Page 39 of Something Worth Keeping
Julian’s fingers threaded through Cillian’s hair. “You do make sense. You’re the only thing that does.”
Cillian lowered his head, pressing his face against Julian’s chest, right over his heart. His shadows tightened their hold - they weren’t being restrictive, they were showing they could be protective. Julian felt surrounded, claimed, and completely secure.
“Your heart is racing,” Cillian murmured against his skin.
“It’s an elevated arousal response, which is a normal physiological reaction for humans.” Julian tugged Cillian’s hair until his mate looked up. “I want more.”
“More?”
“More touch. More contact. You said you wanted to bring me pleasure.” Julian met those void-black eyes. “So do it.”
Cillian’s exhale was shaky. “You’re going to destroy me.”
“Reciprocal destruction. The mate bond is symmetrical.”
A shadow curled around Julian’s ankle and tugged, spreading his legs slightly. Another wrapped around his wrist, pinning it gently to the mattress. Julian’s breath hitched as more shadows joined them, mapping his body with curious insistence.
“They’re restraining you,” Cillian observed, his voice dropping to something ancient and possessive. “Holding you down so I can touch you properly.”
“Is that what you want? To hold me down?”
“I want everything. I want to wrap you in shadows until nothing can touch you but me. I want to taste every inch of your skin. I need to make you come undone until youcan’t remember why you ever thought you didn’t fit anywhere.” Cillian’s hand splayed across Julian’s stomach. “But I’ll settle for learning what makes you feel good.”
Julian arched up into the touch. “Then learn.”
Cillian’s mouth found Julian’s throat, kissing and tasting while his shadows continued their exploration. One tendril brushed Julian’s nipple, and he gasped, his body jerking against the restraints.
“There,” Cillian growled. “That’s a sensitive spot.”
The shadow circled Julian’s nipple again, then the other, alternating between them. Cillian’s mouth moved lower, following the path his shadows had already mapped. When his lips closed around one nipple, Julian’s back arched off the bed.
“Fuck,” Julian gasped, his usual vocabulary failing him.
“Language,” Cillian teased against his skin. “Where’s all that precise terminology now?”
“Currently unavailable due to sensory overload.” Julian tugged against the shadow restraints, testing them. They held firm but didn’t hurt. “This is extremely effective.”
“Good.” Cillian’s hand traced down Julian’s stomach to the waistband of his jeans. “Can I?”
“Yes. All of it, yes.”
Cillian made quick work of Julian’s jeans, sliding them down his legs with shadows helping to lift and maneuver. Julian lay there in just his boxer briefs, shadows wrapped around every available inch of skin, Cillian hovering above him with eyes like endless night.
“You’re beautiful,” Cillian said roughly. “Perfect. Mine.”
“Yours,” Julian agreed. “And you’re mine. That’s how this works.”
Cillian’s hand traced the line of Julian’s hip, his erection obvious through the thin fabric. “I want to taste you and make you fall apart. Can I?”
Julian’s brain processed the question through a haze of arousal. Cillian was asking permission to go down on him. The clinical terminology helped him focus.
“Yes. But I should warn you, I have limited experience with oral sex. My previous partners found me too analytical during intimacy.”
“I find your analytical approach arousing.” Cillian pressed a kiss to Julian’s hip. “And I’m going to prove it.”
The shadows around Julian’s thighs tightened, spreading his legs wider. Cillian settled between them, his broad shoulders forcing Julian even more open. The vulnerability should have been uncomfortable, but Julian only felt safe. Claimed. Exactly where he belonged.
Cillian mouthed Julian through his boxer briefs, and Julian’s hips jerked up involuntarily. The shadows held him down, preventing movement while Cillian explored at his own pace.
