by Fel Fern
“No, but,” Dan bit his lip, studied him intently, “you don’t need to babysit me. I’m not a child.”
“You’re not,” he agreed. “But you’re my mate, with it comes certain privileges.”
Dan thought about it. “You just genuinely want to spend more time with me?”
“Of course. I mean, we’ve done that, but not in this form. I’d like to get to know you better.”
“Oh, okay then.” Dan paused again. “What if you realize I’m not the one you want?”
“Stop that,” he snapped. “Stop pushing me away, because I’ll always be here.”
Dan hissed at him this time, about to playfully slap him, but he gripped Dan’s wrists and kissed his mate again, leaving the tabby cat shifter stunned.
“Stubborn wolf,” Dan finally growled out.
“Besides, if Chris is looking for you, I think you need a disguise. We PI’s are good at those.”
Dan looked interested. “That sounds fun.”
Hiding Dan’s identity wasn’t just for Dan’s safety, but it would also help Dan adapt to normal life if he pretended to be someone else for the time being. “You can be,” he mused out loud, “Dick Hardy, a black-haired fresh accounting graduate.”
Dan scoffed. “Excuse me? What kind of pervy name is that? Why accounting?”
“I’m stating an example. Give it a try before I head out and come back with black hair dye.”
“I can be Frank Johnson, a barista by day and writer at night,” Dan said. “You’re right, this is fun.”
“After we get your disguise, I’ll show you around the city, and we can have a slow lunch, a walk in the park afterward.”
Dan hugged his knees to his chest. “Why do you make it sound like we’re one of those retired couples? I like though.”
Dan blushed.
“I like that, too. This can be our official first date.”
“What about that time I stole your sandwich and you chased me up a tree?”
Asher laughed at that. “Sneaky little cat.”
“Playful wolf.”
“Why don’t you run along in the shower while I make us breakfast?”
Dan slid off the bed, and he hungrily enjoyed the sight of his mate, hair disheveled, naked, and wearing nothing but the marks he left on Dan the night before. Oh, he could definitely get used to this wonderful sight every single morning and end his nights with Dan tucked close to him, well-fucked and happy.
The image made his wolf sing.
Well aware he was watching, Dan strutted to the bathroom room, looked over his shoulder. “You going to join me?”
* * * *
Dan ducked his head under the shower, wondering if he delivered that line less sexily as he thought. He glanced at his body in the mirror. Asher was right. He was still skinny, although he probably looked closer to a skeleton days ago, when Asher found him.
The bathroom door creaked opened, and he turned to see Asher leaning against the door, wearing nothing but boxers. Damn those boxers, too, because he wanted an eyeful of that monstrous cock that Asher used to fuck him well last night.
“You looking at my dick, little cat? My face is up here.” Asher sounded amused.
He made a ragged sound with his breath but managed to use his tongue. “You have an erection.”
“So do you.”
Gulping, realizing he was never going to win this teasing game—he probably needed more practice—he cleared his throat. “I thought you were making us breakfast.”
“I cheated,” Asher admitted. “Rang up my favorite diner across the street to prepare us waffles and bacon.”
“I love bacon.”
Asher grinned. “I know. You finished my stock. It did strike me that for such a little cat, you had an appetite.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Knowing you like my cooking pleases me. I’d like to make you more meals.”
Those words warmed his heart. “I didn’t think you came in here to talk about food.”
“No, I came in here to sate a different kind of hunger. Besides, you did offer the invitation. No take back.”
“Come in then,” he replied, turning the water off.
Then Asher dropped his boxers, and Dan stared for a couple of good seconds. His mate was such a gorgeous male specimen. This time, when his insecurities rose up, the ugly voice in him asking what a man like Asher was doing with broken goods like him, he shut the voice up.
That voice came to life in the cage, when darkness pressed down on him on all sides and the only words he heard came from Chris, all of them unkind, abusive. Chris loved telling him in a scary, calm voice while hurting Dan what a useless piece of trash he was, that no one would touch him once Chris was done with him.
Chris was wrong, though, because Asher had given him the best night of his life, hadn’t fucked him but made love to him. Asher joined him in the shower. Given the werewolf’s bulk, they had to squeeze in.
Asher pressed him up against the walls, the tiles cool against his water-slick skin. His breathing turned ragged as Asher pinned his wrists above his head, used his body to press up against his. Their chest touched, dicks rubbing against each other.
Then, his mate kissed him on the mouth.
“I can get used to this every morning,” he whispered after Asher released his mouth.
“Exactly my train of thought, little cat.” Asher kept his hands restrained with one hand, using the other to slip between their bodies and give his dick a squeeze.
He groaned, already incredibly turned on by the thought that Asher was about to fuck him senseless in the bathroom. Asher worked his prick, sliding his hand up and down, torturing him by alternating between slow and fast strokes.
Panting, he groaned when Asher fondled and squeezed at his balls.
“Your balls, your cock, this sweet body, those tempting lips of yours, your tight hole—they all belong to me,” Asher said, nuzzling his neck.
He shuddered at those words, because it was true. Last night, Asher lay claim to his body, made him scream, sent his mind flying. Asher didn’t know it yet, but Dan’s heart already came with the package.
“Say it,” Asher demanded.
Standing so close, he could inhale the intoxicating smell of their combined need.
“I’m yours without question,” he managed to answer, groaning when Asher flicked the pre-cum off his slit before moving lower.
Asher ran his hand past his balls, and he parted his legs. Asher pushed a finger in, added a second. Dan was already wet and ready for his mate. Asher pulled his fingers out and spun him by the shoulder. He groaned as Asher guided his prick into his entrance. Taking initiative, Dan widened his stance. Hand on his neck—a possessive move—Asher penetrated him. This time, the dominant werewolf didn’t pause, merely sheathed himself to the hilt.
Despite being used to Asher’s size, he gasped, clawed at the wall but knew soon, Asher would make him see stars once more. Asher gripped his hips and began to thrust in and out of him, strokes slow but deep. He shut his eyes, enjoying this slow love making, too.
Heat radiated from his insides and went right to his hardening dick.
“So good,” he whispered. Each time their bodies connected, he could sense his inner cat reaching for Asher’s wolf.
The cat in him finally understood that this dangerous, wonderful wolf was theirs, was the one soul in the world they could trust without hesitation.
“Faster, please.”
Asher complied, picking up the pace, each thrust deeper, breaching his most intimate places.
“Touch yourself,” Asher said against his ear.
He struggled to obey. Dan knew about masturbation back when he’d been a randy teen, but it was a lot different with Asher behind him, watching him intently. He groaned, beginning to work his dick faster, timing it with Asher’s thrust.
Asher shifted, slammed right into his prostate. He gasped, forgetting his prick, back arching as Asher hit that special place ag
ain.
“Baby,” he uttered. It was the first time he called Asher that, yet Asher didn’t tell him off.
“You close?” Asher asked. Incapable of speech, he could only nod. “Good, me, too.”
Asher took over the hand job, that last push sending him over the edge. Screaming out Asher’s name, he emptied his balls, cum coating Asher’s waiting hand. Asher entered him several more times before shooting his load into his ass. He slumped against the wall, feeling languid, grateful for Asher easily catching him, supporting his weight.
Dan was aware of the other man turning the water back on. He let Asher do the rest, loved how Asher took particular care to clean them off, soap them, then towel them dry.
“You’re spoiling me at this rate,” he told the other man, who dried his hair.
“You’re mine to spoil,” Asher said simply. “You can borrow my clothes for the moment, but they’ll be too big for you. You mind if I ring up Tom? He’s about your size.”
“Won’t it be a bother?” he asked.
“Nope. Tom would be happy help out.” Asher hesitated. “You and Tom have a few similarities. His ex wasn’t as psychotic as yours, but remember this?”
Asher gestured to his chest and the pieces of conversation clicked. He widened his eyes. “You saved Tom from his ex? Those wounds, they were silver bullets?”
Asher nodded, looking stumped when he gave Asher a punch on the shoulder. “Hey, what was that for?”
“You could have died,” he accused.
“Well, I didn’t. I’m pretty tough, you know?”
He glared at his mate. “Well, good thing I’m here, then, to remind you not to be reckless.”
Asher grinned. “I told Raul I didn’t envy him when Tom scolded him. I even made fun of him when his bite-sized human had such a hold over him.”
“Now?” he ventured. He knew dominant males didn’t like being told what to do. Chris took it to a whole new level. He should have seen the signs when Chris first brought him to his home, when he noticed all the silent household staff.
Stop it, he told himself. The past, he could finally bury. Dan made a silent promise to himself that from now on, he’d stop pondering about the what could haves. He could change nothing, not the foolish naive boy he’d been, nor the broken creature he’d become. Asher brought him back to life, gave him a second chance, and he wasn’t about to screw it up.
Asher’s face lit up and he couldn’t help it. He returned that infectious smile.
“I have my own bite-sized sexy cat to reel me in,” Asher replied.
Chapter Eight
Chris Roman spread the photos out on his enormous mahogany desk, lips curling. There was no denying it, the smiling young man in the photo was his lost property, even though Dan had changed his hair to black and wore sunglasses. For a moment, Chris couldn’t speak, the ferocious beast in him all but ready to teach their errant Omega a lesson. It had been so long, too, since his captive little pussy cat screamed for him.
He could still remember it, the day his property slipped his leash. Chris had to admit he’d been careless, drunk enough to leave the cage door open. Who knew Dan had possessed the strength to escape the basement and his extensive property?
No, the cat had been planning his escape for some time. That made him seethe. Dan ought to know his place by now. Fuck, the amount of trouble this Omega brought him gave him a headache. He sent his best men to scour the city. When that yielded zero results, they widened the search to neighboring towns.
He looked intently at the photos again, tried to think with a clear eye. Chris vaguely remembered doing some kind of charity event at this local park. That park was a few blocks away. So close. Who knew his property hid right under his nose? Smart. Well, he had to applaud Dan for that.
The other person in the room cleared his throat. The private investigator he hired sat across his office desk, unsmiling, not saying a word. Waiting for questions, probably. Good. Chris respected men who were professionals.
“Who is this fucker?” Chris pointed to the large man present in all the photos.
His tiger didn’t like seeing their unfaithful property with another, especially not another dominant shifter. He could tell, because Dan wouldn’t be stupid enough to cling to an average human for protection.
The weak always attached themselves to the strong. That was what lured Dan to him in the first place. Dan simply didn’t understand his wealth and protection came with certain costs.
“Asher Gates. Lone wolf shifter, also works as a private investigator. It appears they’ve been living together,” quipped Chester Sanders, the PI.
Without realizing it, Chris crushed one of the photos in his fist, seeing red. A growl slipped from his lips. Claws slid out of his hands, and they made a thudding sound as they sliced into wood. This wasn’t good. He was in his office, the one space he made sure to maintain his mask at all times. He jerked his hand back. Hitting wood proved satisfactory. Chris preferred claws slicing through soft bodies, hearing his prey squeal and beg for the mercy that would never come.
Chester swallowed across from him. Chris reminded himself he needed this man, although Chester would make for decent target practice. Chris breathed in and out.
Playtime is reserved for behind closed doors, as his father liked to say.
Chris smiled, sheathing his claws back to hands. Never mind, he’d get his hands on Dan soon enough, and they’d have plenty of time together.
He’d like nothing better than to drag his disobedient pussy cat down the stairs of his basement and shove Dan into the new cage he specially built.
No more fuck-ups on his side. He’d take a hammer and break every one of Dan’s leg bones to kill any thought of escape. Then place his mate mark on Dan’s neck again, brand his property as his once more. After Dan’s bones, he’d proceed to break the cat’s spirit.
He could start by killing Dan’s new werewolf friend in front of Dan’s eyes. Chris had to be careful, though. Being reckless might end Dan’s life too quickly and he preferred Dan last a little longer.
He made a mental note to bring his best healers and medics, wait for them to heal his toy and do it all over again.
Chris smacked his lips in excitement. The tiger in him hovered on the surface, eager to make Dan scream again.
His father’s parting words about Dan’s escape rang in his head. Clean up your fucking messes. That was exactly what he planned on doing. Neither Chris nor his father wanted this to end up in the media’s hands.
Dan’s escape was a good thing, he realized. An opportunity for Dan and him to reacquaint themselves. To tell the truth, he started to become a little bored of his property. Once Dan stopped fighting back, Dan became like all the empty-eyed dolls he’d eventually have to discard. It seemed like Dan gained additional shelf life.
“What do you want me to do?” Chester finally asked. For the first time, the human looked unnerved, and he realized he’d tore up all the photos on his desk into tiny little pieces.
“Continue watching them, wait for my command.”
Chester shifted on his seat. He watched the human closely, wondered if Chester finally sensed that it wasn’t just a handsome man in a suit he faced, but a predator in human skin. Chester knew too much, he decided. Maybe he’d do a little blackmail himself, see if Chester had a family, girlfriend, leverage. Threats usually got Chris what he wanted. He’d pretend to spare Chester’s loved one if he did his job—too bad that was just a lie. The PI had to be disposed of once he served his purpose.
“Wait for what?” Chester finally asked.
“For an opportunity for me to strike.”
* * * *
“This is the receptionist’s desk?” Dan asked, alarmed by the messy paperwork stacked on top of each other.
Above what was going to be his desk was a lopsided sign that read “Alpha Eye.” Sick of staying indoors all the time, he wanted to do something in the day time. Asher and he came to the agreement it was still too risky f
or him to be seen working in public. At least in Asher’s office, Asher and his friends could keep a close eye on him.
With four overprotective dominant males, Dan wondered if he was overdoing it, but he played the worst-case scenarios in his head. What if he was working at a local café when one of Chris’s guys recognized him, bagged him, and Asher wouldn’t even realize he was gone until later?
No, he refused for that to happen. Even if Asher and the guys gave this job to him out of pity, he’d make the best receptionist the guys ever had.
Besides, he really was getting sick of doing nothing at home. Asher’s apartment was his sanctuary, a place where he managed to extract the human half he’d hid to protect himself, but it was time to emerge from that shell.
A week passed since Asher gave him his mate mark. He brushed his hand over the mark, smiling to himself at the progress he’d made and the memory of that special evening. It had been like any other normal date night for them, except both of them sensed that evening was different from the rest, too. In the heat of passion, both of them decided to take the leap of faith and decided they were both ready to be mates in every sense of the word.
All this time, Asher never pushed, had been patient with him. At least Asher no longer treated him like the first few days when he first changed back to human, like he was fragile and could break any second.
Step-by-step, he was on his way to reclaiming the life Chris stole from him.
“Well, we’ve always hired temps and part-timers. Aside from answering phone calls, I don’t think they were interested in having an organization system,” Asher admitted. “You’re really a saint for taking up this job. One look at all this, and prospective receptionists look for the closest exit. The pay isn’t all that great, either.”
“I need this, I want to do this,” he told his mate, looking Asher in the eye. His cat prowled inside him, wanting their wolf to touch, kiss, and caress. Even though they made love just that morning and the evening before, Dan was already starved for Asher’s touch.
