Page 29 of Dermot

His head spun. Pleasure coiled low in his groin, spreading through his veins like fire as their bond expanded. His hips jerked uncontrollably, but then, so did Dermot’s, who was right there with him.

Bastien lifted his head. He needed to close the bond, and there was only one way to do that. It wouldn’t be pleasant for him, not initially, but then he supposed it hadn’t been for Dermot, either. Luckily for both of them, this was the only time they’d have to do this.

He brought his right hand up between them. Dermot watched as Bastien shifted only one finger, transforming it into a claw. He didn’t hesitate. He drew the tip of the claw across the side of his own neck, just above the collarbone. The burning sensation didn’t last long.

“Dermot,” Bastien murmured.

Dermot leaned forward to press his lips against Bastien’s skin. He licked the wound first, causing Bastien’s hips to jerk forward. Dermot wrapped his legs around Bastien’s waist, keeping him close—as if Bastien would want to be anywhere but here in his arms. When he sealed his lips on the wound and sucked, Bastien groaned and rutted forward, chasing his orgasm. He was so close, and Dermot’s mouth wasn’t helping—or maybe it was because Bastien desperately wanted to come.

Bastien held on tighter. He shuddered when he felt the bond ignite between them. It felt like an infinite loop of pleasure, and knowing how Dermot felt about what they were doing was the thing that pushed Bastien over the edge. He cried out and allowed himself to fall, grinning when he felt that Dermot followed him only seconds later through the bond.

Dermot buried his face against Bastien’s neck and groaned. Bastien laughed, feeling happier than he could remember being in a long time. The ache left by Celeste’s absence was still there, but right now, it was easy to ignore, and he did. There was nothing he could do to help her tonight.

After Bastien rolled them over, they lay tangled together in Dermot’s bed, Bastien on his back and Dermot pressed against his side, one hand resting flat over Bastien’s chest as if checking his heartbeat. Bastien was fairly sure his heart was still beating twice as fast as usual. The bond hummed between them, warm and settled.

“That was either the best decision I’ve ever made or the worst,” Dermot suddenly said.

“Give it a week,” Bastien told him. “You’ll know which.” He knew neither of them would regret it, though. How could they when they were fated to be together?

Dermot was quiet for a moment. “I think I already know.”

Bastien pulled him close and didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. The bond said it for him, warm and steady and certain because Bastien was.

Outside the window, the village was quiet. Celeste was still out there somewhere, and Parrish was still a problem, and the world was still complicated. Tomorrow, he and Dermot would deal with all of that.

Tonight, though, this was enough.

Chapter Seven

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PARRISH WAS NOWHERE to be seen. Dermot wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Part of him was relieved because since no one had seen Parrish around the barrier to the village, it probably meant that the village and the clan were safe. On the other hand, Parrish being gone also meant that Celeste was gone, and that broke Dermot’s heart. He wanted Celeste to come home. He wanted Bastien not to have to worry about her, but instead, he was having nightmares, and even though Dermot tried his best to hold him through them and soothe him, there was only so much he could do. The best way to stop them from happening would be to get Celeste home, but how were they supposed to do that when they didn’t know where she and Parrish were?

In fact, the entire area was free of Kudlaks. The enforcers who’d come along with Dermot and the others to rescue Celeste had made sure of that. Dermot hadn’t been there for the meetings, but he knew that the Whitedell pride alpha wanted the village to be safe. He especially wanted Rowan to be safe because he was the cousin of one of the Whitedell pride members. Dominic had stepped in, sending enforcers not as a council member but as the Whitedell pride alpha. Hopefully, it meant the council wouldn’t try to stick their noses into this mess. They really couldn’t afford to make it any more complicated than it already was.

A child’s screeching made Dermot jerk. He looked up, blinking at the sight of Bastien running after a child. He wasn’t worried, not even because the child was Haley, who was a Kudlak. Bastien would never hurt her. No one at the village would.

She was a Kudlak, but she was also a child. Her mother, Melissa, was one of the good ones, and she’d defended Haley and the human boy she’d adopted while living on the streets more times than anyone could count. Maybe Dermot should’ve looked at Melissa before deciding that he distrusted all Kudlaks and was wary of all Krsniks. Maybe it would’ve helped him realize that no matter the species, some people were bad and some people were good. It didn’t matter what they were. It mattered who they were, and Melissa and Haley were part of the good ones, just like Bastien.

“You’ve been watching him,” Tamsin said as he flopped down on the porch steps next to Dermot.

Dermot had been avoiding him, just like he’d avoided Bastien, but it looked like he couldn’t anymore. Even though he knew he’d been wrong about Nico and about the way he’d treated Tamsin because of who his mate was, he was wary of apologizing. He didn’t think anyone liked admitting they’d been wrong, and he’d already done it several times. Clearly, it was time to do it again.

He eyed Tamsin, who was watching Bastien and Haley with a smile curling his lips, and found himself wondering if his friend was happy.

They’d grown close while they were on the run from Kudlaks. Dermot would even call Tamsin his best friend, which was one of the reasons he’d been so worried when Tamsin had told him about Nico. He’d been terrified that his best friend would be hurt, and sometimes, he still was. If Tamsin did get hurt, though, it wouldn’t be because Nico was a Kudlak. It would be because Nico was young and a bit of an idiot, and Dermot supposed that was true of everyone at some point. He was sure he would make mistakes, too, and that he’d hurt Bastien. Bastien would hurt him, too, just like Tamsin would hurt Nico. The important thing was that they were together and that they would talk things through. Their bond was strong, as it should be, since they were mates.

“Are you finally ready to talk to him?” Tamsin asked, turning to Dermot. “You have to realize by now that Celeste didn’t have any say in what happened to her.”

Dermot blinked. He was sure that Tamsin had heard the rumors that Dermot and Bastien were mates. After all, they’d been fighting in the middle of the street. Several people had been there, not only Boyd. Several people had heard them. Maybe Tamsin was fishing for information, or maybe he just wanted to know if Dermot was still being an asshole.

Maybe Dermot would always be an asshole when it came to protecting his friends and the people he loved. He couldn’t find it in himself to care. If people didn’t want him to be an asshole, they needed to behave better.

Nico was nice to Tamsin. He made him happy, even though Dermot didn’t understand that relationship. He didn’t have to. It wasn’t his, just like Nico wasn’t his mate.

Thank God for that.

“What do you want to know?” he asked Tamsin.