“Are you all right?” Wayne asked.
“Yes, just tired.” Conner rose from the table and cleaned his dishes. “I’m going to head up to the attic.”
“Please don’t.” Wayne stood. “Could we please talk? I’ve…missed you these past four days.”
“Missed me how? My cooking? Cleaning? What?”
“You! I’ve missed you! Your voice, your smell, everything!” Wayne sighed in exasperation. “I know I haven’t been doing a good job of making you feel that.”
“Ya don’t say,” Conner said, wryly.
“Why can’t you understand how hard this is for me?”
Conner’s eyes went wide. “For you? What about me, Wayne? All my life I’ve been rejected, first my family, then the men I was with! Now I’m given a mate who doesn’t want anything to do with me!”
“That’s not true, I do care!” Wayne closed the distance between them. “I just need time.”
“How much more? How much time have you had so far? Are you keeping track, Wayne, because I am! It’s been years since you’ve known. From the moment you saw me, you knew that I was your mate. But you shoved it back down inside that hard head of yours that wants things to be easy for you!” Conner stomped across the kitchen.
“All this time, I’ve been telling myself you’ll come around to me, that soon you’ll want me because we are fated to be together.” Conner shook his head. “But you don’t want that!”
“I just need…”
“You can’t even be with me!” Conner brushed past Wayne. “That’s it. I’m going out on a date with Mitch, because at least he wants me! I can’t do this anymore!”
“The fuck you will!” Wayne roared. “You are my mate, Conner!”
“A man has needs, Wayne, even us gay kind!” Conner roared back. “I’m not going to spend however many years of my life alone and in misery because you can’t bear to touch me!” Conner ran up the stairs. “I’m calling Mitch!”
“The hell you will!” Wayne chased after him, catching Conner by the attic stairs.
“How selfish are you? You don’t want me but I can’t be with anyone else?” Conner shouted.
Wayne growled. “Goddammit! No other man can touch you!”
Wayne grabbed Conner and hauled him to his chest; he crushed his lips to the other man’s in a rough kiss. Conner fought him, hard. Wayne grabbed Conner's hair in a tight grip, causing him to gasp and Wayne slid inside, tasting Conner’s warm, tantalizing mouth. Conner pushed at him, beating at Wayne’s chest with his fists. Wayne slid his hands into Conner’s hair at the nape of his neck, massaging, as his tongue gently swept inside. Conner’s mouth was exquisite and Wayne moaned as Conner finally yielded and started kissing back.
Pushing Conner into the wall behind him, Wayne rubbed their bodies together as he explored every inch of Conner’s mouth. Conner’s hands hovered at Wayne’s hips, not knowing if they should touch or not. Wayne grazed Conner’s dick with his knee and a small whimper escaped Conner’s mouth, flowing into Wayne’s and causing him to growl and pull Conner closer.
Wayne deepened the kiss. Conner’s lips were full and yearning for more. His hands slid up Conner’s shirt, exploring silky soft skin, his fingers brushing erect nipples. Conner’s hands finally settled on Wayne’s hips, gripping tightly. The kiss went on and on. Wayne couldn’t stop, his breathing was erratic and his nostrils flared as he consumed Conner’s mouth - the taste of him, the feel of his skin was driving him crazy with desire.
Wayne groaned as Conner’s hands slid up his shirt, the soft hands caressing his torso. His dick was so full it strained in his jeans, filling so quickly it became painful. He hadn’t kissed anyone in over forty years, now he couldn’t stop. Wayne’s hands slid down, brushing against Conner’s erection and a loud gasp stopped his hand movement. He broke from the kiss to see Conner’s eyes wide, his lips wet and shiny.
Their eyes locked as Wayne slid his hand up and then slowly down over Conner’s throbbing erection, giving it a soft squeeze. Conner’s hips bucked and his breathing became raspy as he arched into Wayne’s hand. Within seconds, Conner groaned deeply and Wayne felt wetness below the denim. Conner groaned and pushed into Wayne’s engorged cock, and the smell of semen drifted up Wayne’s nostrils. Wayne’s claws flared from his fingertips, digging into Conner’s ass.
“Ow!” Conner stepped back, panting.
Wayne leaned over trying to control his lupine side. “Get away from me, now,” Wayne growled.
Conner stepped back. “What? Why?”
Wayne looked up, his eyes shifted to black and white and his canines elongated. “Now!” Wayne roared.
Wayne gripped his thighs as Conner ran up the stairs to the attic. As soon as the door shut Wayne ran down the stairs to the front door, he barely made it outside before he shifted. Running for the woods, Wayne tried to control his lupine side. He couldn’t hurt Conner, he wouldn’t allow himself to.
Wayne ran and ran; he crossed miles of Denali trying to control the urge to take Conner as a wolf. He’d never had this kind of reaction with Juliet, what did that mean? His mind was racing as fast as his body was, he wanted to take Conner and mount him, mark him as his. The kiss had been scorching, he’d never felt that way. Conner’s mouth was perfection, warm and inviting and sensually sweet.
Wayne kept running and he realized he’d crossed most of the park when he came to a sliding stop. His breaths were ragged as he sat down and stared at the full moon. Clouds passed over it, then illuminated his surroundings again. Wayne dipped his head and tried to control his raging hormones.
There was a soft huff next to him and Wayne looked up to see the gray wolves of Denali looking at him. He whined softly and the alpha wolf approached him, along with his beta female. How nice that must be, Wayne chuckled inwardly. They were used to him now; at first, they had stayed close, but not too close. They knew what he was and showed respect even though they were a different breed.
The rest of the pack came out of the woods, surrounding him. Wayne lay down on the cold ground and closed his eyes. He’d stay away until he knew he could control himself around Conner. One of the pups snuggled into his side and he looked over, nudging it in its behind. He got a small puppy growl and a lick on his nose. Wayne chuckled, allowing the pup to crawl on top of him and bite his ears.
He’d always wanted children; it seemed as if the fates had screwed up in that area, too. Juliet never produced a child. Now he had his pack, they were his kids. Wayne sighed heavily. His lupine side wanted Conner badly, why couldn’t his human side want the same? Wayne let loose a loud, saddened howl, and the wolves joined in.
~~
Conner stopped going through the elders’ books. The howl from Wayne was as loud as if he were sitting right next to him. His ass had healed within seconds, but his jeans were toast. Conner sat on the floor of the attic in pajama pants, sifting through boxes of books. There had to be hundreds of them, all from the elders keeping record of the created ones and powers that came with the lineage.
He had discovered that the created ones Wayne’s werewolf line – were made by Artemis and Gaea. Artemis was the god of light and the vulnerable; Gaea, the goddess of Mother Earth. Together with the fates they created werewolves. Half man, half wolf, they moved between both worlds. They were the first of their kind and were meant to rule all other werewolves.
He’d barely scraped the surface. He had gotten the knowledge that Wayne knew he was his mate from the minute he set eyes on him. The moment Wayne had touched him, the bond had hit. Conner sighed, picking up another leather bound diary. He blew the dust off of it and wheezed.
He’d been slowly making his way through the books over the years; he knew he had a lot more to go. Rion, or Wayne as he wanted to be called (Wayne was his middle name, Conner liked Rion better), was bonded to Juliet, who wanted nothing to do with him.
The more Conner read the more things made sense. He’d never told Wayne he knew about Juliet; he knew how painful it was to want so
meone who didn’t want you in return. Wayne’s parents, Roane and Aideen Maccon, had been mated at the tender age of fifteen. They’d had one son, Wayne. The grandfather’s notes were funny and Conner found himself chuckling on more than one occasion. Taber Maccon had one hell of a sense of humor.
He also discovered: the blood of created wolves saved lives but did not change someone into a werewolf, they could smell death on humans, they could hide their scent completely, the males born of changed females had the sight and they could speak with other animals.
His most interesting find, however? The direct lines never really died.
Unfortunately, some of the books were missing. They went in order and quite a few were missing from the box when he’d found them. His way of keeping busy was to organize the attic and he’d stumbled upon them when he knocked over one of the boxes.
A slight breeze drifted over one of the pages, turning it, and Conner looked up. There was one rounded window in the attic and no way for it to be opened. Moonlight streamed through the glass, illuminating the corner of the attic. Conner shrugged, and kept reading.
“Look at him, he’s so beautiful,” Aideen sighed, smiling at Conner, sitting in his pajamas. His golden halo of hair fell across his eyes as he read.
“Your son is daft, Roane,” Taber chuckled.
“Rion’s not stupid, just slow,” Roane smiled at Conner on the attic floor. “He’s so delicate.”
“Does the boy never come here in the light of day?” Taber sighed in frustration.
“Shush! He’ll find them when he’s meant to,” Aideen admonished.
“All of you are annoying me.”
“Shush, Nevan, you should have talked to Rion yourself.” Roane smacked Nevan in the head.
“Why is this put upon me?” Nevan growled. They all looked at him and Nevan sighed in defeat. “Fine, but I cannot help too much; this is something Rion must deal with.”
“Well, judging by the kiss, he’s making his way to a better understanding,” Aideen chuckled softly.
“Why can he not hear us? See us?” Nevan waved his hand in front of Conner’s face.
“He hasn’t asked for us yet,” Roane sighed, palming Aideen’s face. “Rion has found love.”
Aideen crouched down, looking at the beautiful man chosen for her son. “He’s absolutely breathtaking.”
“Nevan, where is your mate?” Taber narrowed his eyes.
“I’m going to assume Aidan is with your grandson, probably screaming at the top of his lungs.”
“Shite,” Roane sighed.
Chapter Two
It was almost midnight when Wayne had finally reached the cabin; he had the strangest sensation he was being watched, but he hadn’t seen a soul. He changed into his sweatpants and quietly slipped into Conner’s room. The bed was empty. He couldn’t still be in the attic, could he? Wayne took the stairs as quietly as possible. Conner had never fallen asleep up there as far as he knew. He cracked the door open and found Conner sitting on the floor with a book in his hands.
“Hey.” Wayne slipped inside, shutting the door behind him.
Conner looked up. Wayne was shirtless, in black sweatpants. He looked lickable, among other things.
“Hi. I guess your fragile manhood wanted to kill me, huh?”
“I don’t think that’s what my manhood wanted,” Wayne eyed Conner’s physique.
Conner raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Is that so, Rion?”
Wayne scowled. “Ugh.”
“I like it, I don’t know why you don’t,” Conner grinned, turning the page in the book. “It’s so much sexier than Wayne.”
“I like Wayne.” Wayne sat on the floor cross-legged picking up one of the books. “How far have you gotten?”
Conner blew out a frustrated sigh and, in the process, the hair from his brow. “I have no idea; I haven’t read them in order. Some of them are missing. Do you know where they are?”
Wayne shook his head. “Nope, and believe me, I’ve searched this damn attic up and down.”
“Your mother was so beautiful.” Conner opened the page to the drawings of Wayne’s parents. “I mean, I saw the pictures, too, but the drawings are so well done.”
Wayne ran his fingertip over the yellowing paper. “My Da drew it. He loves her with all is heart.”
“You look a lot like him.” Conner pointed to Wayne’s father. “He’s very handsome.”
Wayne took the book from Conner’s hand and set it aside. He took Conner’s hands in his own.
“I’m sorry about earlier, seems my lupine side wants to ravage you.”
“Can he talk to your human side?” Conner grinned.
Wayne pulled Conner into his arms, running his nose through Conner’s hair. It even smelled like honey.
“I do want you. It’s been hard on me, Conner. There are a few things you don’t know about me that I’m sure you’ll figure out sooner rather than later in the books. God knows I don’t want to hurt you and I swear I never will on purpose. No matter what you think, you are my mate and I will deal with it.”
Conner leaned back a little, looking into Wayne’s eyes. “So, earlier, when you growled at me, it wasn’t because you wanted to kill me?”
Wayne’s eyes widened. “Oh, God no! I would never Conner; I would never want to hurt you.” Wayne caressed the soft skin of Conner’s face, the full lips that still begged to be kissed. Wayne leaned in, touching his lips to Conner’s gently. They broke apart and Wayne rested his forehead on Conner’s. “I wanted to mate with you as a wolf.”
Conner chuckled softly. “How does that work?”
“It doesn’t. Not with me as a wolf and you as a human. And if it does I don’t want to try it.”
They both chuckled until it turned into outright fits of laughter. Conner fell over on the floor and Wayne went with him. They were in each other’s arms, staring at each other.
“So…you’ll try?”
“I am trying, Conner.” Wayne pulled Conner closer, wrapping his arms around him.
Conner closed his eyes. He’d never been like this with Wayne. They were wrapped in each other’s arms and the feeling was wonderful.
“Tell me about when you were younger. What was it like?”
Wayne grabbed one of the boxes and took a blanket and some throw pillows out. Wayne settled in, making sure Conner was plastered to him. The house was heated but the attic didn’t get as much heat as it should.
“Well, when I was younger there were no cell phones.”
Conner snickered. “Duh.”
“Shh! You want me to tell the story or not?”
“Yes,” Conner yawned, closing his eyes and snuggling into Wayne. He loved being pressed close to him, the scent of Wayne travelled straight to his lower regions. Wayne wasn’t unaffected, either. Once in a while he would stop talking and fix his erection. Conner sighed, burying his face into Wayne’s neck.
“Then the civil war rolled around…” Wayne looked down into the sleeping, peaceful face of Conner O’Rourke. “Goodnight, Conner,” Wayne whispered, kissing his forehead.
~~ Wayne awoke to feel soft breathing on his neck. Conner was spooned into him, one arm wrapped around him with his palm flat on Wayne’s back. It was comfortable and damned arousing. Wayne took a deep breath of Conner’s hair; he smelled so sweet. After last night’s fiasco, he realized his lupine side wanted Conner very much and Wayne was realizing his human side did, too.
Conner was absolutely beautiful; he couldn’t deny the fates had given him one hell of a gorgeous man. Conner’s mannerisms screamed feminine and he had the most luscious lips. Wayne smiled, thinking about their kiss the night before. He had to admit, they were good together. They fit. The guilt of having put Conner through so much pain ate at him. He knew how it felt to have the one person you love turn their back on you, and yet he’d done the same to Conner.
Tracing the contours of Conner’s face, his fingertips smoothed over Conner’s full bottom lip. A strange sensation rose inside Way
ne’s gut it was as if his stomach was fluttering.
Conner whimpered as Wayne continued his path of exploration on his face. Lord, but the man looked edible. Wayne’s lower anatomy agreed wholeheartedly. Playing with wisps of Conner’s soft hair, Wayne leaned in and gently placed a soft kiss on Conner’s lips. Golden-blond lashes fluttered and Conner’s eyelids slowly opened. Wayne could get lost in those gold flecks.
“Morning,” Wayne smiled, his hand sweeping Conner’s jaw, cupping it. “How did you sleep?”
“Good?” Conner squeaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Good, very comfortable. Um, how long have you been awake?”
“Don’t you mean how long have I been looking at you?” Wayne grinned.
“Have you been?” Conner asked.
“Yes, for a little while now.” Wayne ran the pad of his thumb over Conner’s bottom lip.
Conner’s body shivered at the touch. “Are you hungry? I can make us breakfast.”
Wayne leaned in, his eyes locking with Conner’s. “Right now, I’d rather give you a proper good morning.”
Conner’s eyes closed as Wayne’s lips covered his own. The warmth and taste of Wayne caused ripples to slide slowly down his spine, tingling in his toes. Wayne’s fingers were in his hair, as his other hand held a firm grip on his jaw. A groan escaped Wayne, vibrating into his mouth as their tongues met. Conner wrapped his arms around Wayne’s neck, pulling him closer. It occurred to him they might be going too fast; he broke from the kiss, already panting.
“I should make us some food.” Conner backed away quickly.
“What is it?” Wayne sat up. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I just don’t want to read into this too much. We kissed and I know that might be it.”
Wayne stood up, taking Conner’s hand. “I want more, believe me I do. I - I wouldn’t even know how to start doing other things, I mean…you know.”
“I can do them first,” Conner smiled. “You can learn from me; you’re a fast learner, right?”
“Smartass.” Wayne grabbed Conner, crushing him into a hug. “I just… I need you to be patient. God knows you’ve been a saint so far, but I need time to process the whole...um…”
Irish Wishes Page 3
