“If they’re summoning demons, they’re not likely to listen when we say ‘Please stop.’”
“I doubt it. Finding them is half the problem, and the part where you and I and Xsing might be useful. Dealing with them? Well, hopefully that will be a puzzle for someone higher up the power ladder.”
“I sure as hell hope so.” He’d had enough magical battles. On the other hand… “You figure Toberman and the other Seattle sorcerers are mixed up in this?” He wouldn’t mind another crack at the people who’d been involved in his kidnapping.
“It’d be an unlikely coincidence to have multiple groups dealing with powerful demons at the same time. I truly hope we don’t have two groups.” After a pause, Silas said in a dark voice, “I wouldn’t object in the slightest to the gate backlash having hit those three.”
“Me neither. I guess we’ll find out.” He nipped at Silas’s chin, a tiny thread of arousal rising. “You think we can take a vacation after that? Somewhere quiet and off the beaten track? Demon-free? Antarctica, maybe?”
“Ha. Because you’re such a fan of cold weather. You wore socks to bed half of January.”
“It’s not my fault your house is drafty and you don’t like me warming my feet on yours.”
“I like it better than socks in bed.”
“You put the socks on me, the first time.”
“You were clinically hypothermic.”
Darien laughed against Silas’s throat. “Okay, maybe Hawaii.”
“You’d better start playing the lottery.”
Slowly, Darien resumed stroking Silas’s dick, feeling it twitch and harden under his touch. “This okay?”
“If you’re not expecting too much.” Silas rubbed his cheek against Darien’s hair. “I’m down to burned out cinders.”
“I just want…” What? They had all the time in the world, and he was exhausted too. But he kept up his strokes. Connection, maybe. Reassurance? Something normal and good. He eased over farther, shifting on top of Silas so he could kiss Silas’s mouth instead of random bits of skin. Despite his fatigue, he bucked against Silas’s thigh, enjoying the spark of desire that ran through him. Something normal and amazing.
Silas gasped against his kiss and, under Darien’s caressing thumb, a welling of precum slicked his hand. “Not too tired, I guess,” Darien murmured.
“Apparently not.” Silas reached down and pushed his pajama pants to his thighs to give Darien more room.
“Smart man.” Darien kissed Silas as he stroked him, enjoying the way his hand knew every inch of Silas’s body. His thumb could easily find the fat vein on the shaft that rolled under his touch; his forefinger knew how to flick the little cord under the cut cockhead; the size and thickness and heft of Silas fit his palm and every twitch and moan and increase of hardness was his pleasure and reward. He nipped at Silas’s lower lip, then plunged his tongue deep as he roughened his touch to jerk Silas off.
Silas groaned and shuddered, gasping as Darien sped up, and then pulsed in his grip, coating his hand with semen he used to messy lubricant effect, drawing another spurt from Silas, and then another.
“Ah. Gods. I’m finished.” Silas rolled his head to the side limply and sucked in a long breath.
Darien grinned, there in the dark, and reached across to grab some tissues for his hand. Once clean, he tossed them… somewhere. He’d worry about it in the morning.
Silas grabbed Darien’s ass with both hands. “Now you. Come on me.” He hauled Darien down against his body.
Darien fisted his hands in Silas’s hair on either side of his head and held him there, kissing him while bucking against his groin. Darien’s cock dragged against smooth skin and rough curls and bumped Silas’s softening length, drawing a gasp from him. Almost. Hell, yeah. He changed the angle, thrusting down between Silas’s thighs, while Silas encouraged him with strong fingers digging into his butt, pulling him close.
No finesse, no planning, just mindless rutting. Who cared? Their bodies belonged like this, pressed together, striving to get closer, in a safe dark space permeated with the smell of sex. Darien broke the kiss to brace his elbows on the bed, press his mouth against Silas’s throat, and hump harder, faster, hopelessly crashing over the brink. Climax came as a wave that lifted him out of himself, pure pleasure, pure relief, hot and wonderful. Darien froze, groaning, and let his body unload that pent up need on Silas’s skin. For one long moment, he rode the wave. Then his arms shook, his elbows gave out, and he landed boneless and shaking on top of Silas.
Silas kissed the side of his head. “Good?”
Darien mumbled against his jaw, “Fishing for compliments?”
“You did all the work.”
“Your turn next time.” He knew he should get up and move soon, and clean off the spunk before they ended up glued together, but his muscles wouldn’t cooperate. “You know, I still think I might wake up and find out this was all a really weird dream.”
“It will be plenty real when we have to explain to the council why a raccoon who can’t walk across the room should be included in the inner circle planning.”
“Maybe he’ll learn to walk by tomorrow.” Darien settled more comfortably on Silas’s shoulder. “Anyway, I don’t get why that’s unusual. Don’t familiars participate in the decisions?”
“Almost never. They have their own meetings.” Silas’s tone grew thoughtful. “I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because the Home folks who chose to become familiars are the adventurers, not the planners and tacticians, among their people. Or maybe it’s just human prejudice.”
“I’m betting on door number two,” Darien said. “Grim is plenty strategic and Xsing definitely has important things to say.”
“And we’ll make sure he gets the chance.” Silas rubbed Darien’s back slowly. “My sorcerer. Shaking up my life and the status quo since the moment you crossed my doorstep.”
“I’m not going to apologize.”
“Of course not. Much of it needed shaking up. Including my life.”
“And council stuffiness.”
“That too.” Silas snagged a handful of tissues and reached between them to wipe up.
Darien found the strength to arch up just enough to let him, then dropped back down with an oof of fatigue.
Silas wrapped both arms around him and squeezed. “That was good. I needed it, more than I realized, but I’m running on fumes. I’m not going to be awake much longer. I didn’t even reset the house wards.”
“Who needs wards? We have fearless familiars on patrol.”
“Or raiding the fridge for bacon. One or the other.”
“Or both.” Darien drifted, every muscle limp and heavy, thoughts floating through his brain like wisps of power in the Veil. “You think Xsing is Jasper’s familiar?”
“Don’t know.” Silas sounded almost as fuzzy as Darien felt. “Maybe not yet.”
“Jasper’s a good guy. Should have one.”
“Right. I’ll let you explain that to Xsing.”
“After he learns how to walk.”