Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 38

Plans could wait until morning, despite my excitement that he seemed to have had an epiphany, I wasn't nearly satisfied. I attempt to coax him back into my bed but I would be having no such luck. Little did I anticipate that a few moments under my fingers, at my mercy, would send him into a reset, like a switch my calculated warlord was back. Isn't that what he had often said this sort of play was for? A chance to clear your head?

Dropping me for better entertainment, despite the hour, he threw himself into the next step of planning. Laying on my stomach, chin resting on my folded arms, I kick my feet lazily as he paces through phones calls and muttering mental notes to himself. Not even an hour ago he was at his breaking point, tightly wound, unable to come down from the anxious mess at the thought of losing me to Caspian's devious torment.

The capable man had returned to the world of moves and counter moves. While I'd like to take the credit, my libido was skyrocketing and the wolf scratched impatiently at the door to my subconscious. Just when I'd thought I'd gotten the creature under control, it whined impatiently for me to regain control of the situation. Little did it know, I was not dominant in this relationship.

Tilting my head, I watch him, for I could gawk if I could not touch. His stretched button-up was still messily stuffed into the hem of his pants. I admire the sculpted waist, the silent way he moves like a predator stalking his prey even in the heat of rapid-fire instruction to our unprepared task force. 

The turn of his shoulders caused the broad muscles of his back to flex against the thin material of his shirt. It was enough to make my mouth water, I resist the urge to slap myself back into reality. From the spattering of chest hair to the deliciously rugged stubble that peppered his jaw, I fantasize absently.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" He asks, setting the phone on the end table. 

I blink, considering the answer as I straighten. But, I'd be a liar if I said I was ashamed. He was my husband, publically, now. I owned him much as he owned me.

"You are an odd man." I point out, bringing a slight smirk to his lips. I admire the dimple in his cheek, stretching out my hand to beckon him to me. Verando crosses the room, folding one leg to sit beside me on the bed as he laces his fingers in mine. Full lips pressed to my knuckles, I growl playfully as I slip my fingers out of his to grip his shirt, dragging him down to kiss him. 

"I'm just curious as to what just happened. This... is a different energy than you had before. I'd forgotten you had two personalities."

Pursing his lips, he considers me while sitting up. Evading my grasp by pressing his lips to my palm, he drags his nose slowly over the thin skin of my wrist. I press my fingers to his cheek, always appreciating the moments when he was feeling particularly affectionate. It was a difficult dance between my desire to dominate and his tolerance for my newfound instincts. 

"It's... hard to explain. I needed time to clear my head, to think about nothing. It's almost a submissive space, permission to not be in control. I needed a release."

Raising an eyebrow, my wolf is at attention. Jumping up onto my knees, I'm on him before I can think, tangling my hand into his hair with a low growl. "I'm not doing my job if you're thinking about the war when I'm trying desperately to get into your pants."

Taking a page from my book, he covers my mouth with his hand, warning me with his eyes. "I'm not a submissive, Nic."

Smacking his hand away, I pout back in response. More than anyone, I knew he was an Alpha. It was to satisfy me that he bowed to my will. "I like doing that to you. You never make those sorts of sounds for me." Was it wrong of me to press him for this?