Seeing his mate mark his betas, Grayson’s wolf gave a mournful cry in his head. It wasn’t the fact that Ethan had marked the other two men for their protection, it was that he hadn’t marked Grayson that had his wolf silently crying out.
Hush, my wolf. I marked you and Grayson as soon as we bonded. You may not have a visible mark like Adam and Russell, but you are just as marked. Although Ethan’s posture was still slightly annoyed, the tone of his mental voice was kind and loving.
Grayson’s wolf perked up at the thought that they too were marked, and even Grayson was suddenly hopeful.
Ethan’s laughter filled his head. Do you want to see your mark?
There was something in his voice that should have made Grayson suspicious, but with his wolf eager to see their mark, all he could do was reply with a single word. “Yes.”
Ethan looked at him, amusement filling his eyes. “Okay, mate, let me show you. Boys, we’ll be back in a minute. Why don’t you make yourselves comfortable, and when we come back, you can tell me what happened. Oh, and get changed. It’s not exactly warm enough to walk around in only sweats.”
Ethan grabbed Grayson’s hand and dragged him through the bedroom and into the bathroom where they stopped before of a full-length mirror. “So tell me, Gray, do you see the mark?” Ethan asked as he moved in front of Grayson, slowly pushing his sweats down and off his body before stepping out of the way.
Grayson looked intently at his reflection in the mirror, but he couldn’t see anything different. His body was still as muscular as always and although he was clean after the fight and run, there was nothing on him that looked like a paw print.
“No, I don’t see anything,” he replied, confused and somewhat sad.
“Keep watching your reflection. I’m going to show you your mark,” Ethan said. There was amusement and affection evident in his tone. Grayson couldn’t understand the amusement.
Ethan stepped up to his side and ran a finger down his biceps, causing Grayson to shiver as arousal followed. He kept his eyes on the mirror, but instead of looking at himself, he watched Ethan.
“Tsk, tsk, mate, I told you to keep watching your reflection.”
With effort, Grayson dragged his attention away from his mate and looked at himself. Blinking, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. When that didn’t work, he rubbed his eyes and looked again. The image was still there. Glancing down at his hands, he finally acknowledged what his brain was trying to tell him.
“I’m blue!” he exclaimed, before turning to look at his mate who just stood there laughing.
“Yes, you are. Every inch of you is blue,” Ethan said as he wiped away a tear from his eye.
Releasing an undignified squeak, Grayson quickly turned completely around as he considered his image in the mirror, seeing that Ethan was right—he was completely blue. Even his hair was blue.
“I don’t understand…” As he trailed off, he turned to Ethan, silently begging him to explain.
When Ethan wrapped his arms around his waist, Grayson relaxed and returned the embrace.
“As you saw from the marks on Adam and Russell, they were blue. I marked them for one reason and one reason only, to help protect you.”
Grayson frowned. “What do you mean?”
“As I said, the mark will protect them to a degree. They can still lose limbs, but scratches and such won’t be a big deal anymore. I’ve done what I can to keep them safe, not because of them, but because of you.”
“So, you don’t like them?” Grayson asked, feeling really confused, which, he had to admit, might have something to do with the fact that he was still in shock about being blue.
“No, I do. I do like them, but you will always come first. I gave them the protection so that if something happens, they can fight and help protect you. Yes, the mark will protect them, and they will protect you so really, it’s just another layer of protection on you.”
“And I’m blue because…”
“Because there is no way in any universe that I would leave even a strand of your hair unprotected if I can help it!”
Grayson was fascinated by the way Ethan’s eyes seemed to have a blue fire within them. “So while they get a small mark, I look like I’ve been dipped in blue ink?”
Ethan giggled and stood on his toes for a quick kiss before settling back on the ground. “It’s not permanent. Well, the spell is, not the being dipped in ink part.”
“Will it fade over time or what?”
“No, it’ll always be like this, except that no one will see it, just like you didn’t until I revealed it to you. Adam and Russell’s marks will always be visible. People will probably just assume they’re matching tattoos.”
“Why couldn’t my mark be the same size as theirs?” Grayson asked.
His curiosity deepened when Ethan blushed and cleared his throat. “Uh, because my magic decided you needed to be as protected as I could make you.”
“Which means what exactly?”
Ethan gulped, and Grayson didn’t know how to react. “It means that there is no way to contain the magic into something as small as a paw print on your chest. There is too much of it.”
Grayson’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously? So my options are to look like I don’t wear my mate’s mark or walk around completely blue?”
****
Ethan tilted his head as he focused on his mate. “Why do you want the mark to be visible so much?”
Grayson sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand while the other remained around Ethan’s waist. “My wolf doesn’t like that we can’t wear a visible mark when Adam and Russell can. I understand why that is, but my wolf is whining and feeling…sad,” Grayson quietly admitted.
“I-I guess I never thought your wolf would want a visible mark so much. Would you like a paw print as well, or something else so that your mark is different to Adam and Russell’s?” While Ethan suspected he knew the answer to that, he wasn’t just going to assume.
“Something unique would be nice,” Grayson whispered, and Ethan was guilty for reducing his mate to this state.
Thinking quickly, he tried to come up a mark that would work for them. When he finally decided on an idea, he placed both of his palms above Grayson’s heart and closed his eyes. In his mind, he could see the magic swirling around Grayson and he focused on all of it, coaxing it to continue doing what it was, but also leave a visible mark under his hands only. His magic never fought him, and this was no exception. Opening his eyes, he moved his hands to Grayson’s biceps and considered the mark.
“I know you wanted something different, and while this is, it’s also the same,” he whispered, never taking his eyes off the mark. Like Adam’s and Russell’s marks, there was a blue paw print on Grayson’s pec. However, unlike the others, Grayson’s was bigger and it was surrounded with various shades of blue. The paw looked to be engulfed in blue flame.
“It’s perfect, even my wolf agrees.” Grayson sounded growly and pleased.
“I’m glad,” Ethan whispered, before Grayson took his mouth in a punishing kiss.
Had Ethan known how Grayson would react to being marked, or at least seeing himself marked, he would have done it sooner. Grayson growled as he started ripping their clothes off.
Good thing my aunt keeps providing us with clothes since you keep ripping mine off me, he mentally teased his mate.
Grayson ignored him, lifting him before turning and pinning him against the wall. Ethan gasped as Grayson started placing kisses along his jaw, moving down his neck and sucking on his claiming bite.
Moaning, Ethan let his head fall against the wall, his gaze landed on the mirror behind Grayson. The mirror gave Ethan a complete view of Grayson’s back and his own legs, which he didn’t remember wrapping around Grayson.
He was so focused on watching Grayson’s muscles as he moved that he didn’t realize his mate had somehow prepped him until he was slowly thrusting into him.
“Gray!” Ethan screamed in pleasure, his eyes never leaving the mirror.
Growling, Grayson started thrusting faster and harder as Ethan dug his nails into Grayson’s shoulders. When Grayson bit down on the claiming mark, Ethan’s orgasm overwhelmed him, and he coated their stomachs in his cum.
As Ethan came down from his high, Grayson leaned back and let Ethan’s legs fall to the ground. Rather than heading to bed, Ethan found himself on all fours in front of the mirror. Looking at his mate in the mirror, he saw the predatory grin and his cock started to twitch just as Grayson moved into position and thrust back into his body.
“Fuck!” Ethan exclaimed.
Lowering himself onto his elbows, he kept his eyes glued to the mirror as Grayson slammed into him over and over again. Sweat was starting to drip down Grayson’s pecs, and all Ethan wanted to do was lick it off him. Grayson suddenly changed the angle of his thrusts, and Ethan was seeing stars. His second orgasm blindsided him and soon he was spilling his seed on the tiles below.
It took Ethan a few seconds to realize that not only was he being moved for the third time, but that Grayson hadn't climaxed. This time, Grayson sat cross-legged on the ground with Ethan’s limbs wrapped around him. Ethan could barely keep his head up, and he rested it on Grayson's shoulder. Grayson pressed his cock against Ethan's hole and slowly eased him down. Ethan shivered, moaning as Grayson repeatedly raised then lowered him onto his still hard shaft. It could have been minutes or hours later when Grayson bit Ethan deeply, causing his third climax to sweep through him. It took a few seconds to register that Grayson was filling him with his seed, but when he did, Ethan’s cock gave one final tiny spurt of cum.
Neither of them moved as they descended from their highs. Ethan’s arms and legs were like noodles so even if he wanted to move, there would be no way that he could. With Grayson’s heat and scent surrounding him, Ethan was quite happy to stay right where he was.
He must have drifted off at some point because when he awoke, he was lying in bed with his head resting on Grayson’s chest. Ethan just lay there, listening to Grayson’s heartbeats as he enjoyed being surrounded by his mate. As much as Ethan wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep, he knew they had to get up and discuss things. Plus it wouldn’t be fair to Adam and Russell to leave them in the other room, listening to Ethan and Grayson have sex while they had to guard them. Wincing, Ethan maneuvered himself out of Grayson’s arms until he was at the edge of the bed.
“Where are you going?” Grayson mumbled.
Ethan turned to see his mate with a disgruntled look on his face as he blinked his eyes open, like he was battling his desire to go back to sleep.
“I’m getting up and then I’m going to take a shower. We have stuff to do, so get your sexy ass out of bed.”
Ethan was already in the shower when Grayson walked into the bathroom, all rumpled looking, but still sexy as hell. Without a word, he continued washing himself until Grayson stepped in behind him and took over. By the time they stepped out of the shower, they were both as clean as could be, and Ethan was lethargic from yet another orgasm.
“At least the water remained warm,” Grayson said as he grabbed a towel.
“Yeah, it’s magically heated so you’d never get cold water here unless you turned the cold water tap on full blast,” Ethan replied, drying himself off and wrapping his towel around his hips before heading to the bedroom and grabbing some jeans and a T-shirt.
When he turned around, he almost swallowed his tongue at the vision before him. Grayson was also wearing jeans, but his T-shirt was so tight that it looked to be painted on him, showing off his abs and making Ethan want to worship his body some more.
Shaking his head, Ethan took a step back. “You’re mean.”
Grayson snorted. “How am I mean?”
“You’re trying to tempt me back into bed when you know that we have to go and talk to Adam and Russell,” Ethan said, crossing his arms to try to keep his hands to himself.
Grayson sauntered closer. “They won’t mind.”
Before he was close enough to touch, Ethan spun around and dashed to the door of the bedroom, ignoring the growl behind him. He made it into the living room before Grayson could grab him, but he suspected that was only because he’d surprised Grayson by running from him. His mate would have also had to control his wolf and stop him from coming out.
“Hey, look who’s finally up. Or should that be soft?” Adam asked, and when Ethan glanced his way, he could see the twinkle in his eyes.
It took Ethan’s brain a few seconds to realize that not only was Adam teasing him, but he was making a reference to sex. Adam’s laughter indicated that Ethan was blushing quite a bit, even if he couldn’t see the heat on his own cheeks.
“Shut up,” he mumbled as he walked past him to sit on the couch. Beema was curled up on the pillow next to him, but as soon as he got settled, Beema moved into Ethan’s lap. “Okay, so we need to talk.”
Adam groaned. “Jeez, you make it sound like you’re breaking up with us.”
Ethan blinked and then burst out laughing.