by Stormy Glenn
He needed to claim his mate.
Rob pulled his fingers free and then grabbed the bottle of lube again. He dribbled a little more down the crack of Casey’s ass and then spread a liberal amount on his cock. After wiping his fingers on his discarded shorts, Rob leaned up over his mate. He settled down on Casey, resting on his elbows.
Lifting one hand, he brushed the sweaty hair back from Casey’s flushed face. “Are you ready for me to claim you, cub? Are you ready to be mine?”
As aroused as Casey was, his caramel-colored eyes were still clear as day as he replied, “Yes, Rob. I’m ready to be yours.”
Sweeter words had never been spoken.
Rob slid one arm under Casey’s thigh, catching in the crook of his knee. He slid his other hand down and wrapped his fingers around his aching erection, fitting the head of his cock up against Casey’s tight entrance.
Keeping his eyes locked with Casey’s, he flexed his hips and began pushing in. Even stretched, the fit was still tight. By the time Rob felt the head of his cock pop past Casey’s tight ring of muscles, he felt like his cock was being strangled. “So tight, cub.”
“Ne–never…”
Rob’s cock slid in a little further as his body clenched. “You’ve never had sex?” His mate was untouched? He had suspected it but to actually hear the words...
Casey bit his lip as he wildly shook his head. A worried frown flickered his brow. “I just never…no one ever…I didn’t…”
Rob leaned down and pressed his mouth to Casey’s as he drove his cock in to the hilt. Casey’s cry was muffled beneath his lips. A sense of urgency drove Rob as he began moving, drawing his cock out and then thrusting back inside Casey’s tight grip.
Rob drove his cock harder and harder into Casey, brushing across Casey’s prostate with every thrust of his hips.
Casey’s head arched back as Rob turned his head and nuzzled at his neck. The man groaned when Rob’s teeth scraped over his throat. Rob licked the soft flesh just beneath Casey’s ear before sinking his teeth in.
“Rob!” Casey cried out.
Rob held Casey in place with the force of his hips and the fangs imbedded in his skin. He growled around the flesh in his mouth, low, primal, demanding Casey’s surrender as he drove his cock into Casey over and over again.
Pulling his fangs free, Rob drew a sharp claw over the soft skin of his neck. “Drink from me, cub. Make our bond complete.” This wasn’t part of any claiming Rob had ever heard of, but he knew it was right. Something compelled him to tie Casey to him in every way possible.
Casey didn’t hesitate at Rob’s hastily spoken command. He placed his mouth over the bleeding cut and swallowed. Rob felt a primal growl building in his throat as a sudden warmth filled his entire body, and then he could feel Casey in his soul.
Casey’s eyes widened in stunned silence for a second before his orgasm hit, and he screamed, his seed splashing between them.
As Casey went boneless and sank back against the blanket, Rob’s thrusts increased. A deep rumble came from Rob’s chest as he rammed his cock harder and harder into Casey.
Rob shuddered as he felt his cock thicken, lodging him in Casey’s ass. Rob continued to grip Casey’s hips as he thrust once, twice, then shuddered. Rob tossed his head back and roared as he exploded inside of Casey’s ass. He was frozen in time and space as he found his pleasure, and felt his balls emptying as endless spurts of cum filled Casey’s ass.
Rob was panting heavily as he rolled them both to their sides and lay down beside his mate. “Thank you, cub,” Rob whispered against Casey’s neck before placing a gentle kiss on the bite mark he had left in Casey’s skin.
Rob smiled at Casey’s tired sigh as he was tucked close to Rob’s body. He inhaled deeply, breathing in his Casey’s sweet apples and cinnamon scent. He was exhausted as he curled next to Casey. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but at the moment, he didn’t care.
All that mattered to him was feeling Casey cuddle into his side. The contentment he felt was enough for Rob to relax and let the tiny aftershocks settle him for the moment.
“What happens now?” Casey asked, his voice breaking the silence.
Rob didn’t have all the answers but he had a few. “Now, we start looking for a place for us. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, not at first. Hell, even a studio apartment would work. We just need a place for the two of us to call home.”
Rob wanted to give Casey the world, and swore to himself that he would work his ass off until he could. Casey deserved the best, not some stupid studio that was no bigger than a closet. Hopefully, his job with his father’s construction business would be enough to take care of the two of them.
“And until we find something?” Casey whispered as his arms tightened around Rob’s chest. “I don’t want to be away from you.”
“You won’t, cub.” Rob rolled Casey toward him and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I don’t care if we have to sleep in the woods every night. We’re never going to spend another night apart, not as long as we live.”
Casey’s face lifted and he pressed his nose into the crook of Rob’s neck. His inhale was deep. “I’d really like that.”
“I’m going to start working at my father’s construction company. The hours will suck”—Rob chuckled—“and so will the pay, but it’s a start.”
“I have some money saved up,” Casey said. “And I can ask for more hours down at the bakery now that I’m done with school.”
Rob didn’t like it, but he was pretty sure Casey would argue with him if he said he wanted his mate to stay home and not work. Call him a chauvinist pig but he preferred Casey being home where he was safe rather than out in the town where anything could happen to him.
He also kind of liked the idea of having Casey waiting for him when he came home after a long day at work. So, yeah, he was a chauvinist when it came to his mate.
Sue him.
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
Casey lifted his head and stared at Rob. “Why do you want to know that?”
“I want to know what your hopes and dreams are, cub. That what being mates is all about.”
“Oh.” Casey’s cheeks heated as he dropped his gaze. “I like cooking. I didn’t want to be a chef or anything. I just wanted to cook. I like discovering new recipes and putting my own spin on them.”
“Like your honey buns?”
Casey smiled as his eyes flickered up. “Yeah.”
“I’d say you have a talent for it.” Rob just had to figure out how to make Casey’s dream come true. Maybe he’d talk to his mother and see if she had any ideas. She was pretty smart.
Rob strummed his fingers lazily through Casey’s honey-blond hair. He loved how silky soft it felt sliding between his fingers. “Do you think there’s going to be a problem with your foster parents when you move out?”
“No,” Casey answered instantly. “The quicker I’m gone, the quicker they can move in another foster kid. Now that I’m eighteen, they won’t receive any more money for me. I’m just taking up space.”
Rob felt his eyes water at Casey’s solemn words, and blinked rapidly to make them go away. He didn’t want to appear weak in front of his mate, but Casey’s life made him want to rant against the world and then curl up in a ball and cry.
Had the man ever had a lucky break?
“As long as we stick together, we’ll be just fine, cub.”
Chapter Nine
Casey sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at the man sleeping under the blankets. Rob was laying on his stomach, one leg bent at the knee, the other one stretched down the length of the bed. He had one hand tucked under his cheek. The other one was thrown out across the bed as if looking for Casey.
Even sleeping, he was still the handsomest man Casey had ever seen. He didn’t fully understand how he had lucked out to be mated to Rob, but he wasn’t going to fight it. For the first time in his life, it felt like someone really wanted him.
It made Casey’s stomach clench just thinking about having to leave him, even if it was just to go to work. He would have preferred staying tucked into bed with his mate.
After leaving the river, Rob had brought him home and taken him straight up to his bedroom where he had made Casey’s toes curl in the most delicious of ways. Casey still shivered every time he remembered the blow job he had received in the shower. He couldn’t wait for the chance to return the favor.
It would just have to wait until he got off work.
“Hey, cub, what are you doing up?”
“I need to head to work.”
Rob squinted at the watch on his wrist. “Casey, it’s four o’clock in the morning.”
“Baker’s hours.”
“Huh?”
Casey chuckled at the cute little frown that marred Rob’s face. “The bakery opens at five. I have to get everything ready before then.”
Rob flung the blankets back and started to sit up. “Just give me a moment to take a piss and get dressed and I’ll drive you.”
“No, no.” Casey pressed a hand to Rob’s chest. “I can ride my bike. It’s just a few blocks from here.”
Rob’s eyebrow curved up. “I’m not going to let you ride your bike this early in the morning, Casey, not when I can easily drive you to work.”
“Rob—”
Rob pressed a finger to Casey’s lips. “You don’t have to do this on your own, Casey.”
Casey’s shoulders slumped as the tension he didn’t know he was holding onto suddenly faded away. He was so used to never having anyone, not even to take some of the load off, that he almost didn’t know what to do now that he did.
Rob’s fingers caressed the side of his face, the touch light and tentative. “You’re not alone anymore, cub.”
Casey prayed that Rob was telling the truth because he couldn’t imagine going back to his old life after experiencing one with Rob at his side, even if it had only been a day. He’d wither up and die.
Casey sat on the side of the bed as Rob got up and dressed. He felt his face flush as he watched the man tuck his cock into his jeans and button them up. Commando was a good look on the man. The image of Rob walking around with no underwear on was probably going to stay with Casey for the rest of the day.
By the time Rob held a hand out to him, Casey was ready to say to hell with it and crawl back into bed with the man. The only thing that kept him from stripping off his clothes was the knowledge that they needed every penny they could earn if they planned to get out on their own as soon as possible.
Casey’s jaw dropped when they reached the bottom of the stairs and Rob’s mother held out a breakfast burrito to both of them. “Thank you.”
Maggie smiled. “You’ll need something filling for work, and as good as your honey buns are, they won’t give you the energy you need to work a full shift at the bakery.”
“How’d you know?”
“I worked at a bakery when I was in high school. I remember how it was.”
Casey grinned because he just couldn’t not smile. Maggie Colton was turning out to be a wonderful woman. She seemed to accept everything about Casey and—besides Rob—he hadn’t really experienced that before.
On a whim, Casey leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Maggie’s cheek. “Thank you.”
The twinkle in the woman’s light-brown eyes said she understood that Casey was thanking her for more than the breakfast burrito. “You’re more than welcome, honey. Now, you’d better get going or you’ll be late for work.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Casey couldn’t keep from beaming as he swung his bag over his shoulder and followed Rob out to the man’s truck. His day was starting off with a bang. It was certainly starting off better than any day he could remember in the past.
When Rob pulled the truck up in front of the bakery a few minutes later, Casey was just finishing up the burrito Maggie had given him. “This is really good,” he said between bites. “Does your mom make these a lot?”
Rob grinned as he rested his hands on the steering wheel. “Oh, she’s made them before. She’s just never met us at the bottom of the stairs at oh my god it’s early. She made us fend for ourselves that early in the morning.”
Casey chuckled. “Maybe she likes me more.”
Rob winked. “I know I do.”
Casey felt the heat in his face as he ducked his head. He was pretty sure he could light up a city block. He wasn’t used to getting compliments. Getting smacked around was more his usual. This would take some time to get used to.
Casey bit his bottom lip as he looked toward the front of the bakery. He tightened his fingers around the strap of his bag. “I have to go in.”
He really didn’t want to.
“What time do you get off work, cub?”
“Two,” Casey replied as he glanced back to Rob.
“Hmm.” Rob frowned. “I’ll be at work until five.”
Casey reached over and laid his hand on Rob’s wrist. “I can get home on my own, Rob. I’ve been doing it for ages.”
When Rob’s lips pressed into a thin line, Casey got the distinct feeling he shouldn’t have said that. Considering the first time they ever met Casey was running scared, Rob might have a point. But still…
“Do you have a better solution?” Casey was willing to hear it. Compromise was something he was well acquainted with. He had been compromising his entire life.
Rob’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, making it crackle. “Would you be offended if I asked my mother to pick you up?”
“No.” He liked Maggie. “But I don’t want to be a bother either.”
“You could never be a bother, cub.” Rob grabbed Casey’s hand gave it a gentle squeeze. “Besides, my mother likes you, remember?”
Casey wrapped his hand around the muscled arm closest to him and leaned his head against Rob’s shoulder. “Just not as much as you like me, right?”
“No one likes you as much as I do, cub.”
One simple statement and Rob made everything inside of Casey warm and wanted. Casey rubbed his cheek against Rob’s sleeve as he whispered, “That’s an amazing talent you have there, Mr. Bear.”
“What talent?”
Casey grinned as he scooted back across the seat and opened the door. He slid out and onto his feet before turning back to wink at Rob as he lifted the strap of his bag to his shoulder. “I’ll tell you tonight when I see you.”
He could see Rob shaking his head, chuckling, as he closed the door and stepped back onto the sidewalk. Casey stood there as Rob drove away, watching until the taillights of the truck faded from view before turning and walking to the door of the bakery.
He loved working at the bakery, cooking in a place that always smelled of fresh bread and pastries. When things weren’t busy, his boss gave him leave to try new recipes and let his baking imagination go wild. If what he created was edible, they served it in the bakery. If not, Casey kept trying.
For the first time since he took the job of sweeping up after close of business when he was fifteen years old, Casey didn’t want to go to work. His imagination ran wild with the things he and Rob could do together…if Rob didn’t have to go to work, too.
Things were going to get a lot better when they were living together and could sleep in each other’s arms all night long. One night just wasn’t enough. Casey couldn’t really remember a night beyond last night when he didn’t sleep with one eye open.
Maybe that was why he had such a hard time going to work? The previous night had been spectacular, and that didn’t even include the sex. That had been earth shattering. But the sense of safety and peace that Casey derived from being wrapped in Rob’s arms all night long wasn’t something he had ever experienced, and he didn’t want to give it up.
He was terrified something was going to take this away from him.
Casey closed his eyes for a moment, his hands clenched so hard that his nails dug into the palms of his hands. He needed
to get a hold of himself. Rob was strong enough for the both of them. The man wouldn’t let Casey go easily. He’d fight for him, for what they could have together.
Casey was not in this alone.
After taking a deep breath, Casey opened his eyes and unlocked the bakery door. He relocked the door once he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He turned on the lights and then headed over to push the on button on the two-pot coffeemaker. It would have been filled the previous night so he just needed to get it started.
After the machine started percolating, Casey walked toward the back of the bakery, dropping his bag down on the floor behind the counter as he went. His first order of business was to check the backboard near the employee restroom. Marge left all her instructions there. If she had anything special she wanted Casey to do, that was where she’d place the note.
As he stepped into the backroom where the actual baking was done, a noise by the hallway leading to the backdoor caught his attention. Casey swallowed hard a sliver of fear raced up his spine. Even though he had the morning shift, it wasn’t totally unheard of for Marge to come in and make a surprise visit. She liked to keep on top of things at the bakery.
Casey prayed it was Marge.
He grabbed a rolling pin off the counter and held it tightly with both hands as he crept toward the small hallway that led to the back of the bakery. The only things back there was the cold storage, dry storage, employee bathroom, and the door that led to the small alley behind the building. Casey so didn’t want to go back there, but he knew if he didn’t find out what had made that noise, he’d stew about it until he chewed off every last fingernail.
Knowing he didn’t have a lot of other choices, Casey tightened his grip on the rolling pin and crept around the corner to the entrance of the hallway. Step by cautious step, Casey made his way to the back door.
Nothing.
He couldn’t see anything out of place and he hadn’t heard another sound, so maybe it was just his overactive imagination. It wouldn’t be the first time he thought he heard something when nothing was there.
