Bonds of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 2)

With a frown, Okot looks down between his legs and then back at me. I know that I just ruined all of his carefully created romance, and I feel bad about that, but…

He looks confused, the poor guy. “Have you not seen one before?” he asks me.

I tilt my head, still staring at it. “Yes. No. I mean, yes I’ve seen one. Thousands. Maybe even millions. You remember my job. I watched a lot of sex. If you want to get technical, this is the first one that I’ve seen in my real body that’s been for me. But…”

“But…?” He’s looking at me like he’s not sure what’s happening.

“I’ve seen a lot. Big ones, small ones, dark ones, light ones. Narrow, girthy, wrinkly, smooth, hard, soft. You get the picture.”

He cringes like he’s suddenly imagining all of those at once. “Unfortunately.”

I still can’t take my eyes off the appendage hanging from his crotch. I point at it, but it points right back. “But I have never seen one quite like that.”

He looks like he’s at a loss. When he scratches the back of his neck, I realize that I’m also making him self-conscious. I quickly leap to my feet and grab hold of his biceps.

“Sorry. I’m screwing this up. I know, I’m an idiot. It’s just, I knew you’d be big, because duh, you turn into a freaking gigantic bull, but you’re not just big. You’re, like, too big. Way too big for me. And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. Believe me, I’ve spied plenty of ladies doing the whole ego-boosting schpeel when the guy was nothing better than a hot dog. But I’m for reals here.”

He just stares at me.

“Look, that thing is gonna rip something important, I’m sure of it,’ I say, putting my hands in front of my crotch protectively. ‘Best we just learn to have a hands-only rule right out of the gate. And don’t even get me started on the piercings. Don’t think I’ve overlooked those,” I say, pointing at the four metal studs glinting from the head of his cock.

“How did you even…you know what? Never mind. You clearly are a terrible judge of pain if you managed to get both your nose and your penis pierced. And someone without a proper pain gauge probably shouldn’t be spearing into my feminine hollows.”

No longer self-conscious, Okot smiles at me like he thinks I’m hilarious. I frown. “This is not a joke, Okot. This is a code-vagina red alert.”

I’ve been looking forward to sex forever. But this is way more intimidating than I thought it would be. Even if he were normal-sized, which he’s not, it would be a bit daunting. Why did I decide to try and do the hanky panky with the flying bull fae first? What a rookie mistake.

Okot brings his hands to my cheeks, forcing my gaze to unglue from the eighth wonder of the world between his legs. The thing is staring at me; its metal piercings winking coyly.

When I meet his pulsing red eyes, he smiles softly. “I would never hurt you.”

“Well, not on purpose, but—”

“Just relax, my beloved. Let me take care of you. I will go slowly.”

I quirk a brow at him. “Ripping. Like tissue paper. It’s like one of those shape puzzles. Can’t fit a big circle into the little circle, Okot. It just doesn’t go in.”

He cocks his neck to the side and invites me in to nuzzle my face against him so that I can get a nice big whiff. I do. I close my eyes and take a huge breath, letting his warming scent engulf me. Blazing fire. Summertime. Spices. Gods, he smells divine.

As soon as his scent hits my system, I feel calmer. The breath travels down my throat, into my chest, and then infiltrates all my limbs and even my mind.

When I pull back, he pets my hair. “Better?”

I gaze at him dazedly. “Mmmhmm.”

“Good,” he says quietly. “Are you ready?”

“You sure it’ll fit? Like really?” I ask dubiously.

He smiles softly. “Yes, it’ll fit. But I’ll stop whenever you need me to.”

I nod slowly. “Okay then. Sorry for the minor freak out.”

“Don’t be. We don’t have to do this.”

“I know,” I say, running my palms up his chest. “But I want to. Just…go slow.”

He kisses me on the top of my head. “Close your eyes and lie back down.”

I do what he says and his naked body comes down on top of mine. He holds his weight off me so that I’m not crushed. He’s mindful to keep his neck bared to me so that I can breathe in his scent as much as I want.

I keep breathing in and out, relishing in his mate scent that soothes me so well. He starts to caress me again, making goosebumps erupt over my skin. His hand, despite its large size and calluses, is incredibly gentle. His touch grazes up to my bare arms, my chest, my belly, my collarbone, and then his fingers knead through my scalp, and…yep. I’ve melted. My nervousness is forgotten. Playing with my hair must be my reset button.

Automatically, my hands run up his back. I try to touch everywhere I can reach while he kisses me. His kiss is possessive and makes me want more. He slides his hand to my breasts and runs his thumb over my nipple, sending sparks shooting down my body.

“Yes,” I murmur.

He exchanges his hand with his mouth. As soon as his tongue flicks over my nipple, I moan loudly.

“You like that?”

I can’t answer. I just writhe beneath him and he rewards me by taking my nipple into his mouth and sucking. At the same time, he grinds his hips into my groin, creating amazing pressure against my core.

“Mmm…”

His mouth continues to make love to my breasts and then he moves his hand down my flat belly to the spot between my thighs. I clench with anticipation.

Going, going, going…there.

“Yes. Right there.”

He circles my clit, putting just the amount of pressure on it. He works me up so much that I can feel wetness start to spread. My hips jut forward greedily.

His hand continues to work me until I’m arching back, my mouth open in a silent plea, and then the orgasm hits me. My toes curl and my wings pop out. A guttural moan escapes my throat and I see stars behind my closed lids.

Before the fluttering ends, Okot lines himself up with my opening and slowly starts to enter me. My orgasm ripples out, and then all I can feel is his length filling me up. I bite my lip and watch his handsome face as he struggles to go slow. He’s careful with me, and it’s a good thing, because he really is big.

He pulls out slightly and then pushes back in a few more inches than before. I feel him stretching my limits, and I tense.

“Relax,” he soothes in my ear.

He starts licking and nibbling down my neck, making me shudder as he pulls back out a little and back in again.

So full. I’m so full and I don’t know if I can take more. It hurts, but there’s also this building throb that craves more. With another thrust, he pushes in all the way to the hilt. The noise I make is half-pleasure, half-pain. He pauses, giving my body time to adjust.

“Hey. I’ve got you,” he says, forcing me to look into his eyes.

He keeps one hand around my neck, as if he knows I need to feel grounded by him, and his other hand he places between us, stirring desire at my clit again. At first, it feels like too much too quickly, but then he starts to move inside of me and my nerve endings ignite.

When his cock hits a sweet spot inside of me, my head falls back against the ground. “Oh. That’s…” The piercings. Yep. I just decided that the piercings are awesome. He can have as many penis piercings as he wants.

I’m no longer just feeling full and stretched. Now, the heat he’s stirring with his hand is also being stoked to life on the inside of me with every single thrust he makes. Every time his pierced cock hits that spot deep within me, the heat grows. He pulls almost all the way out, and then thrusts in again, harder, making me arch my back and cry out.

It feels… Gods, it feels. So much sensation that I can barely take it. Tears prick my eyes, and I feel Okot kissing them away, somehow knowing that I’m not crying from pain or fear.

The heat that he’s sparked to life inside of me moulds together with the fire he’s created on my clit and it feels like I’m about to burst open. A pleased groan comes from him when my hips jut up to meet his and my fingers dig into his back.

“Faster.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. He starts plunging into me. Over and over again, his pierced cock hits that deliciously perfect spot and I never want it to end and yet I’m desperate to reach the pinnacle.

Just when I’m at that perfect peak, he buries his nose against the crook of my neck, and my head automatically turns so I can be surrounded by his scent, too. His smell is suddenly everywhere, headier than ever before. The unique warmth of his scent is feeding the warmth that he’s created inside of me. I can taste it, feel it, hear it. It’s become its own entity, and it pulsates and makes my pleasure skyrocket.

His thrusts grow harder and more frenzied. “Gods, you feel so good,” he groans.

When he slams me into the ground and pinches my clit at the same time, I unravel with a divine orgasm that makes me see stars. “Yes!”

I feel him stiffen and release inside of me as the waves of my own pleasure crash into me again and again. My whole body shudders and sighs.

Gods, that was…more than I ever imagined. I want to do this forever. I want to sign up for a sex rotation so that I can maximize the number of orgasms I can get every week. My cupid covey was an awesome idea. Having my own personal harem is super efficient.

When I’m able to open my eyes again, I see Okot peppering me with soft kisses on my cheeks, neck, breasts, and lips.

I lazily thread my fingers through his hair while my other hand strokes up and down his bare back. When he pulls out of me, I feel a twinge, but nothing more painful than a pinch. It’s surprising, really. My narrow feminine hollow is awesomely accommodating, if I do say so myself.

Okot stands and scoops me into his arms. He walks us into the stream to wash. His huge hands touch every part of me as he drips water over my skin with loving caresses. I don’t feel shy at all, and it’s clear that he doesn’t, either. He stands shin-deep in the water, proud and tall, as he should. His body is a feast for the eyes.

With both of us standing in the stream, my front pressed against his, he wraps his arms around me in a protective circle.

“Did you feel it?” he asks huskily.

I don’t have to ask to know he means the mate scent. “Yeah. That was intense.”

“I have heard about confirming mate bonds my whole life,” he says, his voice sounding faraway. “Yet even I was not prepared. It was so much more than I’ve heard.”

“I can sense you now,” I admit, pointing to a spot on my chest. “Is that normal?”

He kisses the top of my head. “Yes. It is the confirmation of our mate match. My sense of you has grown stronger, too.”

“That was intense. And I have a wholly new appreciation for penis piercings.”

His chuckle rumbles against my body, making me smile. I feel him stretch to rub his neck and then his body stiffens.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, pulling away.

He takes my hand and lifts it to his neck, and I look up to follow the movement. “You marked me.”

I blink up at him in confusion, watching the spot that he covers with my palm. When I lift my hand from his skin, my eyes widen. Right at the crook of his neck—my favorite place to sniff him—is my cupid marking. The exact cupid number that’s marked on the inside of my right arm, right below my wrist, now marks his skin. “ML” in silvery white roman numerals raised up like a brand.

“Oh my gods.” I look up at him to try and gauge his reaction, but he doesn’t seem weirded out. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why that happened. Are you mad?”

He frowns. “Mad? My mate marked me as her own. Why would I be mad?”

I lightly trace the mark on his neck. “I don’t know. Because everyone will be able to see it. Because it’s not normal.”

He captures my hand and kisses my fingers. “I am proud to wear your mark. And nothing about you is normal. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

I smile and shake my head at him. “Who knew under the pierced bad boy exterior you’d be such a romantic?”

“Only with you, my beloved.”

“Are you trying to get lucky again?”

He chuckles and smoothes my damp hair down. “I wish I could, but I must take you back to the genfins now. I have something I need to do.”

The smile immediately falls from my face. “What do you have to do?”

“I must go and meet with Princess Soora. I report to her, and she is in more danger every day that she works with the rebellion. She will need to know that I am alive and how she can find us, and I must get my new orders from her.”

I worry my lip between my teeth. “I don’t want you to go. Someone will see you. You’re huge. And your hair is bright-red. You don’t blend in.”

“No one will see me,” he assures me. “I have been doing this for a very long time.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I will be back before you know it.”

I sigh in defeat. “Promise?”

He places a kiss on the crown of my head. “I promise. Now let’s get you back.”

He leads me out of the stream and we quickly air dry before getting dressed again. When he shifts into his animal form, I climb on top of his back and hold on tight.

The flight is over quickly, and he drops me off at the back of the inn where the guys are already waiting. Without shifting back, Okot nuzzles his nose against my arm in goodbye.

“What the fuck’s that?”

I look to where Evert is staring at Okot. In his animal form, my whitish cupid marking is even more noticeable on Okot’s neck.

“Oh, I sort of marked him when we confirmed our mate match.”

The guys stare at me. “You marked him?”

“Yeah. My cupid number just popped up on him after we…you know.” They continue to stare at me, so I cross my arms defensively. “What? It’s not like I knew that was going to happen. If you’re having second thoughts…”

“We’re not having second thoughts,” Evert cuts me off.

“Look, I know it’s weird…” I say, feeling embarrassed. “Lots of things are weird about me. My eyes changed color, I have this black feather now, I hiccuped myself into invisibility…I’m a freak, I totally get that, and—”

“Scratch.”

“What?”

“Shut up.”

I look at him with confusion. Sylred takes pity on me. “We’re jealous as hell.”

“You—what? No. Really?”

“Just get your cute ass inside,” Evert drawls. “And try not to mark anyone else on the way up.”

My nervousness dissipates immediately. At Okot’s grunt, I turn back to him and pet his head. “Be careful.”

He snorts and paws the ground. Leaping into the air again, his wings lift him up into the sky. I watch until I can no longer see his shadowy silhouette.

I realize I’m crying when Sylred wraps his arms around me from behind. “He’ll be alright.” I sniff through my nod and then let him lead me inside.

We go up through the back staircase, once again not being seen. Inside the room, there’s already more food waiting for me. This time, it’s a collection of desserts.

“What’s all this?”

Ronak shakes out a blanket and spreads it on the floor in front of the plates. “You haven’t had any proper desserts yet. Our honeyed fruit back on the banishment island didn’t really count.”

All three of them sit down on the blanket and look up at me expectantly. My genfins are being…sweet? I narrow my eyes and look at them suspiciously.

“Don’t look at us like that,” Sylred laughs.

“No, she’s right not to trust us,” Evert admits, leaning back on his hands. “We haven’t gotten her back for all the Lust-Breaths.”

I lift my chin. “I don’t know what you mean. How else was I supposed to communicate?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t play innocent. It won’t work on me.”

I shrug. It was worth a try.

“So is this a bribe, or are you just trying to distract me?”

Sylred reaches up, surprising me when he pulls me down into his lap. I relax against him instantly. “Think of it more like a reward.”

I raise a brow. “A reward for what?”

“For agreeing to take us on as mates. This is us wooing you.”

“Hmm.” I look around at the embarrassing number of plates. “I approve.”

Sylred runs his hands up my arms. “Good. Now which one do you want to try first?”

I focus on the different choices, but my eyes instantly zero-in on a particular tray. “Is that…”

“Chocolate cake. Chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate tarts, chocolate fondant, and chocolate mousse,” Evert lists off. “It’s all the chocolate dessert we could find in our limited time.”

I’m practically drooling before he can get through the list. I wonder how much I can eat…

“You always talked about how good chocolate looked while you watched the humans,” Ronak explains. “We figured it’s time you tried it for yourself. We didn’t know which one you’d like best, so we got all of it.”

I look over at the guys incredulously. “This is…really nice.”

Evert smirks and takes a bite of chocolate covered strawberry. He looks over at Sylred. “Told you we’d get out of trouble.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“The drool on your chin does.”

I smack him half-heartedly, but he just wags his eyebrows. “Go on, stuff your face to your heart’s content.”

I flick my eyes back to the chocolate again and ignore their smug smirks. I had my first ever orgasm with Evert. Then I had sex for the first time with Okot. Now they’re showering me with chocolate. I am one stupidly happy cupid.