s belly as he nibbled at his delectable lips. “Definitely good.” His voice was thick, husky, and barely recognizable to his own ears. He didn’t miss the shiver that rippled through his lover, either, and it made him grin.

Aslan let out a shaky breath and snaked his arms around Torren’s neck to pull him closer. Rolling to the side, Torren pressed his lover into the mattress and slipped Aslan’s shirt over his head to reveal the taut, quivering muscles beneath. Insinuating a hand between their tightly pressed bodies, he massaged the growing bulge straining against Aslan’s zipper with his palm as he attacked the fragrant skin at the base of his throat.

Humping up against Torren’s hand, Aslan released a series of sexy little whimpers that seriously tested Torren’s self-control. He wanted to take his time and enjoy exploring his mate, but those erotic sounds pouring from Aslan’s kiss-swollen lips went straight to his cock, causing it to jerk almost violently within its confinements.

“More, more, more,” Aslan chanted, grabbing Torren’s hand and pressing it more firmly to his swollen dick as he rocked harder and faster. His eyes glazed with mindless need, his skin flushed with arousal, and as his heartbeat accelerated, so did Torren’s.

Deciding to give them both a small measure of relief, he whispered a few carefully chosen words and groaned when their clothes vanished, leaving their damp, heated skin to press together without barriers. Torren’s cock wept in gratitude, dripping a generous amount of pre-cum from the slit and onto Aslan’s inner thigh, allowing for a slippery glide as Torren thrust against him.

“Oh, fuck, yes! Your hand is so hot,” Aslan moaned. “Feels good.”

Torren’s hand now held his lover’s naked cock, jacking him quickly as the length pulsed inside his fist. The spongy crown glistened with clear drops of liquid, and Aslan’s lower abdominals flexed as he writhed under Torren’s touch. Giving the rigid shaft a final squeeze, Torren released his hold, moving Aslan’s hand to replace his. “Hold this for me.”

Half chuckling and half moaning, Aslan grabbed his cock and stroked fast, his hand a mere blur as it raced up and down his length.

His muscles tensed, and he rolled from side to side, bucking his hips up occasionally as the most exquisite mixture of pleasure and pain covered his face.

Sensing that he didn’t have much time before his lover erupted like Mount Vesuvius, Torren dove across the bed and grabbed the lube from the nightstand with a triumphant cry. It would only take a fairly elementary spell to have Aslan stretched and slicked, but it felt kind of like cheating. He loved preparing his mate and fighting the slow buildup of sexual tension until he felt he’d go mad with need.

Coating his throbbing cock first, he then dribbled more of the gel over his fingers and tossed the bottle to the side. Aslan was moaning in earnest, his eyes squeezed tight as he thrust up into his tight fist.

Legs spread wide and feet planted on the mattress, he unknowingly held himself open to Torren’s questing fingers.

They were both too far gone for slow teasing, so Torren skipped the preliminaries. Separating his mate’s muscled globes with his slick digits, he found the prize he sought and pushed into Aslan’s clenching hole with two fingers, straight up to the second knuckles.

“Are you going to do this alone, or do you think you can wait for me?”

Aslan’s movement slowed only marginally, and he didn’t even open his eyes as he spoke. “I’ll wait if you hurry the fuck up and get that gorgeous cock in my ass.”

“Damn, I love your dirty little mouth.” Adding a third finger, he stretched his lover as quickly as he could without hurting him, his control teetering precariously on the edge.

“Torren, please!”

He loved the begging more than he loved the dirty talk. Unable to wait any longer, Torren extracted his fingers and lined the head of his dick up with his lover’s pink hole. “Ready?”

“Fuck me, damn it!”

Guess that’s a yes.
Surging forward, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as his cock was encased in the tightest, most incredible heat he’d ever felt. Aslan’s inner walls contracted around his length, massaging rhythmically and sucking him in to the root.

Swiveling his hips, he grinded his groin against Aslan’s pert ass while he gripped the back of his lover’s thighs, digging his fingers in as he fought to hold back his orgasm. Pulling out until only the flared crown was trapped inside Aslan’s clutching passage, he paused for a heartbeat before driving back inside the snug channel.