Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2016 05:37:11 -0500
From: Kody Boye <boyekody@gmail.com>
Subject: His Touch of Ice - Part 47

DISCLAIMER:

This is a work of fiction, and contains scenes of graphic violence and
explicit male/male sex. If you are not of the legal age to read this, or
are uncomfortable with this sort of content, please turn back now.

HIS TOUCH OF ICE (The Ice Men, Book 1) is copyright © Kody Boye. All
Rights are reserved.

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There was radio silence over the next few days. I mostly stayed in the
flat. I rarely heard from Guy, I barely saw him except when I woke to find
him sleeping next to me, and the few choice conversations we had were
brief—over him brushing his teeth or hopping into pants as he darted out
the door. Considering we'd spent the majority of our time together since
leaving Austin, it was disconcerting to be without him, but I kept myself
busy by preparing for the change that was about to come.

Would it be painful? Was there a ceremony involved? He'd said there was no
transformation—that I would remain human regardless of whatever was
entailed—yet he'd never specified just what would happen come time this
supposed `bond' would occur.

I was to be made his mate.

Would we, before the other Kaldr, be forced to fuck?

I didn't want to think about it. While not particularly embarrassing, given
the Kaldr's sexual nature, I wasn't necessarily an exhibitionist. My
greatest feat had been on top of a roof during one of Austin's cooler
months and then in a one-stall restroom in a park. I hadn't even been in a
three-way, so even the thought of fucking around in front of other people
was a bit unnerving.

"If that'll even happen," I murmured, chewing on my nails. I caught myself
before I could gnaw them down to stumps and shoved my hands into my
pockets, my attention turning to the window.

It didn't matter. If I had to endure a slight amount of discomfort to
ensure my place here, that was fine. Besides—once I got going, I'm sure
Guy could keep me focused. He hadn't failed before, and I sure as hell
doubt he would fail then.

The door opened.

I turned.

Guy stepped into the flat, careful to close the door behind him with the
flat of his palm before stepping in. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I just haven't seen you that much over the last few days. That's all."

Guy frowned, but his eyes didn't stray as he fumbled with the lock. Once
set in place, he crossed the room and stood before me with a sense of doubt
I'd never felt from him before—like an atmosphere, bloated with
precipitation, getting ready to spool from its surfaces the storm-giving
chemicals of rain.

I cocked my head to one side.

He smirked, despite my curious action.

"You're not telling me something," I said, rolling my shoulders to loosen
the tension in my upper back. "Come on. What's going on?"

"It's happening on the night of the supermoon."

"Supermoon?" I frowned. "Guy, what do you—"

I didn't finish my question. An abrupt silence created by my own
revelation.

The Moon, larger than any other day on Earth—

Watch your calendars—it's coming up soon!

Five times larger than its usual size—

Guy's expression indicated that he'd taken note of my epiphany. While his
demeanor lightened somewhat, his jaw still held the firm, unnerved set it
usually took during uneasy conversations. This one was no exception.

"That's in—"

"Three days," he said. "I know."

"Are you ready?"

"I should be asking you that."

The supernatural chill that possessed my body reared its head in full
force. The subtle sensation of spiders crawling along my arms and marching
across my collarbone was almost enough to make me react. I wasn't much for
bugs, but I definitely wasn't afraid of them. Spiders, though—there was
something about them. The way they moved, how fast they were, those giant,
piercing fangs—

I shook my head.

Guy sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's the only night it can
happen. Otherwise we'll have to wait another year."

"I wasn't shaking my head over that," I said. "It's just..." I
grunted. "Nevermind. I was just thinking."

He settled himself atop an armrest and perched his elbows atop his knees,
resting his chin on his knuckles and watching me with eyes that, at that
moment, appeared more human than ever. The stark omen of a passing cloud
upon a grand Texas sky had shifted the lighting on this side of the house
just enough to where it cast darkness on particular features, Guy's eyes
included. I couldn't see the light blue rings. Instead, all I saw was
blue—dark, like the ocean, but blue nonetheless.

"I know you're worried," he said when I didn't speak further. "I am too."

"Why are you worried?" I laughed. "You're not the one getting
indoctrinated."

His frown said it all.

"Tell me what's going to happen," I said. "You've left me in the dark for
the past three days. You can't just spring it on me the night before and
expect me to be ready."

"No, I can't. You're absolutely right." He sat upright and tilted his head
up. Now that the cloud had passed, his person was revealed in full—the
Kaldr spirit ancient and strong around the pupils of his eyes. "We're to
engage in a mating ritual on the night of the supermoon."

"I figured that much," I laughed.

"In front of my father's clan."

I laughed. Guess irony had gotten the best of me.

"What?" Guy asked.

"I just expected it," I said, then shrugged when he raised an eyebrow. "Not
sure why. I just did."

"The point of the ritual is to establish a link between the two. Normally,
the act of a Kaldr taking a mate would be seen as aggressive and therefor
imply dominance, like I've said before. However—" Guy paused. He looked
down at his hand, where the fading remnants of his contact with the Kelda
could be seen. "I want this to be seen as a sign of respect."

I waited.

Lifting his head, he looked me straight in the eyes, then said,
matter-of-factly, "I want you to fuck me."

"What?" I asked.

His eyes didn't stray. The pureblooded confidence that could make kings and
set ablaze the mightiest of ships burned in the gaze of one whose ancestry
lay in beings unlike anything the modern world had ever seen. They didn't
glow, they didn't blink, nor did they falter in any way. Rather, they
merely stared—watching me with the intensity of a great predator whose
mournful mercy was to let escape the prey it had spent so long tracking.

I wasn't sure what to say. I cleared my throat with a cough and reclaimed
the breath I had lost due to shock.

"Well?" Guy asked.

"Well... what?" I asked.

"Will you fuck me or not?"

"This isn't about whether or not I'll fuck you, Guy."

"I never did take you just for a bottom anyway."

"Guy!"

He chuckled and winked. "I'm joking, Jason."

"I know. And hell—who wouldn't want to fuck you? You're fucking
gorgeous. But this isn't about gender roles—it's about screwing around
in front of dozens of people."

"If it helps, most of them won't care. They're just required to watch, not
give opinion."

I lowered my face into my hands and groaned. "This isn't helping!"

Guy stood and wrapped his arms around me, his hard body welcoming as I
leaned against him. "I'm not forcing you to do anything."

"I know."

"So you don't have to, if you don't want to."

"I'm just not much of an exhibitionist," I said, then started laughing as
the absurdity of it came to mind. "God. Why the fuck do you have to have
sex in front of other people to claim a `mate?' That's not what animals
do."

"But animals are driven by evolutionary nature. They have to breed to
survive. Humans, though... or anything like humans... sex is optional. It's
merely a pleasure of the flesh."

"So you're saying the sex is a decision," I said. "A declared mark."

"Exactly."

I looped my arms around his neck and leaned away just enough to where I
could look at his face. "But you want me to fuck you because you want to
show we have equal ground."

"That I see you as my equal and not someone whose service I am just obliged
to use." Guy nodded. "That's right."

"I guess it makes sense now that you've explained it."

"Not really," Guy smiled. "It's an old tradition set in old ways. I love my
father with all my heart, but God... if I were to do one thing after he
died, I would recreate the entire social structure of this house so
ceremonies like this wouldn't have to exist."

"It's amazing you don't hold a bigger grudge after everything he's done to
you."

"He means well, in his own way. The only problem is that his way isn't the
way I want it to be."

I nodded.

Leaning forward, he bowed our heads together—brow to brow, nose to
nose—and said, "Everything'll be fine. I promise."

Three days.

That was all I had before I was officially, and permanently, a part of the
Kaldr.

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