Page 102 of Stubborn as a Shadow

He had all the people in my life too. We were a family of sorts. In our own way. I hadn’t always appreciated that, but it was true. I trusted them with my own life, and more importantly, I trusted them with Morgan’s.

Together we would keep him safe from anyone who might try to exploit him, because fuck only knew what people might do if they discovered he had a direct link to the Eternal Magic herself. But I knew the circumstances of his birth didn’t change anything.

The only question I had was why on earth the Eternal Magic chose me to be her son’s mate. She could have selected absolutely any other person in the world for him. And yet he was mine, and I was his.

I’d never have an answer to that, so I pushed the question aside. Besides, I had a mate to take care of… and that was much more important.

I reached for my shampoo. Even when his hair was wet, his curls shimmered with rainbow hues. He moaned and shuddered against me as I massaged the shampoo over his head. That sound. Fuck.

I’d been hard just holding my naked and wet mate, but when he moaned, I wanted more. More of his pleasure. More evidence that he had, even temporarily, found a bit of peace here, with me.

He pressed his ass back until my cock slid over his soapy wet skin. “Nelson…”

I moved my hips away from him. “Let me take care of you.”

“We take care of each other,” he argued.

“Yes. But right now, give me this. Please.”

It must have been the “please” that worked, because he didn’t make any other protest. Determined to pamper him, I ignored my erection and rinsed the soap from his hair. Then I lathered body wash over him.

After I cleaned his feet, I stayed kneeling before him. He blinked down at me. Water sluiced off the planes of his lean body. With our gazes locked, I leaned forward and took him into my mouth.

He sucked in a quick gasp. “Nelson.”

His fingers twitched, but he didn’t grab for me. So, I guided his hands to my head. His eyes widened, but he curled his fingers around my hair. His pupils were blown wide as he stared down at me and started mumbling nonsensical words.

I grabbed his ass and pulled him forward, taking him deeper. He grunted. His fingers flexed. I pulled back a little, then did it again. By the third time, Morgan took control. He was still so damn gentle, though. Careful not to gag me. Only rocking his hips the littlest amount. But the look of wonder on his face? That was everything.

When he came down my throat, I came too, spraying my release across the tiles.

“Flipping fireflies and frogs,” he muttered. He pushed his wet hair out of his face. “That was…”

I loved it when he started speaking nonsense. I grinned as I stood and pulled him into my arms. He was finally truly relaxed. Good.

When we got out of the shower, he grabbed a towel from the rack to dry himself, but I wasn’t done taking care of him yet.

“Let me…” I said as I tugged the towel from his hands.

I gently pulled the terry cloth over his body, then wrapped him in a fluffy robe Jake and Gage had given me when I moved into this room. I’d never used it before, but I was happy I had it to give to Morgan. I quickly dried myself.

Then I swept him up and carried him into the bedroom. Bubbles of laughter followed us all the way to the bed. When we were finally tucked beneath the covers, with Morgan safely in my arms, he sighed and snuggled closer to me.

Silence crept over us, and I knew he was thinking back to everything that’d happened.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head a little.

“You sure? If you want to talk, or cry, or scream, you can. I can take it,” I said. “I think being mates means that I’m not affected by your tears like other people.”

He stilled. “You think?”

“It’s like Ash and Dillon,” I said. “You haven’t met them yet, but Ash is a mage and Dillon is a hellhound. Only a mate can touch a hellhound’s flames without being burned. I think it’s like that. You’re my mate, Morgan. You could never hurt me.”

Morgan let out a shuddering breath. And then, as if my words had been all the permission he needed, he let go.

The tears started slowly. He didn’t talk, and I didn’t offer any platitudes. All I did was hold him as he sobbed. His body trembled, and I held him as tightly as I could. He hadn’t found what he was looking for, but he wasn’t alone. He’d never be alone again.