Shadow Effect - 11. Chapter 11

“Wait here. I’ll be back in ten seconds. Don’t move,” Kage instructed.

As if he could. All of a sudden the warm bulk of Kage was gone. Elijah closed his eyes and counted slowly. When he reached ten and started to shiver, the slippery softness of their zipped together sleeping bags wrapped itself around them, the heat of the shadow shifter plastered against him once more.

Kage had shadowed up the cliff, thrown the bag down, shadowing down again quickly to catch it before it hit the sand. Elijah immediately felt alive again as Kage wrapped them both up in the soft material. It didn't take long before Kage’s body heat created a nice warm cocoon. Elijah buried his head which was still wet, into the crook of Kage’s neck, blatantly taking advantage of the shadow shifter’s naturally higher than average body temperature. The ocean had been excruciatingly cold for the few seconds it took him between shifting out of shark mode, back to human and racing to get to shore.

It was worth every single second. The freedom he felt swimming under the waves, unfettered by human limitations was exhilarating beyond anything he’d ever felt before. His senses as a great white exceeded that of the dolphin he once shifted into when he was young. He could see clearly, his shark eyes picking up the bioluminescence emitting from the microscopic life inhabiting the dark water. The natural light was invisible to most land creatures, and even many aquatic ones.

His shivering slowly subsided as Kage rubbed his skin, helping to warm him. The gentle hands caressed his back and arms, their bodies swaying together, keeping the chill at bay. The warmer Elijah got, the further Kage’s hands wandered. Elijah gasped as Kage dipped his index finger into the cleft of his ass.

Kage stilled. “Is this okay?”

Elijah knew if he could see beyond the end of his nose into Kage’s eyes, he would see concern there.

“It’s very much okay,” Elijah assured him, shifting his hips even closer, if that was possible. He started to rub himself against Kage, but stopped when he realized the man was still fully clothed. No wonder he was so warm. No fair being able to shift your clothes too!

“Off,” he demanded, tugging at the hem of Kage’s sweatshirt.

Kage chuckled and batted Elijah’s hands away. “Nuh-uh, my little shark. It’s my turn. You had yours last time. Right now, I get to bring you to heights you’ve never even dreamed of.”

Elijah smiled. Kage might be mistaken about that. He’d done a lot of dreaming lately.

Another gasp was drawn out of him as Kage grabbed both of Elijah’s ass cheeks and pulled him flush up against the hard length of himself, bending his head to claim Elijah’s lips for himself. Fuck-ing-A! The man could kiss. Elijah melted into Kage’s body, wishing there was no clothing barrier between them.

The contrast between Kage’s hot body, his steamy kisses, and the cold night air was like night and day. It didn’t have quite the bite to it, as the previous evening, but if they stopped generating heat, the chill would overtake them quickly. Better not stop then.

Elijah kissed back, his tongue chasing Kage’s, following his lead. His dick was trapped between them, needing friction but not finding the room for it. He knew Kage did that on purpose, kept him pressed up snugly against the rough denim. His breathing came as if he just finished a short sprint, not panting and out of breath, but faster than normal. His pulse led a merry chase inside his veins, the blood coursing through every vessel like a stream filled with spring melt.

“You feel so good,” Kage murmured, hands still kneading his ass.

His palms traveled back up Elijah’s back to his shoulders, and unwrapped the sleeping bag cocoon before spreading it out on the dry sand above the waterline. How they got there, Elijah didn’t recall. The breeze was blocked by the cliff towering over them, and it didn’t feel as cold now that his skin had dried off. His hair was still damp, but he didn’t care.

Kage lowered them down to the silky material and covered Elijah’s body with his own, keeping him warm. Elijah figured they could be naked in Antarctica and he wouldn’t notice the cold.

Pulling off his sweatshirt, Kage shucked off his jeans and boxers, pressing himself against Elijah’s heated flesh. Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly what he needed. Kage’s nipple brushed across his cheek as the man shifted and Elijah’s tongue flicked out automatically, this time making the shadow shifter draw in a rushed intake of air.

“Careful Elijah, you’re playing with fire,” Kage said as he pulled away.

Elijah snickered. It was a flame he could stoke all night long.

“So that’s how you want to play it?”

Elijah grunted as Kage bent down and captured his nipple between his teeth, biting hard enough to flinch, but not enough to be truly painful or even come close to breaking skin. Kage knew exactly what he was doing. He soon had Elijah mewling like a newborn kitten as he worked not just one, but both of his sensitive buds.

Elijah’s back arched as Kage traveled down his chest, stopping to lick and nip at his belly button. Damn nature for giving him an outie. Kage played with the small bump of skin marking the place where he was once tethered to another life. Who knew it was so erogenous?

Kage placed soft kisses along his happy trail, veering off to the side to latch onto the super sensitive area between his hip bone and the crease of the thigh. Kage ignored Elijah’s leaking cock and sucked up marks on both sides of his groin.

Okay, Kage one, Elijah zero. He never dreamed of anything this fucking good.

His dick was so hard it was painful. He tried squirming, hoping Kage would take the hint and suck him off already, but no, the man was maddening in his avoidance of the area Elijah most wanted attention. He knew it too.

“Use your words, Elijah,” Kage rasped as his short beard brushed the inside of Elijah’s thighs, making him tense up both in frustration and anticipation.

“Do something with your mouth on my dick Kage. Please!” he begged.

His obedience was answered immediately with hot, wet heat engulfing his cock down to the root. He cried out, almost shooting immediately, if not for Kage’s fingers tightening just shy of too painful around the base of his shaft.

“Oh, fuck!”

Kage pulled off with a wet, sloppy, slurping sound. “That can be arranged, Elijah.”

Oh. My. God.

“Yes, please.”

It was Kage’s turn to utter a sound that was a mixture of pleasure and pain. Elijah felt him groping around for something and the clicking sound of a bottle cap clued him in. Lube. He must have tossed it down with the sleeping bag. The guess was confirmed with the splorking sound as the gel squirted out of the plastic container. Hot fingers and cool gel pressed against his hole. Kage rubbed the slippery lube around before poking the tip of his middle finger inside.

Oh hell, that felt good. He needed more. Elijah pulled his knees apart, giving Kage more access, issuing a silent invitation. The finger slid in further, crooking slightly when it brushed his prostate.

Oh. My. Fucking. God!

Another finger joined the first; stretching, circling, rubbing all the right spots. Elijah rocked himself against the invaders, welcoming them further in. He never noticed when a third, and then fourth digit joined the party in his ass, but if the pleasure that zapped along his balls and up his spine continued much longer he’d have to install a disco ball and strobe lights in order to keep it going all night long.

Elijah’s balls were the heaviest they’d ever been and the need to cum was building rapidly. He nearly lost his shit when Kage withdrew.

“Fucking hell Kage, get back in there!” he yelled, a little louder than he realized.

Kage’s answer was the sound of a foil wrapper being torn open. In the next instant, his knees were pushed back and something much bigger than the four fingers which had just vacated the hoedown in his ass nudged his entrance, wanting to join in the exclusive soiree. This was about to turn into an all-out rave. Elijah grasped Kage’s shoulders and hung on for the ride.

His pucker gave way as Kage pushed forward, not forcefully, but with insistent pressure, slowly until the tight outer ring suddenly opened and let him in. He pushed past the muscle that guarded his entrance like a nightclub bouncer. The party was just getting started.

There was a burning sensation like when you really needed to go, but couldn’t. You knock back some laxatives and play an almighty waiting game, afraid to venture too far from a bathroom for two days before nature decides to finally cooperate at the most inopportune time, say in the middle of the SAT examination senior year of high school.

Goddammit, Elijah! Focus!! His mind picked the damnedest moments to wander off base.

Kage stilled, allowing him to adjust. “You okay?”

“Yup, get moving before I die of old age or the bouncer tosses you out.”

“Huh?”

“Just fucking move!”

Kage’s chuckle rumbled right through his chest, down his abdomen and out through his dick, directly into Elijah’s ass. Holy hell.

Kage moved gingerly at first, obviously not wanting to hurt Elijah. Once the initial burn faded, Elijah needed more, and he wasn’t shy about asking for it either.

“Fuck me hard, Kage. I need you.”

“Pushy little baby shark, aren’t you?”

Oh no! That asinine ‘Baby Shark’ song started playing in his head. Nope, nada, nyet. Get the fuck away from that train of thought and go see the conductor about getting two tickets to paradise. Thank you Eddie Money and namaste.

Elijah’s attention was brought back to where it belonged when Kage snapped his hips forward forcefully, nailing his button head on. Hello!

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, Kage. I can take it.”

“It doesn’t hurt now, but trust me, you’ll feel it tomorrow. My way or the highway, my little shapeshifter. What’s it gonna be?”

Kage had stopped moving and Elijah knew the only way to get him to start up again was to acquiesce.

“Okay, your way,” he reluctantly capitulated.

Kage’s hips led his cock on an intimate journey with his ass, not pounding it like Elijah wanted, but not the gentle, slow strokes he tried to get away with earlier. Nope; Kage thrust with meaning, wanting Elijah to feel it, but not so much he wouldn’t be able to hike the coastal route in the morning without needing a piggyback ride at some point.

Elijah rocked his hips as much as he could underneath Kage’s solid bulk. He wasn’t too far off from the time he called him Magilla Gorilla. Elijah knew he wasn’t big, definitely falling into the twink category, especially when Kage’s black hole density mass hovered over him. The friction he felt wasn’t quite enough. He tried to snake his hand in between them but Kage wouldn’t let him.

Fucking sadist. Elijah was beginning to think Kage enjoyed this prolonged sexual torture. Every push inside of him fanned the embers, but not quite enough to burst out into flames. Every withdrawal brought Kage’s cock to the brink of pulling out completely and felt like bolts of lightning seeking out tinder to create an explosion. Only then did the cock slide home, causing an implosion of shimmering stars within Elijah’s mind. Ho… Lee… Shit!

Elijah loved every fucking second. Oh sure, he really enjoyed fucking Kage and would do it again in a heartbeat. Having Kage inside of him? Bottoming for the sexy-as-fuck McBroody shadow shifter? There’s no place he’d rather be.

He finally felt Kage pick up the pace. Still not as fast as he’d like to try at some point in the immediate future, but hard enough to push the friction to a level that got his dick leaking. Kage was getting close. He could feel it in the increased tension in every single muscle the man possessed. The tempo up-ticked from an adagio to an allegro within the span of a few heartbeats. Elijah’s cock leaked precum onto his belly, warming, then cooling his skin.

Kage reached between them and grabbed Elijah’s dick and stroked to the beat of whatever tune was strumming away in his head. Elijah hoped it was as catchy as the one in his, full of percussion, banging away on the drums in time with Kage’s cock beating his hole. Kage brought him to the edge and back several times before his own libido caught up to his teasing, sadistic ass and he finally gave Elijah the pounding he’d asked for earlier. About fucking time.

Elijah’s hands moved to behind his knees, pulling them back as far as he could to give Kage free rein to hammer him like a bunch of Amish men at a barn raising. He felt that familiar sting at the base of his spine, like electricity, as it traveled down into his balls. When Kage squeezed the crown of his cock, adding a little twist at the same time he pegged Elijah’s prostate, there was no holding back the torrent of cum that erupted and splashed between them, hot, thick and never ending.

His orgasm sent Kage toppling off the edge of his own Nirvana, exploding into the condom. Elijah felt each and every pulse. Part of him wished that Kage was filling him instead of the latex splooge receptacle. Kage’s muscles shook until his own behemoth weight was too much for his arms and he collapsed on top of Elijah. Oof!

Thankfully, Kage regained his senses before Elijah was crushed to death, but hey, what a way to go! Kage rolled off to the side, allowing Elijah’s lungs to inflate properly. He heard Kage ridding himself of the condom and tying it off. They’d have to remember to bring it with them up the cliff and dispose of it in the trash receptacle at the camp. Neither of them wanted a fish or some other creature choking on a piece of sex refuse. Ew!

Now that they weren’t working up a sweat, the night air felt downright frigid. Kage slowly got to his feet and reached for Elijah’s hand to help him up. Standing on his own, his knees were wobbly, and so was his ass. Was this the secret of getting jiggly butt-cheeks? Getting fucked? It seemed logical.

“Why don’t you shift back into an eagle so you can take the sleeping bag up and I’ll meet you at the top?” Kage suggested.

“S’pose I have to take the used rubber too?”

“You benefited from it, too. No leaky ass. I brought it down, you bring it up. It’s only fair,” Kage said. Elijah couldn’t see the smirk on his face, but he knew it was there.

“Fine, no guarantee that my talons won’t rip it and if they do, you get to deal with it up on top.”

“I like dealing with things on top.”

Elijah gave Kage the bird, right before shifting into one, even though he knew it was too dark for Kage to see it. He saw where Kage had placed the used rubber on the very corner of the sleeping bag. He tried to grasp it as gingerly as he could for an eagle. His human side didn’t want fresh jizz on the same thing he had to sleep on, nevermind the fact that if given the chance, he’d swallow the same jizz directly from the source.

Kage was already at the top of the cliff when his wings brought him, the sleeping bag, and the nasty condom to the clearing next to their tent. Quietly, so as not to wake Tyler they got ready for bed. Elijah welcomed the warmth of sweatpants, a thick sweatshirt, and socks. Kage had the sleeping bag sorted out. He shook it out vigorously to get rid of any sand, then he’d turned it inside-out, so if there were any errant lube spots, they wouldn’t be sleeping on them.

Elijah snuggled into his warmth, his muscles pleasantly languid as he relaxed with Kage’s arms wrapped around him.

“Thank you Kage,” he whispered.

“You’re welcome, my sexy little shark shifter.”

Elijah smiled as sleep claimed him.

The next day they spent hiking the easier trails that followed the coast. Elijah was grateful. Kage was right, his ass was sore and while it didn’t really hinder him, every break was a reminder of exactly how big Kage’s cock was.

Kage smirked knowingly when he caught him resting on one cheek, rather than both. This time Elijah made sure he saw the bird that was shot his way.

Tyler, thankfully, was oblivious to their previous night’s shenanigans. Or maybe not. There was a weirdly shaped little nook in one of the huge trees along the trail. They took turns standing in the crevice for a picture or two. When Kage moved out of place before Tyler was finished snapping another photo, he mock-yelled, “Fucking hell Kage, get back in there!” and laughed hysterically at the look of his best friend’s face.

Elijah glared at Kage when he failed miserably at trying to hold back his own laughter.

“Jealous?” he snapped at Tyler.

“Well yeah, duh!” he retorted as he raked his eyes up and down Kage’s body.

Elijah snatched Tyler’s phone and deleted the picture he’d just taken of Kage.

“Hey!”

“Hay is for horses, better for cows, sheep would eat it, but they don’t know hows.” Petty, yes, but Elijah wasn’t about to share Kage, not even with his best friend.

“C’mon you two, let’s start heading back so we catch dinner before dark,” Kage interjected, already knowing that he and Tyler could turn lighthearted teasing into a nugatory cat fight in a flash.

Elijah stuck his tongue out and just before he turned his back, Tyler grabbed his crotch and mouthed ‘bite me’.

“You wish!”

All was well in their world. He and Tyler rarely ever fought about anything. Did they squabble? Certainly. It was all part of the structure of their friendship. In the end, the most important thing was that they were always there for each other, no matter what.

Their camping weekend ended all too soon. It seemed as though they had just hiked in, when they found themselves hiking back out, the packs slightly lighter. They got rid of all the trash in the dumpster at the far end of the parking lot, then loaded the rest of the gear in the Jeep. The ride home wasn’t as harrowing as the ride there. Tyler was more relaxed and calm.

Once home again, Elijah decided they needed something to focus on to keep busy. His parents had been wanting to do some upgrades and he figured now was as good a time as any. He and Kage took care of some minor repairs first, before figuring out what bigger projects they felt capable of tackling.

They started with the kitchen. It turned out Kage was a decent handyman and Elijah decided to use some of the money he received from his parents to make a few changes. Papi’s financial advisor distributed the bulk of the inheritance into sound investments, but he had allowed a discretionary fund which Elijah accessed for the materials they would need. He picked out new flooring and paint. The white cabinets were in great condition and only needed new doors and hardware to look brand new.

Working together, they swapped out the old fake brick backsplash with brushed bronze subway tiles and painted the walls a yellowy-beige color called Starlight Rays. Elijah never saw the point of weird names for paint colors.

Elijah replaced the stove and fridge with more energy efficient models. Gone were his mom’s bold, sunflower print curtains. They were too much of a reminder that she was no longer here to enjoy them. Elijah replaced them with pale yellow ones with an almost bronze colored edging to tie in with the backsplash.

The renovations continued into the living room, where the carpet was replaced with the same flooring they used in the kitchen. Elijah had ordered enough to do the whole house, choosing a durable maple hardwood that would hold up well. He wanted the real deal, not the laminate that was so popular nowadays.

They gave the living room and hallway a fresh coat of paint, going with a grayish blue-green that complimented the color in the kitchen. The weather warmed up and they opened the windows to help clear out the paint fumes quickly.

Before he knew it, a couple of months had gone by. He and Kage still spent every minute together. They knew Huntington was not going to let up on his quest for the missing laptop. A few shifters within the lion’s organization had disappeared, according to Kage’s boss. They needed to be diligent. He knew Kage scanned their surroundings every time they left the house, but so far, all had been quiet, no signs of anything, or anyone, who didn’t belong.

He and Kage continued with what they’d started on the camping trip. Elijah’s libido had kicked into overdrive. Kage taught him so much about sex and pleasuring your partner. There wasn’t very much that Elijah refused to try, and even less that he didn’t care for after trying it. The shadow shifter was great about following Elijah’s lead when it came to discovering his likes and dislikes.

Emotionally is where things got confusing. Kage still insinuated that he wasn’t good for Elijah. Bullshit. Sure, Kage’s upbringing was less than ideal for forming attachments of any kind, but surely he must feel something for Elijah? The reverse was certainly true, or at least it was becoming true. Every passing day, every time they had sex, everything they shared together made Elijah feel things he knew he shouldn’t. He couldn’t help it, though. Kage never led him on. He made it clear that he was not able to invest in a relationship, but wasn’t what they had a relationship?

They might be on different ends of the spectrum as to how to define it, but it definitely qualified as a relationship. Since the camping trip, Kage had fucked him pretty often and Elijah found he preferred it. Even though Kage claimed he was versatile, he seemed to prefer topping, so it was a win-win for them both.

He and Kage had just finished cleaning up after a long, grueling day of laying down flooring when his phone rang. Pulling it out of his back pocket he looked at the caller ID.

Ben.

Shit, he’d been so busy lately he hadn’t had time for much more than a few texts. When he tried to think of the last time he actually spoke with his friends, he realized it was at least several weeks ago. To be honest, he’d been avoiding them. He knew they would be in camp Tyler when it came to Kage. Tyler liked Kage as a person, but he still felt he wasn’t good enough for Elijah. He argued that Elijah was going to get hurt. Elijah kept insisting that he knew what he was doing. But did he?

Not able to brush them off any longer, he bit the bullet and swiped his finger across the screen, dragging the green icon over to connect.

“Hi Ben,” he said, trying to muster some energy.

“Hi yourself. I’ve got Zev and Reilly with me. We’re worried about you, my friend,” Ben replied frankly.

“Nothing like getting straight to the point, is there?” Elijah sighed, his heart acknowledging that his friends’ concern was coming from the right place, his brain wanting to scream at them to leave him alone.

“Seriously, we haven’t heard from you in weeks. Are you alright?”

Elijah wasn’t sure how to answer that. Physically, he was fine. Emotionally, he was confused. Mentally, he was still trying to reconcile the fact that his parents were dead. He decided to go with a watered down version of the truth.

“I’m not exactly okay, but it’s nothing for you guys to worry about. I’m just stressed out, trying to deal with all the little details of the chaos my life is in right now. I have a friend helping me. We’ve just been really busy.”

“What kind of friend?” It was Reilly who asked and he sounded rather suspicious. Damn, Elijah couldn’t get anything past him.

“Eliiijah?” Shit. That was Reilly’s wolfie sort of growl, just because he hesitated a smidge too long.

“A good friend. He’s helping me sort things out.” Yeah, it was an evasive cop out, but Elijah couldn’t deal with the censure he knew his friends would give him if they knew the truth. If Sebastian found out he was involved with a shadow shifter assassin, there would be hell to pay. Elijah wouldn’t put it past him to either get on a plane himself or, at the very least, send Zev and Ben. From the beginning of this whole ordeal, he’d been reluctant to drag the Montana shifters into his drama.

They were dealing with so much as it was. He couldn’t see bringing them into this and throwing something else on their plates. Now, guilt gnawed at him. What if the laptop actually was connected to the missing pups? Should he say something? No, at least not yet. The content of the information on the laptop was only speculation, besides, they still had no idea where it could be.

“Are you banging him?” Ben’s question brought him back to his senses.

“BEN!”

Elijah couldn’t help rolling his eyes at Zev’s reprimand to his mate’s no nonsense question. He started outright laughing when Ben retorted, “Well, we all want to know, and you guys are just beating around the damn bush.”

“No, I’m not banging anyone at the moment,” he replied when he stopped chuckling.

Elijah heard a choking, snort-like sound come from Kage, who was looking on in amusement from the other side of the room.

Reilly, the voice of reason, interjected before things went way off track. “You know we’ll help you in any way we can? Even if that means we have to get our asses on a plane and fly out there.”

“Thanks, but I don't think that will be necessary. Ka-My friend and I will handle things. I promise I’ll let you know if I need help with anything. Your friendship means the world to me and I’m glad I met you. I’m looking forward to getting together again when things calm down for everyone. You guys must still have your hands full,” he said, changing the subject.

Reilly apparently took the hint. He updated Elijah on what was happening on their end with the untangling of the web of paper trails and encoded information, which was dropped in their laps. Zev made some serious headway the past couple of months and most of the kids found at the Idaho and Norway facilities had been reunited with their families. Unfortunately, not much headway had been made at finding a cure for the hybrids, though it was still early in the process.

Elijah stuck to his decision of not mentioning the missing laptop and what was potentially on it. They had no way of knowing if there actually was information relating to the sold off hybrids and he didn’t want them to feel like they had to get involved when it might not turn out to be anything if the damn thing ever turned up. He promised Reilly, Zev and Ben that he would touch base more often before ending the call.

“Your friends are worried about you,” Kage stated.

“I know. It’s unavoidable. I worry about them too. It’s what friends do, although I’ve been lax in that department lately and haven’t talked with them as much as I should. They’re a great set of guys. You’d like them.”

Kage shot him one of those looks that said ‘oh really?’.

“What do you say we remedy the whole ‘you’re not banging anyone at the moment’ situation. It’s been too long since I’ve had your dick in my ass,” Kage purred seductively.

Oh hell, Elijah’s cock went from zero to sixty in less than a second. He was absolutely on board with that plan. He followed Kage down the hall to his room, his eyes glued to the firm ass all the way. Yep, totally on board.