Everett

I could admit that Spencer's parents' house – which we had taken to calling the bunker – was the best place for us now, but I missed home.

We had been here for five days now and the whole living situation was starting to wear on me. I was videoconferencing into every meeting at Delta, even the ones I really should have been present for. When I explained the situation, no one argued with me about it, but it still felt wrong. We always had a guard outside the house and Felix's friends from the defense team kept stopping by all the time. I wasn't fooled and neither was he: they were visiting during their time off to provide us with another layer of protection. It was really generous of them and I did enjoy meeting more people from Felix's life, but I also wanted quality time with my family in our own home.

The worst part about staying in the bunker, though, was Griffin's reaction to it. He panicked when we first brought him here and wouldn't stop wailing at night until I brought him into the bed I shared with Felix. He was so used to shuffling houses, I suspected he thought we would leave him now, too. That had been the pattern of his life for too long, and it broke my heart.

Felix and I hadn't had any real privacy since we moved in here. He agreed to adopt Griffin with the condition that we took time for us, at least a date night each week. This was a special circumstance, of course, and we were in agreement that we shouldn't leave Griffin's side, but that didn't make this feel any better.

Mel and Magnus, as well as my mother, had taken to coming over right after work and staying until bedtime. Magnus didn't arrive until after dinnertime because the swim team he coached was practicing after school. Mel and Felix had holed up in Griffin's room – the one he never slept in – while I got some work done in the office. I could hear the occasional squeal of laughter from Griffin and guffaws from Felix. Whatever they laughed at seemed to be at Mel's expense, since she was complaining instead of laughing along with them.

This kind of disruption had once driven me mad. I had high-end noise-cancelling headphones that I always used to wear as a rule in the office, and people were used to needing to wave a hand in front of my face to catch my attention when they needed to talk to me. I liked hearing my family, though. Even in these close living quarters, in a house I hadn't left in five days, I loved hearing Griffin shouting "Pop" to get Felix's attention, and I loved hearing Felix doing absolutely anything. I even enjoyed hearing Mel heckling anyone in the room except Griffin.

And I had a new visitor to look forward to this weekend. Gareth would be coming to stay for a few days. He'd make the drive down after work on Friday and stay until Monday evening. I hadn't realized how much I missed him until the plans were made, and now Friday couldn't come soon enough.

I heard knocking on the door and raced to answer it, knowing it would be Magnus. "I'll get it!" I called to make sure Felix and Meleri stayed put.

I let Magnus in, shutting the door and snapping a series of locks shut once he was in the entryway of the bunker. The bio locks should make all of the other locks I was engaging redundant, but I felt better knowing we had back-ups.

"How are you holding up?" Magnus asked as he kicked off his shoes and hung his jacket.

I shrugged. "Everything's fine. Griffin won't give us a moment of peace, but that's hardly surprising."

"Where is my nephew?" Magnus asked, grinning widely. He was enamored with Griffin.

"Down the hall. I was actually hoping you could do me a favor, though."

"Name it," Magnus said, rolling back on his heels with his hands in his pockets, the image of relaxation.

"I'm hoping you and Mel will give me and Felix some alone time. I think between the two of you, we might be able to buy an hour before he starts asking for us."

Magnus smiled wryly. "No problem, Ev. We can handle it."

Magnus went down the hall toward Griffin's room while I went to the kitchen. I had a macaroni and cheese bake keeping warm in the oven and I pulled it out along with five bowls. This was the first night my mother hadn't come visiting since I told her my plan to get Felix alone. She was enjoying getting to know Magnus and Mel, but said she could use a night at home. After so many years of living alone, I imagined it must feel strange to be as surrounded by people as she had been since transferring to Lakota.

I almost dropped the bowl I was holding when Griffin suddenly started wailing. I could tell he was trying to talk through his cries, but couldn't make out the words. I put the bowl down and sprinted down the hall – surely something had happened to make him react like that – but I found nothing amiss when I stood in the doorway of his bedroom, panting.

Felix had Griffin cradled to his chest, bobbing and making shushing noises, while Mel and Magnus hovered anxiously.

"What's going on?" I asked over the noise.

"I tried to leave and he panicked," Felix said. "I was just going down the hall, Griff. Don't you like playing with Aunt Mel and Uncle Magnus?"

Griffin just kept crying, and I could make out the word "no."

I hurried to his side but when Felix tried to hand me Griffin, I gently pushed Griffin back toward him. I couldn't be the only person Griffin went to when he was scared or panicked. Felix needed to be that anchor for him, too, and even though it was hard not to soothe him myself, I thought it was especially important for Griffin to lean on Felix even when I was an option.

I put myself in Griffin's line of sight and stood back while Felix kept hugging and rocking him. Gradually, Griffin calmed down.

"What's wrong?" Felix asked for the umpteenth time.

"No," Griffin whimpered, and the tears started again.

It took almost ten minutes to get Griffin to say anything else, but finally he said, "I stay with you."

I couldn't hold myself back anymore. I wrapped my arms around both Griffin and Felix. "You'll always stay with us, Griffin," I assured him.

"Pop leave," Griffin said tearfully.

"I was just going down the hall," Felix assured him. "Just for a little while."

But Griffin kept clutching him. It was obvious Griffin was in no state for us to leave him with Meleri and Magnus, not any time soon, so I went back down the hall and finished dishing out dinner for everyone. I used a tray to carry it all back to Griffin's room, where we picnicked on the floor. Griffin ate from Felix's lap, keeping one hand clutched on his arm. He didn't let go until he fell asleep.

--

Later that night, Felix and I crept out of our own bedroom, leaving the door cracked open in case Griffin woke up and got scared when he found himself alone. Felix led me by the hand into the living room before flopping down onto the couch, pulling me down next to him. I let myself be wrapped up in his arms, resting my head against his chest and sighing.

It might have taken a few hours more than I planned, but Felix and I were finally alone.

"I've missed you," I said.

Felix's arms tightened against me. "I missed you too." He pressed a kiss against my hair and I sighed happily, nuzzling into him. "I thought Griffin was finally starting to get over the attachment issues," Felix said. His chest rumbled against my cheek as he spoke, which was one of the most comforting feelings I knew. Despite that, his words had me reluctantly sitting up to look him in the eye.

"It might be something he always struggles with," I said. "Things that happen in early childhood can't just be shaken off. We'll always need to help him with this."

"But he hasn't panicked like that in a week," Felix protested. "It's been getting so much better, he's almost like a normal child."

His words hit me like a slap and I drew away from him, shocked. "What? How can you say that?"

Felix looked genuinely confused. "Don't you think he's been doing better?" he asked, genuinely perplexed.

I shook my head and frowned at him. "Felix, I don't know what you think a normal child is, but it's not a measuring stick we're going to hold our son against. He's struggling, but there's nothing wrong with him."

Felix reached for my hands and I pulled them back before he could catch them. If he touched me right now, my anger would either flare or disappear. Neither option was good – this was clearly a conversation we needed to have. "I didn't mean it like that," Felix said. I eyed him skeptically, taking in the wide-eyed sincerity and the anxiety that showed in his furrowed brow and in the neck muscles that stood out in sharp relief. "I swear, I didn't. I know none of this is his fault and I don't care how different he is to other children. I just don't want him to have to struggle with something for the rest of his life because of a mother who never deserved him."

I studied him for another few seconds before taking his hands in mine. "Okay. Sorry, I might have overreacted. I think this house is getting to me. I need to be home, Felix. I need time with you without every one of your acquaintances hovering over us, and I need to not feel like someone's going to try and rip my family apart the second we let our guard drop."

Felix scooped me up and set me down on his lap. I let myself sink into his comforting warmth and couldn't help feeling better when he pressed his lips to my forehead. "I know. I'm not going to let them take Griffin. Molly called me while you were cooking and said they have an idea for how to end this. She's coming over in the morning to explain the plan. We just need to hang on a little longer, okay?"

"Okay." My heart raced, though I couldn't tell if it was anxiety or just adrenaline at the thought this might all be over soon. I knew exactly how to ground myself, though. All it took was Felix – he could get me through anything.

I pulled back just far enough that I could take in his features, which had become so precious to me. My hand traced over his jawline, which had passed five o'clock shadow around noon. Felix shaved every morning, but he always had a bit of roughness to his cheek since his facial hair grew in so fast. It was one of the things that had been hardest to adjust to, at first. I never imagined myself lovingly holding a stubbled cheek in my hands, or that the legs I entwined mine with at night would be more muscular and hairier than my own. It didn't matter, though. Felix's draw on me was enough to eclipse any of those shallow concerns without much trouble. It might have taken us weeks to mate, but if it weren't for my job blowing up, I didn't think I would have lasted more than a few days.

"What?" Felix asked, meeting my searching eyes with his own warm, dark gaze that I could fall into.

"I really love you," I said. "More than I ever imagined was possible."

Felix's gaze heated and he kissed me full on the lips, deepening the kiss as soon as I gave him an opening. He clutched me against him, but instead of feeling restricted, I felt sheltered. His tongue teased mine before his teeth nipped at my bottom lip. I could feel him smiling against me and I had to pull out of the kiss to smile, too. "Think we might find somewhere a little more private?" I asked. It had been a couple of days since we were able to sneak away from Griffin, who usually woke when we tried to leave the room at night.

Felix's response was to slide his hands down my back until they cupped my butt. He stood with me in his arms, kissing down my neck while he walked us to a bedroom a couple doors from our own.

"We'll have to be quiet so we don't wake Griffin," Felix warned as he used his hip to close the door.

"Mhm," I agreed breathily as I sucked at his neck.

"I'm not going to make it easy on you," Felix said. I could feel his hard length pressing up against me and my muscles clenched in anticipation.

"Good," I breathed. Felix tossed me on the bed and leapt on top of me, caging me in with his arms and looking down at me with hungry eyes. He promised me a challenge but was holding himself back, enjoying the anticipation. I wasn't feeling so patient, so I wrapped my legs tightly around him, using the leverage to pull my lower half up to meet his and grinding myself against him. Felix's eyes fluttered shut and he moaned.

When his eyes opened again, they focused on mine with a new predatory glint. "You asked for it."

Absolute thrill zinged through my whole body as Felix climbed off me and deftly undid the button of my pants. He yanked them off and reached for my shirt, but I was already flinging it off me. "Your turn."

But he just smirked and tucked his thumbs into my boxers, plunging them in as deep as he could but not nearly deep enough. I jerked my hips upward, trying to force his hands deeper, but he withdrew them altogether. "You're right," he said. "I think it is my turn."

My erection strained toward him, but he stood up and watched me as he all-too-casually took off his shirt. When his arms were drawn forward like this, his pecs and delts stood out. How had I never noticed before I met Felix how hot a toned, well-sculpted set of muscles could be? Or maybe I was salivating just because these were Felix's muscles.

I sat up, fully intent on exploring my mate's exposed chest with my hands and tongue, but he reached out one hand and eased me back down on to the bed. "Stay," he said before letting go.

It seemed a little funny that he was ordering me around, but I was kind of enjoying it and laughing would definitely kill the mood. Instead, I laid back and let my mate put on a show. His muscles flexed and moved under his skin as he took his good sweet time reaching down for the button of his jeans. His hands lingered there for a few seconds before he moved them lower, crouching down to take off his socks. He flung them onto the bed and I swatted them away, unable to keep from laughing.

Trust Felix not to take himself seriously during a strip tease.

Man, I loved him.

When Felix's eyes met mine, they sparkled with amusement and he grinned at me before pouncing onto the bed. Felix pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to my neck but I pulled away as far as I could with him pinning me down like this.

"No, you still have too many clothes," I complained. I could feel how hard he was where he pressed himself against me and I wanted more.

"You have too many clothes," he retorted.

"Less than you!"

Felix was apparently unimpressed by my very valid retort. He reached down between us and tugged my boxers lower, moving lower with them until they were off and he was hovering over my straining erection. A trail of semen connected my tip to my stomach, and Felix scooped it into his hand before gripping me and stroking with a long, slow tempo that had me grinding my hips in a fruitless effort to encourage more friction.

Felix had said he wouldn't make things easy on me... So the only way to get what I wanted this century might be to turn the tables. Make things difficult for him. But... how? Felix was so impossibly gifted in bed and I... I had always been happy to let him take me. What could I do to snap his focus?

My mind was struggling to form cohesive thoughts the longer Felix stroked at me. His eyes gazed right into mine, scrambling my thoughts further. Before I totally lost my train of thought, I acted on the only idea I had.

I reached down and knocked Felix's hand out of the way, replacing it with my own and stroking myself with the speed and friction I had been craving. Felix's eyes snapped downward and he seemed almost transfixed on the sight of me touching myself. His eyes flicked back up to mine for just a second and I let out a low moan, shutting my eyes and pretending the hand on me was Felix's.

I didn't have to pretend for long.

Felix gripped both of my wrists and pulled my arms to my sides. He held them down so firmly I seriously wondered whether I could get myself free and, without giving me a second to process, Felix sucked my balls into his mouth. His tongue curled around one, then the other, before he released them and blew onto the sensitive skin. I gasped loudly and Felix chuckled lowly.

"Ssh," he reminded me. "If Griffin wakes up, this is all over."

Unacceptable. I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut, determined not to make another sound. Felix dove right back in. First, his tongue fluttered over the impossibly sensitive skin just below my tip before he gave my length a long, slow lick. My balls squeezed so hard it was like they were trying to crawl up inside me and I shuddered with the effort of keeping my mouth shut.

"Stay just like this," Felix said quietly. "Don't move a muscle."

He released me and I snapped my eyes open to follow him as he opened up the nightstand drawer and pulled out the bottle of lube we'd stashed there the first night we snuck away for some alone time. He looked over at me as he flicked the cap up. "You moved," he said, smiling a little.

I stuck out my tongue and Felix added, "Careful with that. I might get ideas."

"Yes! Get ideas!" I encouraged.

He snorted and came back to the bed. "Maybe later." He kissed me and I deepened the kiss. Once I thought he was distracted enough, I reached for the button of his pants. It wasn't easy to unhook while he kissed me like this, but I managed it and the zipper, then tugged ineffectively at the waistline of his pants. When they didn't budge, I lightly bit at Felix's lip in complaint.

"I don't remember you being this impatient," Felix said as he finally – finally – pulled off his pants and his boxer briefs in one go.

"We haven't had sex in three days," I said. "Three days, Felix."

His brow wrinkled and he frowned a bit, but it was obvious he was faking. "How could I let this happen?"

I swatted at his arm. "Less talking, more doing." I yanked him closer and pressed our erections together. It took both of my hands to stroke us because Felix was unusually well-endowed, but you'd never hear me complaining about that.

Felix's head fell down onto my shoulder and his breathing became labored. "That's good," he moaned.

"Know what'll be even better?" I asked pointedly. I loved him, but sometimes Felix was too patient in bed.

"Mmm, yeah," he sighed.

I was losing him. I let go of us and swiped the lube from where he'd dropped it on the bed. I was just about to squirt some onto my own hand – at least if I prepped myself, things would keep moving – but Felix took it from me.

"No, do that again. I'll take care of you."

I wrapped a hand around myself and laid back onto the bed, stroking long and slow just the way Felix liked, lingering at the tip and taking extra care to rub my thumb up against it before moving my hand down again. Felix's eyes dilated completely and his nostrils flared – his tether had snapped.

Within seconds, he was sticking two chilly lubed-up fingers up my hole. I laughed at the suddenness of it and Felix clapped a hand over my mouth. "Ssh!" he reminded urgently.

As a reward for good behavior, I let myself go and stroked Felix instead. I was too close to the edge, anyway. If I kept that friction going while Felix worked me, I'd never last.

Quicker than usual, Felix added a third finger. I shuddered. This part used to feel so invasive and I would get so self-conscious. Now I just felt anticipation for what was coming. Just as he usually did, Felix turned this part into a game. When I sped up my pace, Felix slowed his. When I cupped his balls and massaged them, Felix went for my prostate. I bit my lip but couldn't quite keep in my moan.

"Felix, I want you," I complained.

His fingers instantly retreated. "Are you ready for me?" he asked. There was a hint of growl in his words and my penis jerked, gushing a new stream of precum onto my stomach. Since I was incapable of speech, I nodded vigorously.

Felix leaned in and kissed me long and slow, his tongue twisting around mine in utter dominance. I was happy to yield to him – the thing I was unhappy about was how determined Felix seemed to be to take his time with me.

Felix gripped my hips and pulled me up. He rolled and before I knew it, I was sitting on top of him while he grinned up at me. "I want you to ride me," he said.

My cheeks heated up – I could feel them blazing – and I felt frozen. We had done a lot, Felix and I, but I wasn't used to riding him. I had certainly never started out that way. It was too... wanton. Too... exposing.

But this was my mate. And I really did want him inside me...

And it would be nice to control the pace.

I pushed through the sudden strange flare of self-consciousness and straddled him firmly. I reached between us so I could guide him to my hole and I slowly, carefully, sank down.

It was strange, controlling this part. Usually Felix was the one pushing in, and he would do it achingly slowly until I absolutely had to tug him all the way in.

Now... Now, I was feeling so much more than usual. I would have sworn I could feel the ridge of his head as it stroked the deepest part of me, and as I sank all the way down, he hit my prostate directly. Wonder-struck, I stared down at Felix as he gazed up at me almost dreamily. A smile crept across his lips and he playfully jerked his hips a little, pressing himself into my prostate even harder.

Instinctively, I clenched around him, intensifying the pleasure. Felix's hand covered my mouth again, muffling another moan. I slid my hips up until he was almost back at my entrance, then slid down again. I was already impossibly worked up, about ready go off from... what? From a tiny bit of mouth play, my own hand, and a couple of thrusts? I looked down at where we were joined couldn't stifle a moan this time as I saw his length disappearing inside of me.

I slid up and down on Felix's hard shaft again, shutting my eyes as the pleasure overwhelmed me. After a few more rocks, Felix suddenly wrapped his hand around me, stroking in time with my movements, and I shot off my load with no warning. He kept stroking me as I pulsed in his hand and just as my orgasm was starting to ebb, Felix let go. He gripped my hips instead and slammed himself up into me with a hard, fast pace he rarely used with me. I gazed shakily down at his determined gaze while my hands clutched at his chest for stability.

He thrust into me faster than seemed possible when he was beneath me, and each thrust was a direct hit. I was dangerously close to becoming an incoherent mess and my arms were starting to feel shaky. My breathing was coming in gasps, but Felix just kept pounding into me. His hair grew damp and I could feel the sweat start to coat his chest, but he didn't let up.

"Felix," I panted. "Hell. Felix!"

"Want more?" he asked, eyes glinting.

I nodded helplessly. I would always want more of him.

Felix withdrew completely and I snapped my eyes open – when had they even shut? I felt betrayed. That is, until he gripped me again and flipped us around. Felix pulled me toward the edge of the bed, where I knelt with the comforter gripped in my hand. Felix stood behind me and my heart beat fast in anticipation. We hadn't tried this way before, with one of us standing. He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck before he slid back into me.

For a few strokes, he went slowly. The angle was different this time and I felt a pang of disappointment before he did something with his hips that sent him sliding home again, right on that magical prostate. I pushed back against him, trying to press him deeper into me, but he pulled back out. Felix's hands crept around my hips and splayed next to my throbbing erection. They were just a twitch away from actually making contact, but of course Felix couldn't make anything easy on me.

Felix kissed up my neck, sucking and nipping as I shuddered under him. When he sucked hard right over my mark, I squealed and jerked hard. Before I could settle back into position, Felix tugged at my legs so I was standing between him and the bed.

"Bend over," he said.

It was a request that would usually have sent me back into a self-conscious freeze, but the forefront thought in my mind was that doing as he asked meant having him back inside me. I obeyed without a second of hesitation.

Felix drove into me again, and I would swear he went deeper than ever before. Deeper than I ever knew was possible. My eyes rolled back and I let my head drop back onto his shoulder. Felix withdrew slowly, then slammed back into me.

Why hadn't we done this sooner?

Felix took my hand and guided it back to my erection. He wrapped my fingers around it and guided my hand up and down until I was stroking on my own. I opened my eyes again and found him staring fixedly down at my hand moving up and down my length. His eyes were hungry and I scrounged up enough energy to let out a single chuckle.

Then Felix reached lower and gently tugged at my balls just as he slammed into me again, and I came hard – harder than earlier, harder than I could remember since our first time.

I cried out, but Felix didn't cover my mouth this time. He was still thrusting into me, but with purpose now. I could feel him spasming inside me and I used energy I was kind of surprised to still possess to squeeze myself tighter around him. Felix let out a deep moan just behind me, raising goosebumps on the back of my neck.

When Felix had finished, I let myself drop slowly onto the bed. Felix moved with me until we were both mostly laying on the bed, curled around each other and still joined. Felix kissed gently at my neck and my jawline.

"Good?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. He knew it was good – how could he not? – but he liked hearing it. Still, I wouldn't cheapen what was between us by teasing him or joking. "Phenomenal."

He sighed happily and we were both quiet for a few minutes until Felix added, "We need to practice being quiet."

I laughed but didn't argue. "Next time," I said.