Cole

Why was I so nervous? Somehow, this felt like my first time with Ares all over again.

I had insisted on taking a shower by myself so I could ensure I was clean and ready to go, and now I was reminded of that first night with Ares - standing in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, feeling eager to go out to him but also vulnerable and exposed.

This is your mate, I reminded myself. You know him now.

It didn't help. I was nervous. This would be our first time together since finding out we were mates. The night we met, it hadn't mattered as much because I never expected to see Ares again. That knowledge had been freeing. Now, he was so much more than a hot stranger and I really cared what he thought of me. I wanted to be... good for him.

I blew out a breath. "This is stupid," I told myself.

Before I could overthink this more, I opened the door and walked out into the bedroom. Ares was lounging on his bed fully nude with one leg outstretched and one leg bent up at the knee. He had one arm behind his head while the other held a book, which he set down on the nightstand as I emerged.

He looked...

I glanced down at my towel, which showed a prominent tent in the front. I couldn't help it. Not with him looking like something out of an erotic film. Looking back at my mate, I watched as he hardened under my stare. His eyes took on that amused gleam they so often held, and his mouth slipped into a smirk.

"Like what you see?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and dropped my towel. My shyness evaporated, replaced by eagerness. I crossed the room in long strides and jumped onto the bed, landing with my legs on either side of Ares' hips. I held myself above him for a moment so I could draw out the anticipation.

Ares' hands wrapped around my hips. They didn't apply any pressure or try to guide me - it was just a connection. He was fully smiling now. "You seem excited."

I looked down pointedly at his erection and back up to his eyes. "So do you."

I leaned down so I could kiss him, and once our tongues were swirling, I lowered my hips down so I could grind on him. Ares groaned at the contact, and his hands squeezed me. I kept it up, working his mouth with mine and sliding our cocks against each other as they grew increasingly slick with precum.

I started to get that delicious tingly feeling and knew I was getting dangerously close to climaxing like this instead of with my mate inside me when Ares suddenly flipped us so that I was laying on my back with Ares looming over me. I gasped in surprise and Ares chuckled darkly. He dipped down between my legs, holding them apart as his tongue swiped at my hole.

"Ares!"

His amused eyes looked up at me from between my legs. "Yes?"

He went back to licking, not waiting for a response. His tongue probed into me and my legs jerked. "So... sensitive," I managed to say as my body strained. Ares was relentless. His tongue kept working me. I couldn't believe what I was letting him do to my body, or how incredibly good it felt.

I reached down and stroked myself, but quickly had to stop or I would have shot my load, and I didn't want to do that yet.

Ares kissed his way up and wrapped his lips around my cock at the same moment he slid a slicked finger into me. I didn't have time to wonder when he'd gotten out the lube, because the moment he closed his mouth around me, I couldn't hold my orgasm back anymore.

My hips jerked, but Ares didn't complain at all. In fact, once I was finished, he pulled off me with a wicked grin even as his fingers continued to stretch me.

I let myself collapse back onto the bed, and Ares laughed. "Would you like to stop and rest?" he offered. His tone made it obvious he was only teasing and knew I wouldn't take him up on the offer.

I reached up and pulled Ares down for a hot, wet kiss. It changed the angle of his fingers, and when he pushed further into me, he rubbed against my prostate. I whined and pushed my hips down, trying to prolong the sensation, but Ares withdrew entirely.

He held up a little foil square - a condom - and said, "Do you want me to use this?"

He must have had lube and the condom stashed somewhere, because I didn't see him reach into the nightstand drawer at all. Either that, or I was really out of it.

I blinked, a little dazed, before shaking my head vigorously no. "I want to feel you. Please, Ares. Let me feel you."

Somehow, with him, my body didn't need the usual recovery time. I was already hard again, and I ached for the stretch and fill of him inside me. The idea that this time we could do it with no barriers between us made me all the more eager.

Ares threw the condom over his shoulder grabbed one of the pillows from the top of the bed. He effortlessly lifted my lower half and slid the pillow underneath, positioning me so I was on full display for him. The new position left me feeling more exposed than ever, but the desire in Ares' eyes when he looked down at me made it okay. He coated himself in lube and added more around my entrance, and I held my breath as I watched him get into position.

It felt unbelievably natural, taking him. Getting his head in took a little extra effort, but the stretching feeling was glorious. It let me really feel him, and then he pushed in until I finally felt full. Ares had gotten the angle just right, and every stroke sent waves of rippling pleasure through my whole body. My toes curled and I knew my chest was heaving as I watched Ares move above me in awe. After I had enjoyed controlling the pace and angles last time, I was surprised to find I liked Ares in control even better.

His hands skimmed down my stomach, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Then, one slid up to gently hold my neck while the other reached down to pump my sensitive erection in time with his thrusts.

Had I ever been so taken? No. This was a first, and it meant so much more coming from my mate. I was fully his, body and soul. Even after having an orgasm, I couldn't last long with the full assault on my body. I shuddered and clenched down on Ares, hips jerking as I rode out a second climax. Ares groaned and joined me, his thrusts becoming purposeful and deep as he filled me.

Once it was finished and he had laid down with me, wrapping me up in his strong arms, I shut my eyes against welling tears. I squeezed my arms around him and pressed my face into his throat, but it wasn't close enough.

I didn't think I'd ever have enough of Ares.

--

Later, after we had both cleaned up and recovered, Ares presented me with my own passkey. It was on a silver chain, just like his, but the key itself looked different. Ares' passkey was a beautiful, antique-looking amulet of silver knotwork with a deep red gem in the center. What Ares placed around my neck actually looked like a key, but it was small, delicate, and shaped with an ornate heart motif if you looked closely enough. It was much smaller than his - it didn't look like it actually went with a lock - but I liked that it looked like a normal piece of jewelry.

"I had this made for you," Ares said as he clasped it around my neck. "It isn't just a passkey to enter here. It also protects against magical influence."

"Like what?" I asked, fingering the chain.

"You will not be susceptible to mind control or emotional manipulation while you wear this. I would like your promise that you won't ever take it off," Ares said seriously. He added, "It will also ensure no one can magically track you except for me."

"How does that work?"

"I can track you through our bond. There is no turning that off. Do you promise not to remove this? Not even when you're showering, unless you're at our home?"

"I promise." I would have done that, anyway. No way was I risking losing the passkey or opening myself up to freaking mind control. I'd never heard of anyone being able to do that, anyway, but it must be a real concern if Ares put effort into protecting me from it.

Ares kissed my forehead. "Good. Thank you."

I smiled up at him and stole another kiss. "You're welcome."

After a quick meal, Ares showed me around the forest surrounding his home. It was stunning; untouched. In this pocket realm, everything seemed cleaner. There was no pollution or litter. I couldn't hear traffic because there wasn't any. If I had been by myself, I thought it might have been alarming to feel so alone. But with Ares, it felt like a haven.

"How does it work?" I asked him as we sat by a riverbank. We had taken our shoes off, and cool water rushed over my feet. "Pocket realms, I mean. Do all demons have their own? Does all this disappear after you're gone, or is it something you can pass on? How did it come to exist in the first place?"

Ares kissed my temple and he intertwined our hands. "We do not make pocket realms. They are a natural part of the world that we discover and claim. This one is particularly important to my people. It is our homeland, and my family has been its guardian for generations. There are other lands with other guardians, but this one is most precious."

"I can see why." I looked up and could barely see the clear sky through the thick foliage around us. It was stunning. "Do you mind if I shift?"

I grinned when Ares said, "Of course not." I hadn't shifted in too long; the need was starting to feel like an itch under my skin. I wasn't meant to hold one form for so long, but with everything going on with my gran and the café and finding my mate that I just hadn't been prioritizing it. The idea of running through this forest in particular was especially appealing.

I had my shirt off and was sliding down my shorts when Ares smiled down at me. "Do you mind if I shift as well?"

I knew my eyes were wide and that I was staring at him, but I shook my head no and waited eagerly to see his other form again. I had been too emotional that first time to fully explore it, and I wanted to know every part of Ares.

His responding smile made my heart throb, and before my eyes, he transformed. I probably shouldn't have been so fascinated. After all, I had grown up with people around me changing into wolves and it had felt completely normal. But this seemed magical to me in a way that never did.

He was taller in his demonic form. I hadn't realized. I had to really crane my neck up to look at him now, and I had to reach higher to grab his face and pull it down for a kiss. I learned that when Ares shifted, his lips were firmer. It completely changed how the kiss felt, and when I swiped my tongue over his, I found that it was slightly rougher.

Ares' hands rested on my waist, and I felt like they could wrap further around it than usual. His wings wrapped around us like a cocoon, and I didn't think I had ever felt so safe.

When we broke apart, I rested my head on his chest and simply let myself enjoy being in his embrace. Ares hugged me tightly and pressed another kiss to the top of my head. I could have stayed like that for a long, long time; too soon, Ares sighed and gently pushed me back.

"Weren't you going to shift?" he prompted.

"Oh, yeah." I licked my lips. How had I forgotten?

I slid my shorts and underwear down together and left them pooled on the forest floor along with my shirt and shoes. I was keenly aware of Ares' eyes on me, waiting. Well, I had watched his shift. It was only fair, I supposed, that he got to watch mine.

I exhaled and released my human form at the same time. It was easy, like putting on a favorite cozy sweater, to let myself take my second form. I shut my eyes as usual, since it was disorienting for my perspective to change rapidly before my eyes and to experience the drastic change in how I perceived color.

When I opened my eyes, it was to find Ares crouched down in front of me, wearing a soft smile. He gently petted the top of my head and laughed when I huffed. I didn't really mind it and thought it might be nice to stay in this form and let him pet me sometimes. Not now, though. Now that I was in this form, I wanted to run.

I yipped at Ares and took off running as fast as I could into the forest, letting my instincts take over as I dodged around trees and over brush. I started at a jog, but got faster and faster until I was really running. I heard rustling behind me, like the sound clothes make when someone wearing them moves. I didn't risk glancing over my shoulder and messing up my flow, but I was sure it was Ares. Feeling his eyes on me without having certain confirmation he was there was strangely exhilarating, and I would have laughed if I could.

Eventually, I couldn't run any longer and slowed to a walk before collapsing onto the ground in a patch of sunshine heedless of the mud. Ares came and settled next to me, running his hands through my fur as I panted. He wasn't strained at all, of course. Based on how high up I kept hearing those small sounds of pursuit while I ran, I was pretty sure he had been flying rather than running.

"You're fast, little wolf," Ares praised. I rested my head on his thigh and let my eyes drift shut, taking in the sunshine and my mate.

It was a good day.